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The first education minister of India and one of the foremost freedom fighters, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was also a scholar and philosopher. A dynamic individual and a Bharat Ratna awardee with multiple facets to his personality, why then has his vision been cast aside in contemporary India?

Azads beliefs synthesized the best of Arabic, Iranian and Indian civilizations, argues Hameed, while investigating how he has been erroneously depicted only as the Muslim face of the Indian National Congress. Azad found his secularism, nationalism and inspiration for the freedom struggle within the tenets of Islam and the understanding of the Quran.

This book, taking a fresh look at the politics, works and life of Azad, presents an account as well as an analysis of his views on themes as diverse as Islam, status of minorities, nationalism and education. In the preface to this edition, Hameed underlines that the ideas propounded by Azad half a century ago hold a special relevance in the post-9/11 world.