Thasleena Puthiya Purayil with her husband and children.
Indian expat based in Qatar Thasleena Puthiya Purayil has hit the Dhs15 million Big Ticket jackpot in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Thasleena who lives in Doha bought the winning ticket online.
Thasleena, who hails from Kerala, took home the mega prize amid pandemic.
Big Ticket Abu Dhabi wrote on Facebook, “Congratulations to Thasleena Puthiya Purayil, from India, with winning ticket no. 291310. She won Dhs15 Million in The Fantastic 15 Million series 224.”
Thasleena told Big Ticket officials that she brought the ticket for the first time.
In Qatar, Thasleena and her husband Abdul Gaddaf run a chain of restaurant and their business is doing quite well.
The happy couple has 3 children, a son who is studying in a University in Dubai, daughter and an infant.
Big Ticket also wrote, “Congratulations to Wilma Danthi with Ticket No. 001517 from India for winning the Dream Car Range Rover series 1!”
Apart from Thasleena, 7 other Indians won prize money between Dhs350,000 to Dhs20,000 in the raffle draw.
The Big Ticket, the longest-running and biggest raffle draw in the UAE is hosted at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Al Ain Airport and online at www.bigticket.ae
The raffle draw said, “What started out with a Million Dirham cash prize, gradually grew over the years and now on Big Ticket’s 29th year, we’re giving away grand prize’s of up to 20 Million Dirham.”
The raffle draw guarantees cash prizes vary from month to month with Big Ticket giving away a minimum of 10million dirham up to our biggest jackpot of 20 million.
source: http:///www.gulftoday.ae / Gulf Today / Home> News / by Gulf Today, Staff Reporter / February 06th, 2021
Sameera Khan is a cyclist and a mountaineer. Image courtesy: IANS
Hyderabad:
A cyclist and mountaineer, she is out to prove to the world that girls are capable of doing anything without family support.
After losing mother when she was just nine and her father, a tailor, few years ago, P. Sameera Khan overcame all odds to come up in life and is now looking for sponsors to fulfill her ambition of scaling Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world.
A solo traveller, she has already cycled her way to 20 countries. The 30-year-old from Anantapur in in Andhra Pradesh has already scaled four mountains, the highest being 6,858 meter high Ama Dablam in Nepal.
“I want to tell the world that a girl in India needs lot of support from her parents. I am trying to pursue my dream, earning for it, spending for it, everything on my own but now I have come to a point where I need some financial support to attain my ambition. I want to tell the world that girls are capable of doing everything despite not having family support,” Sameera told IANS.
The backpacker’s Mt Everest expedition requires Rs 30-35 lakh. “I have some money and I need sponsorship. The kind of work I do should be getting lot of support,” she said.
She wants to scale Mt Everest from Tibet side and not Nepal, which she said is commercial and easy. ” “From Tibet side, it is tough and also very technical. Rather than doing just for the sake of doing, I want to do something which makes me feel I have done the whole thing beyond my ability,” she said.
Sameera said she approached the government authorities for help but they refused as they don’t consider mountaineering as a sport.
Youngest among five siblings, she lost her mother at the age of nine and was brought up by her father, a tailor.
While pursuing medical lab technology course after 10th standard, the family finances forced her to take up a job in BPO in Bengaluru.
During Srinagar floods of 2014, she travelled to Kashmir as a volunteer. She went on a solo Pahalgam valley trek for two days and soon she started learning how to survive in tough conditions.
Sameera, who lost her father in 2015, started undertaking solo travels with her savings. She cycled across South Asian and South East Asian countries. In India, she cycled for over 1,000 km covering various states.
Her trekking expedition started with Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and later extended to Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. She has already covered 550 km high altitude trekking.
She has have not done any course in mountaineering. “I was already cyclist. I cycled in 20 countries . I think that boosted my confidence to become a high-altitude trekker,” said Sameera currently an entrepreneur at Kepler Home Cinema in Hyderabad.
Always ready to accept new challenges, Sameera started high altitude mountaineering. “Mountaineering is very down thing. It’s toughest of all sports. People who are into mountaineering have to be mentally and physically tough. Only those people who are not afraid of death can survive,” she said.
On November 13, 2018, she climbed 6,859 meters high Ama Dablam mountain peak in Nepal. This came barely a month after she had ascended 6,160 meters high Imja Tse (island) peak.
This further boosted her confidence and she started training for scaling Mount Everest. She has to go to the UK for advance training, which alone will cost Rs 3.50 lakh.
“I want to attribute to my demised parents a legacy of my lifetime achievement by inspiring women and girls from the suburbs of South India. Then I want to publish my book and make a small documentary on my life journey. I want the world to respect women and regard them high,” shared Sameera, whose all four sisters are married.
She said that she has so much to say to the world but before that wants to scale the peak. “I can be heard if only I am at the top as people listen to eminent and dynamic personalities,” added the girl with Himalayan ambitions.
source: http://www.onmanorama.com / OnManorama / Home> Lifestyle / by IANS / February 05th, 2021
Ali’s coaching influenced well-known players like Vijay Amritraj, Anand Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan, Leander Paes and Somdev Devvarman.
Tennis legend Akhtar Ali, a father figure in Indian tennis, passed away here in the early hours of February 7, said a Bengal Tennis Association source.
He was 81 and is survived by his son, well known tennis player Zeeshan Ali, and two daughters.
Ali had been suffering from various ailments for the last few months. He was hospitalised for a few days before being brought back home recently. He passed away at 2:30 a.m. on February 7.
His cremation is expected to take place around 4 p.m.
Born on July 5, 1939, Ali played in eight Davis Cup ties against Pakistan, Malaysia, Iran, Mexico, Japan and Monaco between 1958 and 1964. He also captained and coached the Indian side. He has also played in the Wimbledon and French Open grand slam events.
His last ATP tour outing was against Vijay Amritraj in a clay court match in Bombay on November 11, 1974.
A fine and soft-spoken person, Ali is well known as a coach, whose coaching influenced well-known players like Vijay Amritraj, Anand Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan, Leander Paes and Somdev Devvarman.
He was passionately involved in coaching and organising events for grassroots players throughout his life.
Ali was conferred the Arjuna Award in 2000 for lifetime contribution to tennis.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Tennis / by Y.B. Sarangi / Kolkata – February 07th, 2021
Indian-origin Sabih Khan has been named as the Senior Vice President of Operations at Apple, the global tech giant announced. Khan, whose family hails from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh has been with Apple since 1995 working in various senior executive roles.
In his new role, Khan would be in charge of Apple’s global supply chain, ensuring product quality and overseeing planning, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and product fulfilment functions, Apple said in a statement.
“Sabih leads our Ops team with heart. He and his entire worldwide team are committed to delivering unmatched experiences to our customers, treating workers everywhere with dignity and respect, and protecting the environment for future generations,” said Tim Cook, Apple CEO.
Before joining Apple’s procurement group in 1995, Sabih Khan worked as an applications development engineer and key account technical leader at GE Plastics. He earned a bachelor’s degrees in Economics and Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Khan’s promotion follows the departure of Apple’s legendary chief design officer Jonathan Ive, who quit the company to form his own design company, LoveFrom.
KKhan will report to Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer
“I’ve been privileged to work with Sabih for more than 20 years, and you won’t find a more talented operations executive anywhere on the planet,” said Williams. “He is a world-class leader and collaborator, and I have no doubt that he will be the best leader of the Ops team in Apple’s history.”
source: http://www.thecognate.com / The Cognate / Home> Business / by Shaik Zakeer Hussain / June 29th, 2019
Chairman and Managing Director of UAE-based Lulu Group International is an employer of more than 30,000 Indians abroad.
Thiruvananthapuram :
M.A. Yusuffali, Chairman and Managing Director of UAE-based Lulu Group International has been nominated as expert member of the Governing Council of India Centre for Migration (ICM) by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
ICM is a committee that undertakes research and studies on migration of Indian workers for overseas employment and supports informed policy making in MEA.
Among other objectives, ICM is tasked with equipping the country’s human resources in the field of employment to international standards, providing guidance for promoting employment in foreign countries, highlighting India as a country with a highly qualified and skilled workforce, and preparing welfare schemes for the Indian working community abroad.
The committee, chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, also includes the Secretary, Ministry of Finance, the Secretary, Ministry of Labour and the Secretary, Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises.
Yusuffali, while thanking Indian government and the prime minister for this important nomination, said that he will use his experience of almost 5 decades in the Middle East both as an NRI businessman and as an employer of more than 30,000 Indians to further enrich the diaspora.
“My efforts will be more towards preparing the new generation as a global professional fit for today’s fast-evolving business environment, especially considering the challenging times we are going through,” UAE-based Indian businessman said. — IANS
source: http://www.clarionindia.net / Clarion India / Home> Editor’s Pick / by IANS / January 19th, 2021
Awarded the Padma Shri in 2017, Karimul Haque began helping the sick commute to the hospital in his village. But his reason will bring you to tears.
Jugaad – a flexible approach to problem-solving that uses limited resources in an innovative way.
The reason I start with this definition of a colloquial Hindi term is only because the protagonist of my story—Karimul Haque (55), who is also referred to as ‘Ambulance Dada’—truly embodies the meaning of the word jugaad.
Losing his mother due to the non-availability of an ambulance in time led him to start his own motorcycle ambulance in 1998. Since then he has ferried over 5,500 patients from across 20 villages in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri district.
In 2017, Karimul was also awarded with a Padma Shri for his service. Karimul is a stellar example of the phrase – ‘service above self’.
No one should die for lack of treatment
Karimul Haque – Ambulance Dada
Having seen his mother pass away due to lack of timely access to treatment, Karimul says that his constant thought was to find a way to ensure that this does not happen to anyone else. He says, “It was just another day when I was working in the tea garden. I saw a fellow worker collapse and without thinking about it, I put him on my motorbike, tied him to me and took him to the nearest hospital.” It worked and Karimul managed to save his life.
“That incident was all the push I needed. I decided to use my motorbike to ferry those in need,” he says, adding, “I realised that in my area, a motorbike works better than a van or a full ambulance. The reason why a bike ambulance works best in this area is because the roads are not conducive for a larger vehicle to cross and sometimes even the rivers overflow. It is easiest to maneuver a motorbike in these conditions.”
‘People would mock and even laugh at my face’
Ambulance Dada providing first aid to an elderly.
Since the ambulance that Karimul operates is not one that follows conventional norms, he says he was often mocked and even laughed at. “But once they saw the work that I was able to do and the number of people I was able to help, people’s perception started to change,” he says. Besides always being there for people when he is called upon, Karimul also seems to always have a solution to the problems people come to him with.
Not just an ambulance service provider
Day and night ambulance service.
With the passage of time, Karimul and his sons also got trained in administering basic first aid to patients. He says, “Today, I also organise regular health camps in the village. The kind of poverty that the villagers live in often stops them from visiting a doctor or the hospital. With these camps, many small niggling health issues are being corrected.”
Karimul has also gone one step further and converted a part of the land his house is built on to serve as a hospital. “We have tie-ups with doctors who also do video consultations now. Basic tests like sugar and blood pressure are also conducted at the hospital. In the case of an emergency, I am also trained to administer saline drips,” he says.
With former President Pranab Mukherjee.
Dr Soumen Mondal, a general surgeon practicing in Jalpaiguri says, “I have known ‘Ambulance Dada’ – Karimul since 2013. Not just dedicated but he is also someone who will go out of his way to help those in need. I have personally trained him in many of the basic first aid techniques and often help through video consults as well.”
Even busier during the pandemicpix06
At a time when a majority of us stayed indoors during the lockdown period, Karimul and his sons have been busy. “Besides ferrying patients to the hospital on my motorbike ambulance, we also saw that many of them were not even able to afford one meal a day. That was when we decided to start supplying rice to as many people as we could,” says Karimul.
So far close to 1,000 people have benefitted by the rice that Karimul and his family have distributed and another 200 families have been provided with cooked food. “These are migrant labourers, and with no work, they had no income whatsoever. We started cooking at home and serving these families,” says Raju, the elder son of Karimul.
He goes on, “Now people know baba (Karimul) and we also get donations and sponsorships. We have used the money to buy and provide blankets and food to those in need near our village.”
Raju ends the conversation by saying, “We have grown up seeing him readily available to everyone at whatever time they needed. Even though he is in his 50s, the energy he has sometimes even puts me to shame.”
This nine-times over grandfather says, “I may be 55 years of age but mentally and even physically I am not a day older than 30. It is my duty to serve those in need and will do so until the day I can’t any more.”
(Edited by Yoshita Rao)
source: http://www.thebetterindia.com / The Better India / Home / by Vidya Raja / December 04th, 2020
The BJP-led Hindu nationalist government has conferred Padma awards on 119 personalities. The awardees include eight Muslims.
Two renowned Islamic scholars, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan and MaulanaKalbe Sadiq have also been selected for the award.
Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award have been presented to Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, while Maulana Kalbe Sadiq have been provided Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award.
Both the scholars had urged Muslims to give away their claim on Babri Masjid. Currently, a Ram Temple is being constructed on the site where Babri Masjid was standing till its demolition by Hindutva mobs, aided by BJP-RSS veterans, on 6 December 1992.
The awardees include, polymath Ali Manikfan, who has been awarded with the Padma Shri for his contribution in grassroots level innovations at Lakshwadeep. Born into an aristocratic family in 1938 in the Minicoy Island of Lakshwadeep, Manikfan is as marine researcher, ecologist, shipbuilder, agriculturist, and a polyglot.
Gulfam Ahmed from Uttar Pradesh for his contribution in the field of Art, Lakha Khan for Literature from Rajasthan, and Ghulam Rasool Khan for Art from Jammu and Kashmir, Sanjida Khatun for Art from Bangladesh and Col Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir for Public Affairs from Bangladesh are among the recipients of the Padma Shri.
These awards cater to various disciplines including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service. While ‘Padma Shri’ is awarded for distinguished service in any field, ‘Padma Bhushan’ is awarded for distinguished service of high order. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service.
source: http://www.muslimmirror.com /Muslim Mirror / Home> Featured / by Muslim Mirror Staff / January 28th, 2021
Badharia Village (Azamgarh District), UTTAR PRADESH / NEW DELHI :
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan has been given Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award, for his exceptional contribution in the field of spiritualism.
File photo of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan.(CPS Global)
The Centre on Monday released the list of Padma awards on the eve of India’s 72nd Republic Day in which it has honoured 119 people for their achievements and contributions to their respective fields of work.
One of the names that is sure to pique interest is that of renowned Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. He has been given Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award, for his exceptional contribution in the field of spiritualism.
Khan first shot to limelight when he gave a clarion call to Muslims to relinquish claims over the disputed Babri Masjid site, one the first community leaders to do so.
He then floated, along with others, the “Vajpayee Himayat (support) Committee”, which had extensively campaigned for the former BJP prime minister in the Lucknow constituency in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
Khan is known for his association with Vajpayee and his senior colleague in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) L K Advani.
Khan has contributed articles to the RSS mouthpiece Organiser which presents him “as an enlightened alternative to Islamic fanaticism” for “reportedly counselling Muslims to abandon their claim on Ayodhya”.
His verified Facebook page describes the Islamic scholar as, “Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is an Islamic spiritual scholar who has adopted peace as the mission of his life. Known for his Gandhian views, he considers non-violence as the only method to achieve success.”
He established Centre for Peace and Spirituality (CPS) in 2001 to promote and reinforce the culture of peace. The website of the organisation says the Khan was born in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh in 1925.
Padma awards – conferred in Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri categories – are among the highest civilian awards given in various disciplines/fields like art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil service.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India News /by HindustanTimes.com – edited by Amit Chaturvedi / January 25th, 2021
The Dhannipur project includes a mosque, hospital, museum, library, community kitchen, Indo-Islamic Cultural Research Centre and Publication House.
A plantation drive was also organised to mark the launch of the Dhannipur project (Sourced)
The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board (UPSCWB) formally launched the Dhannipur project on the allocated five-acre land at Dhannipur village of Ayodhya by hoisting the national flag and planting saplings to mark Republic Day celebrations on Tuesday.
The Dhannipur project includes a mosque, hospital, museum, library, community kitchen, Indo-Islamic Cultural Research Centre and Publication House. The land was allotted to UPSCWB in compliance with the Supreme Court directives in the Ayodhya title dispute case in which the apex court, on November 9, 2019, paved the way for construction of Ram temple at the disputed site.
“I believe there is no better way than to start the project by planting saplings on the five-acre land. The plantation was carried out in the area of the project meant to be developed as a green area. The area will have plants and trees from all different geographical regions of India and from different parts of the world in order to create awareness about the imminent threat of climate change,” said Athar Hussain, spokesperson for Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) which has been set up by UPSCWB to look after the construction of the Dhannipur project.
Senior members of the board along with the members of the IICF hoisted the flag at 8.30 am on the 5 acre land in Dhannipuur village. The flag hoisting was followed by plantation drive where members and trustees of IICF planted saplings.
On December 19, the trust had released the blueprint of the mosque and other structures designed by Professor SM Akhtar, a Lucknow-based architect and town planner, whom the trust has hired to design the mosque that would come up in Dhannipur in place of the Babri Masjid that was demolished in 1992.
Akhtar is the founder dean of the Faculty of Architecture at Jamia Milia University, Delhi.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> India News / by HT Correspondent / January 26th, 2021
Acting Indian Consul General Y.Sabir poses for photos with winners of Brig. Usman Storytelling Contest and Organizers of the event at Indian Consulate in Jeddah
Jeddah :
Members of the Indian Community in Jeddah gave a big salute to the patriotic valor and great sacrifice of Brig. Mohammed Usman, who laid his life defending the honor of his great nation. Brig. Usman, who at a young age, declined the offer to assume the highest military rank of another country and instead preferred to defeat them in a crucial war by sacrificing his precious life on the war front and thus becoming the highest-ranking Indian Army officer to be martyred in the war.
This great Indian war hero, nicknamed as the “Lion of Nowshera,” was remembered recently during the community’s celebration of the Indian Army Day, which falls on Jan. 15, and that marked paying rich tribute to members of the Indian Armed Forces.
Acting Indian Consul General Y. Sabir was the chief guest of the event, titled “Salute to our heroes,” held in the presence of prominent community members at the conference hall of the Jeddah Consulate in which several highly decorated officers of the Indian Army joined virtually to speak about their experiences right from the field with great enthusiasm and passion.
The most distinguished among them was the keynote speaker Lt. Gen. Bhupinder Singh, former lieutenant governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The younger generation of the community also were part of the celebration and posthumous honoring of the great Indian war hero with their participation in the “Brig. Usman Memorial Storytelling Contest.”
In his speech, Sabir shared with the audience how an Indian Army soldier goes through tough and arduous training that enables him to achieve all round personality development as a true role model of an Indian citizen.
“An Indian Army soldier is the epitome of courage and determination to his duty, and his role and responsibilities are not limited only to warfronts but rather cover much wider areas of serving the entire nation and people,” he said, while calling on the younger generation to come forward to take up a brilliant career in the Indian Armed Forces.
Sabir also lauded the efforts of Indian community for holding a unique event in honoring Brig. Usman, coinciding with the Army Day.
President of India Forum Mir Ferozuddin, who hails from the bloodline of Brig. Usman, spoke about the ‘josh’ of the soldiers that is more ferocious than the roar of a lion. “It is this josh that made the “Sher of Nowshera” reject the offer to become the Chief of Army of the neighboring country and continued to command his country’s army until he became a martyr on the soil of his own beloved country,” he said.
Ferozuddin invited Kargil war veteran Capt. Yashika Tyagi to join the session virtually to give a brief biography of Brig. Usman and insights into his heroic martyrdom.
She began her speech with the remarks of “Shera Shera Nowshera” feeling of pride of belonging to the banner of the great Brigadier. Tyagi described the courage and determination of Brig. Usman in recapturing Jhangar village in Kashmir. “In all senses of the word, Brig. Usman was a great warrior, who faced each set back in his life head-long and defeated each setback with the strength of his character.”
Capt. Tyagi, the first lady officer to be posted in extreme cold weather, also spoke eloquently about how a woman, a mother of a toddler and four-month pregnant, fought bravely to safeguard India’s borders. She motivated Indian girls and boys to join the Indian Armed Forces, with a promise to train them personally.
In his keynote address, Lt. Gen. Bhupinder Singh recalled: “Brig. Usman continued to remain an inspiring war hero all throughout my military and civil life ever since my joining of the Indian Army at the age of 19. Brig. Usman was among my heroes about whom I have been mentioning in all my writings,” he observed and lauded the family of Mir Ferozuddin as a fine example of true patriots.”
The event also saw a virtual CatFit deliberations to mark the Army Day. CatFit, a pioneer of M.A.S.T.S (Military Application and Special Forces Tactics for Students), covers all domains of psychological, mental, physical and emotional development and thereby ensuring that students achieve their optimum potential. Global Head of CatFit Arpan Dixit introduced the speakers.
Maj. D.P. Singh, a distinguished military officer who fought in the Kargil war and sustained serious injuries, spoke about the sheer determination of a soldier. Singh talked about the kind of soldiers the Indian Armed Forces develop with tough trainings. He showed his journey from 1999 when he got injured by a mortar bomb in Kargil to being the first blade runner of India.
Defense expert Brig. Anjum Shahab, who has over three decades of services in Indian Army, addressed the young generation and motivated them to join the Armed Forces and showed direction on how they can join. On his part, Maj. Mohammed Ali Shah drew attention to various TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Talks, giving full of inspiration and well connected with the young generation. Shah started off as an actor and then joined the Indian Armed Forces where he served for five years.
The Squadron Leader Meena Arora narrated her stories from the war field. She mentioned the use of technology in the Air Force and how it is influenced in winning a war. Arora talked about the strength of the Indian Air Force and mentioned the fight of Wing Commander Abhinandan Vardhaman, who landed in the enemy area but showed bravery in the face of death.
Zakaria Biladi, a prominent Indian community leader, was mainly behind organizing this unique event with the core objective of creating awareness among the younger generation about picking their brilliant career path in the Indian Defense Forces. In his speech Biladi said: “There is a dire need to ignite the passion for such services in the Indian youth living in Saudi Arabia particularly because they are not exposed to seeing the activities of Indian Army as much as the youth living in India are.”
Earlier, the event began with a welcome speech by Asim Zeeshan, the master of ceremonies, while Mohammed Hyder proposed the vote of thanks. The organizers of the event also included M. Siraj, Mohsin Sharif, KTA Muneer, and Imran Kausar.
Acting Consul General Y. Sabir gave away prizes to winners of the Brig. Usman Memorial Story telling contest. The winners are the following: Junior Category (7-9 classes) — Kavin Adhitiya & Ms. Danhushri Subramanyan (first); Syeda Umamah Qadri (second); and Ashwin Karuppasamy & Ms. Aishwarya Jayasankar (third). Senior Category (10-12 classes): Rimy Tomy (first); Marial Aranha (second) and Sana Ferozuddin (third).
Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Biladi said that the competition has been instrumental in inculcating a huge amount of patriotism and passion among the Indian students as well as to instill in them high esteem to the great sacrifices of Brig. Usman in defending the homeland.
Brig. Usman was the highest ranking officer of the Indian Army killed in action during the Indo-Pakistan War, immediately after the partition of the subcontinent in 1947. At the time of the partition, he, along with many other Muslim officers, declined to move to the Pakistan Army and even turned down the offer to become the first Chief of Army of the new state of Pakistan, and thus becoming a great symbol of India’s inclusive secularism.
It was during the defense of Jhangar in Jammu and Kashmir Usman was killed on July 3, 1948, by an enemy 25-pounder shell. He was then 12 days short of his 36th birthday. His last words were “I am dying but let not the territory we were fighting for fall for the enemy.”
For his inspiring leadership and great courage, he was awarded posthumously with the second highest military decoration for gallantry in the face of enemy, the Maha Vir Chakra. India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his Cabinet colleagues attended the funeral of Brig. Usman, who was buried in a grave in the Butla House near the Jamia Millia Islamia campus in New Delhi.
source: http://www.saudigazette.com.sa / Saudi Gazette / Home> Saudi Arabia / by Hassan Cheruppa, Saudi Gazette / January 25th, 2021
