In recognition of his global contributions toward academic excellence, cultural preservation, and social welfare, the University of Kufa has conferred an Honorary Doctorate upon His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the 53rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq and leader of the worldwide Dawoodi Bohra community.
A distinguished Iraqi delegation, led by Prof. Dr Hayder Abed Dhahad, Senior Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Prof. Dr Alaa Naji Almawla, President of the University of Kufa, conferred the degree upon Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin at a ceremony held in Surat.
“The Diamond City of Surat serves as a fitting venue to honour His Holiness,” stated Prof. Dr Haider Abed Dhahad. “As his ancestral home and the principal seat of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah, which for centuries has stood as the premier educational hub of the Dawoodi Bohra community, Surat embodies a rich legacy of scholarly excellence. Conferring this honorary doctorate here underscores our shared dedication to knowledge, culture, and humanitarian values.”
Echoing these sentiments, Prof. Dr Alaa Naji Almawla said, “His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to education, heritage preservation, and global social upliftment. This doctorate honours his efforts in connecting higher learning with selfless social service, offering an inspiring model of compassionate and visionary leadership to our institution and academic communities worldwide.”
He added, “By presenting this honour to His Holiness, the University of Kufa recognises the enduring bond between classical scholarship and global humanitarian action.”
A Legacy of Academic and Social Leadership
Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin has consistently emphasised the role of education as the cornerstone of societal development. He has served as Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University and is the present Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia and the patron of Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah, the community’s premier Arabic academy; he champions a holistic educational framework integrating classical humanities with modern science.
Beyond academia, Syedna’s leadership spans extensive environmental stewardship, healthcare access, and community development initiatives across the globe.
Located in the Najaf Governorate of Iraq, the University of Kufa is a prominent seat of higher learning and academic research operating under the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Republic of Iraq. The university, with 40,000 students, encompasses diverse faculties across medicine, humanities, jurisprudence, and natural sciences.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Positive Story / by Muslim Mirror / September 21st, 2026
Hyderabad’s Mehrunissa Begum won a silver medal for India in the Logistics and Freight Forwarding category at the 48th WorldSkills Competition held in Shanghai. A BBA Logistics graduate and logistics professional, she showcased excellence in freight forwarding and international logistics.
Hyderabad:
Mehrunissa Begum, a young talent from the city, won a silver medal for India in the Logistics and Freight Forwarding category at the 48th WorldSkills Competition Shanghai 2026, one of the world’s most prestigious international skills competitions.
WorldSkills, one of the world’s largest platforms for vocational and professional skills, is often described as the global championship for skilled professions.
Competing against some of the world’s best talent, Mehrunissa Begum demonstrated excellence in logistics and freight forwarding, excelling in documentation, routing, commercial decision-making, and customer handling.
She completed her Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Logistics from Begumpet Degree College, Hyderabad, and is currently employed with Cargomen Logistics India Pvt. Ltd.
At Cargomen, she manages the Thermo Fisher Scientific account, gaining hands-on experience in international logistics operations, customer coordination, documentation, and freight management.
She underwent intensive training under Kamal Jain and his team, covering key aspects of international freight forwarding, including air and sea cargo, multimodal transport, freight calculations, Incoterms, customs procedures, documentation, dangerous goods handling, customer communication, and practical problem-solving.
The Logistics Sector Skill Council (LSC) provided training and institutional support throughout Mehrunissa Begum’s WorldSkills journey. The council plays a key role in promoting skill development and industry-aligned competencies within India’s logistics sector.
The 48th WorldSkills Competition was held in Shanghai, China, from September 22 to 27, 2026. Nearly 1,400 young professionals from around 70 countries and regions competed in 64 skills, covering sectors such as manufacturing, technology, services, transportation, construction, and logistics.
The competition provides young professionals with an opportunity to benchmark their knowledge and practical skills against international occupational standards.
Logistics and Freight Forwarding is a critical professional discipline that supports international trade and global supply chains.
Competitors are assessed on a range of areas, including freight planning, international transportation, documentation, customs compliance, cargo handling, costing, route planning, Incoterms, customer service, and operational problem-solving.
Mehrunissa Begum’s achievement reflects the growing competence of young Indian logistics professionals and their ability to compete successfully on the global stage.
The Government of India, through the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, has been actively promoting vocational and professional skills development under the Skill India initiative.
The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) plays a pivotal role in coordinating India’s participation in WorldSkills competitions and strengthening the country’s skill development ecosystem.
Through initiatives such as IndiaSkills and WorldSkills, young professionals are provided opportunities to develop industry-relevant skills and represent India on global platforms.
Mehrunissa Begum’s achievement is expected to inspire more young people to pursue careers in logistics and supply chain management, a sector offering significant global opportunities.
source: http://www.telanganatoday.com / Telangana Today / Home> Hyderabad / by Telangana Today / September 29th, 2026
The star raider has cleared many hurdles and come a long way since taking to kabaddi when he was about 14; irrespective of the hardships, the sport has been a constant.
Inamdar on cloud nine after going all the way at the Asian Games. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
There was a moment in the second half of the Asian Games kabaddi gold-medal match against Iran when Aslam Inamdar made a daring raid deep into the opposition half.
His teammate Pawan Sehrawat groaned inwardly as he did so. India’s lead was narrow. Iran was still in the contest. It was a risk that could have gone badly wrong. “It was a bad decision,” Pawan would say later. But Inamdar made the dash count, securing two touches and emerging unscathed. The points brought India closer to victory. “It was a wrong move, but ant bhala toh sab bhala (if the end is good, it’s all worth it),” Inamdar said after the match.
He grinned when he recalled the sequence later. It had been a tough decision to make. Wasn’t he worried when he made that move? What would have happened if it had gone wrong? “Bhai, I’ve gone through things you wouldn’t even imagine. This is nothing,” he said.
That, in many ways, is the story of Aslam Inamdar.
There was a time when, as a 14-year-old, he travelled across Maharashtra in search of kabaddi tournaments without even having enough money for a train ticket. He slept under train seats, survived on stale vada pav or whatever food was available at tournaments. He sometimes stuffed leftover food which often spilled into his bag. “If there was work to be done, I did it. I’ve cleaned toilets. I’ve sold juice and made tea. I’ve worked in fields. If there was a kabaddi tournament to play, I found a way to get there.”
In Nagoya on Saturday, Inamdar stood on the mat as India beat Iran to win the men’s kabaddi gold. It is his second Asian Games gold medal. The distance between those two versions of Inamdar is difficult even for him to comprehend.
“It still feels like a dream to me,” he said. “I often think about how someone who didn’t even have food at home holds two international medals.”
The medals are the latest chapter in a journey that began at Takli Bhan in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district, where Inamdar grew up as one of five children.
His father passed away when he was young, leaving his mother to raise the family. She worked in other homes, doing household chores and washing utensils, to keep the family going. Later, his elder brother Waseem joined the police force and took responsibility, including helping arrange the marriages of their two sisters.
Money was scarce. Inamdar remembers growing up in a house without proper flooring or roof. There were times when even food was difficult to come by.
So, he learnt early that work meant survival. At 11 or 12, he collected discarded bottles and sold them to scrap dealers to buy food. Later, he worked at tea stalls and juice bars, washed utensils, cleaned washrooms and worked in farm fields. He admits he stole sometimes. “It was just to fill my stomach. I faced many hard situations without letting them break me,” he said.
Through all of it, there was one constant: kabaddi. Waseem was a well-known player across several districts while senior player Rahul Bhor also inspired him. Inamdar wanted to establish his own identity. “No matter how long I worked during the day or night, I always went to the ground to train,” the raider said.
Inamdar… a special talent | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Kabaddi was a sport he could afford. It required little equipment, and the village ground was enough. For a boy with very little money, it offered something priceless: a chance. By the time he was 14 or 15, Inamdar was travelling alone to tournaments to compete in the 50kg and 55kg categories. He earned between ₹200 and ₹500 a match.
The money was little, but it mattered. It bought him meals when he might otherwise have gone hungry. More importantly, it kept him moving from one tournament to the next.
The path was neither smooth nor uninterrupted. In 2014, while India competed at the Asian Games, Inamdar was at home nursing a fractured leg and following kabaddi on television. His life at the time seemed a world away from an international career. “I was just watching kabaddi on TV. But I believe God’s plans are always better. My hard work never stopped.”
He kept working. Eventually, the Pro Kabaddi League changed the scale of his life.
In his first season, he earned ₹8 lakh. For someone who had once struggled to put food on the table, the money was almost incomprehensible. “Eight lakh felt like eight crore to me,” he said.
He did not forget where he had come from. With his first major earnings, he bought a gold necklace for his mother. Kabaddi had given him something that had once seemed almost impossible: financial security, recognition and a career. He went on to captain Puneri Paltan and establish himself as one of India’s leading players.
Then came the international medals. Inamdar won his first Asian Games gold in Hangzhou. Three years later in Nagoya, he has another. And once again, the final was against Iran — the one opponent which has consistently pushed India hardest at the Asian Games. “Iran is generally the most challenging opponent for us,” Inamdar said. “It has a strong defence and has very experienced players like Fazel Atrachali, who played in his fifth Asian Games.”
For Inamdar, beating such a formidable opponent made the gold more meaningful. “A tough challenge makes winning the gold medal feel even more rewarding.”
But for Inamdar, the significance of the medal lies beyond the result. It is the culmination of a journey that began when he was a boy travelling across Maharashtra for a few hundred rupees, when he collected scrap bottles for food and worked whatever jobs he could find before heading to the kabaddi ground.
Today, he tries to pass on that experience to younger players.
At his training ground in Thane, he speaks to juniors, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds, about his own journey. He wants them to understand that difficult circumstances do not have to determine where they end up. “I want young, underprivileged players to dream big and aim to achieve even more than I have. I want them to know that whatever happens, they shouldn’t stop working hard. They shouldn’t stop believing,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sports / by Jonathan Selvaraj / September 28th, 2026
Salman Khan used to drive a cab in New Delhi, now he has a medal at the Asian Games. Alongside Satnam Singh, Salman won India’s first ever bronze medal in the men’s double sculls on Thursday, September 24.
Salman Khan (left) and Satnam Singh (right) win India’s first ever bronze medal in double sculls at the Asian Games. (PTI Photo)
Indian rowers Satnam Singh and Salman Khan won bronze in the men’s double sculls at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya on Thursday, September 24, securing India’s first-ever medal in the event. The Indian pair clocked 6:13.25 in the final to finish behind China’s Yi Xudi and Yide Nie, who won gold, and Uzbekistan’s Pavel Sorin and Mekhrojbek Mamatkulov, who took silver.
Satnam and Salman were firmly in medal contention for much of the race, staying second at the 500m, 1000m and 1500m marks. They were eventually overtaken in the closing stages, slipping to third in the final 500m, but held on to secure the bronze.
For Salman, the medal marks his first podium finish at the Asian Games and another major step in a rowing career that began only after he joined the Indian Army. Before he found his way into the sport, Salman was driving an Uber in Delhi to support his family.
WHO IS SALMAN KHAN?
Salman Khan was born in Pure Dhingai in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi district and grew up as the eldest of four brothers and two sisters. His father, Mohd Kasim Khan, worked in truck-body construction in Tauru, Haryana, where Salman completed his schooling.
His life changed when his father died of dengue when Salman was 18.
With the responsibility of supporting his younger siblings falling on him, his plans of joining the Indian Army were put on hold. Salman instead moved towards earning a living, driving an Uber cab in Delhi and working day and night to help support his family.
His Army dream eventually returned.
A friend pointed out that Salman’s height and physical build could make him suitable for the armed forces. He handed the cab over to another driver and spent four months preparing for recruitment before clearing the recruitment rally, medical and written examinations.
Salman joined the Bombay Engineer Group in Pune on September 25, 2018.
It was after joining the Army that he was introduced to rowing.
Coaches Satywan, Satish Siraat and Prabhat Mishra noticed his physical attributes and encouraged him to try the sport. Salman was initially reluctant, as rowing was not something he had planned to pursue. But his coaches persisted and eventually put him into the boat.
His first inter-centre regatta brought a silver medal, giving him confidence to continue. He went on to win medals at battalion and inter-centre competitions before clearing the ergometer benchmarks in 2021 and earning selection for the Army Rowing Node at CME Pune.
Training alongside some of India’s leading rowers helped Salman see rowing as more than something he had been encouraged to try.
He twice came close to quitting the sport, but his coaches convinced him to continue. Senior coach Kudrat Ali and Training Officer Major Nagendra Hooda were among those who guided the next stage of his development.
The results soon began to reflect that progress.
Salman won gold at the 36th National Games in Gujarat in 2022 and also claimed gold at the 5th Indoor National Championship that year. In 2023, he won silver at the Senior National Championships and gold at the Open Sprint National Championships.
He also represented India at the World Rowing Cup III in Lucerne in 2023.
Salman was inducted into the Target Olympic Podium Scheme in 2023, receiving Rs 4,09,100 in support under TOPS. He also received Rs 12,16,589 under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition programme.
He won gold at the 37th National Games in Goa later that year before claiming gold at the Asian Rowing Cup in 2024. The result also earned him a promotion to the rank of Naib Subedar in the Indian Army.
His international record continued to grow, with silver medals at the Australian Rowing Championships in Tasmania and the Asian Rowing Championships in Vietnam in 2025. He also won gold at the 38th National Games in Uttarakhand and the 42nd Senior National Rowing Championships in Bhopal that year.
The Asian Games medal was the next significant addition to that record.
India’s bronze winning team in men’s double sculls at the Asian Games 2026. (PTI Photo)
WHO IS SATNAM SINGH?
Salman’s partner in the historic bronze, Satnam Singh, also arrived at rowing after starting out in another sport.
Satnam was a national-level handball player before switching to rowing in 2018. Olympian Swarn Singh Virk recognised his physical potential and encouraged him to take up the sport.
The move quickly developed into a career.
Hailing from Punjab’s Mansa district, Satnam represented India at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, where he finished eighth in the men’s pair. He later established himself among India’s leading rowers and won the men’s single sculls title at the 40th Senior National Rowing Championships, becoming the first Indian Navy rower to win the event.
Satnam’s first Asian Games medal came at Hangzhou in 2023, when he was part of India’s men’s quadruple sculls crew that won bronze.
He added more international success in 2025, winning gold in the men’s quadruple sculls at the Asian Rowing Championships in Vietnam. He also won silver in the indoor Asian Championships in the men’s double sculls.
The pairing with Salman at Aichi-Nagoya came after India’s rowing team underwent a late reshuffle.
Satnam and Salman had initially been part of the men’s quadruple sculls crew but were moved into the double sculls, while other rowers were shifted between events. The changes came just days before the rowing competition and led to frustration among members of the Indian team.
The two adapted quickly to their new combination.
On Thursday, they stayed in the medal positions throughout most of the final before securing bronze in 6:13.25. For Satnam, it was another Asian Games medal. For Salman, it was the first. And for Indian rowing, it was a historic first in the men’s double sculls.
source: http://www.indiatody.in / India Today / Home> Sports> Asian Games / by India Today Sports Desk – Kingshuk Kusari / September 24th, 2026
Nahida Manzoor, Kashmir’s first woman to scale Mountain Everest at the age of 23, says that she does not see many women in India interesting in mountaineering and she wants to change that.
Speaking to Awaz-the voice, Srinagar-based Nahida, says that women don’t have to necessarily scale major peaks like Everest. “Mountaineering is meant to give one the experience, test one’s mental and physical stamina and discover their own capabilities.”
Nahida taking a troop on a trek
“Adventure is not primarily about profit”, Nahida said.
“I believe India needs more trained mountaineers who are take encouraging people to experience the mountains as a personal responsibility. I regularly lead expeditions and longer treks involving groups of varying experience levels. Such trips can be challenging because participants differ considerably in speed, endurance and confidence”, Nahida shared.
Nahida heads Pampori and Daughters Adventure, a company through which she organises trekking, expeditions and outdoor activities.
Nahida Manzoor at Mt. Mahadev
“My approach is simple: nobody gets left behind”, Nahida believes. While leading a trek, she deliberately stays at the back of the group so that she can keep an eye on the slowest participants.
For her, the people accompanying her are her responsibility, and safety takes precedence over speed or reaching a destination quickly.
For Nahida Manzoor, mountains are not merely destinations to be conquered. They are spaces where courage is tested, limits are pushed and possibilities are expanded. A trained mountaineer from Srinagar, Nahida has transformed her childhood fascination with the hills into a career dedicated to adventure, trekking and encouraging more young people, particularly women, to enter mountaineering.
Her own journey demonstrates what becomes possible when training, family support and determination come together. From trekking around her Srinagar neighbourhood as a child to becoming the first Kashmiri woman to stand on Mount Everest, Nahida has often entered spaces where women remain underrepresented.
Nahida Manzoor at Mt. Sunset Peak
Her work has also extended to promoting adventure tourism in Kashmir. In 2024, she launched a paragliding venture in Barsoo village in Pulwama’s
Awantipora area, with the stated aim of creating employment opportunities for local residents.
Recently, she has climbed Sunset Peak, (4,745 metres), Shyn Mann Peak (4,300 metres) and Mount Harmukh, one of Kashmir’s most prominent mountains.
Nahida Mazoor at Mt. Sheen Myean Peak
In October 2025, Nahida recorded a scaled Mount Harmukh. A mountaineering summit registry records her ascent on October 17, 2025, at an elevation of about 5,142 metres.
Then came Mount Everest. In 2019, Nahida became the first woman from the Kashmir
Valley to summit Mount Everest. She reached the 8,848-metre peak with Sherpa guide Nima Kancha during her maiden Everest attempt. The expedition was not simply a physical challenge. Funding the climb itself was a major obstacle.
With the expedition estimated to cost around Rs 30 lakh, Nahida launched an online crowdfunding campaign after struggling to find sufficient sponsorship. Contributions from several supporters, government officials and organisations eventually helped make the expedition possible.
Nahida Manzoor at Mt. Friendship Peak
Her Everest achievement turned her into a symbol of determination for young women in Kashmir. But Nahida did not regard the summit as the end of her journey. Instead, it became the beginning of a larger mission.
Before it, she had already climbed peaks including Mount Deo Tibba in Himachal Pradesh, Friendship Peak, Mount Mahadev and Tatakooti Peak in Jammu and Kashmir.
Nahida’s journey as a mountaineer began when she joined the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhans to get trained in mountain climbing. She completed an advanced training, along with courses in skiing and rock climbing.
Her training taught her that climbing is as much about mental endurance and discipline as physical strength. This way Nahida, the girls amid Kashmir’s mountains turned her fascination for peaks into a profession.
Nahida Manzoor at Mt. Harmukh (5070 Mts.)
In an earlier interview, Nahida recalled deliberately carrying heavier loads during training to build stamina. The demanding preparation eventually helped her take on some of the most challenging mountains in the region and beyond.
Nahida’s latest expedition was Mt. Koh-e-Noor (South-West) which is 5146 mts. “This expedition was not only challenging but also meaningful and unforgetable for all of us. I am deeply honoured to become the first female climber to sucessfully summit Mt. Koh-e-Noor (SW) an add my name to the history of this mountain”, Nahida shared.
Nahida Mazoor at Mt. Koh-e-Noor
Her relationship with the mountains began early. Nahida started trekking when she was around 10 years old, exploring the hills around her home. During her school years, she was an all-rounder and participated in several sports, including badminton, volleyball and table tennis.
She was even selected for a national-level table tennis championship but could not participate. Eventually, it was mountaineering that captured her imagination completely.
The second of three daughters, Nahida grew up in Zewan on the outskirts of Srinagar.
Her belief that “there’s nothing that a girl cannot do” was strengthened by a family that encouraged all three sisters to participate in sports and pursue their ambitions. Her father, Manzoor Ahmad Pampori, played an important role in supporting her sporting interests. Nahida has often credited her parents for giving her the freedom to chase unconventional dreams.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Vidushi Gaur, New Delhi / September 22nd, 2026
The software can also locate hospitals and police stations near the last-seen location and provides guidance on what to do if a police complaint hasn’t been filed yet.
Arfath Mohammad / Photo | Express
Bengaluru :
Hyderabad-based Arfath Mohammad was led on the path to develop a software tracking platform when his close friend’s father struggling with dementia went missing from home. Now ReuniteIndia, the software tracking platform developed by Mohammad, has come into news by listing 665 individuals went missing during the Nepal floods and landslide.
It helped in listing those missing, rescued, and safe from official sources like Nepal Police, Nepal’s disaster management authority (NDRRMA), India’s Ministry of External Affairs, and verified family reports.
The platform brings police PDFs, MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) updates, disaster authority bulletins, and scattered social posts, often with different names, dates, and formats together while linking each case back to its original source to help families in trying to find their loved ones.
Mohammad has a Master’s from Wichita State University (USA) and was honoured with a wall dedication at the University’s Rhatigan Student Center for his work in programming and innovation.
The platform not only helps in locating missing persons, but each case page can generate a shareable poster with a real QR code linking back to its live status, so a printed flyer still shows the current status weeks later if someone scans it.
The software can also locate hospitals and police stations near the last-seen location and provides guidance on what to do if a police complaint hasn’t been filed yet.
ReuniteIndia has an AI-assisted layer that helps structure raw information from sources like government bulletins and social posts into clean case records for Arfath to review. Arfath is working on adding an AI chatbot on the resources page to help answer people’s questions directly.
Mohammad says that the ambition is not to be a Nepal flood tracker but to simply be a place any family in India turns to first, for any kind of missing-person case, at any time of year.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Bengaluru / by Express News Service / September 13th, 2026
Life should be significant, not merely long. While some people make their lives significant by amassing wealth, others contribute to society and future generations. Hakim Abdul Hameed was one such rare individual. He is the founder of Jamia Hamdard, a deemed-to-be University located in South Delhi, which is celebrating its Foundation Day on September 14.
Abdul Hameed was born in Delhi on September 14, 1908. His life story is not merely that of a physician but of a man who transformed a family legacy of medicine into a vast movement encompassing education, research, healthcare, and public service.
His family was deeply involved in medicine and social service; his father, Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed, had established ‘Hamdard Dawakhana’ in 1906. ‘Hamdard’ in Urdu means one who empathises with others’ pain. This very sentiment became the guiding principle of Hakim Abdul Hameed’s entire life. He inherited not just a business from his father, but a responsibility. He strived to build Hamdard into an institution that would benefit every stratum of society.
Hakim Abdul Hameed was a practitioner of Unani medicine, yet his vision extended far beyond the treatment of the human body. He understood that for Unani medicine to be passed on to the coming generations, it required systematic teaching, rigorous research, and incorporating modern scientific methods.
He believed that tradition and modern science were not at odds; rather, by preserving the valuable aspects of ancient medical systems, they could be further fortified through scientific inquiry and research. This vision changed him into a pivotal pillar of Unani medicine.
The year 1947 was exceptionally difficult for the country. Partition had impacted millions and created an atmosphere rife with mistrust, violence, and uncertainty. Yet, even amidst such turmoil, Hakim Abdul Hameed was contemplating the establishment of institutions for the India of the future. It was during this period that he founded the Hamdard Charitable Trust and resolved to dedicate Hamdard’s earnings to the service of society. This decision speaks volumes about his character; he viewed wealth not as something to be hoarded for personal gain, but as a trust held for the benefit of society.
Subsequently, he established more institutions — the Hamdard Tibbi College and the Indian Institute of Islamic Studies in 1963; the Hamdard National Foundation in 1964, and the Hamdard College of Pharmacy in 1972.
Gradually, other institutions such as the Hamdard Education Society, Hamdard Public School, Ghalib Academy, and the Hamdard Institute of Historical Research were also added to this fold. He sought to create a comprehensive system where pharmacy, education, history, culture, and research could flourish alongside medical treatment.
The culmination of Hakim Abdul Hameed’s long-standing efforts came in 1989, when the institutions he had established were amalgamated into one to grant ‘Jamia Hamdard’ the status of a to-be Deemed University. This marked a significant achievement, realising a dream and the hard work of decades. He became its founding Chancellor. Hamdard’s own funds and his personal resources played a major role in establishing this university.
Today, it is important to remember that Jamia Hamdard was not backed by government machinery or a corporate conglomerate. Behind it lay the conviction of a single individual who believed that education could be the greatest service to society.
To remember Hakim Abdul Hameed merely as a builder of institutions would be to diminish his true stature. He was, first and foremost, a physician; understanding others’ pain was intrinsic to his nature. In his view, treating a sick person and providing a poor child with the opportunity to study were acts stemming from the same spirit of compassion, and he strove throughout his life to improve the human condition.
The body is healed through medicine, while the mind is nurtured through education. Hakim Sahib regarded both as integral parts of a singular mission of social service. Perhaps this is why the institutions he founded accorded equal importance to the humanities, history, and culture alongside hospitals and medical education.
Hakim Abdul Hameed’s contributions were recognised both within the country and across the globe. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1965 and the Padma Bhushan in 1992. In 1983, the then Soviet Union honoured him with the Avicenna Award. During the final years of his life, he also served as the Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University.
However, considering his personality, it seems likely that he derived greater satisfaction from helping a needy person receive medical treatment or enabling a poor student’s education than from these accolades. For him, achievement was not merely about receiving awards but about making a difference in someone else’s life.
Hakim Abdul Hameed passed away in 1999, yet his work did not end with his departure. Even today, thousands of students study in the institutions he established, patients receive treatment in his hospitals, and the work of research and education continues to flourish.
The Jamia Hamdard campus is more than just a cluster of buildings; it stands as a testament to the idea that if an individual rises above personal interests to think about society, they can achieve a great deal for future generations. Hakim Sahib established these institutions much like a wise person plants a tree—knowing full well that while he might not live to sit in its shade, others certainly will. This was the most beautiful aspect of his life.
Today, the greatest challenge facing everyone associated with his institutions is ensuring that his legacy is not confined merely to names and monuments. The very meaning of ‘Hamdard’ is to understand the pain of others and strive to alleviate it. Hakim Abdul Hameed’s life teaches us that a person’s true legacy lies in the institutions and ideas that others carry forward long after they are gone. This is the legacy Hakim Abdul Hameed left behind. Carrying it forward is not just a matter of honour; it is our responsibility.
Author Prof. (Dr) M. Afshar Alam, is a Former Vice-Chancellor, Jamia Hamdard
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Personality-News / by M Afshar Alam / September 13th, 2026
It is a commonly held notion that the states of India are natural units, each a homeland of a particular language and culture that existed long before 1947. The formal recognition of these states after India became a Republic was nothing but natural.
A Slice of History
History shows that the political boundaries most Indians live inside today were drawn by a three-member commission that submitted its report on 30 September 1955. This means that the line that separates a Kannadiga from a Malayali or a Bihari from a Bengali was an innovation.
Till then, India had simply carried forward former British provinces, princely states and centrally administered territories, classified under a four-tier system of Part A, B, C, and D states inherited from the Government of India Act of 1935. It was Sir Syed Fazl Ali, a judge from Benares (Varanasi), who led the work to define the boundaries of Indian states,
Born on 19 September 1886 in Varanasi to Saiyid Nazir Ali, Fazl Ali belonged to a family of lawyers, with roots in Bihar. He studied at Muir Central College, Allahabad (now Prayagraj), and at the Middle Temple, London.
Oner his return to India, in 1912, set up practice in the district courts of Chapra, Bihar, arguing criminal cases before subordinate judges. This apprenticeship carried him to the Patna High Court in April 1928, with a deputation to settle labour disputes at the Tata steel works in Jamshedpur.
He was knighted in the New Year Honours of 1941, became acting Chief Justice of Patna in 1938 and permanent Chief Justice in January 1943.
Fazl Ali also chaired the inquiry into the Royal Indian Naval Mutiny of February 1946, one of the last rebellions against the British Empire in India. Later he sat on the Calcutta Disturbances Enquiry Commission, investigating the killings during the partition.
Fazl Ali was elevated to the Federal Court in June 1947. In three months and an Independent India, he went as India’s delegate to the second session of the United Nations General Assembly, where he was elected chairman of its Fifth Committee. In 1950, he became one of the eight judges of the Supreme Court of India. He was also the first Muslim to sit on that bench.
One of his dissenting notes as a Supreme Court judge made history. Indian Parliament had passed the Preventive Detention Act of 1950, allowing the state to jail a person without trial. In A.K. Gopalan versus State of Madras, decided on 19 May 1950, Chief Justice Harilal Kania led the majority in holding that a citizen could be stripped of his liberty by any procedure Parliament chose to enact, however unfair, so long as it was called law.
Two of the six judges who disagreed were Fazl Ali. Fazl Ali held that the procedure established by law had to rest on four elementary principles, which he summed up in a single line: “the right to be heard before one is condemned.” It took twenty-eight years and the government’s arbitrary seizure of a young woman’s passport, without explanation, for the Supreme Court to agree with him.
In Maneka Gandhi versus Union of India in 1978, the Court finally read fairness back into Article 21, and nearly every later right to dignity, privacy and due process in India has been built on that foundation. In fact, less than two years after Gopalan, Fazl Ali had already sat with the majority in the State of West Bengal versus Anwar Ali Sarkar, striking down a law that let the government to select certain cases for trial in Special Courts, bypassing ordinary procedures.
The Court held that such discretionary power violated Article 14 of the Constitution, as it allowed arbitrary and unequal treatment of similar offences. Indian courts still apply the test of reasonable classification under Article 14 that this judgment helped establish.
In 1952, Potti Sreeramulu fasted for a separate Telugu state. He died in the process, and there was unrest in the region. This forced Jawaharlal Nehru’s government to concede to reorganisation of India along linguistic lines.
In December 1953, Ali Fazl Ali, then Governor of Odisha, was asked to head a commission with the historian-diplomat K.M. Panikkar and the veteran liberal parliamentarian H.N. Kunzru as members for the purpose. For almost two years they toured the country, took evidence region by region and read memoranda from parties, princes and peasants. They weighed every demand against four tests – national unity and security, linguistic and cultural homogeneity, financial and administrative viability, and the welfare of the people in each proposed state.
The Commission submitted its report on 30 September 1955. The report said that it was guided by the principle that “the unity of India must be regarded as the paramount consideration,” and refused to accept one language, one state as an absolute rule.
Not every line the commission drew was viable. For example, it kept Maharashtra and Gujarat together as a bilingual Bombay state. The plan was not acceptable to both Marathi and Gujarati speakers, and the state was split into Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960.
The commission had recommended 16 states and three union territories as against the final Reorganisation Act of November 1956 going for 14 states and six UTs. However, the template was intact. Punjab and Haryana followed it in 1966. Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand followed it in 2000. Telangana followed it in 2014. Every one of these reorganisations has worked within the same administrative and legal vocabulary that Fazl Ali’s commission wrote, that a community’s claim to its own language and government must be weighed against, never simply surrendered to, the unity and coherence of the nation.
Fazl Ali spent his last years as Governor of Assam, working to bring the Naga hills into the administrative mainstream. He opened a college at Mokokchung, Nagaland that still bears his name.
Fazl Ali’s son, Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali, became Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and, in 1975, a judge of the very Supreme Court his father had helped inaugurate. Sir Syed Fazl Ali was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1956. He died in office on 22 August 1959.
Sir Syed Fazl Ali led no mass movement. But every time an Indian under arrest demands to know the grounds, every time a citizen calls a law arbitrary before a court, and every time someone crosses from one state into another without a thought for how that border came to sit exactly there, they are repeating an argument first made by a Varanasi-born Bihari judge.
source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories / by Saquib Salim / September 11th, 2026
A delegation of the Aim India Forum (AIF), led by Founder President Shaikh Muzaffer, held an introductory meeting with Emmadi Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, Consul General of India to Dubai and the Northern Emirates, at the Consulate General of India in Dubai.
Muzaffer was accompanied by AIF Convener Mohammed Azeem, Vice President Mohammed Niyaz, Secretary of Community Welfare Ismail and Coordinator of Community Welfare Jangam Balakrishna.
The meeting focused on introducing the forum’s objectives and ongoing community initiatives and discussing ways to strengthen support for Indians living across the UAE.
Key issues discussed included the welfare of blue-collar workers, labour awareness, community awareness programmes, assistance to distressed Indians and initiatives for the wider Indian community.
The AIF delegation also stressed the need to create greater awareness among Indian nationals about their rights and responsibilities, government services, legal procedures and available support mechanisms.
Speaking during the meeting, Shaikh Muzaffer said, “We don’t want to be another organization that comes to the Consulate with problems; we want to come with solutions.”
He said the forum’s vision was to ensure that the Indian community becomes the most informed and updated community in the UAE. This includes greater awareness about labour rights, government services, legal procedures, safety, financial literacy and other issues affecting Indian nationals.
Muzaffer also appreciated the leadership of Consul General Emmadi Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, describing him as an energetic, dynamic and passionate leader with an interest in understanding community issues and engaging with different stakeholders.
He expressed confidence that further opportunities would emerge to strengthen community outreach and welfare initiatives under Reddy’s leadership.
The AIF team conveyed its willingness to work with the Consulate General of India and other relevant authorities on initiatives aimed at supporting Indian nationals in the UAE.
The meeting concluded with both sides expressing their commitment to continued engagement and cooperation on the welfare, awareness and empowerment of the Indian community.
The forum reiterated its guiding principle: From Problems to Solutions — From Awareness to Empowerment.
source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Gulf / by Vartha Bharati / August 22nd, 2026
Bajpe Zakria, founder of the prestigious Al Muzain company, along with his son Zahid Zakria, Managing Director of Dune & Tides, met and congratulated Vipul Kumar, IFS, who recently assumed charge as India’s new Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
During the meeting at the Embassy of India in Riyadh on Tuesday (August 25), Bajpe Zakria presented a bouquet to Ambassador Vipul Kumar and held detailed discussions on strengthening India-Saudi Arabia economic relations, with a focus on trade, investment, education, industry and other areas of mutual interest.
Bajpe Zakria said that the discussions provided a positive platform to further strengthen the long-standing partnership between India and Saudi Arabia.
Ambassador Vipul Kumar had previously served as India’s Ambassador to the UAE and Qatar, where he also maintained a cordial relationship with Bajpe Zakria.
source: http://www.english.varthabharati.in / Vartha Bharati / Home> Gulf / by Vartha Bharati / August 26th, 2026
