History dwells in Madrasa-e-Azam school

CHENNAI:  For the commuter on the busy Anna Salai, the blaring horns of vehicles might muffle the cry for help from the historic Madrasa-e-Azam Higher Secondary School structure. Tucked away behind the service lanes of Chennai’s main arterial road, the educational institution, which sprouted out of the generosity of the Nawabs of Carnatic, is now in a shambles thanks to the negligence of the PWD.Built in 1849, the building, half of which today has been brought down, partly by the forces of nature and rest by carelessness of the government agencies, was the residence of Nawab Khairunissa Begum, fondly remembered as Umdah, who was the widow of Ghulam Ghouse Khan Bahadur Azam. According to the current Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, the madrasa that was housed in the building was first started in the Wallajah mosque in 1761 and a great scholar from Uttar Pradesh named Bahrool Uloom appointed head of the institution by the then nawab. The architecture, according to persons currently associated with the school, was a mix of the finest of European and Persian styles.According to the president of the mosque that is currently housed inside the school’s huge complex, Dr Syed Ameen, who is also the treasurer of the Parents-Teachers Association of the school, while at first the madrasa served exclusively for the family of the nawabs, its scope was widened by Nawab Umdat­ul-Umra Bahadur and “admission to the sons of noblemen and officers of the State was given in the early 19th century.”Finally, Ghulam Ghouse Khan Bahadur, the last Nawab of the Carnatic, “threw open its doors to all children without any restrictions and for the development of Urdu, Arabic and Persian languages”. According to the website of the Prince of Arcot, it was after his poetic name “Azam” that this madrasa came to be known as Madrasa-e-Azam.Ameen said that as the couple was barren, they donated the building to the British Raj for running the educational institution. School Officials said that despite several pleas to the government, authorities took no notice.“Worried by the weak structure, parents prefer to take their wards off the school rolls,” says Ameen.In fact, despite a special admission drive last year, which resulted in the enrolment of 1,000, the strength has come down to around 300 as parents have taken their wards back, the officials claim.