(From left) N. Ram, chairman of Kasturi & Sons, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, Prince of Arcot, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, former Governor of West Bengal, and Padma Shri Hakim Syed Khaleefathullah Sahib — Photo: R. Ravindran
Former Governor of West Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, on Thursday, urged the Muslim Community to spread the system of Unani throughout the country.
Speaking at a function to felicitate eminent Unani practitioner Hakim Syed Khaleefathullah Sahib, on receiving the Padma Shri, Mr. Gandhi said it was popularly thought that Unani belonged to the Muslim community, and not used by everyone as much as Ayurveda or Yoga.
He said that though modern medicine had its place in healing, Unani and Ayurveda should be used in the treatment of chronic ailments.
Chairman of Kasturi & Sons, N. Ram, said the Hakim was a humble man representing a great tradition of indigenous healing, and he had combined his tradition with modern medicine.
He was an institution builder and wanted his knowledge to be institutionally sustained, enriched and developed. Mr. Ram also released a booklet about the Hakim.
Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, who received the first copy of the booklet, said the connection between the House of Arcot and the Hakim’s family dated back to 150 years.
Among those who offered felicitations were T. Rafeeq Ahmed, convenor, Committee of Hosts, S.K. Khadri, U. Mohammad Khaleelullah, P.S.M. Syed Abdul Khadir, and Akhtarul Wasey, commissioner for linguistic minorities in India.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / September 05th, 2024
Master-craftsman Ghulam Rasool Khan had once made a shawl using 360 individual pieces of ‘jamawar’. He has produced several other priceless jamawar designs for which he has received several state and national level awards including the prestigious Padmashree (2021).
Though Khan has not lost passion for this work, he regrets that the new generation does not take much interest in the craft and says the machine-made cheap varieties posed a great threat to the sector.
“Now, we have machine-made shawls that sell for Rs. 5000 and are no match for the original jamawar. This is the biggest threat to this craft as there is no match for a hand-made piece. This art requires a lot of hard work and patience but nowadays artisans do not have the patience,” Khan told reporters during a Craft Safari to Amda Kadal area of the old city on Saturday.
The safaris had been started in the wake of Srinagar making it to the coveted list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Crafts and Folk Arts Category for the year 2021.
Khan said they also used to receive orders worth Rs. 100 cr for ‘Arabi Rumal’ annually but due to entry of fakes, they had stopped receiving the same.
“There was a time when there was a great demand for Arabi rumal. The ones we make have different and intricate artwork that is not usually available in the market. There was a time when we used to receive orders to the tune of Rs. 100 cr annually from the elite Arabs. Unfortunately, the same has stopped now,” he said.
An official of the Handicrafts Department said the master craftsman had received several awards in recognition of his hard work.
“Though many artisans have received Padmashree, Ghulam Rasool Khan is the only one who has received it for his jamawar works. He has also received several other awards at the state and national level. His enthusiasm, patience, and knowledge of the colours and designs enabled him to bring out the extraordinary work. He also made a shawl using 360 individual pieces of jamwar to make the pattern,” the official said.
source: http://www.thekashmirmonitor.net / The Kashmir Monitor / Home> Kashmir> Latest News / by M Aamir Khan / October 22nd, 2022
There once lived a woman who epitomised the saying, ‘courage lies in compassion.’ Though born into the creamy tier of society, Bilkees Latif exemplified ‘living life large’ with regal grace, compassion, humility, and service to the downtrodden.
Bilkees Latif – The Enigma of Versatility | Source: You & I
Born to Nawab Ali Yawar Jung of Hyderabad and Alys Iffring from France, Bilkees grew up with a silver spoon that never got to her head or turned her into another conceited, snobbish socialite of the affluent society. Instead, she carved the path for her own legacy, decking it with added laurels for an already illustrious family that graced the halls of fame in professional careers and philanthropy alike.
The happily married couple whom even death could not keep apart for more than a few months | Source: You & I
Bilkees was married off in her early teens, as per norms of those times, to the son of another Nawabi family, the former Air Chief Marshall Idris Hasan Latif. Fortunately, she embarked on a happy marriage where the couple reached new heights of their family legacy, giving back to society with sophistication and empathy. He was one of the rare commissioned Air Force officers under the British Raj when she married him. Down the lane, Bilkees captured his illustrious life in her words, in a book titled The Ladder of His Life, an apt title, because he was the perfect stairwell through which she reached amazing feats*.*
They say greatness is not in lending help; it is in giving the downtrodden the best chance to lift themselves out of their howls. Tapping into the networking skills inherited from her family and her role in the Raj Bhavan as the wife of an Air Chief Marshall and the Governor of Maharashtra, she initiated her most lauded mission of improvising the largest slum of Asia, the Dharavi region in Bombay (now Mumbai). Among the many charitable and rehabilitator organisations she founded, The Society of Human Environmental Development (SHED), was the first. Embedded amongst the Godrej, Wadias, along with personalities like Sarojini Naidu, and Mahalaqa Bai Chanda of the society, she channelled their resources to the best purpose of giving hope of self-reliance to the helpless and discriminated.
A smile that never wavered along the slum dwellers or through the dignitaries | Source: You & I
Her life was a slide ranging from a diplomatic hostess for the likes of President Mitter as the wife of the Indian Ambassador in Paris or when Queen Elizabeth visited Hyderabad, with dexterous flair and culinary delights, to squatting with the slum children during her drive for hygiene or to understand the core issues of almost nil literacy rate, unemployment, drug addiction, etc. She has journaled her experience, which not only involved persistence to gain the dwellers’ trust but also a consistent tussle with the mafia and other powerlords, in her book O Dharavi.
Receiving Padma Shri from the President | Source: You & I
Today, the tourists who throng Dharavi do not go to witness the squalor of the slums. They visit to admire the very source of the largest economy of Maharashtra, generated from the 99 per cent of the hygienic houses that own some kind of home industry, may it be food, crafts, or hundreds of other options in the legitimate market. Her selfless strife to accomplish her solutions to the innate problems of the slums and not just hear them and forget once out of sight won her the much-deserving Padma Shri in 2008.
Cover pages of two of her books | Source: Penguin, Amazon
Mere words fail to encompass the versatility of Bilkees, as a seamstress of her enigmatic chiffon sarees with Banarasi borders. She was an exceptional artist, attested through one of her works, which was an 8-foot mural exhibited in Osaka, at the Japan Aero Exposition. Her elegance mirrored in her words as an author to her culinary skills and deep insight into the Deccan culture capsuled into “Essential of Andhra cookbook” apart from her other books like The Fragrance of Forgotten Years. She was the Founder member, Board member, President, and Trustee of many organisations like INTACT, the Indian Council for Child Welfare, Anjuman-e-Khawateen, the Board of Air India, and many others. She was the lamp of the literacy drive for children and had helped open 107 Bal Bhavans affiliated with the National Bal Bhavan as the Chairperson and Children’s Museum that organised creative activities for children all over India.
Just like her active life, she faced cancer in her painful last years with equal courage, poise, and humility, before she passed away in October 2017. Some people achieve so much and touch so many hearts that it becomes impossible to encapsulate their lives in just a few lines. Bilkees was one of them, her lifespan must have ended at eighty-six, but her legacy will be carried on, in each breath of Dharavi who are reaping the valorous efforts of her compassion, and in the memories of each of those whose lives she touched, one way or the other. She left behind two sons and a daughter.
Her lovely family of ‘hum do hamare teen’ | Source: You & I
Bilkees Latif was a woman who amalgamated an unaffected natural charm, grit, down-to-earth versatility, and kindness, into such a perfect blend, that it is seldom found in aristocracy. The words from her own pen in her book seem to resonate with the prayers of all those hearts she had touched with her kindness – “Keep her happy wherever she is, please.”
source: http://www.thisday.app / Home / by Waheeda Bi Khan
Wahdina Village / Sringar, KASHMIR / JAMMU & KASHMIR :
Muzaffar Hussain Baig at his home
Muzaffar Hussain Baig is among nine top Indian legal luminaries who also took to politics. He figures in the book Courting Politics by Shweta Bansal, along with other well-known legal bigwigs like Ram Jethmalani, Shanti Bhushan, P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Arun Jaitley, Salman Khurshid, Ravi Shankar Prasad, and Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
Baig, a recipient of Padma Bhushan (2020), who held several top positions in the government – Advocate General of J&K, Deputy Chief Minister, Law Minister, a member of Lok sabha – has risen in life wading through extremely difficult circumstances and yet never allowed anything do diminish his thirst for knowledge and limit his genius.
Having studied Law at the Harvard in the USA after graduating from the Delhi University’s School of Law, he also practiced in the US and Supreme Court of India before shifting to Kashmir. He was keen to make a difference to society and contested Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate. However, with the onset of the Pakistan-backed insurgency in Kashmir in the summer of 1989, Baig jettisoned his dream of pursuing a political career.
Muzaffar Hussain Baig
Baig is credited with drafting the anti-defection law of the J&K and his legal genius is reflected through the important cases he won in the Supreme Court of India and the J&K High Court.
Baig, 78, was born as the second of eight siblings in Wahdina village near Baramulla in North Kashmir. Though the family had a rich and royal legacy, he lived a life of penury. Baig speaks of he footing two km distance to school barefoot.
At the school, he was seen as a determined and hard-working student. One of his teachers Mohammad Maqbool Shah encouraged him to participate in activities like drama and speech making. Baig also taught to younger students in the school.
He learned the English alphabet in his 6th standard as was the norm those days. Soon, he started speaking in the English language with a “thick Kashmiri accent”. He topped the Board examination of the State in the 8th standard (Middle).
He shifted to Baramulla town,15 km away from home, to study further.
There was no stopping for this genius from then onwards till he joined Delhi University for his LLB and topped the examination. He then joined Harvard, USA, for higher studies and again topped the examination.
“You will find all over the world that there is an inbuilt desire in the minds of people to join politics, not to become Government functionaries but to secure some change for the society”, Muzaffar Hussain Baig told Awaz-The Voice at his residence, overlooking Dal Lake in Srinagar.
The Cover of the Book Courting Politics
He said, “I wanted to see the welfare of people…. had this desire to represent society. I did not even charge anything from my clients for whom it was unaffordable”, he said. “Politics, for me, was not just a profession but a mission to represent my society”.
Baig’s maiden attempt in politics, and as a distinguished lawyer having practiced in the US and Supreme Court of India, brought him to the notice of several political leaders including the then Congress leader and a former Minister, Abdul Ghani Lone, and the National Conference leader and former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah and also former union Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
Lone had later constituted the Peoples Conference in the 1970’s, after quitting Congress. “Abdul Ghani Lone, with the idea of some change in Jammu and Kashmir, had become important as a political leader”, with mass support in Kupwara. North Kashmir. Lone extended his support to Baig in a couple of subsequent Lok Sabha elections. Baramulla constituency, then comprising Baramulla district of the entire North Kashmir, now comprises three districts, Kupwara carved out in 1979 and Bandipore carved out in 2007.
Describing Abdul Ghani Lone a rebel, who was among several others after having been educated at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Baig said that he (Lone) enquired “about my interest in politics. I was already contesting as an independent candidate, he assured me of his support in Kupwara”, he said.
Muzaffar Hussain Baig as a student in Harvard
Baig added that both of them almost belonged to a similar “deprived background”, and had to suffer together for many years. Abdul Ghani Lone represented his home constituency of Handwara in 1967, 1971 (Cong), 1977 (JP), and Karnah, 1983 (Peoples Conference) both constituencies in the Kupwara district. Things changed with the eruption of militancy late in 1989, leading to a political vacuum.
Having been at the forefront of political activities in Jammu and Kashmir since the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was launched by the former Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in 1999, Baig had “good relations” with top political figures including former PMs, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh. He opines that Vajpayee was “extraordinarily intelligent” and Dr. Manmohan Singh was the most “humble and efficient person”.
Baig equally holds the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in high esteem for his sincerity and clarity of approach. “A Statesman thinks about the next generation and a politician thinks for next elections.’ he said.
On his experiences in the Lok Sabha as a PDP MP from Baramulla between 2014 and 2019, Baig lays importance on the “substance and sincerity in speech” adding that one has to say “things openly for the (welfare of) people”. He hailed the high political qualities of former union Ministers, Ms Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley.
Muzaffar Hussain Baig in his younger days
Given his distinguished legal background, Baig’s association was sought by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed to frame the Constitution of a new political party, which later took the shape of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999. There was a need to float a new party while the Congress and National Conference were the only two national and regional level active political parties in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. Mehbooba Mufti, elected from the home constituency of Beijbehara in Anantnag district in 1996, was the CLP leader in the State Assembly.
Apart from practicing in the US after his post-graduation in the Law, Baig, being a senior counsel practiced extensively in J&K High Court, Delhi High Court, and Supreme Court of India Some of the important cases he had dealt with include the case of Reliance Petrochemicals in the SC, while he was associated with Shardul and Pallavi Shroff & Co in Bombay.
The case about Compulsory Convertible Debentures was being opposed by the senior Advocate, Ram Jethmalani. Quoting a ruling from the House of Lords, London, Baig, appearing for Ambanis asserted on the plea that no person should appear in public in any case while it is sub-juidice. The verdict was in favor of his plea, while the senior lawyer, Ram Jethmalani withdrew from the case. The legal luminaries present included N A Palkivala, Fali S Nariman, and Soli Sorabji.
He soon returned to Kashmir and decided to contest the elections as an independent to “work for the welfare” of the people. In J&K he is known for the Anti-Defection Law, following the new government formation by G M Shah in July 1984. A close associate of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and his son-in-law, G M Shah formed the Government after some of the NC MLAs defected to him from the Chief Minister, Farooq Abdullah. Shah was the J&K Chief Minister from 1984 to November 1986, before Farooq Abdullah again took over after the Rajiv-Farooq Accord.
On the personal front, Baig got married to Safina in 2007, who is the first elected woman Chairperson of the J&K Haj Committee and also the DDC Chairperson of Baramulla.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Ehsan Fazili, Srinagar / August 23rd, 2024
Dehradun, UTTARAKHAND / NEW DELHI / Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :
Dr Syed Farooq with King Charles in London
Dr Syed Farooq, the soft-spoken director of the famous Ayurvedic medicine company Himal Drug, gives all credit of his success to his maternal grandmother whom he called ‘Nani Aapa’. He is so influenced by her that even today his childhood memories revolve around her.
In a special; conversation with Awaz-The Voice, he narrated many stories of his childhood and all were linked to his grandmother.
Dr Syed Farooq was born in 1955 in Dehradun in the family of Syed Rashid Ahmed, a renowned Ayurveda researcher.
He completed his M.Sc, Ph.D, D.Sc degrees from Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University. Apart from this, he completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from AIMA Delhi.
The Delhi-based Dr Syed Farooq is the editor-in-chief of Universities Journal of Phytochemistry and Ayurvedic Medicine. He is also the chairman of Tasmiya All India Education and Social Welfare Society. He was nominated for the Padam Shri Award in the year 2004.
He is the director of Himalaya Drugs and patron of many degree colleges and schools besides being associated with many state and national-level educational institutions.
For the uninitiated, Himalaya Drug Company is an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company based in Bengaluru. It was originally founded in 1930 in Dehradun by Mohammed Manal. It produces healthcare products containing Ayurvedic ingredients under the name Himalaya Herbal Healthcare.
Its operations are spread across India, the United States, the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and Oceania while its products are sold in 106 countries.
Speaking about his days growing up in Dehradun, Dr Syed Farooq says, “My house was in Dehradun and my grandmother’s house was in Muzaffarnagar. We used to go there during summer vacations. In my grandmother’s house, water came from a hand pump that was used by all the neighbours. A portion of the house was made of mud and I liked it very much. It had a pleasant fragrance and remained cool in the summer days.”
He goes on, “I remember that in summers we used to sleep under a Jamun tree and a mosquito net. In the morning, ripe Jamuns would be lying on the mosquito net. The taste of those fruits was so different from what we get today.”
Going down memory lane, Dr. Syed Farooq says, “When I was young, I was fond of hunting and horse riding. I would go far away from home and hunt, there was no restriction. In our orchard, a variety of mangoes grew, and on ripening, we used to enjoy the delicious fruit.”
“When I was studying in a school in Dehradun, I wore a tie as part of my school uniform. Strangers often stopped me and asked me to read a passage or text. Back then children were not afraid of being beaten or abused by elders; people loved children. The line in the poem is that
The elders including unknown people gave blessings to the children while walking on the road. Where are the people who give blessings these days? Now there are neither takers nor givers.
In a philosophical tone, he says people should realise that the colour of hair turns white for a purpose. “Allah changes it to white with age as white symbolises peace.”
Recalling his memories of his Nani Appa, Dr. Syed Farooq said, “My grandmother was a simple lady. Nani Apa was so incredulous that she fell for all the naughty things children did and presented the same differently to her. When the truth was out, she used to complain to our mother and say, “Noor Jahan, my eyes are opened and mind is surprised after seeing your children.”
Nani Apa never sat idle, she always kept doing some work. If there was no work to do, she would sit and talk with the children and listen to stories but she never told them any stories.
Nani Apa loved chaat. If Nani Apa ever felt upset the children offered her a treat of chaat after making her promise that she would not complain to their mothers. “As soon as we got her chaat, Nani Apa would be happy and say, “It’s okay, you are forgiven but never do it again.”
Dr Syed Farooq recalls says he was 10 years old when his grandfather Niaz Ahmed passed away. He was in the police during the British rule. He was a very cheerful and affable person who loved children.
He says his grandfather used interesting phases while narrating stories to the children.
He remembers every moment spent with him; his face while his body lay in the coffin. “I remember that Nana Abba used to sharpen pencils for us with his pocket knife. The pencil tip was sharper than what we get today with a sharpener.”
Dr. Syed Farooq says his great-grandfather Syed Hamid Madani was a businessman. Our great grandfather Syed Mohammad Baranjad Madani lived in Roorkee and was into the carpet business. His great-grandmother hailed from Kashmir.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Mohammad Akram, New Delhi / July 21st, 2024
Abdul Khadar Nadakattin from Dharwad in Karnataka has 24 innovations under his belt.
The niche but problem-solving machines and innovations help farmers with everyday solutions and have also increased their yield up to 25 per cent.
Splashing water on a deep sleeper to wake them up is a clichéd scenario used in many comedy films and on social media. But Abdul Khadar Nadakattin earnestly practised this comedy routine on himself during his school days to wake up early.
A native of the Annigeri village of Dharwad district in Karnataka, Abdul struggled to push himself out of bed in the mornings. “A splash of water on my face was the only solution to wake me up. But I could not expect my parents to do this to me every day,” he tells The Better India.
A then 14-year-old Abdul devised an innovative Wa(h!)ter Alarm. Its functioning was simple — one end of a string was tied to the key of his alarm clock in a manner that when it rang, the thread would unwind itself and the other end was tied to a water bottle. Once the alarm key unwound, the bottle would tilt, and the water would fall on Abdul’s face.
“It helped me wake up and complete my school,” he recalls, laughing. Though he managed to pursue education until Class 10, he did not pursue higher studies.
Abdul at his tamarind plantation
But his water alarm talks led to him speaking of the more serious water issues his village faced. “My father owned 60-acre ancestral land and the water scarcity deterred us from earning good profits from farming. My father admitted that our family’s financial condition was poor and asked me to contribute to the farm. So, I gave up my dream to pursue graduation in agriculture,” the 70-year-old says.
Being deprived of an education did not deter him from thinking out of the box. Little did he know then that the water alarm was the first of many of his innovations .
This farmer has come up with unique ideas to solve everyday farmer problems. To date, Abdul has had 24 innovations under his belt, which benefit thousands of farmers in India. It was for this reason that he won the Padma Shri award in 2022.
Helping Farmers, One Innovation At A Time
“Thomas Alva Edison is the source of my inspiration,” says the scientist who went barefoot to receive the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 at the hands of the then President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. “I always thought of unique ways to solve a problem. That is how I conceived the water alarm. In 1974, I received the ancestral land from my father to continue farming. But interacting with fellow farmers and practising the occupation myself, I learned about the issues of finding labour and other difficulties faced in agriculture.”
Soon after taking over the reins, he built a tiller machine capable of deep ploughing which needed operating by a bullock. “In 1975, I established Vishwashanthi Agricultural Research and Industrial Research Centre to sell the product. But financial constraints did not allow me to market it well, and it failed to take off,” he says.
Later, he also built a plough blade that did not require sharpening and lasted for a long duration compared to others in the market. “The blade did not lose its sharpness, which ensured its long life. It could be attached to a tractor as well,” Abdul adds.
Following this, he built a seed-cum-fertiliser drill that enabled sowing seeds of different sizes with equal spacing. “The equipment is used in sowing a wide variety of seeds from jowar to groundnut. The device also facilitated the dispersal of fertilisers, soil and other organic matter,” he says.
To meet the demands of farmers in Maharashtra, Abdul constructed an automated sugarcane sowing machine. Slowly, his innovations became popular and saw an increase in demand.
Abdul’s 5-in-1 tiller machine
Apart from his innovative pursuit of helping farmers, Abdul also worked to improve the agricultural yield on his farm.
As his father and grandfather suffered losses with erratic rains and limited groundwater reserves, Abdul decided to find an alternative. “In the early 1980s, I planted mango saplings, placed between ber and sapota (chikoo) trees. I planted chillies as an intercrop. But the lack of water killed the plantations. So I switched to growing tamarind as I learned that it required less water and maintenance,” he says.
He sourced 600 saplings and planted them across 6 acres of land by keeping a gap of 20 feet each.
In 1985, the region faced severe droughts, but Abdul managed to source water from a distance of 3 km. “I dug 11 bore wells, but only two yielded water. So I sourced water from a long distance and stored it by creating six farm ponds. They also helped to harvest rainwater during the monsoons. I used the water for flood irrigation of my plantation of 600 saplings,” he says.
“The plants grew well, and feeling confident with its success, I planted more than 1,100 trees in a 10-acre area, making a total of 1,800 saplings,” he says.
But there was another unexpected chapped Abdul faced. “I did not know how to make use of so much tamarind produce. My wife and daughter made pickles and jams to sell in the markets across the state including, neighbouring Hyderabad,” he says.
So, Abdul decided to harvest tamarind and make pickles out of them. “But the process of separating seeds from the tamarind was tedious, and labour shortage made it more difficult. The seeds had to be separated manually and were a time-consuming process,” he explains, building up the crescendo before revealing his next innovation.
After spending nearly Rs 3 lakh and over six months, Abdul conceived a machine that did the job. “The instrument involved a system where the tamarind slid on the tapered peg. This pushed the seeds out from the tamarind pod,” he says, adding that to make tamarind pickles convenient he built yet another device.
“The pickle making required tamarind to be sliced into smaller chunks which again was labour intensive. So, I designed another machine to make the slicing effective and efficient,” Abdul adds.
Over the years, Abdul produced more machines and sold them. His popularity with these niche but problem-solving innovations earned him the name ‘hunase huccha’, meaning ‘tamarind crazy’.
“It was the most difficult innovation of my life as the seeds often got stuck in the tamarind making the separation difficult. I researched and experimented for years to achieve the desired result,” he says.
An Innovation Revolution
Abdul receiving lifetime achievement award at the hands of then President Pranab Mukherji
Abdul has sold thousands of his various innovations to date, he claims with pride.
Shrikanth Jain, one of the farmers who purchased Nadakattin seed-cum-fertilizer drill a few years ago, says, “I used it to sow wheat pulses and other woodgrains. The machine does the job of sowing, dispersing fertiliser, covering the soil, spraying pesticides and saving fuel. It also helps to prevent excess sowing of seeds. Using the device has helped me increase my yield by 20 per cent.”
However, these innovations and his passion for helping the farming fraternity came at a heavy financial loss to Abdul who says, “I struggled with debts all my life and mortgaged part of my agricultural land to invest in research for innovations. I never sell equipment for profits and offer them at make-to-cost, which is about 25 per cent cheaper than the ones in the market. It is a seva (service) for the farmers, and I do not wish to burden them financially.”
Today, Abdul has received funding for his research from the National Innovation Foundation, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad and Karnataka government. He adds, “I received Rs 16 lakh to develop the ploughing machine from the Karnataka government and have also invested other prize money received.”
Elaborating on his innovative process, he says that some innovations happen in months while others take a year or more. “Investing time and money can become very demanding.” But Abdul is relentless and wants to continue his dream of helping farmers. “I believe that the economy of this country runs on farmers. But our community is facing hardships at various levels. I aim to benefit them and ease their difficulty. Innovations can only bring the next revolution in agriculture,” he says.
source: http://www.thebetterindia.com / The Better India / Home> Stories> Innovation> Karnataka / by Himanshu Nitnaware (headline edited) / Edited by Yoshita Rao / February 05th, 2022
It’s the author’s well-founded belief that Salim Ali’s life offers today’s children a role model.
Here’s hope for those young people who are mediocre with mathematics and other studies, and likely to be uninterested in business. Salim (pronounced Saalim, not Saleem) Ali’s interest in birds began to awaken when he shot a male sparrow, standing guard over its mate’s nest, with an air rifle. Next morning he found that another male sparrow had taken its place, and he shot that too… This went on until he had shot eight male sparrows, and then wonderment took the place of whatever had urged him to shoot those sparrows. This wonderment gave his life a foundation of incredible strength. It enabled him to survive the loss of several salaried jobs, and, later, the loss of Tehmina, his wife, who, throughout their 21 years together, supported his efforts wholeheartedly.
This book is his life story, told simply, and for children. It’s the author’s well-founded belief that Salim Ali’s life offers today’s children a role model.
The author makes no effort to sugar-coat the story. Salim’s initial difficulties with academics are covered in some detail, as well as mediocre performance in school, and his inability, found in many others of his extended family, to run a business successfully. This mediocrity at school had nothing to with his powers of observation, though. For example, it was known that the houbara bustard he saw in Sind (now in Pakistan), under normal hot and dry conditions, has a colour that affords perfect camouflage, enabling it to hide easily in the sand. Salim discovered, however, that the bustard’s colour changes in the rains, enabling it to hide in wet sand as well!
Also included is the story of Salim’s relationship with Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, a former British Intelligence officer. The Colonel’s claims to being a hero might have been authentic, but his claims as an ornithologist were proven false in the 1990s, decades after his death. It illustrates Salim’s naivete with people, but also warns youngsters of the possibility of charlatanry in science.
My favourite story, though, is about Salim’s encounter with a bandit in the summer of 1945. Near the Tibetan border, poking around among the bushes, he saw a bandit armed with a dagger and a rifle. Escape was impossible, so he resorted to a ruse. He had a collapsible chair, a small folding seat on a stick. He pretended that the stick was a rifle barrel, and clicked the folding seat open to give the impression that he was loading and cocking his own rifle. It worked, for the bandit fled.
So here’s proof that commitment, integrity, and hard work — combined with observation, quick thinking, and luck — will get you where a great academic background won’t. A terrific lesson for youngsters, and packaged well, to boot.
The Bird Man of India: Salim Ali for Children
By Zai Whitaker / Hachette / pp. 142; Rs 350
source: http://www.asianage.com / Asian Age / Home> Books / by Shashi Warrier / August 27th, 2023
Ex bureaucrat Moosa Raza has passed away in Chennai on Thursday. He was 87. He is survived by his son and two daughters.
Moosa Raza’s life is a testament to dedication, integrity, and a deep-rooted commitment to public service. Born on 27th February 1937 in Minambur, a small village in Tamil Nadu, India, Moosa Raza’s journey from humble beginnings to becoming a respected bureaucrat and prolific writer is marked by his unwavering principles and tireless efforts to make a positive impact on society.
Education played a pivotal role in shaping Moosa Raza’s worldview. He displayed exceptional academic prowess from a young age, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in English Language and Literature from Madras Presidency College, now Presidency College, Chennai. His academic achievements were exceptional, winning seven college medals across various disciplines. This included a First Class First in his degree, a testament to his dedication and intellectual acumen.
In 1958, Moosa Raza embarked on a dual path of academia and civil service. He was appointed as an Assistant Professor of English at Presidency College, his alma mater, while also preparing for the prestigious Indian Administrative Service (IAS) examinations. His commitment to both teaching and public service underscored his multifaceted talents and passion for contributing to society.
In 1960, Moosa Raza’s dedication paid off as he was selected for the Indian Administrative Service for Gujarat in his first attempt. This marked the beginning of a distinguished career that spanned over three decades and left an indelible mark on India’s administrative landscape.
Throughout his career, Moosa Raza held several key positions that showcased his leadership abilities and commitment to public welfare. He served as Collector and District Magistrate in various districts of Gujarat, managing critical responsibilities such as flood relief operations and drought management with unparalleled dedication and effectiveness. His tenure as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Gujarat and later as Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir demonstrated his administrative acumen in handling complex governance challenges.
Moosa Raza’s contributions extended beyond government service. He played pivotal roles in prestigious industrial and commercial enterprises, including chairing the National Textiles Corporation and Gujarat State Fertilizers Company Ltd. His strategic leadership helped turn around struggling enterprises, saving thousands of jobs and contributing to Gujarat’s industrial growth.
In recognition of his exemplary service and contributions to society, Moosa Raza was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2010, one of India’s highest civilian honors. This prestigious accolade is a testament to his lasting impact and dedication to public welfare.
Apart from his illustrious bureaucratic career, Moosa Raza is also a celebrated author. His book “Of Nawabs and Nightingales” offers a glimpse into his early experiences in the Indian Administrative Service, showcasing his keen observations and insights into governance and society. He has also authored books on spirituality and personal reflections, such as “In Search of Oneness” and “Khwab-e-Natamaam” (Incomplete Dreams), showcasing his diverse literary interests and philosophical depth.
Moosa Raza’s contributions go beyond professional achievements. He has been actively involved in educational initiatives, serving as the chairman of the South Indian Educational Trust (S.I.E.T.) and supporting initiatives for women’s education, dyslexic children, and communal harmony.
In his personal life, Moosa Raza is a devoted husband and father, exemplifying the values of family and community that underpin his life’s work.
Moosa Raza’s journey from a small village in Tamil Nadu to a revered bureaucrat, accomplished author, and dedicated advocate for societal progress embodies the essence of service, leadership, and intellectual pursuit. His life and legacy continue to inspire generations, reminding us of the transformative power of individuals committed to making a positive difference in the world.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Indian Muslim> Obituary / by Muslim Mirror / May 08th, 2024
It was December 2001. I was at Dr Rafiq Zakaria’s beautiful, book-lined study at Cuffe Parade house in South Mumbai. In that spacious room Allama Iqbal vied for space with William Wordsworth and Mirza Ghalib sat alongside Shakespeare. World religions and their prophets and pundits were there in plenty. So were heroes and heroines of India’s freedom struggle. Present also were a few villains amidst a pantheon of popular leaders. Muhammad Ali Jinnah could not have been absent. He was there too.
In fact, Jinnah those days was in the intellectual air on both sides of the Indo-Pak border. The Outlook magazine had sent Dr Rafiq Zakaria’s book on Jinnah ‘The Man Who Divided India’ to noted Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi for review and he had panned the book. In the review Sethi had also suggested that Dr Zakaria should have heeded advice of his wife Fatma Zakaria who had tried to stop him from wiring the book, suggesting, “I think you should leave Jinnah alone for a while.” Dr Zakaria had written a rejoinder to Sethi’s piece and explained that he could not help but write about a man responsible for not just dividing India but breaking the social cohesion of the subcontinent Muslims. First, Muslims were divided between two countries–India and Pakistan. Subsequently, a part of Pakistan broke away, leaving Muslims divided in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The blood-curdling riots that accompanied these divisions had left Dr Zakaria deeply disturbed and could not rest till he took the grief off his chest.
While he gave an interview to me for the ‘Indian Express” on why he wrote this book and the debate it had generated, he told his office staff that he would not entertain any telephone calls or visitors for the next one hour. Dr Zakaria was holding forth forcefully in the closed room when unexpectedly and suddenly the door opened and Fatma Zakaria, in yellow salwar-kameez clutching a page, breezed in. “The secretary is so terrified after you asked her not to disturb you that she pleaded with me to come. This needs your signature and has to be faxed urgently,” Fatma said, got the paper signed and left quickly.
The Zakarias, husband and wife, complimented each other. One half left in 2005. The better half departed yesterday. She was 85. Her famous son, US-based author and Television anchor Fareed Zakaria couldn’t have encapsulated his feelings in a tweet better than this: “My mother, Fatma Zakaria, passed away last night at 85. She lived a long, rich, eventful life, with children and grandchildren whom she adored. She loved this photograph.” The photograph that I use with this essay is the one Fareed Zakaria tweeted. She is survived by, apart from Fareed, her son Arshad Zakaria and step son Mansoor Zakaria and step daughter Tasneem Mehta Zakaria.
Life was never the same again in Mumbai after Dr Rafiq Zakaria had exited. Life at the beautiful educational campus Dr Rafiq Zakaria built in Aurangabad will never be the same again after Fatma Zakaria’s departure. After Dr Zakaria’s death in 2005, Fatma had stepped in to carry on the educational legacy her famous educationist, politician and Islamic scholar husband had left behind.
As you enter the green campus, a sense of gratitude for the Zakarias grips you. For years, Dr Zakaria and then his wife Fatma nursed this seat of learning, endowing it with institutions of repute. Most politicians use their constituencies to scale heights and abandon them once they leave politics and walk into sunset. Few remain clung to their constituencies till they die. Dr Rafiq Zakaria belonged to the second category. “He is the architect of modern Aurangabad and Mrs. Fatma Zakaria was a big pillar of support to him. I don’t think Dr Zakaria could have done so much in the fields of politics, education and scholarship without her,” says eminent Urdu scholar and linguist Prof Abdus Sattar Dalvi who have known the Zakarias for the last five decades. Prof Dalvi had also translated Dr Zakaria’s seminal work Iqbal: Poet and Politician in Urdu.
Fatma was Dr Zakaria’s first reader and critic too. With their children flown out of the nest and into the wider world where they planted victory flags on as varied fields as Investment Banking and Journalism, it was Fatma who provided the much-needed inputs as well as emotional support to Zakaria who heads so many institutions and i wrote so prolifically till his end.
Fatma had worked under legendary editor and ‘dream boss’ of every fledgling journalist, Khushwant Singh, and knew how to curb verbosity in a sentence and straighten a complex paragraph. In book after book that Dr Zakaria churned out, he acknowledged the unpaid services of this able, inhouse editor. She knew Urdu too and could write on arts and literature with as much felicity as she could do political pieces. The biggies she had interviewed included Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher and Jaya Prakash Narayan.
Bachi Karkaria, M J Akbar, Bikram Vora, Jiggs Kalra, Badshah Sen and Ramesh Chandran were her contemporaries when they worked with “The Illustrated Weekly of India” under the stewardship of Khushwant Singh. When I informed Akbar about Fatma’s death yesterday, he reacted with a few words: “What a tragedy. I am saddened.” Akbar was so close to the Zakarias that once I heard him saying, “I feel adopted by the Zakarias.” Perhaps no book launch of Dr Zakaria–and he had at least one or two every year—was held without Akbar as one of the speakers. The speed with which Dr Zakria wrote books, published and launched them left us youngsters amazed. I once joked when he informed me about the launch of yet another book: “Dr Sahab, now I have left count of the number of your book launches and book readings I have attended.” This couldn’t have been possible without the meticulous planning Fatma Zakaria did and tireless support she provided.
It was the launch of Zakaria’s book ” Indian Muslims: Where Have they Gone Wrong?” at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai. The 900-odd capacity auditorium was houseful with young college students (Dr Zakaria and, Fatma after him, was chairperson of the Maharashtra College in Mumbai) occupying a substantial number of seats. As always, Fatma Zakaria didn’t figure among those who graced the stage. When Akbar rose to speak, he inquired about Fatma Zakaria who was seated among the audience. Akbar requested her to come on stage. She refused and was seemingly embarrassed for being invited to the stage. Leaving her to where she felt comfortable, Akbar went on to say: “It is only Dr Rafiq Zakaria who can turn a book launch into a public meeting.”
A couple of years after Dr Zakaria’s death, Islamic scholar and secretary general of the Wisdom Foundation, Dr Zeenat Shaukat Ali, and I were in Aurangabad to participate in a seminar political scientist Dr Zaheer Ali had organized. Historian and ex-VC of Jamia Millia Islamia Prof Mushirul Hasan too had flown in from Delhi. After the seminar, Zeenat Shaukat Ali and I went to see Fatma Zakaria in her office. She was in fine fettle, command of things and ran the show meticulously. We chatted for a while and then she told us not to leave without visiting Dr Sahab’s grave on the same campus.
Zeenat Shaukat Ali and I walked down the paved pathway and reached a small patch of land where Dr Zakaria’s open-to-sky grave squats. With several couplets of Allama Iqbal adorning the place, it resembles a Sufi saint’s last resting place. After a long, eventful life, Fatma Zakaria joined her husband. They will be there till the creator calls them up, along with all of us, on the Judgement Day.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India / by Mohammed Wajihuddin in Beyond the Burqa, India, TOI / April 07th, 2021
Shareef Chacha who received Padma Shri award from President
A few days ago, when President Ram Nath Kovind presented Padma Awards, the Social Media went abuzz with claims that the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has transformed an earlier elite award into a people’s award. Awardees like Tulsi Gowda, Mohammad Sharif, Bhuri Bai, and others represent those who had worked at the grass-root level. Earlier the award was mostly given to a select band of people who had access to corridors of power in Lutyen’s Delhi; many deserving Indians were ignored.
The optics of Padma awards and the chatter around it made me look into the veracity of these claims. As an Indian Muslim, my primary interest was to understand that how Muslims are represented at the Padma Awards over the year and if there was a change in the attitude of the givers of the awards. The first Padma Awards were presented in 1954. So far, 4,827 persons have been conferred the awards. Muslims are under-represented in these awards. With a population share of around 14%, only 7.5% of the awardees were Muslims, including some foreigners. However, the list of awardees for the years 2020 and 2021 that were conferred on recently, Muslims had all the time higher share. The two lists had 24 of the 260 Padma Awardees who are Muslims, 9.23%.
Padma Vibhushan
Coming to Padma Awards, the second-highest civilian honour after Bharat Ratna, that and is awarded for exceptional and distinguished services, I worked with figures of Muslims over the years since 1954. So far 321 people have been bestowed upon Padma Vibhushan. If we look at different regimes, it’s interesting to note that Muslims fared worse during the PV Narasimha Rao-led Congress government and Janata Dal governments of 1997 – 98. During these six years, out of a total of 14 Padma Vibhushan, no Muslim name figured in the list of the prestigious awardees. Interestingly, only 2 Muslims receive the award in 9 years of Jawaharlal Nehru’s premiership. One of them was Zakir Husain, who was later awarded a Bharat Ratna as well. Indira Gandhi oversaw 14 Padma award ceremonies during her two spells as Prime Minister and in this period, 7 Muslims were among a total of 73 honoured. Ten years of Manmohan Singh-led UPA government witnessed 6 Muslims receiving the award, while 5 Muslims received it in seven years of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government. Considering a category of PMs who completed a full term, 13.33% of Padma Vibhushan were awarded to Muslims during the Rajiv Gandhi era followed by Narendra Modi, in whose times 10.64% of the awards went to Muslims.
Padma Bhushan
Padma Bhushan is awarded for distinguished service of higher order. To date, 1281, including 95 Muslims, people have received this award. This is at 7.42%, not commiserating with their population. Like Padma Vidhushan, no Muslim was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1997 and 1998. During Nehru’s time (1954-63) 14 Muslims of the total 156 received the award. The Muslim show was very dismal in the first five years of the present regime with one award for the community. However, in the last two editions, we saw 4 Muslims being awarded Padma Bhushan. Of 26 awardees in the two years, 15.38% were Muslims.
Padma Shri
Padma Shri, awarded for distinguished service has since been conferred on 3,225 Persons. In the first 9 editions, only 9 Muslims were among 187 recipients. A period from 1966 to 1983, saw increased representation when 62 (out of 775), awardees were Muslims (9.29%). In the next five years, 23 more Muslims were awarded and it rose to 10.70%. In the 90s, Muslims representation dipped below 5% as fewer Muslims received Padma Shri. In the last two editions, 8.64% of the recipients were Muslims, a very positive surge that creates optimism.
The figures represent only a larger picture. A closer look reveals that a changed nomination policy for Padma Awards is at work. In 2017, the government opened the nominations for the common Indians as against the system of ministers and members of the government forwarding the names and a committee headed by the PM finalising the list of awardees. The government’s social media campaigns encouraged the people to nominate genuinely deserving and unsung heroes. Earlier, the system encouraged the well-connected people with links to the corridors of power to be nominated and get awarded.
In the new policy, people working at the grassroots are being nominated by the common man. As a result, we see people like Ali Manikfan, Abdul Ghafur Khatri, Mohammad Sharif, and Shahabuddin Rathod receiving the Padma awards. Apart from the fact that there is a positive surge in Muslim representation in these awards, the awards have grown to be more inclusive. Muslims from lower castes, backward regions, and non-elite backgrounds are being honoured. Larger participation of communities and people living at the margins, on social media has ensured that people working among them, and from them, are recognized.
(Saquib Salim is a Writer and a Historian)
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Saquib Salim / February 2022
