Category Archives: Amazing Feats

PHOTO FEATURE : Her father’s voice: A photographer pays tribute to her celebrated scientist-father

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inventions, Innovations (wef. Nov 30th, 2021), Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, Science & Technology, Scientists (wef. August 27th,m 2023), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , ,

UTTAR PRADESH / Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

How a series of breakfast conversations grew into an exhibition and a book.

On some mornings, Diba Siddiqi would sit down at the breakfast table in her parents’ home in Bengaluru, and record her father’s voice.

He would hold forth on everything under the sun – science, history, justice, conflict, photography, politics, poetry, philosophy, the evolution of language and silence. The musings continued well after the meal was over and an Olympus digital voice recorder Diba Siddiqi had placed nearby would capture her father’s thoughts.

The sheer range of topics wasn’t surprising. Obaid Siddiqi was one of India’s most eminent scientists whose pioneering work in the field of molecular biology and neurogenetics are well known.

Siddiqi was keen to have an account of her father’s stories in his own voice so that she could revisit them later. She had tried taking notes, but found the process distracting. She started using the digital recorder so that she could give him his full attention.

But the recordings, which started in 2007, ended in 2013 when the senior Siddiqi was killed in an accident while taking a stroll near his home. He was 81.

Immersed in history

Months later, Diba Siddiqi finally revisited the “breakfast monologues” as she called them.

She immersed herself in the stories her father had shared of growing up in eastern Uttar Pradesh in pre-Partition India and the sadness at how the Siddiqis lost track of family members who moved to Pakistan.

It wasn’t long before Siddiqi began to dig through old family photographs, many of them developed in darkrooms by her father and his siblings.

It didn’t stop at that. Diba Siddiqi’s mother, Asiya, is a distinguished historian, who has spent a large part of her life studying Mumbai’s past. Siddiqi began to delve into her mother’s life too.

The result is Rooh: The Enduring Spirit, an exhibition of old family photographs interspersed with new images Diba Siddiqi has taken of places that played an important part in her parents’ lives. A book of the same name is set to be released shortly.

Dominating figure

It’s obvious that Obaid Siddiqi was an overarching presence for his daughter. “My father was this colossal figure in my life,” said Siddiqi. “No language is adequate to express his continuing presence in my life. I still find myself quietly and unconsciously carrying on conversations with him.”

Born in Basti, Uttar Pradesh, in 1932, Obaid Siddiqi completed an MSc from Aligarh University before obtaining a doctorate from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. His family lived in Benares in two spells between 1932 and 1948 before finally settling down in Aligarh.

Preventive detention

The includes an account of the two years Obaid Siddiqi spent in jail from 1949 under preventive measures at a time when 30,000 communists were detained across country. Recalling his period of detention in the company of 13 Communist leaders, he said:

“So you see jail authorities, they used the criminals, who were called pukkas, to beat us up. They were prisoners who had served ten years, fifteen years, had life imprisonment… They acted like small unofficial wardens to control other prisoners. They were dressed to look like police. They beat up our friend Syed Ali badly, giving him galis, saying, ‘Pakistan se saala Pakistani Communist banta hai!’

However, Obaid Siddiqi could also recognise the benevolent side of the police officer who had beaten up the comrades, realising that human nature can never be categorised as entirely good or bad.

His parents and six siblings managed to send him letters during his imprisonment. His sisters arranged to smuggle letters in and out of jail while delivering home-cooked food to him once a week.

In 2014, Siddiqi visited Benares, where her father spent some time as a child. Waking at the crack of dawn every day, she walked around the ancient city, photographing the people and its streets.

Mumbai chronicler

Siddiqi also took many pictures in Mumbai, a city whose past her mother has written about extensively. One of Asiya Siddiqi’s celebrated works recreates the lives of people who went bankrupt in the 19th century. Roaming the bylanes of Mohammad Ali road and Dongri, in Mumbai, Siddiqui imagined that the ghosts of these people “and their descendants surely dwell in the neighbourhood I roamed in… The descendants of tailors, carpenters, blacksmiths, milk vendors, courtesans, dancing girls and prostitutes may continue to live and work here.”

Though the project is intensely personal, she believes it has broad appeal. She said she hoped viewers would let her work touch their mind and spirit and perhaps remind them of their own histories. “It is an expression of life that I have been a part of,” she said. “It has been about finding a voice in the images and bringing it together in one space.”

Rooh: The Enduring Spirit can be viewed at Bangalore’s  1 Shanthi Road gallery until February 11.

source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> Photo Feature / by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri / February 09th, 2016

SCIENTIST AND INTELLECTUAL – Obaid Siddiqi and his larger family

Amazing Feats, Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri Award (since January 01st, 2024), Inventions, Innovations (wef. Nov 30th, 2021), Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, Science & Technology, Scientists (wef. August 27th,m 2023), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion

Basti, UTTAR PRADESH / Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Aligarh Muslim University: Siddiqi’s alma mater

Obaid Siddiqi, one of the most outstanding scientists of modern India, died in a freak accident in Bangalore on July 26. While he was out on a walk on July 21, a moped being driven by a young person of the neighbourhood rammed into him, and caused severe brain damage from which he could not recover.

He leaves behind his wife, Asiya Siddiqi, who is herself a very distinguished historian, and four gifted children: Yumna, whose area is English literature, Kaleem, who is a scientist, Diba, a promising photographer, and Imran, also a scientist whose work on seed-cloning has the potential to revolutionize agriculture in developing countries and questions the rush to Bt for raising yields.

But I want to talk not about the family that Obaid and Asiya raised but about the family of siblings and their spouses that surrounded Obaid, the larger family, as it were, to which he belonged. It was such a remarkable family, it so captured within itself all that is salutary in the development of modern India, that its individual members are worth recalling.

There were two sons, including Obaid, and five daughters, born to his parents. The youngest daughter, Imrana, married to the well-known social activist, Anubrata (Dunu) Roy, was a paediatrician at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences who turned to academic work in the social sciences and became one of the founders of the Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. This centre, of which Binayak Sen was once a faculty member, remains to this day an unparalleled institution in India.

She was for decades our neighbour on the JNU campus. She was not just a close friend but one who epitomized what friendship should be, and it is through her that I came to know the remarkable Siddiqi family. Being a doctor in residence, in the early years of JNU when the campus had meagre medical facilities, she was the informal physician for every household, cheerfully available day and night; and she saw my family, especially my two children, through numerous medical emergencies. Because of her unbounded generosity, we called her “the Florence Nightingale of the JNU campus”; but that was unfair to her, since she was also a highly skilled medical practitioner, unlike Florence, and combined her expertise with a radical social philosophy.

One of her older sisters, Maimoona, was married to Ali Ashraf, a founder of the communist party in Bihar, and the first to translate the Communist Manifesto into Urdu. (Maulana Azad had earlier translated and published only some extracts in his newspaper.) Maimoona was herself a communist activist, and, together with her husband, worked at the party headquarters in Bombay bringing out its Urdu newspaper, and lived in the famous party commune set up by its general secretary, P.C. Joshi. In later years, she taught Urdu first at the Patna College and subsequently at the Aligarh Muslim University.

Ali Ashraf’s friend, Ziaul Hasan, also a very early member of the communist party in Bihar, married another of the Siddiqi sisters, Tahira, and also lived for long at the Bombay party commune while working for the party’s Urdu newspaper. B.T. Ranadive, then in ‘disgrace’ following the collapse of his 1948 line, was at the same commune and comrades were somewhat circumspect about socializing with him; but the Hasans struck up a deep friendship with him. Ziaul Hasan was then sent to Srinagar to work with Sheikh Abdullah, when the latter sought the help of the communists for carrying out land reforms in the state. Jammu and Kashmir, as is well-known, was the first state in India, even before Kerala and West Bengal, to implement radical land redistribution. He and his family lived with Imrana on the JNU campus for some years when he was working as a journalist on the staff of the Patriot newspaper, and my discussions with him on several evenings, when he would be reminiscing about the commune or berating me for my sectarian understanding, are a treasured memory.

Yet another of the sisters, Sayera, a highly distinguished economist who taught at the Aligarh Muslim University, was the first person, after the nationalist writers of the colonial period, to make an estimate, and a meticulous one at that, of the magnitude of “the drain of surplus” from India to Britain. A life-long communist, she married a fellow student against whom she had once taken disciplinary action as the All India Students Federation leader on the AMU campus. This fellow student, belonging to the AISF, was Irfan Habib, the famous historian and pre-eminent Marxist intellectual of the country.

The last sister, Shaista, was attached to the medical college at AMU and built from scratch its department of obstetrics and gynaecology. The other brother, Aslam, also belonged to the AMU faculty, to the department of engineering. He was asked to set up the university’s computer centre; he did so and served as its director for some time.

Obaid Siddiqi belonged to this family. All the traits that characterized the family, the generosity, the brilliance, the gentleness, the self-effacing commitment to work, the contempt for careerism, and the disdain for fame and status, were concentrated, as it were, in him. And he also shared the family’s social commitment and passion for effecting a revolutionary transformation in the country. Irfan Saheb once remarked to me that Obaid Siddiqi must have been the only Fellow of the Royal Society in its entire history who had spent time in jail for communist activities. That was during the “BTR period”, following the party’s Calcutta congress, when Obaid was an activist of the AISF at the AMU.

His passions included Urdu poetry (he was chancellor of the Urdu University at Hyderabad), Persian, and above all, music. He learned to play the sarod from Annapoorna Devi, and played it beautifully. He was meticulous about doing riyaz everyday, and later took lessons from the Dagar brothers who became his good friends.

I met Obaid Siddiqi occasionally on the JNU campus when he stayed overnight at Imrana’s place, having come for some meeting from Mumbai where he was then located at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. But I got to know him better when he came to deliver the Krishna Bharadwaj Memorial Lecture at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning of JNU. The topic was “Do animals think?” and Obaid Siddiqi gave, in very simple language to a packed and overflowing audience, an account of his internationally acclaimed research into the neurology of the Drosophila fly. His answer to the provocative question of the title of the lecture was that while “thinking” was too ambitious a term to describe what animals did, several very elementary forms of it, suggesting a more developed consciousness beyond mere instinct, appeared to characterize them. The discussion that followed the lecture carried over into dinner and long afterwards into the night.

I met him a little more frequently when we both served on the research council of the National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies of the CSIR. But I got a chance for closer interaction at the convocation of the Kalyani University in 2003. By then he had moved to Bangalore where the TIFR was setting up an off-shoot for research on biology; he had been asked to head it and had already gathered around him a brilliant group of young researchers. Kalyani University was conferring an honorary doctorate on him, and on Sunil Gangopadhyay and Ganesh Pyne; and I had been asked to deliver the convocation address. We were lodged together at the same guest house for the event.

His acceptance speech was brief but extraordinarily illuminating. It was based on research work done at the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, and highlighted the fact that the Indian population, barring small numbers inhabiting remote regions, was remarkably racially mixed, and hence far less diverse than commonly supposed. His interest in the area had possibly been stimulated by his radicalism, which approved a scientific finding that undermined any racial segregation of the population; but he referred only to the scientific finding itself.

Obaid Siddiqi was a compelling speaker, without flourishes, but with a solid command over facts and a meticulousness of reasoning that did not allow one’s attention to stray. His using the brief Kalyani speech to present what he thought was interesting rather than his own research is indicative of an attitude that values scientific advance over personal achievement, and sees knowledge as interconnected. He shared this perception of interconnectedness of knowledge with his friend, another great scientist from the subcontinent, Abdus Salam; it lifted him above the normal run of scientists into an outstanding intellectual. His death is a huge loss to the country.

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The author is Professor Emeritus, Centre for Economic Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi / Prabhat Patnaik The Author Is Professor Emeritus, Centre For Economic Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

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source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Teleg

Obaid Siddiqui revolutionized bio-sciences

Amazing Feats, Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri Award (since January 01st, 2024), Business & Economy, Inventions, Innovations (wef. Nov 30th, 2021), Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, Science & Technology, Scientists (wef. August 27th,m 2023)

Basti, UTTAR PRADESH / Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Obaid Siddiqui receiving Padma Vibhushan from the President

Genes and DNA are the words we hear frequently on our Televisions and other media. Genetic mapping has revolutionised the way humans understand organisms in general and themselves in particular. The past few decades have witnessed developments in biotechnology and genetics leading us to understand and treat diseases hitherto thought curable. Very few among us know that one of the important men who laid the foundation of this revolution was an Indian, Obaid Siddiqui.

Born on this day in 1932 in Basti, Uttar Pradesh, Obaid Siddiqui completed his Masters in Botany from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in 1953. Initially, he joined AMU as an agricultural scientist, after his Masters, and later moved to Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. At IARI Siddiqui had prepared a testbed for wheat crossbreeds. But a devastating hail storm destroyed the crop and ruined his year-long labour. A frustrated Siddiqui, who had a keen interest in genetics, an emerging field at the time, wrote a letter to Professor Guido Pontecorvo at Glasgow asking him for a research opportunity with him. Pontecorvo accepted him and Siddiqui started his PhD at Glasgow on microbial systems – a paradigm shift from Botany.

During his PhD, Obaid made some path-breaking observations, which revolutionised the field of Genetics. Two very important observations made by him  were:

  • His studies were the first reports of fine mapping of a gene.
  • He pointed out the concentration of mutational sites in a small part of genes.

Obaid Siddiqui with Semour Benzer

So, when he submitted his PhD thesis in 1961 Siddiqui had already revolutionised the sciences in general and genetics in particular. Considering the fact that he shifted from Botany to a different field makes his achievement even more stellar.

The same year Siddiqui moved to Pennsylvania to work with Alan Garen as a postdoctoral fellow. Here, he discovered the suppressors of “nonsense” mutations. In simpler words, he discovered why a few mutations in a gene would not express themselves and remain suppressed. The discovery was a logical result of his earlier pioneering work in mapping of genes. Another important impact of this discovery was the finding of “nonsense” codons, the stop signal of genes. Har Gobind Khorana, Robert Holley, and Marshall Nirenberg received the 1968 Nobel prize for identifying “nonsense” codons and they personally acknowledged the role of Siddiqui in their research.

Siddiqui did not pursue his study of Codons further which got others a Nobel Prize because his heart was not in the USA. Siddiqui wanted to return to India to serve his motherland. This selfless patriot left the lucrative opportunities and told Alan Garen, in 1962, that he wanted to return to India.

Garen asked renowned physicist Leo Szilard to write to Homi Bhabha asking him to arrange a position for Siddiqui in India. Ignoring the opposition from fellow scientists in India, Bhabha showed confidence in Siddiqui and gave him the responsibility of establishing a molecular biology unit at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).

Obaid ASiddiqui with Wife Asiya Siddiqui

At TIFR, Siddiqui nurtured a younger crop of scientists and also brought Indians working in foreign labs back to India. With one of his students, P. Vijay Sarathy, Siddiqui showed that recombinant bacteria inherit DNA of bi-parental origin thus laying the foundation of principles of lateral gene transfer. In layman’s language his findings are the basis of the now well-known principle that genes pass from one generation to another.

With his other students like Kavita Arora and Veronica Rodrigues, Siddiqui showed that taste and smell of Drosophila have a genetic basis and thus opened a new field of chemosensory neurogenetics. These findings led others to research the role of genes on sensory perceptions, learning and memory.

Siddiqui was not a man who would compartmentalize his intellect to one branch of science. He contributed to fields as diverse as plants, Drosophila, bacteria, and genetics. He did not stop at research. He was an institution builder and established the National Centre for Biological Sciences in 1992 in Bangalore. Siddiqui was known for nurturing young minds by giving them the freedom to question.

Moreover, Siddiqui was a man who believed that sciences cannot operate in isolation of society. Scientists have a social responsibility and Siddiqui understood this. He stood for Human Rights, campaigned against communalisation and took part in social movements. Not only a music lover of Hindustani Music, Siddiqui was an established Sarod artist.

Obaid Siddiqui was awarded the second-highest civilian award, Padma Vibhusahan, by the Government of India. He was the true son of the soil who left lucrative offers in a foreign land to establish a research culture in India. His students are now serving the nation, which includes the present Principal Scientific Advisor of India, Professor Vijay Raghavan. 

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Saquib Salim / July 26th, 2021

E. Abu Bakar: Islamic Scholar, Community leader

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, , , , , , , , , , , ,

KERALA :

E. Abu Bakar (born in 1952) is a significant figure in the socio-political landscape of India, particularly known for his role as a leader in the banned Popular Front of India (PFI). He is also a founder member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board,

Born and raised in Kerala, Abu Bakar became actively involved in social and political activism early in his life, driven by a deep sense of commitment to the rights and empowerment of marginalized communities, especially Muslims.

Abu Bakar’s leadership in PFI has been marked by his efforts to address issues related to social justice, communal harmony, and the upliftment of the downtrodden. Under his guidance, PFI has focused on various initiatives aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of underprivileged communities. These initiatives include educational programs, legal aid, and awareness campaigns about constitutional rights and social justice.

A charismatic and articulate leader, E. Abu Bakar has been vocal about the challenges faced by Muslims in India, advocating for their rights in a democratic framework. He has been actively involved in organizing campaigns and movements that highlight issues of discrimination, police brutality, and state excesses. His approach often emphasizes the need for community unity and strategic action to address these challenges.

However, Abu Bakar’s leadership has also been contentious. PFI has faced criticism and legal scrutiny over its activities, with allegations of involvement in extremist activities and incitement of violence. Despite these controversies, Abu Bakar has maintained that PFI is committed to lawful activism and peaceful advocacy for the rights of marginalized groups.

Throughout his career, E. Abu Bakar has remained a polarizing figure, admired by many for his unwavering commitment to social justice, while also facing criticism from those who view his methods as provocative.

He has been in custody for two years following his arrest on September 22, 2022, under UAPA from his residence in Kozhikode.

At the time of his arrest, Abubacker, had no prior criminal record. He has been bedridden since January 2020 due to severe health conditions. He underwent extensive treatment for cancer, including chemotherapy and surgery, which involved the surgical removal of 80% of his abdominal and intestinal area. This has left his digestive system severely compromised. He also suffers from Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, vision loss, and hypertension, further deteriorating his overall health.

source: http://www.the100indianmuslims.com / The100 Indian Muslims / Home / 2024

‘Karnataka Kala Ratna Award’ presented to Radiulla Khan

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Karnataka (under research project), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mysuru, KARNATAKA :

Radiulla Khan, Organising Secretary of Mysuru District Kannada Sahitya Parishat, being presented with ‘Karnataka Kala Ratna’ State Award during the workshop on ‘Labour Rights’ organised by Karmikara Hakkugala Seva Samiti at Rotary Hall on JLB Road in city recently.

The award was presented to Radiulla Khan in recognition for his works in multilingual films especially in Kannada language as a junior artiste.

M.S. Naveen, Chief Legal Aid Guardian, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), V. Vinay Kumar from Employees State Insurance Corporation, industrialists and social workers M. Lalita Rao, Shubh Krupesh, V. Ramamurthy and Prashanth P. Aask, Actor-director Mahesh K.H. Belur, journalist Kasthurichandru and others were present.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Photo News (headline edited) / July 26th, 2025

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Rebuilds House for Poor Family in Kodagu with Donor Support

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Karnataka (under research project), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kodagu, KARNATAKA :

Kodagu:

In Marapala, under the Thitimathi Gram Panchayat of Kodagu district, a dilapidated house belonging to a poor family—damaged over the years due to heavy rains—has been rebuilt into a beautiful new home. The initiative was undertaken by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Kodagu District’s Baitu Zakat unit, with generous support from donors and the Sadrimane team.

In a simple ceremony held on the evening of Wednesday, July 23, the newly built house was inaugurated, and the keys were handed over by JI Abdussalam, Convenor of the Mysore Zone.

The event was graced by Gram Panchayat President Mrs. Ponnu, Vice President Mrs. Shyamala, members JI Afroz, local cleric Maulana Kamaruddin Ahsani, Baitu Zakat supervisor, and businessman JI Ahmed Balele, JIH Kodagu District Convenor JI C.H. Afsar Madikeri, District Secretary P.K. Abdurrahman Virajpet, Gonikoppa Circle Convenor JI Tanvir Ahmed, and JIH Siddapur Local President JI M.K. Ashraf, who played a key role in overseeing the construction.

source: http://www.thehindustangazette.com / The Hindustan Gazette / Home> News> Latest News / by The Hindustan Gazette / July 24th, 2025

10 extraordinary men and women of Bihar who changed society

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , ,

BIHAR :

New Delhi :

Among them are women who, through their work, have not only guided society but also become role models themselves. With courage, dedication, hard work, and limited resources, they are bringing about changes.

The list includes teachers, entrepreneurs, social workers, and heralds of change. Their stories fill us with pride and remind us that you can realise your objectives of serving society.

Khursheed Ahmad

Khursheed Ahmad has played a pivotal role in reviving Bihar’s cultural soul and turning Patna into a vibrant center of literature and arts. He has brought traditional forms like qawwali, poetry, literature, and Sufi music back into public life, infusing them with fresh energy and contemporary relevance.

Jabir Ansari

The right guidance at the right time can profoundly shape a life. Jabir Ansari, who hails from a humble background, reached the international martial arts arena thanks to his unwavering dedication. Hailing from Tumba Pahaad village in the Naxal-affected Jhajha block of Jamui district, he has won many gold medals and made his mark in martial arts.

Shams Alam

When doctors diagnosed a tumor in Shams Alam’s spine, they reassured him he would be running again in weeks. That day never came. Paralysis left his body’s lower half numb—a life-changing moment. Instead of despairing, Shams chose determination. Through grit and love for swimming, he emerged as a para‑swimmer who has made an indelible mark in Bihar, across India, and on international stages—breaking records and breaking barriers.

Tayyaba Afroz

She’s a pilot, and her social media bio proudly features phrases like “Born To Fly,” and “Dream, Achieve, Fly.” But behind these inspiring words lies a powerful story—selling ancestral land, withstanding social criticism, and overcoming physical and emotional barriers. Tayyaba Afroz from Jalalpur village in Saran district is not just the state’s first Muslim woman commercial pilot—she is a vibrant symbol of struggle, perseverance, and lofty dreams.

Dr. M. Aijaz Ali

Former Rajya Sabha MP Dr. M. Aijaz Ali has been an advocate for the marginalized for nearly 30 years. His guiding belief is that true development is incomplete without social equality and protecting the rights of the poor. Born in 1958 and raised in an orphanage, he overcame poverty through his academic passion to gain admission to the prestigious Patna Medical College.

Jameel Akhtar

As Deputy General Manager at NTPC, Jameel Akhtar has dedicated his life to educating underprivileged children in Bihar. His commitment is so intense that he has chosen to remain unmarried, believing marriage might hinder his mission. “If I marry, managing the education and care of 550 children will become difficult,” he told Awaz –The Voice. In a senior role at NTPC, his heart beats for the children who have no means to attend school.

Mohammad Ibrahim

A resident of Ramna in Motihari, Mohammad Ibrahim’s extraordinary journey inspires not just the youth of Bihar but all of India. His path from Motihari to Dubai is a powerful testament to determination and purpose. Recently honoured with Oxford University’s Best Travel & Immigration Services Award, his story marks a significant milestone in his professional journey.

Dr. Mumtaz Nair

Dr. Mumtaz Nair hails from a small village in the Kishanganj district of Bihar. In her early years, her family struggled even to meet basic needs. Despite hardships, her family chose to invest in her education—a decision that one day contributed significantly to the global fight against some of the world’s deadliest viruses.

Faizan Ali

At just 18 years, Faizan Ali was earning a degree in business studies when life called him to a deeper purpose. More than studies or ambition, he realised his true calling was serving humanity. “If you truly want to share someone’s pain, age and education don’t matter—passion does,” Faizan told Awaz – The Voice. Now 23, Faizan from Gaya is a shining example of selfless service. Raised in a modest family, he never imagined his life would pivot from a corporate future to community work.

Rani Khanam

Rani Khanam is the first Muslim Kathak dancer in Independent India to turn her love for classical dance into a profession. Originally from Gopalganj, Bihar, she practiced Kathak clandestinely, in a family that did not allow music or dance. Through her art, she has empowered women and highlighted key social issues.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home>The Changemakers / July 20th, 2025

Delhi IMA Honours Coimbatore Paediatrician Dr Jaleel Ahamed

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Science & Technology, Uniquely Indian Muslim HISTORICAL RECORDS - Sufi Shrines, Dargahs, Tombs, Mughal Mausoleums (wef. December 07th, 2024), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DELHI / Coimbatore, TAMIL NADU :

Yet another feather in the cap of paediatrician Dr Abdul Kasim Jaleel Ahamed as he was honoured with ‘Eminent Doctor Personality Award’ for the year 2025 at an event held at Indian Medical Association (IMA) headquartered in New Delhi. The occasion was during National Doctors Day

“Medicine cures diseases but only doctors can cure patients.” This thought-provoking quote of Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist Carl Gustav Jung is relevant in the context of noted paediatrician from Coimbatore Dr Abdul Kasim Jaleel Ahamed as he was honoured with ‘Eminent Doctor Personality Award’ for the year 2025 at an event held at Indian Medical Association (IMA) headquartered in New Delhi on the National Doctors Day event.

Indian Medical Association (IMA), the world’s largest association of doctors with over 4 lakh members and 1,800 branches across the country, held its prestigious national award ceremony in the nation’s capital on July 14, wherein scores of medical professionals in different categories were recognised with the honour by Chief Guest Dr Jitendra Goyal, Union Minister of Science and Technology besides the Guest of Honour Dr Anil Goyal, MLA from Delhi.

With over four decades of dedicated service, Dr Jaleel Ahamed carved a niche for himself in treating children at his Cloud One Smart Clinic at West Ponnurangam Road in RS Puram neighbourhood in Coimbatore city. No gainsaying the fact that the child specialist earned name and fame among the residents within and off the city. Noteworthy to mention, he earlier served as Chief Paediatrician and Neonatologist at Sri Ramakrishna Hospital for 34 years.

It is pertinent to point out that Holy Quran researcher, noted speaker, author and publisher Dr Ameer Althaf, in his book ‘Pettagam’ released in 2013 which is a compilation of 300 years history of Coimbatore Muslims, has a separate chapter on Dr A K Jaleel Ahamed.

He married the daughter of Sakkarai Mohamed Rowther, a philanthropist, who spared a considerable amount for charity even while running his transport company in the 1970s.  Those were the days when the less privileged and poor waited in front of Jungle Beer Dargah, Jamesha Dargah and Five Corner mosque during Jumma Ki Raat and on Jumma day.

Dr Jaleel Ahamed taking a cue from his father-in-law is doing his mite continuing his tradition in reaching out to the poor and the needy. Not to be left behind, Dr Jaleel’s service to mankind fetched him accolades from several quarters from far and near while not to speak of the recent IMA Delhi’s ‘Eminent Doctor Personality Award’ at a function organised in connection with ‘National Doctors Day’.

Making heads turn, Dr Jaleel treated an 800-gram test-tube baby claimed to be the country’s first while serving at Sri Ramakrishna Hospital as Chief Paediatrician & Neonatologist, which was the talk of the town then. Interestingly, the baby whom he had treated grew to become a graduate bringing pride to the paediatrician for his noble gesture. This particular incident finds a place in the Pettagam book.

Significantly, he was instrumental in donning the role of Organising ChairPerson – State Neocon 2007 and 2014, Organising Committee Ooty Pedicon (State IAP Conference 2005), Organising Committee , Kongu Pedicon (State IAP Conference 2017 Coimbatore, Organising ChairPerson – South Neocon 2018 in Chennai besides Organising Chairperson – State Neocon 2019 in Madurai, Organised Various CME and Neonatal and Paediatric Workshops in Coimbatore and was State & South Zone Coordinator for IAP Presidential Action Plans.

To his credit, he has numerous awards, including Sr Paediatrician Award, IAPTNSC Senior Neonatologist Award, NNFTN Academic Excellence Award, IMA Community Service Award UG, PG at Coimbatore Medical College during 1976 to 1981,1983-1985 besides Fellowship in Neonatology & Paediatric medicine.

Moreover, he had attended various International, National and State level conferences, workshops, CME programmes in Neonatology at Germany, Norway, Singapore, Italy, UK, South Africa, Dubai, Malaysia, Netherland, Athens, and Alexandria.

Adding more to this, Dr Jaleel said that he was part of the International vaccine summit during 2004 at Thailand and submitted various papers, presentations in paediatrics and neonatology and was selected as a special invitee to attend surfactant replacement therapy during 2006, 2007 in Norway (Oslo), and Italy (Ancona) while not speak of his participation at ESPGHAN summit held in UK, Czech Republic., Geneva, Scotland Visited Marburg, Germany as an observer in neonatology and paediatric nephrology during 2005.

He obtained observer fellowship in neonatology during 2012 at Texas Children’s Hospital USA. The list is endless as he is armed with many recognitions across the globe.

Radiance takes pride in felicitating Dr Jaleel Ahamed for the IMA honour for his dedicated service to the needy.

[The author is former Indian Express and Deccan Chronicle chief]

source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Focus> Pride of the Nation> Awards / by M Rafi Ahmed / July 22nd, 2025

Maharashtra’s First Muslim Woman Police Officer Retires After 36 Years

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sangli, MAHARASHTRA :

ACP Rehana Sheikh, who received nearly 150 awards and served across Maharashtra, says she will continue to serve the nation even after retirement

Mumbai/Sangli , MAHARASHTRA :

Rehana Sheikh, Maharashtra’s first Muslim woman police officer, has retired after nearly 36 years of dedicated service. She started her journey as a sub-inspector and retired on 31 May from the post of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP). At the time of retirement, she was working in the VIP security at Raj Bhavan in South Mumbai.

Governor of Maharashtra CP Radhakrishnan honoured ACP Rehana Sheikh on her retirement. She was recognised not just for her long career but also for her contribution to law enforcement and her trailblazing role as the first Muslim woman in the Maharashtra police force.

Speaking to Clarion India, Rehana Sheikh said, “I was the first Muslim woman to become a police officer in Sangli and Maharashtra. When I applied, 25,000 women took the police recruitment exam. Only 25 were selected and I was the only Muslim woman among them.”

Sheikh, who hails from Sangli, said her father served in the military, but no one in her family had worked in the police before. Her dream began when she was a national-level volleyball player. Watching the TV serial Udhan, which showed a woman police officer, inspired her to serve the country.

“A kabaddi player from our neighbourhood had become a sub-inspector. I had job offers from banks, but my volleyball coach asked me, ‘Do you want to be a clerk or an officer?’ That question changed my life,” she recalled.

Despite social challenges and the fact that a police job was not seen favourably at the time, her family stood by her. Rehana’s journey in the force was marked by both professional achievements and personal hardships.

“Shortly after I joined the force, my father passed away. I had to take care of my mother, younger sister and brothers. Then I got married in 1991, but my husband died in an accident in 1993. My son was very young at that time,” she said.

After her husband’s death, she was transferred to Solapur and later promoted and posted in Kolhapur. She remarried in 2004 and continued her service with dedication in various cities and districts of Maharashtra.

Rehana Sheikh worked during some of the most dangerous times in Mumbai’s history. “When I began my career, the underworld was very strong. Crimes were violent — beatings, murders. Now, the nature of crime has changed. We see more cybercrime and online fraud,” she explained.

She played an active role in many high-profile operations. “I was part of the police team during the Lokhandwala shootout. I was also involved in the search at Arun Gawli’s Dagdi Chawl, where we seized weapons. Those were difficult times, and I believe the new generation will find such work challenging.”

She also spoke about being among the first batch of women allowed to work at police stations. “Earlier, women officers were only posted at airports or less active places. We were the first to be allowed to work in police stations.”

Balancing home and duty has never been easy. “My husband and my colleagues supported me. I had the responsibility of my family and later my in-laws, too. But I managed both because of their support and Allah’s grace,” she said.

During her long career, Rehana Sheikh was honoured with nearly 150 awards. But for her, the real success lies in the lives she touched and the message she now wants to spread.

“My message to women is: be educated and join the police force. Serve the society, the nation and the country. Even after retirement, I want to continue working for the betterment of people,” she said with pride.

ACP Rehana Sheikh’s journey from Sangli to the top ranks of Mumbai’s police force is not only inspiring but also a symbol of determination, courage, and service.

source: http://www.clarionindia.net / Clarion India / Home> India> Indian Muslim / by Team Clarion / June 03rd, 2025

‘The Last of the Just’: Remembering Vakkom Majeed Through ‘Les Misérables’

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Freedom Fighters (under research project), Leaders, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

KERALA :

Let us not forget him in a hurry. Let us not reduce him to a paragraph in history books. Instead, let us pass on his memory like a worn volume of Pavangal, read and reread, loved and lived, whispered from one generation to the next.

Vakkom Majeed (1909-2000). Photo: From KM Seethi’s archive.

Vakkom Majeed passed away on July 10, 2000.

“He never went out without a book under his arm, and he often came back with two.” 

— Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

In the long and rolling corridors of memory, some lives stay like verses, opening out slowly, sentence by sentence, chapter by chapter, never quite closing. Vakkom Majeed’s was one such life. A life commemorated not only by its fearless engagement with history, but by its quiet, intense companionship with books. On the 25th anniversary of his passing, as we also mark the 100th year of Pavangal, the Malayalam translation of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables , it feels almost providential to recall him through the pages he so often inhabited.

Majeed Sahib, as many called him with reverence, moved with a book always kept under his arm, a bulwark against ignorance, a lamp in times of doubt. And among the many volumes he read and reread, Pavangal held a sacred space. Nalapat Narayana Menon’s 1925 translation of Hugo’s masterpiece was more than literature to him. It was revelation. He had devoured the original edition in his youth, and its characters never left him – Valjean’s anguish, Javert’s moral rigidity, the revolt in the streets of Paris, the quiet dignity of suffering souls. When he spoke of Pavangal, it was with a fervour one reserves for scripture. He did not read the novel, rather he lived it.

A.P. Udayabhanu, a veteran freedom fighter of Kerala, once described Majeed as a “moving encyclopaedia with at least one book in his hands.” But Majeed Sahib was more than a repository of knowledge. He was a seeker, a provocateur of conscience, a gentle fire that never flickered out. I have the sweetest of memories of my time spent with him, from childhood itself, I remember the rhythm of his voice as he discussed Bertrand Russell’s three-volume autobiography, Churchill’s sprawling accounts of World War II, or the 10-volume correspondence of Sardar Patel. There was never a trace of vanity in his learning. He read not to impress but to illuminate. And when he shared his readings – Azad’s Tarjuman al-Qur’an , Muhammad Asad’s Road to Mecca, M. N. Roy’s The Historical Role of Islam, Arthur Koestler’s The Yogi and the Commissar, or Hugo’s Pavangal, like many – he spoke with the urgency of a man who felt truth must never be hoarded.

Born on December 20, 1909, in the storied Poonthran Vilakom family of Vakkom near Chirayinkil (Travancore), S. Abdul Majeed inherited a legacy of reform and resistance. His uncle, Vakkom Abdul Khader Moulavi, had already lit the flame of renaissance among Kerala Muslims. From his schooldays at St. Joseph’s High School, Anjengo, young Majeed was pulled into the vortex of reform movements and the call of the Indian freedom struggle. By the time the Quit India movement broke out, he was already a marked figure in Travancore, arrested, jailed, and later jailed again for resisting the plan of “Independent Travancore.”

But what set him apart – what made him more than just another freedom fighter – was the deep moral imagination that animated his politics. His understanding of rebellion was not ideological. It was profoundly ethical. Like Victor Hugo, he believed that human dignity must stand unshackled before the majesty of any state or creed. He condemned the ‘two-nation theory’ not because it was politically inconvenient but because it was morally vacuous. To him, the soul of India was plural, secular, and indivisible.

In 1948, he was elected unopposed to the Travancore-Cochin State Assembly from Attingal. But when his term ended in 1952, he walked away from practical politics, choosing instead the solitary path of reading, reflection, and moral clarity. While others sought power, Majeed Sahib sought wisdom. And in doing so, he became more relevant with age. Over the next decades, he would immerse himself in the philosophical and historical writings of Bertrand Russell, the radical humanism of M. N. Roy, and the emancipatory visions of Narayana Guru. He called for a “return of Ijtihad”, a freedom of thought within Islamic traditions, and dreamed of a society beyond caste and creed.

He never became rigid in doctrine. His politics was never a fixed ideology, but a conversation between ideas and reality. In our many conversations, I recall his thoughtful analysis of the Malabar Rebellion. He agreed with the thesis that it was fundamentally a revolt born of agrarian injustice but he was deeply saddened by its later communal turn. For him, the tragedy of history was when righteous anger was manipulated into sectarian hatred.

And always, there was a book in his hand. Always, a passage to quote. Always, a memory to share.

The last three decades of his life were his most contemplative. He reread the classics, interrogated nationalist histories, and engaged with young minds who came to him for guidance. To them, he gave not slogans but questions. When he spoke of Jean Valjean’s redemption, it was a commentary on our prison system. When he discussed Javert’s suicide, it became a parable about the dangers of legalism without compassion. When he recalled Fantine’s fall, it was a scathing critique of social hypocrisy.

He never forgot the moment when he visited the Indian National Army hero Vakkom Khader in the Madras Central Jail. It was Majeed Sahib who brought back Khader’s last letter to his father before his hanging, a task that broke his heart and steeled his resolve.

In 1972, when the nation celebrated the silver jubilee of independence, Majeed was awarded the Tamrapatra by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Later he was deeply perturbed by the excesses of Emergency. 

There was no trace of ceremony in his life. No pursuit of fame or favours. He lived in quiet dignity, read in solitude, and died in obscurity, on July 10, 2000. He left behind not an estate, not a political dynasty, but an idea of what it means to live ethically, read deeply, and act justly.

Today, as we remember him, the centenary of Pavangal seems to carry the tenor of prophecy. One hundred years since Jean Valjean entered Malayalam letters, and twenty-five since Vakkom Majeed left this world, the two seem braided, one fictional, one real, both intensely human. Majeed Sahib was Kerala’s own Valjean: hunted by regimes, misunderstood by many, but ultimately redeemed by the fire of truth and the grace of humility. 

Let us not forget him in a hurry. Let us not reduce him to a paragraph in history books. Instead, let us pass on his memory like a worn volume of Pavangal, read and reread, loved and lived, whispered from one generation to the next.

For in remembering Vakkom Majeed, we remember the best of what we once hoped to be.

K.M. Seethi is director, Inter University Centre for Social Science Research and Extension (IUCSSRE), Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU), Kerala, India. Seethi also served as Senior Professor of International Relations, Dean of Social Sciences at MGU and ICSSR Senior Fellow. 

source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> History / by K.M. Seethi / July 11th, 2025