Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has appointed prominent Indian businessman M.A. Yusuff Ali as the vice-chairman of the apex government body for all businesses operating from the UAE’s capital city, making him the only person from India on the 29-member board.
Yusuff Ali is the chairman and managing director of UAE-based Lulu Group International, which runs a chain of businesses with an annual turnover of over 8.1 billion dollars.
Mohamed bin Zayed has issued a resolution to form a new Board of Directors for Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, chaired by Abdullah Mohamed Al Mazrouei.
65-year-old Yusuff Ali was ranked the richest expat in the UAE by Forbes magazine 2019 and is the first Indian to receive permanent residency in Saudi Arabia. Ali also has a sizeable stake in Cochin International Airport Ltd. which runs and operates the Kochi airport.
Sheikh Mohammed issued a resolution to form a new Board of Directors for the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI), chaired by Abdullah Mohamed Al Mazrouei and Yusuff Ali as the Vice-chairman.
The ADCCI is the apex government body of all businesses established in Abu Dhabi. It will function as an effective bridge between the government and the business sector. Accordingly, every business establishment in Abu Dhabi has to be licensed by ADCCI.
Yusuff Ali described his appointment as “a very humbling and proud moment” in his life.
“My sincere gratitude to the visionary leadership of this great country and I will strive to do my best towards justifying the great responsibility entrusted upon me. Apart from working for the growth of Abu Dhabi economy & the larger business community, I will sincerely work towards further boosting the Indo-UAE trade relations,” he said.
Ali was recently honoured with the Abu Dhabi Award 2021, the highest civilian honour for his almost 5-decade long contributions in the fields of economic development and philanthropy.
source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> News / by The Cognate News Desk / July 26th, 2021
Ebrahim Alkazi will continue to live in the hearts of Saudis and Indians who are on the quest to deepen the friendship and cultural heritage they share.
Ebrahim Alkazi (1925-2020)
Last week, we lost Ebrahim Alkazi, a legend of Indian theatre with Saudi Arabian roots. I fondly remember my first experience of meeting him in the spring of 2014 at his house in New Delhi. I was touched by his unique character and his passion for the arts. He greeted me with a few words spoken in the distinct Qassimi dialect. Alkazi was also a noted art connoisseur and collector, credited for fundamentally transforming Indian theatre and having etched a name for Indian theatre worldwide. His legacy will forever remain a testament to the rich intellectual and cultural links between Saudi Arabia and India.
Alkazi’s father, Hamad, was a trader from Unaiza in Saudi Arabia’s Qassim region, who subsequently settled in Pune where Ebrahim was born in 1925. Despite his early immersion in theatre, he gradually pursued his love for visual arts. He showcased the avant-garde artist in him throughout India, the US and Europe through his path-breaking work before becoming the director of the National School of Drama in Delhi and the Asian Theatre Institute in 1962. He will always be remembered for his contributions in the field of arts that resonate with our cultural bonds. The strings that bind Saudi Arabia and India are many and have become stronger and more diverse over time. However, the cultural ties that the two countries share are perhaps the deepest. Pre-Islamic Arab poetry has many references to Indian swords and several other Indian goods.
The two countries have a fascinating history of intellectual exchanges. Science, arts, literature, and languages – the mutual influence has indeed been profound. For instance, many Indian texts in the field of medicine, mathematics and astronomy were translated over the centuries into Arabic. The father of Indology is none other than the Arab scholar Al-Biruni. His monumental work Ta’rikh al-Hind is undoubtedly the most comprehensive pre-modern encyclopaedic work on India.
Another notable text, the Panchatantra, was translated by the Arabs who took it to Europe and the rest of the world, as were Hitopadesha and Chanakya’s Arthashastra. India’s famous medical treatises such as Charaka and Susruta were translated into Arabic as well.
The Arab travellers were also prolific writers and wrote extensively on India, its people and diverse cultures. Writers such as Sulaiman, Ibn-ul-Faquih, Al-Masudi and Al-Idrisi documented in great detail their impressions of south India, its people, customs and traditions. The world-famous Arabian Nights also called Alf Laila in Arabic and Adventures of Sindbad the Sailor too describe southern India. According to Ibn Nadeem, a 16th-century Arab writer, Sindbad was written in India.
These deeply-rooted cultural ties have continued to grow. For instance, Yoga has become an increasingly popular sport in Saudi Arabia. Since November 2017, the International Yoga Day is celebrated in an open area in the centre of Riyadh. In 2018, India was a guest of honour at our annual cultural festival of Al Janadriyah. The theme of the Indian pavilion at the festival was “Saudi ka Dost Bharat” (India is a friend of Saudi Arabia). This last decade has been seminal in expanding our friendship into a strategic partnership.
A most significant milestone in our ties with India was the visit of His Royal Highness Crown Prince to India in February 2019, which re-affirmed the deep commitment of the two nations to strengthen their strategic engagement.
Our shared cultural bonds are also deepened by the religious ties between our peoples. The annual pilgrimage to Makkah has facilitated the exchange of cultures and traditions as well. But above all, our ties have been strengthened by pioneers like Ebrahim Alkazi. He will continue to live in the hearts of Saudis and Indians who are on the quest to deepen the friendship and cultural heritage they share.
This article first appeared in the print edition on August 12 under the title “A symbol of friendship”. The writer is the ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to India
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Opinion> Columns / by Saud Bin Mohammed Al Sati, Ambassador Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to India / August 12th, 2020
Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH / NEW DELHI / Ghazibad District (U.P) :
Hockey Olympian Zafar Iqbal on how his life has unfolded, from being the son of an academician to his days spent on the golf course today
The general impression of a hockey player in India is that of a talented sportsperson from the hinterland, modestly educated, and fighting poverty and lack of resources in the stuggle to reach the top. Zafar Iqbal breaks the mould in more ways than one.
The former Executive Director (Properties and Facilities) with the erstwhile Indian Airlines is one of the few in the sport to have managed a life outside hockey post-retirement. He credits his parents and upbringing for helping him get the balance right all through, in his articulate, but gentle manner.
“My father never stopped me from playing sports, but he was quite strict when it came to studies as well. He knew there was fame and popularity in sport; money, not so much, and so wanted us to be self-sufficient enough to manage our lives even after our sporting days were over. I am glad I listened to him,” says the 63-year old, who says he has worked enough in his life to be able to sit back and enjoy retirement.
How the world knows him
One half of the famous Shahid-Zafar pair that tormented teams’ defences for years, the talented left winger would set up the legendary Mohammed Shahid for his stylish goals. They needed little or no communication to know exactly what needed to be done.
The subtle stickwork, though, was always backed with a strong understanding of physics, thanks to his degree in civil engineering from Aligarh Muslim University and an even stronger realisation that the sport would always be his passion, but not something that would help him lead a life of comfort in the long run.
A resident of Vaishali in Ghaziabad – he moved to the house once he had retired – Iqbal’s major commitment through the day now is to golf. “I started learning golf a few years before retiring and I am still not satisfied with my game. I wake up around 4.30 in the morning and from 5.15 to almost 11.30-12, I am at the golf course. It’s the best part of my day,” he says, laughing.
As the son of Prof. Shahbuddin, dean of the science department at Aligarh Muslim University, Iqbal did not lack resources or an atmosphere of learning at home. Today, he’s surrounded by books on history that he enjoys, and has read the texts of all the major religions, including the four Vedas.
Having made his national debut in 1977, and getting his degree in 1978 – the same year he joined Indian Airlines – he was finally free to pursue hockey full-time. “That was also at my father’s insistence. I had job offers from the Indian Railways and Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Board, but he advised me to join the airlines, saying that I might not get immediate rewards but would surely be successful in the future. I realised he was right when I was finally appointed ED,” Iqbal recalls.
Players off the field
He talks about how he tried to push his teammates as well to have a life outside the sport. “I used to tell them to continue with their studies and office work after active sports, because not everyone can be a coach or administrator for life. Unfortunately, there were many, much bigger players who could not rise to a senior post. I told them it might be tough initially, but office work is no rocket science. Also, as players we are used to quick decisions on field, so it is easier for us to make the switch. They didn’t listen to me, though,” he rues.
It was in 1977 that he moved to Delhi and decided to make it his home. “For me, coming from a small town like Aligarh, Delhi was this huge, fast place where everything was big and far. In AMU everything was available at your doorstep; here, I had to travel 16 km by bus, every day, from the Indian Airlines Colony in Vasant Vihar for training at the stadium. But when I see it now, I feel it was so laid-back then,” he exclaims.
It wasn’t just the distance that awed the 22-year-old. His training camps with Indian Airlines at the National Stadium were equally overwhelming. “Players like Ashok Kumar, Aslam Sher Khan, B.P. Govinda – whose photographs we kept in our rooms and pockets – were suddenly our teammates. Inam-ur-Rehman, my idol, was the coach. He was a disciplinarian, treating everyone equally, regardless of his achievements on the field. That helped inculcate respect for the game and discipline on the field,” Iqbal admits.
The presence of other sportspeople also helped. The National Stadium, he explains, used to be a multipurpose venue with a track for athletics and no turf in the main arena. It had the likes of the legendary athlete Sriram Singh training there. “The hockey field was on the left and cricket on the right, with Bishan Singh Bedi and many more practising. It was all open and we used to interact,” he says.
Old ways
Empty roads, few vehicles, no paranoia about hygienic food or water, the absence of pollution – the Delhi he remembers is restricted to nostalgia now. Even the most secure areas of the city – in and around Parliament, which he had to cross to reach National Stadium – had easy access, including Race Course Road, which he recalls used to be open to the public back then.
“I sometimes wonder what progress we have actually made. Everyone seems to be running all the time and everyone is addicted to mobiles. We seem to have become breathing mechanical bodies,” he says.
The discipline of a sportsperson, though, continues to guide his life. Iqbal is a member of two golf courses in NCR – Army Golf Club and the Noida Golf Course – but also visits the one at Hindon. On a week-long break to Chennai to visit his son, Yasir, an assistant professor of physics at IIT, he still managed to find people who would help him play his daily round, at the Cosmopolitan Club. He hasn’t the same luck in Mumbai though, when he visits his daughter, Samia, who moved to the city for her work as a copywriter.
For the rest, he is happy to accompany wife Fauzia (who also retired from the commercial department of what was Vayudoot and consequently Air India) around or spend time occasionally with his friends.
As a member of the governing body of the Sports Authority of India, as well as consultant with the University Grants Commission in the sports curriculum committee, he has stayed in touch with sports administration, pushing the agenda of games as an essential part of the development of a person.
As a former India coach (1993-94), selector (over three tenures), and government observer for many years, he has given back to the sport that helped him become an Olympic champion. But in his pursuit of golfing excellence, Zafar Iqbal continues to live a sporting life.
This ends our 10-part series on former sportspeople who are based in Delhi.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Delhi – Now & Then / by Uthra Ganesan / September 04th, 2019
Noted Persian scholar Prof Syed Ainul Hasan is the new Vice-Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University. According to a communication received from the Union Education Ministry to the varsity, the President in his capacity as the Visitor of MANUU appointed Prof Hasan, as the fifth VC of MANUU for a five-year term.
Prof Ainul Hasan is a professor, Persian & Central Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Earlier, he also served as the Dean, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies, JNU. He is also the president, All-India Persian Scholars’ Association. He has more than 34 years of teaching experience and produced 87 research scholars.
A visiting professor of Rutgers State University, New Jersey (US) under Fulbright, Prof Hasan authored 13 books. He is a specialist in Indo-Iran, Indo-Arab relations and comparative literature.
Prof S M Rahmatullah, In-charge VC and Prof Siddiqui Mohd Mahmood, Registrar I/c, congratulated Prof Hasan on his appointment. They hoped that under his leadership MANUU will attain new heights of academic excellence.
source: http://www.telanganatribune.com / Telangana Tribune / Home> Hyderabad / by Telangana Tribune / July 24th, 2021
Daughter of teacher couple ranked fifth in Madhyamik, dreams of becoming a doctor.
A girl has topped West Bengal Higher Secondary exams alone for the first time. Image Source: ABP Education picture.
Rumana Sultana, a student of the science stream from Kandi Raja Manindra Chandra Girls’ High School from Murshidabad, has scored the highest marks in the West Bengal Higher Secondary (HS) 2021 exams.
Rumana scored 499 out of 500 marks — 99 in Bengali, 100 in English, 100 in bioscience, 100 in chemistry, 99 in physics, and 100 in maths.
“I am very happy for her. This is an all-time record. This is the first time that a girl student has topped the Higher Secondary exams alone and this is also the first time that a student from a minority community has topped the exam. We congratulate her,” said Mahua Das, the president of West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBSCHSE), which conducted the HS exams and declared the result on July 22.
The Murshidabad girl’s dream is to become a doctor. She hopes to crack the medical entrance exam and if not she plans to study biology.
Apart from studying, Rumana loves writing poetry. She had ranked fifth in Madhyamik (Class X) 2019, scoring 687 marks.
Rumana comes from a family of teachers. Her father Rabiul Alam is the headmaster of Gaisabad Achala Vidyamandirin Bharatpur, Murshidabad. Mother Sultana Parveen is also a teacher.
Her feet firmly on the ground, Rumana regrets not being able to write the exams and does not to give too much importance to her top score. “My Madhyamik and Class XI results were good. That helped. I would say I was expecting to do well but did not expect to top,” she signed off.
As the pandemic ravaged the world, it threw up one little golden nugget of truth: that humanity is alive and well.
Researcher Syed Baker selling e-waste to help the underprivileged in Mysuru on Saturday | Udayshankar S
Mysuru:
As the pandemic ravaged the world, it threw up one little golden nugget of truth: that humanity is alive and well. People reached out to each other, to offer succour and comfort. Many came forward to feed the needy, and one group of people in Mysuru went a step ahead and coupled their Good Samaritan efforts with recycling waste, thereby helping the planet too.
A 34-year-old researcher, Syed Baker, and his friends have been distributing groceries and food packets to many families since the first wave of Covid hit the country. Syed, who returned from Russia during the pandemic, said, “I came across two women who had lost their father to suicide years ago. They, along with their mother, were surviving by doing odd jobs with caterers, but were left with no work when the pandemic struck. We helped them by supplying grocery kits. It made us realise how badly people were struggling.”
However, the second wave made it worse for families like these. With more and more people getting affected by the pandemic, it became difficult as Syed’s own finances, along with that of his friends and donors, were drying up. “One day, we sold our old devices and gadgets to buy grocery kits. That is when we thought of using unwanted things as a source of funding,” he added.
The researcher, who has co-invented an AI-based social distancing and pandemic-detecting sensor, as well as a disinfecting device, says the initiative came into being in May 2021. The group reached out to their donors, friends and families to collect e-waste, old newspapers, books, packaging material and old clothes. “We would visit homes and collect recyclable goods. MB Roadways, a transport company, helped us with a vehicle. We segregated the items to sell them separately to vendors,” Syed added.
Since then, the group has been collecting recyclable waste — especially e-waste, paper and discarded online shopping packaging material and clothes.
Eventually, they started receiving help from many other friends, including Chethan Vishwanath of Rotary — that is taking the initiative forward with the help of Helping Hands, an NGO. Later, Nrisimha Datta Sai Peethika Seva Trust also pitched in to help.
Syed says this initiative made him realise the importance of recycling. “Yes, the money from selling recyclable material aided us in helping many others, but it also made us realise the excesses we take for granted. For example, among the items we collected, packaging material from e-commerce orders was one of the largest in quantity — a major part of it recyclable. They would otherwise be dumped as waste, that too unsegregated, with some of it clogging drains,” he added.
“People discard electronic devices easily, which end up constituting a huge part of waste generated in cities. Nowadays, people are quick to buy a new television when the old one develops even a minor snag. We were able to sell these discarded television sets at a good price as they were up and running after some repairs,” he said.
So far, the group has distributed food packets to over 600 families with the money from the recycling initiative, and regularly supply groceries to at least 24 families — some which had lost their breadwinner and others whose incomes were hit during the pandemic. When most of the lockdown restrictions were lifted, they were also able to buy large umbrellas for the vendors whom they had helped restart business. They are also focusing on recycling material responsibly.
“As old books can’t always be sold to scrap paper vendors, we sometimes send them to second hand booksellers,” said Syed.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Ajith M S / Express News Service / July 18th, 2021
Professor Mohd Zahid Ashraf will receive this award under the Biological Sciences category. His work, as per a JMI statement, has contributed towards developing strategy for an early diagnosis and treatment of thrombosis at extremely challenging environmental conditions at high altitudes.
New Delhi:
Professor Mohd Zahid Ashraf (Source: JMI)
Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) Professor Mohd Zahid Ashraf, Head, Department of Biotechnology will be conferred with the Visitor’s Award 2020. The professor will be awarded for his research on resolving the mystery of blood clotting on exposure to hypoxia at high altitudes. Professor Ashraf will be awarded by President Ram Nath Kovind at a function to be organised at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Professor Ashraf will receive this award under the Biological Sciences category. His work, as per a JMI statement, has contributed towards developing strategy for an early diagnosis and treatment of thrombosis at extremely challenging environmental conditions at high altitudes.
“The outcome of his research has given insights to our understanding of blood clot formation on ascension to mountains, sports, pilgrimage and soldier’s working under hostile environments,” the JMI statement said.
Congratulating Professor Ashrah, the Vice Chancellor of JMI Najma Akhtar said that it is a recognition for the research accomplishments by the university and Professor Ashraf’s achievements will motivate other faculty members towards pursuit of excellence in research along with academics.
The Vice Chancellor said that the university is committed towards the government’s mission to increase science education, research and promote STEM.
JMI professor to be awarded Visitor’s Award
Professor Ashraf is an elected Fellow of National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad and the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore. He is a member of distinguished Guha Research Council.
Professor Ashraf, the JMI statement says, is also the recipient of ICMR’s Basanti Devi Amir Chand and DBT’s National Biosciences Award for his seminal work on high altitude related thrombosis in the Indian population.
This is the second time a JMI Professor has been selected for the Visitor’s Award. Earlier in 2015, the Cosmology and Astrophysics Research Group headed by Professor M Sami of Centre for Theoretical Physics, JMI had also received the Visitor’s Award for research carried out in the field of contemporary issues in Astrophysics and Cosmology.
source: http://www.ndtv.com / NDTV / Home> Education / by Mridusmita Deka / July 19th, 2021
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday appointed Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi as Deputy Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha. (File photo)
The appointment of Naqvi, who is known to have cordial relations with leaders of parties across the political spectrum, assumes significance at a time when the Opposition is aiming to target the ruling dispensation over a host of issues.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday appointed Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi as Deputy Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi informed Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu that the Prime Minister has directed him to inform that Naqvi, Union Minister of Minority Affairs, has been appointed Deputy Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha.
Naqvi succeeds Piyush Goyal , who has been named Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha. The minority affairs minister is known for his knowledge of parliamentary affairs, and has served as minister of state for parliamentary affairs during the first term of the Modi government.
Naqvi hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Rampur and was elected to the Upper House from Jharkhand. He was MoS for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He joined the BJP in 1986 as a student leader, and emerged as a prominent Muslim face of the party.
The appointment of Naqvi, who is known to have cordial relations with leaders of parties across the political spectrum, assumes significance at a time when the Opposition is aiming to target the ruling dispensation over a host of issues, including handling of the second wave of COVID-19, rise in fuel prices and farmers’ stir.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> India / by Express News Service, New Delhi / July 20th, 2021
Hasnain will fill the vacancy created after the retirement of Justice (retd) Satyendra Singh Chauhan, who too was a judge at the Allahabad HC. Singh retired on July 4 upon turning 65.
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday announced retired Allahabad High Court judge, Justice Shabihul Hasnain as the next chairperson of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC).
Hasnain’s appointment comes at a crucial time when the commission is gearing up to announce the annual tariff order, which determines the electricity charges of domestic and industrial consumers.
“Delhi govt approves the appointment of Justice Shahibul Hasnain (Retd) as the new Chairman of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) Providing cheap and uninterrupted power supply is one of the key priority areas for Delhi Govt My best wishes to him for a successful stint,” Kejriwal tweeted.
A law graduate from Lucknow University, Hasnain was enrolled as an advocate in 1984. He was elevated as an additional judge in the Allahabad HC in 2008 and took oath as permanent judge in April 2010 and served in that capacity till retiring in January, 2020.
Apart from a chairperson, the DERC can have two members. Currently, former officer of the Indian Forest Service Dr A K Ambasht is the lone member of the commission. Days before his retirement, Chauhan had written to Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal, seeking an extension.
Before Chauhan, who was appointed in July, 2018, the appointment of Krishna Saini to the post of DERC chairman was a flashpoint in the AAP-Lieutenant Governor ties as then L-G Najeeb Jung had struck down the appointment in September 2016 citing lack of his prior approval. As a result, the post had remained vacant for nearly two years.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Delhi / by Express News Service, New Delhi / July 17th, 2021
Dr. Luqman Ahmed Khan offered consultations to around 4,000 Covid patient and 2,000 other patients.
Dr. Luqman Khan
New Delhi :
An MBBS doctor in Telangana’s Karimnagar offered online consultation to thousands of Covid patients throughout the country during the recent lockdown. He also trained around 100 doctors for Telangana Covid Task Force.
Dr. Luqman Ahmed Khan, who is a specialist in social and family medicine and diagnosis, has provided consultation through direct Whatsapp Call, video consultation, writing the prescription online and sharing its soft copy. He has also been following up each case for 10 days with Covid-orientated diet and exercise to improvise post-Covid complications.
Khan, who provides online service through his personal contact number, received thousands of calls from all over India. He offered consultations to around 4,000 Covid patients and 2,000 other patients. Currently, he is receiving less requests of Covid patients and more of other ailments, a sign that cases of Covid have come down.
Khan also runs a YouTube channel named ‘Health Tube Dr. Luqman, for medical awareness.
Talking to Clarion India, Khan said he used to run a trust-based hospital for poor people in 2017-18. He later handed over the hospital to the trust and started his own clinic. When the first lockdown was declared in 2020, his clinic was shut down. He took to online consultation. When hospitals were overwhelmed with patients, he developed his own system of online consultation with the help of a task force at his disposal.
He observed that there are multiple reasons why people consult very late, even though with clear associated illness, such as
Some patients were so afraid to confront the disease (seeing the way pandemic caused deaths in hospitals) that they decided not to get properly diagnosed and instead went to quacks.
Some people still argue that corona is a conspiracy and not a disease to worry about
Some patients’ primary concern is their impoverished situation to get treated
Some people opted for some remedial medicines which guarantee treatment of corona without hospitalisation; I believe it’s not just a grave mockery of medicine and health system but a punishable offence especially in times of pandemic
source: http://www.clarionindia.net / Clarion India / Home> India / by Waquar Hussain, Clarion India / July 01st, 2021
