In a historic moment, Hamza Hussain and Altaf Hussain, two brothers serving in Karnataka’s law enforcement, have been honored with the President’s Award for Meritorious Service on India’s 76th Republic Day.
Hamza Hussain, Superintendent of Police (S.P.) Commandant, 12th Battalion, KSRP, Tumkur, has been recognized for his leadership in critical police operations and public safety. His brother, Altaf Hussain, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) at Wilson Garden Police Station, Bangalore, has played a vital role in crime prevention and community policing.
The award, one of the highest honors in Indian law enforcement, acknowledges their dedication, integrity, and commitment to justice. Their achievement is a proud moment for Karnataka and the nation, inspiring future generations of police officers.
The brothers expressed their gratitude, stating, “This award is a tribute to all officers who tirelessly serve the nation. We dedicate it to our department, colleagues, and family for their unwavering support.”
Their recognition on Republic Day underscores their exceptional service in upholding law and order, marking a milestone in Karnataka’s police history.
source: http://www.islamicvoice.com / Islamic Voice / Home> Cover Story / Vol. 37-03, No. 448 March 2025
He can afford to hand out fistfuls of Liv.52 to anyone feeling liverish, although he would prefer to sell the pill. As Meraj Manal says, one Liv.52 is bought every second somewhere in the world. The only ayurveda pill among the 12 bestselling medications in India, Liv.52 has powered its manufacturer The Himalaya Drug Co into the ranks of Big Pharma in India.
But ask Manal to sell a slice of his privately-held company and you are shown the door. Many consumer care companies have tried to acquire a stake in Bangalore-based Himalaya. Dealmakers know it is not up for sale, but they do not give up hope or stop making bids.
Why should they? Himalaya, started by Manal’s father, the late M. Manal, in 1930 to make herbal tablets in the Himalayan town of Dehradun, is today an established brand in over 70 countries with about 160 products – 66 in pharma, 63 in personal care, nine in baby care and 22 in animal care.
After India, its three top markets are West Asia, Russia and the CIS, and South East Asia. In 1999, Himalaya took its personal care range into global markets, piggybacking the equity of its pharma products.
Figures are not available, but Manal says turnover has crossed Rs 1,000 crore on the back of Liv.52, some similar pills and the personal care products. “Liv.52 is one of the biggest successes of my father,” says Manal, Chairman of Himalaya Global Holdings, which owns the nine operating subsidiaries in different regions.
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I get 3 or 4 offers a year: Meraj Manal
Meraj Manal, 62, has always let his business heads to do the talking. In a rare interview with BT’s K.R. Balasubramanyam, he explains why he does not want outside investments, and why values count more than profits. Edited excerpts
How did your father get into the herbal medicine business? My father spent his lifetime gathering knowledge about traditional household remedies, standardising them, testing them for safety and efficacy and demonstrating them to doctors. He was the first who thought of producing herbal medicines in tablet form so doctors can prescribe them… Whenever he heard about a remedy, he would jot it down on a plain card to work on them later. We have tens of thousands of such cards stored in boxes. Our toothpaste is a product from one such card scribbled 40 years ago.
Why are you still not a public company? I don’t want a rupee from anyone other than the bank, because it is difficult to explain what we do to a shareholder. Can I accept outside investments and allow these cards (pointing to the stacks of his father’s cards) to disappear? Our whole philosophy, our value system is so different, how do I explain this to investors? All my children – four daughters and three sons – think so.
Do you get offers? I receive three or four offers a year. Multinationals have spoken to me and one of them even said we are the nugget of the herbal industry. If I accept these offers and put that money in a bank, I would no doubt get millions every month… What will I do with that money? I don’t want the liability of someone else’s money with me, big or small. Once you accept outside investment, they will start advising us on things like cutting the number of curries in the lunch at our canteen… or the staff transport. They will ask us why you are doing this and that. There is no “why” here. This is how it is. Since we are closely held, I have the luxury to say profits are not everything.
How much of your revenues goes into R&D? In this company, there is no limit on expenses on R&D. That is the only division without a budget. These (pointing to the cards) have to be converted into products.
How are you professionalising the company? As you grow, you need people who know more than you do. You cannot reach the next step unless you professionalise…. We will reserve the holding company for family members and the subsidiaries will have only professionals. We have separated ownership from management. Family members will be responsible for nurturing our value system. I don’t want family members on the business side. If they have energy, they are free to go out and pursue their interests.
So a family member becomes part of the holding company by default? Admission is not by default. They must have something to contribute….My son heads the US business, and not because he is my son, but because he is a professional who knows the US market the best. He is doing remarkably well.
What about this Deputy Chairman’s post? I created the post two years ago and appointed Ravi Prasad for a very special reason. To send a strong message that the operational head does not have to be a Manal. People were astonished and are happy about the decision. Like any CEO of any other region, my son too reports to Ravi. (Ravi Prasad was elevated as Executive Chairman in October. He leads the global management team.)
Are you satisfied with your growth? The growth we have had is more than satisfactory. If I want more than that, then we are greedy. We crossed Rs 1,000 crore in revenues last year. I don’t know much about finances. Professionals handle that. I just sign on the papers. …When I joined the business in 1965, the revenues were Rs 40 lakh…. The way we are growing in North and South America tells me that 20 years from now, they could possibly be our largest markets by volume.
Where is Himalaya headed? We will never move from our core competence. I am not for diversifying. I am not a person who can do other things. Opportunities for growth are unlimited and there is no real need to diversify. Our global operations have taught us many things. The country does not matter. As long as there are homes with people, we will go there.
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Research backbone Although Himalaya’s reliance on Liv.52 has come down after both its new as well as old pharma products picked up steam in the market, and it launched personal care products, it all began with this blockbuster, whose recipe was among the many jotted down by Manal’s father on a card.
(Himalaya’s future lies in thousands of similar cards with notes that are stacked in boxes in Manal’s room.) The 52nd formula was a hit. Manal senior’s aim had been to make herbal remedies available in tablet form, scientifically tested for efficacy, identified by name and prescribed by doctors. The passion for research continues.
Ravi Prasad
Himalaya has raised its research, development and manufacturing standards so that its products clear regulatory hurdles abroad. “Apart from ayurvedic institutions, we also do clinical trials in leading allopathic institutions both in India and abroad,” says Ravi Prasad, Executive Chairman of Himalaya Drug Company, who leads the team of professionals worldwide.
“The regulatory picture is not clear in many countries and in some countries our standards have been recognised as the benchmark,” he says. Himalaya’s R&D facility, he says, is one of the biggest for an ayurveda manufacturer, with about 120 multidisciplinary scientists. As Manal proudly declares, R&D is the “backbone” of the company.
Himalaya knows the key to growth lies in its ability to create more patents. The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted it patents for its sunscreen, under-eye cream, laxative, sedative, immunestimulant, anti-acne range and hairloss cream, and 76 applications are pending. It has just released in the US markets a new type of tablet in which the binders are also derived from herbs. “No company has done this before, and we have filed for a process patent,” says Ravi Prasad. Until the 1990s, Himalaya’s portfolio had only pharma remedies. It entered the equally lucrative consumer care market with some 20 products under the Ayurvedic Concepts range in 2001. Two years later, it created the umbrella brand Himalaya Herbal Healthcare. It also began opening exclusive outlets: there are 130 shops in India and 25 in Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa and the Cayman Islands.
Dream run According to Ravi Prasad, Himalaya’s personal care products are growing much faster globally than pharma products, because pharma faces tough regulations in some countries. As of now, Himalaya gets 58 per cent of its revenues from pharma products, but that seems set to change. Saket Gore, Business Head of the consumer products division, says: “Today, we are the market leaders in face washes in the UAE, India and Malaysia.”
According to The Nielsen Co figures for April-June 2010, Himalaya face washes had a 17.8 per cent market share in India, less than two percentage points behind multinationals Hindustan Unilever Ltd and L’Oreal. Himalaya’s individual products also face competition from firms that are strong in one or just a few products, such as Colgate in toothpaste and Fair & Lovely in face masks. Doctors have been Himalaya’s biggest brand ambassadors in pharmaceuticals.
Philipe Haydon, President & CEO for pharmaceuticals, says Himalaya is in touch with about 3.75 lakh doctors and reaches 94 per cent of pharma retailers. “We are the modern face of ayurveda in India and our medical representatives promote products with scientific detailing,” says Haydon, who is also the CEO of the Asia Pacific region. In ayurveda retail, Himalaya competes with the likes of Dabur, Charak, and Baidyanath
Source: Indian Pharmaceutical Market rankings based on Org SSA report / Aug 2010
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Internationally, consumer care and pharma contribute equally to revenues. “In 20 years from now, North and South America could possibly be our largest markets by volume. They are very big on herbal medicine,” says Manal. These markets are headed by his son Nabeel, 36.
The Prognosis Industry observers believe that while Himalaya has built a cult in Liv.52, it needs more such blockbusters to make up for its low-key marketing and a distribution network weaker than that of rivals such as Dabur India.
“Today, the brand Himalaya is recognised and closely associated as a natural remedy, but on the personal-care front it sends out no cues to a consumer. This is important in the FMCG category where it competes with many others,” observes Kannan Sitaram, a former chief operating officer of Dabur.
Analysts say that opening shop-in-shops and branded stores is a good strategy. “But brandbuilding investments are required so that consumers will walk into a shop only for the Himalaya display. Also, being positioned as a mass brand, it needs greater presence and investment in distribution,” says Sitaram. But the company has to figure out if its returns are justified. “After all, rentals are going up,” he says.
In pharma, Himalaya is stronger. “It has very sharply- positioned products for the eyes, liver, bones and so on. It is also present in areas that are not crowded. Besides, it spends huge sums on R&D and can compete with some of the best pharma companies in India,” says R.B. Smarta, Managing Director, Interlink Marketing Consultancy.
This also gives it an edge in global markets, where the demand for natural, ayurvedic and herbal remedies is growing. “They have very precise and extensive documentation on each of their ingredients, that can withstand the rigor of clinical trials. Their patents also stand them in good stead,” says Smarta.
By buying raw materials directly from growers, collectors and nongovernmental organisations, Himalaya keeps costs under control. Recently, it signed an agreement with the Sikkim government to prepare farmers in organic farming of herbs and sustainable collection. In September, Himalaya, along with a few others, came under fire from the Centre for Science and Environment or CSE, which claimed that Himalaya’s honey contained antibiotics beyond the stipulated standards. Ravi Prasad denies the charge. “The same batch was tested at three independent laboratories and none found any trace of antibiotics.
Our technical team will soon meet the CSE with these findings and seek its comments,” he says.
No entry Manal does not run day-to-day affairs and has professionalised the company by elevating Ravi Prasad as the executive head, so that his father’s legacy grows independent of the family. “My father’s life’s mission was to help people and we will move in his footsteps,” says Manal, who follows the modest example set by his father. (In September, when Ravi Prasad called on Manal at his apartment in Dubai, the chairman travelled with him to Himalaya’s office in the Metro and then took a bus to attend another meeting.)
Of Manal’s seven children, only Nabeel works for the company. Two daughters are married and homemakers, and the other two daughters and a son are still studying. One son works in the financial sector in the US. Manal is content with bank funding, and proud of his 40-yearold relationship with Union Bank of India. In turn, M.V. Nair, the bank’s Chairman and Managing Director, says its long relationship with Himalaya is a wonderful example of a banker- entrepreneur growth story.
Himayala’s requirement of funds depends on projects. It borrowed Rs 100 crore two years ago from the bank to make its manufacturing unit in Bangalore compliant with European and American standards.
Dealmakers and investment bankers are not put off by Manal’s “No Entry” board. Recently a personal-care multinational contacted Bangalore’s Viedea Capital Advisors, looking for a sizeable stake in Himalaya. Deepak Srinath, cofounder of Viedea, says: “The management did not entertain any conversation on the subject.”
Himalaya, Srinath says, is a dream mandate for any investment banker because it has all the ingredients that a PE or strategic investor looks for – a highly credible brand name, an impressive product portfolio, a professional management and profitability.
“Also, the promoters have a reputation for being ethical,” says Srinath. According to the India head of an American PE firm, Himalaya is an ideal target since its capex needs are not large and can be met by internal accruals and bank funding. Such companies usually give robust returns.
But Manal is focused on different things: “The scope for growth is unlimited. As long as there are homes with people, that family is our customer. We don’t recognise borders.”
With inputs by Shamni Pande
source: http://www.businesstoday.in / Business Today.in / Home> News> BT Magazine> Features / by K R Balasubramanyam / Print edition / November 28th, 2010
In an interview with The Global Hues, three cousins from Bengaluru – Zeeshan Javid, Zufishan Pasha, and Shehzar Sheriff shared their incredible journey of mission milk ensuring milk supply to impoverished kids in their city since the onset of the first lockdown in April 2020.
In what would arguably be the largest mass exodus in the history of independent India, the plight of migrant workers and their kids — stranded, exhausted, physically battered, mentally drained, forced to travel hundreds of miles on foot, often on hungry stomachs and with no money to get by — brought to the fore the vulnerability, dread, and agony of millions. As the centre and state governments tried their best to ensure the supply of essentials to the needy, milk (a basic source of nutrition for kids ) was being overlooked.
Realizing the urgency of this salient requirement, these young cousins from Bengaluru began Mission Milk in April 2020. The idea of Mission Milk originated with a ration distribution drive that was conducted by the families of this trio. Zufishan recounts how once while conducting these drives, a group of really poor migrant workers had approached them with the woes of their children who often had to go to bed hungry as it wasn’t always plausible to make arrangements to cook the dal and rice that they would receive through the ration kit distribution.
“We are lucky enough to be in a situation where we don’t necessarily have to worry about basic needs such as food,” says Zeeshan. It was a sense of empathy and personal responsibility they felt regarding the condition of poverty-stricken children going hungry during the pandemic that birthed the idea of “Mission Milk”. Today, they are distributing about 500 liters of milk a day throughout the city.
Why Milk?
While brainstorming ways to help out these kids, they came up with the idea of distributing milk. Compared to ration kits, which would sometimes cost up to 3000 rupees per kit, milk was relatively cheap. Moreover, distributing milk which costs around rupees 37 per liter would allow for more people to help out at their capacity. Even a child could help out the needy with milk by saving up some money from his weekly allowances. This would allow for a wider network to join hands with the initiative and amplify its reach.
Remaining faithful to their tagline “By the youth, For the children”, they aspired to take the mission in a direction that surged youth participation, not only for the sake of the children but also for their personal growth as humble individuals. Mission Milk believes in giving back to society by helping the distraught in times of need, such as the pandemic. It teaches one humility and compassion and makes one feel grateful about their own situation.
A Movement To Inspire
Zeeshan, the co-founder of Mission Milk tells us that their goal was to spark a nationwide movement where people felt stirred enough to organize similar initiatives in their cities to help out the needy. He tells us that theirs is not an organization with any secrets which aspires for popularity or recognition. They have put up several videos on their platform showcasing methods to implement such initiatives anywhere in the country. The idea behind its inception is to galvanize people, especially the youth, to take prompt actions in improving the condition of their immediate neighborhoods.
The goal is to allow this movement to set off the build-up of similar organizations like theirs which work dedicatedly in their areas & capacities for the benefit of those hit severely by the pandemic. In the words of Shehzar (co-founder, Mission Milk) “It has been the immense motivation received from donors, milk angels ( anybody who has been involved with mission milk), and the joy on children’s faces that has kept them going at it tirelessly”.
Functioning Of Mission Milk
The first step involves the collection of funds which is followed by a survey to analyze the number of families and kids in a designated area who could benefit from the initiative. To make this happen, local volunteers are chosen who have a better idea about the demographics of the area and are aware of the location of dairy points. An agreement is set up with the dairy partner regarding the designated packets that the local volunteers would be buying to distribute.
A decentralized and adaptable approach is used whereby the local volunteers are free to buy and distribute milk as per the requirement of the community. For example, migration workers who were leaving for train stations as the lockdown was announced last year, were provided with tetra milk packets that guaranteed longevity and did not require refrigeration or heating to be consumed. Taking assistance from the already available databases of various NGOs, they could ensure better reach to those in need. It helped them nearly double their reach.
A decentralized approach of Mission Milk makes local and NGO volunteers work hand in hand in surveying new places and estimating their requirements.
After getting repeated requests from orphanages throughout Bangalore, they have recently started distributing milk to around 5 orphanages in different parts of the city during the second wave of the pandemic.
source: youtube.com
COVID-19 Care :
Their job simply doesn’t end at distributing milk. With the help of local volunteers, information regarding covid-19 safety is spread throughout the communities they serve. The volunteers make sure to make use of masks, sanitizers, and gloves not just for their own safety but also to set an example for these communities.
Overcoming Barriers
“Funding was a roadblock initially but things fall in place once you get into the thick of things and begin the work”
Zeeshan exclaimed. Updates about their activities are regularly given to the donors through texts to maintain accountability and trust. The creation of a fundraising page was premier in helping them gather enough funds to get the mission started. With the second wave of the pandemic hitting people much closer to home, it was not feasible to gather enough volunteers to do the job. This situation was grappled with by seeking help from local NGO volunteers who were dedicated enough to carry out these services during the pandemic.
Delivering milk before it gets spoiled was another challenge that was overcome by coordinating timings with the local milk vendor and making timely deliveries. Future plans of this organization involve getting registered as an authentic company or a trust to spread their reach nationwide and help as many as possible.
source: http://www.theglobalhues.com / The Global Hues / Home> Interview> Magazine / by The Global Hues / May 31st, 2021
Mohammed Anees was in the 3rd standard and on his way to Baldwin Boys high School, where he studied, when he laid eyes on the first one. It was run over by a truck and the hind part of its tail smashed on the tarmac.
But, little Mohammed, picked it up, put it in his school bag and took it to school. During class, somehow it managed to wriggle out. In no time the whole class was screaming, and Mohammed got beaten by his class teacher, his Principal, and later in the day by his parents and then his uncles, in that order.
It was Mohammed’s first encounter with the species.
The snake.
Since that fateful day, which he remembers with a sheepish grin, Mohammed has rescued caught and rehabilitated more than 2500 snakes, earning him the title ” The Snake Charmer of Bangalore”.
From Majestic to Shivajinagar, residents remember him fondly as the man who ‘charmed’ hundreds of poisonous snakes out of their compounds and houses.
Online Bangalore met up with this extraordinary human who snaked his way into our hearts. He talks fondly of his undying love for snakes, their habitats and our relationship with the most misunderstood of God’s creatures. As we seated ourselves on his balcony, and sipped tea, Mohammed unwraps a cloth covered glass tank, and displays to us two baby snakes, each about 15 centimeters long.
With one eye on these beautiful specimens, and the other on Mohammed, their guardian, we start the conversation.
What Snakes are these? These are baby Trinkets. And this is for the first time in India that they are being bred in captivity. I found their mother almost dead. I brought her home, and nurtured her. She laid 8 eggs. These are the two which hatched ( He tosses in a baby lizard into the tank as feed).
Contrary to what the reptile theoreticians assume, it took 85 days for them to hatch. They said 45 to 50 days. I have proved them wrong. Until you do it by yourself, you’ll never know for sure.
Have you bred any other snakes in captivity before? Yes. I have incubated, hatched and raised 17 cobras in captivity.
When and where was your earliest contact with snakes? On my uncles farm in Chickballapur. It was punishment transfer according to my folks, ‘coz I’d fared badly in my 10th standard exams. But for me, it was some of the greatest days of my life, as I would catch lots of snakes and then release them in the nearby forests. I guess I became an expert from those days on the farm.
How did you become popular as a snake catcher in Bangalore? After I moved to Bangalore after the farm days, I used to help catch snakes initially from the houses of my friends and relatives. Gradually the word spread and then people from all parts of the city started calling me.
Which parts of Bangalore are most infested with snakes? The whole of Bangalore actually. But, the most densely infested areas are Kamanahalli, Bashweshwar Nagar, HAL – Indiranagar, Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Giri Nagar areas.
Which were your biggest and memorable catches upto date? The biggest catch was 57 snakes from the compound of the Drug Testing Laboratory and 21 snakes from the compound of the residence of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, then Mr. Bhaskar Rao, both on the same road.
What is the reaction of the people after you catch the snakes. Relieved naturally. But, I’m surprised at the concern that the people of Bangalore have for snakes. In some cases, after they find out that the snake is not poisonous, they have requested me to release it there itself. Having a non poisonous snake in your yard is actually a prevention against poisonous ones and they also get rid of all the rodents.
Do you have anybody to assist you? Earlier, I was alone, but now I have about 16 persons who have been trained by me.
What is your ‘modus operandi’ so to speak? We are alerted of the presence of snakes by phone calls. We then reach the spot immediately and trace out the snake. The catch is made usually with bare hands, but we use the hook at times when we have to get them out of holes or crevasses. We then put them into specially made snake bags that are 4 feet long and then bring them to my house where they are then placed in snake boxes. After a gap of 7-8 days, we then take them to the Banerghatta forest where they are released in the presence of the Government Forest officer.
Where do these snakes normally tend to hide? Almost anywhere actually. I have caught them from ceiling fans, inside car bonnets, motorbikes, suitcases…..practically everywhere.
What are the varieties common to Bangalore? Cobras, which are poisonous and rat snakes which are non-poisonous. In all there are 19 varieties of snakes in Bangalore, (though the theoreticians wrongly state 21) including the big four poisonous snakes. In fact after all these years I can tell where the snake is from when I see it. The ones from Bashweshwar Nagar area have a dark tinge to their skin, while those from other areas bear different characteristics.
What are the Big Four? They are the four most poisonous snakes in the world, and Bangalore has all four of them. The Cobra, Krait, Russell’s Viper and the Saw-scaled Viper.
Why do snakes attack humans? Actually snakes never attack unless they are provoked or attacked. So if you see a snake, just keep still and look at it in the eye. Don’t ever make a move towards it. 65% of all snake bite cases are those that take place when the snake is attacked. 25% when they are stamped upon unknowingly in the dark. 5% when people roll over them in their sleep, especially in the villages where the snake snuggles up to keep warm. And only 5% to so called ‘freak’ causes. Remember,snakes never bite that which they cannot swallow and all they know is eating, mating and hiding!
How do you manage without any public support? I love snakes. Somehow I feel it my duty to protect these lovely creatures from unwanted killing. By the grace of God or by the strangest of coincidences, every time I rescue a snake after a call, I manage to get an order for making a Billiard table, which is my line of business. So, touch wood, so far I have not felt the pinch. But I sincerely wish someone would come forward with help. It is always welcome. But somehow it is not in me to go around asking for it.
Have you won any awards for your meritorious service? One Government official has been telling me for the last 3 years that they propose to give me the Rajyotsava Award for the service I’m doing for the public. Nothing has happened. Nothing will, even for the next 3 years. ( He laughs) The S.P.C.A. gave me an award last year for my service .I attend to snake calls for the S.P.C.A. also.
Do you have any future plans? Yes. I have a lot of plans. But without funding It’s helpless. I have compiled all my experiences with snakes into a book, which I feel can be read and understood by both 3rd standard school kids as well as medical professionals. I hope to publish it someday, if somebody is willing to fund it.
As we thank him and get up to go, one of his assistants arrive with a cobra, caught that morning from Kamanahalli. Mohammed is suddenly alert as he inspects the snake and instructs the man to put it in one of the snake boxes.
We wonder if the cobra is aware that in a week’s time, it will be free again, in its own habitat, thanks to a 29 year old, who became their protector and guardian since that fateful morning 21 years ago.
Interviewed by Monu D. Surendran
If you wish to donate to the cause of rescuing and rehabilitating snakes or for snake rescue:
Contact: Mohammed Anees / No.15 Coles Road,/ Opp. Bank of Baroda Frazer Town / Bangalore 560 005 / Ph: 5487424, Mobile: 98440 37424
source: http://www.onlinebangalore.com / Online Bangalore.com / Home / by Monu B Surendran
“It is a massive achievement as the four awardees in South Western Railway had to compete with a 37,000-strong railway workforce in the Zone,” said Bengaluru Divisional Railway Manager A K Verma
Geeta Mohapatra and K Puja
Bengaluru :
Six railway employees in Karnataka have been selected to receive the 65th annual Railway National Award from the Railway Ministry, a much coveted honour billed as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity. They are part of the 139 awardees across the country for the financial year ending March 2020.
Their names were belatedly announced on November 5 due to the COVID crisis and the ceremony in which Railway Minister Piyush Goyal will present the awards is likely to be a virtual one. Three of them, including two women employees, were chosen for their outstanding performance in the Bengaluru Railway Division. Another official belongs to the Central Railway Workshop in Mysuru while two work at Yelahanka’s Rail Wheel Factory of Indian Railways.
According to Bengaluru Divisional Railway Manager A K Verma, “This is the highest recognition any railway employee can get in their career. It is a massive achievement as the four awardees in South Western Railway had to compete with a 37,000-strong railway workforce in the Zone.”
The two women officers have been pioneers in their fields in the Bengaluru Division. Senior Divisional Operations Manager, Geeta Mohapatra, who has recently moved over to the Railway Recruitment Board as Member Secretary, is the the only woman to have taken over the helm of train operations in the choked rail network of Bengaluru.
Delighted to be recognised, Mohapatra told The New Indian Express, “We do not work for awards but it feels really good to be recognised. Makes you feel very confident about your work.” During her tenure here, she was instrumental in speeding up trains, maintaining punctuality of Passenger, Mail and Express trains. The commencement of the Baiyappanahalli new coaching terminal, opening of two freight terminals and despatch of cars of KIA Motors from Penukonda to North India, which have boosted the revenue of the division, figure among her achievements.
K Puja is the Senior Divisional Electrical Engineer in the division. She was the first woman to join as a Junior Electrical Engineer in the division in 2009 and has moved up the ranks. The division was the first in the country to meet the target fixed by the Railway Board for installation of escalators at railway stations and she headed the team which installed six of them. “It feels great. This is once-in-a-lifetime recognition at the highest level. I have had a very smooth career as my bosses were very supportive throughout,” she said.
K Asif Hafeez
Senior Divisional Personnel Manager, K Asif Hafeez, who was instrumental in computerising the Railway exams taken up by staffers for promotions that nearly 2,000 employees take write annually, and E Ashwathappa, Chief Depot Materials Superintendent, Central Railway Workshop at Ashokapuram in Mysuru are other SWR winners.
E Aswathappa
The awardees from Yelahanka’s RWF are C Prabhakar, Senior Section Engineer, and G Venkatesh, Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer, Planning, who was awarded for his performance in his previous job as professor at Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering in Jamalpur.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by S Lalitha / November 07th, 2020
Arif Hafeez taking charge as Guntur Urban SP on Wednesday
Guntur :
Arif Hafeez took charge as Guntur Urban SP on at the district police office on Wednesday.
Speaking on this occasion, he said that police officials are ready to work for people and sought cooperation of the people to strictly implement the curfew in the district.
He recalled that he worked in Guntur district and have idea about the Guntur district. He said he would try to check illegal transport of ganja, liquor and banned gutka.
The new SP thanked Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Director General of Police for posting him as Guntur Urban SP.
source: http://www.thehansindia.com / The Hans India / Home> News> State> Andhra Pradesh / by Hans News Service / June 02nd, 2021
Tasneem Fathima Khaleel has had a successful career in academia. However, quite remarkably, she came back to where she started – teaching. M A Siraj reports.
Few people end their careers where they first began; Professor Tasneem Fathima Khaleel is among those few. “I am excited about the opportunity to finish my career in the classroom. And, with a little help, I will be teaching in a new state-of-the-art…facility,” says Tasneem, the first-ever woman to have obtained a doctorate in the State of Mysore in 1970. Prior to returning as a professor of Botany, she served as the dean of faculty at College of Arts & Sciences for a decade at the Montana State University at Billings (MUSB).
Paving a new path
Tasneem has been teaching Botany in the United States for over 40 years and has received many awards for her teaching and research. She has headed, or has been a member on as many as 23 different academic bodies or advisory councils in the US. For her contribution to research, with nearly 50 research publications on subjects ranging from cyto-embriology to plant reproduction, she was awarded the ‘Outstanding Research Award’ in 1995 by the Montana Research Academy and has also won the Faculty Excellence Award five times.
The year 2014 was a special year for Tasneem – she had the rare honour of an award being named after her, for mentoring at the MUSB. Reno Charette, director for American-Indian Education, was adjudged the winner of the first ‘Prof Tasneem Fathima Khaleel Award for Mentoring’.
Tasneem studied in Bengaluru, before heading to the US in 1975 after marriage. An alumna of Central College, Bengaluru, she has coveted every opportunity to visit her ‘City of Gardens’ – which she ruefully admits is more a part of nostalgia rather than reality.
A passionate researcher, she recalls that very few women could be seen in higher studies in those days. Only a couple of them were pursuing PhD while she was registered in Bangalore University as well as teaching biology as an assistant professor at the University of Agricultural Sciences at Hebbal between 1968 and 1975. Her study of ‘Flora at the GKVK Campus’ and ‘Weeds in Karnataka’ are still quoted as seminal works.
Writing her own destiny
Tasneem had finished her BSc and MSc by the time she was barely 19 years old. Wanting to be a teacher, she had put in her application, but was rejected, as the dean told her, “You look like a school girl, how would the students take you seriously?”
Instead, he directed her to register for a PhD programme, which had just been started in the Bangalore University. The Doctorate took longer than usual to complete because there was lack of guidance and direction, and the programme had several fits and starts.
Finally, at 26 when she got her her doctorate, she was being looked as ‘a confirmed spinster’ in her own cultural surroundings. Marriage was nowhere on her mental radar. It took her brother several sittings to convince her of getting married.
Tasneem travelled a long and twisted path – one shaped by her culture and her drive to excel, to become the distinguished professor that she is today. For most Americans who had only preliminary idea of Islam, a woman with covered head and such drive for excellence and perseverance was a combination of incongruities. “Women have rights in Islam. Muslim women didn’t even have to fight for those rights. The religion has given them those rights,” she says.
Dr Stn Waitr, her successor, says, “Dean Khaleel has raised the level of rigour, excellence and success in the College of Arts & Sciences to a standard that should serve as a model for the entire institution.” Interestingly, Tasneem even built a herbarium at the MUSB, which has around 17,000 specimens and is currently engaged in digitising it. She recalls with pride that she was the most productive member on the faculty of science at the MSU, which has nearly 22,000 students today in two campuses. Tasneem’s most significant discovery was the finding of mammalian steroids in plants, which she says, are responsible for sex expression in plants.
Author of four books, 10 external and 17 internal grants at the MSUB, Tasneem is excited about beginning her teaching career once again. “It had never ended. I had maintained a room in my department building, even while I headed the faculty,” she says.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Content / by M.A. Siraj / June 26th, 2015
After teaching for over 40 years, Dr. Tasneem Khaleel is retiring
MSUB readies to part with long-time Professor Dr. Khaleel
Retirement party in honor of Dr. Khaleel set for 2 p.m., April 26 in the Beartooth Room in the Student Union Building. Food and refreshments will be served.
MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — Hanging on the wall in Dr. Tasneem Khaleel’s office are the many awards and accolades marking the dedication and service she has given to Montana State University Billings over the past several decades.
Khaleel is retiring at the end of this semester and her presence and legacy will be with the science department and University for years to come.
Dr. Christine Shearer, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said that without the dedication and perseverance of Khaleel, the College and its students would not be where it is today.
“Dr. Khaleel has devoted her professional career to Montana State University Billings in a variety of capacities. She has been a tireless researcher and developer of the internationally-renowned Herbarium, a deeply committed advocate for the sciences and science education, a leader of a complex and diverse unit, and has been a staunch supporter and mentor of female scientists and academic professionals in all disciplines,” Shearer said. “Her tenacity and resilience advanced the College of Arts and Sciences and its programs, including the establishment of the Women’s and Gender Studies Center, which serves the university and the community. Her involvement in Girls-n-Science impacted hundreds of young women planning STEM careers.”
Khaleel has been paving the way for women in STEM since the beginning of her career. She has the honor of being the first woman recipient of a Ph.D from Bangalore University, India, where she graduated with a degree in Botany in 1970.
In 1976, Khaleel would begin her tenure with MSUB, as would her signature project: the establishment, maintenance, and management of the internationally known MSUB Herbarium.
“The Herbarium is one of my professional accomplishments that I am most proud of,” Khaleel said.
Dr. Tasneem Khaleel, center, assists Heidi Carter, left, and an unknown student during a lab experiment. (Photo circa 1980)
Post-retirement, she will continue being involved in the herbarium, which includes some 16,000 vascular plant specimens, some of which date back to the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Herbarium serves as a tool for basic research in plant systematics, ecology, phytogeography, and evolution.
While Khaleel’s career is highlighted by the 11 years she served as dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, from 2004 to 2014, she has no regrets to returning to the classroom before retirement.
Throughout her time on campus, she moved up from an assistant professor to department chair and says coming full circle made her last two years with students, “the best.”
“I wanted to retire as a faculty member,” Khaleel said. “Having that time as Dean allowed me to hear so many perspectives that my focus shifted when I returned to the classroom. My focus shifted from teaching to learning, to becoming a mentor and being more supportive.
For the last eight years the Tasneem and Shafiq Khaleel Endowment for Scholarships to Science has provided $1,000 awards to two students.
source: http://www.msubillings.edu/ucam/releases.2017/2017apr19Khaleel.htm / University Communications and Marketing / April 19th, 2017 / Montana State Univeristy Billings
My Ph.D is from India, at Bangalore University and I was the first woman to get a Ph.D from that university. I started education at a very young age because I started school when I was about 3. In those days there was not an age limit to start school, when your parents felt you were ready they took you to school. From then on it was up to you. When I started off, there was no kindergarten or pre-school, it was first grade. I sat on the teacher’s lap most of the time because I was so little.
Why did you study botany?
When I was a student in India, botany was a man’s field. They did not really take women in graduate courses for botany because they look at botany as a field science. Since the graduate seats were so limited they didn’t take a whole lot of graduate students. They thought if they took in a girl student, the only option for her would be to teach botany, not go out to the field. They still looked at women in those days as better at home and in the classroom than in the field. That was a challenge for me. I just wanted to prove to them one could be in the field as well.
When did you know you wanted to become an educator?
Oh I loved teaching right from the beginning. One of the reasons you do your masters in any discipline in India was so that you can teach in college. When I graduated with my masters degree in botany, I was 19 years old at the time and so I went off to find a job. There was one person who was in charge of recruiting and allocating all of the lecturer positions. So I talked to him and said, I need a job but he took one look at me and said, you look like you just came out of high school. He didn’t think I would be impressive enough in front of a classroom and to be able to control a classroom, the kids wouldn’t take me seriously. So I sat there and cried, I wanted the job and he refused to give me something that I had a passion to teach. I didn’t want to keep all the knowledge to myself. So then he said how about if you went and did a Ph.D. and then came back a few years later and by then you will have grown up a bit. I took him up on that option but there was no Ph.D. program at the university so he said he would help start one, which he did. And then we got the university grant fellowship to support me and I did my Ph.D. By then I wasn’t interested in going to him anymore to teach because people were after me to come and teach being I was the first woman with a Ph.D. there.
Tell us about your passion, building the herbarium at MSUB?
The value of the herbarium is based on what plant collections you have in it. When I first came here there were just two wooden cabinets here, with maybe 500 specimens. And they said, this is your herbarium. It was shocking because where I came from there is a whole building dedicated to the herbarium. So I challenged myself to build a herbarium here. The very first grant I wrote was to buy herbarium cabinets. The next step I did was to call out to local agents here who had small collections to see if they were willing to consolidate to a central location. The US Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Land Management and Rocky Mountain College were all very willing to give collections and we incorporated those in our herbarium. Over the years, the herbarium is a part of the national database with about 16,000 specimens.
Of the classes you teach, what is your favorite?
All of my classes are my favorite classes. I love teaching. I teach freshman biology, in fact that’s one of my most favorite classes to be honest. That’s when students are first starting out and I’m introducing them to biology for the first time and to get them excited about that. I really enjoy doing that and it gives me opportunities to mentor students because they’re just starting out. My second most favorite is plant systematics, they are both equally enjoyable classes for me. I just love teaching botany.
source: http://www.msubillings.edu/snapshots/2015-16/Khaleel.htm / msubillings.edu / by Cassie Winter, University Communications and Marketing / October 09th, 2015 / Montana State Univeristy Billings
Professor Tasneem Khaleel is an extraordinary educator, who has set the standard for excellence among her peers and captured the hearts and impacted the lives of her students through exceptional teaching and caring.
For four decades, Professor Khaleel’s leadership in the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences has been innovative and visionary, influencing generations of science students.
Her absolute passion for supporting her students as well as MSUB’s mission have been recognized with numerous honors and awards. But, this year Dr. Khaleel is the recipient of an award she says she is proudest of—the inaugural Faculty Award for Exceptional Support of Students with Disabilities.
Tasneem’s positive nature and friendly manner are a welcoming presence, explained by her student nominator.
“Dr. Khaleel’s guidance has helped me adapt to college life. She patiently taught me how to use lab equipment and spent extra hours in the lab helping me with my assignments. I have talked to other students with disabilities, and they agree that she goes the extra mile to assure they have a fair chance,” her student nominator said.
“This reward is very meaningful to me,” she said. “These students are special to me. Anybody can teach an ‘A’ student—they just need pointed in the right direction. But to bring a student who has no confidence in their abilities due to his/her disability, who has to compete with the ‘A’ students in class, and to have the courage to come to class everyday. I think this is the biggest reward of teaching.”
She adds that she thinks it takes more courage on the part of the student than that of the instructor.
“The least the instructor can do is be supportive and give these students the self assurance they need to perform. Nothing is beyond their abilities.”
She is an example of someone who does not treat her role simply as a checklist of duties, but a mentor who uses her position to educate, inspire and encourage those around her.
As one colleague notes, “Tasneem is an exemplary educator and leader: She is innovative, she thinks about teaching and learning far beyond her own discipline, and she inspires others to do the same.”
source: http://www.msubillings.edu/faculty/2016/khaleel.htm / Montana State University Billings
