Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 16 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest at the centenary celebrations of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) via video conferencing on December 22 this year. He will attend the virtual function along with Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. Thanking the PM for accepting the invitation to participate in the celebrations marking 100 years of the university, Vice-Chancellor Professor Mansoor said, "The outreach of the university during this historical year would immensely help in the growth and development of the university and placement of our students in the private and public sectors." Mansoor appealed to the university community to put in all efforts for the success of the forthcoming programmes and asked the staff members, students, alumni and AMU's well-wishers for their active participation. He requested the people to keep the centenary programmes above politics just like Republic Day, Independence Day, Milad-un-Nabi and Gandhi Jayanti celebrations are kept above political differences. He informed that President Ram Nath Kovind is expected to join other online centenary functions of the university. "Centenary is a great landmark achievement in the history of any university. AMU and its various units as well as Alumni Associations have been organising various programmes attended by illustrious people from diverse fields through the virtual mode following the Government of India's guidelines to curb the spread of Covid-19 pandemic," said the V-C. Landmark AMU buildings and structures from the Administrative Block to the Centenary Gate, the Engineering College Road to the Polytechnic, Morrison Court Road, Victoria Gate, the University Mosque, Strachey Hall and the Sir Syed House would be illuminated on December 17 and 18 evening. There will be multi-coloured and engaging visual projections of creative lights and design, weaving in the rich and unique university heritage. Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College was renamed as Aligarh Muslim University on December 1, 1920 following the gazette notification and AMU was formally inaugurated as a university on December 17 in the same year by the then V-C Mohammad Ali Mohammad Khan popularly known as the 'Raja Sahib of Mahmudabad'. As a premier institute of higher learning, AMU has produced two Bharat Ratnas -- Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan also known as 'Frontier Gandhi' and Dr Zakir Husain. Since its inception, the university has been making seminal contributions to different branches of knowledge and many of its students and faculty members have been awarded Padma awards, the President's Award, Gyan Paeth, Saraswati and Sahitya Akademi awards. Its scientist alumni have been elected as Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and conferred with the 'Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize' and several other prestigious awards. /IANS