Saiyid Hamid, chancellor of Jamia Hamdard University and former vice-chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University, set the tone for the seminar with his remarks: "This is a rare opportunity which will not come again. The Muslim community must fully utilize it. The Sachar Committee report has told Muslims that you are more backward than the non-Muslim, Other Backward Classes of India. We have been officially told now that our place is nearer to Dalits."
Elsewhere, Saiyid Hamid when asked "What is the most important challenge facing Indian Muslims?" replied, "Without a doubt, education. Muslims in the south have established very important professional institutions but they have not been able to achieve quality in them. The world is so competitive and educationally our country is so advanced that unless we Muslims attain a similar standard by dint of organized hard work, we have no future. We have proved ourselves incapable of running our educational institutions and maintaining a high standard. That is the biggest challenge."
