(It is the message given by the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi paying homage to Dr. Zakir Husain)
When Dr. Zakir Husain was sworn in as President he remarked that the nation had done a great honour to a teacher. His lifelong quest was to learn and deepen his understanding in the educational institutions which he headed and the larger sphere of public life. Dr. Zakir Husain strove to enlarge minds and hearts of people. His own life was an education.
I think the finest trait of culture is to be free of dogmatism. Dr. Zakir Husain was free from dogma and narrowness of any kind and bent his fastidious intellect to a search for harmony and in the interest of a larger purpose.
When Dr. Zakir Husain was almost killed in riots at Jalandhar in August 1947
Dr. Zakir Husain reflected the best in the heritage of the enlightened man. He was an unusual amalgam of steadfastness and gentleness, representing the finest flowering of the composite culture of our country. It is rare to find so integrated a personality as Dr. Zakir Husain’s.
Dr. Zakir Husain never lost interest in people, especially the young and the creative. He was keenly sensitive to their thinking and to their problems. Dr. Husain retained a remarkable capacity of communication with them and encouraged their attempts at self-expression.
He set the highest standards of conduct for himself and every act and gesture of his was a living proof of this high integrity, ennobling all around him. He stood for high ideals and even made for compassion towards all beings.
May his memory guide us on the difficult road ahead.
