Abul Kalam Muhiyuddin Ahmed Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian scholar and a senior political leader of the
Indian independence movement. Following India's independence, he became the first Minister of Education in the Indian government. In 1992 he was
posthumously awarded India's highest civilian award, the
Bharat Ratna. He is commonly remembered as
Maulana Azad; the word Maulana is an honorific meaning 'learned man', and he had adopted
Azad (
Free) as his pen name. His contribution to establishing the education foundation in India is recognised by celebrating his birthday as "National Education Day" across India.