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Contributions of Muslim Scientists to
India
by Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph. D.
President
Islamic Research Foundation
International, Inc.
7102 W. Shefford Lane
Louisville, KY 40242-6462, USA
E-mail:
IRFI@INAME.COM
Website:
http://WWW.IRFI.ORG
The Washington Post on June 2,
ran an article, which citing Pentagon
sources, claimed that India had decided
to move its indigenously-developed
Prithvi medium-range ballistic
missile to Jalandhar near its border
with Pakistan. The missile could easily
strike targets well into the Pakistani
heartland if it has actually been
deployed at Jalandhar. As a retaliatory
measure, Pakistan would feel compelled
to install its own M-11 missiles at
appropriate locations. Before long the
two adversaries, could willy-nilly
become involved in a financially costly
and strategically destabilizing venture.
Many will be surprised to know that the
Indian Missiles were developed by a
Muslim Indian Scientist. The following
is a very brief account of some of the
Muslim Scientists chosen randomly and
their contribution to science and
medicine in India. The author regrets
that many well deserving Muslim
Scientists have not been included in
this article, however it is
unintentional or lack of information on
them. The Embassy of India in
Washington, D.C. could not render any
help to the author in this regard.
Dr. A.P.J. Abul Kalam - India's Missile
Man
Dr. Arvul Pakir Jainulabedin Abul Kalam,
popularly known as Dr. A.P.J. Abul Kalam,
caught national and international
attention as "India's Missile Man" with
the successful launching of 'Agni'
from
Chandipur(Orissa) on May 22, 1989.
Born in 1931 at Rameshwaram in Tamil
Nadu, Dr. Abul Kalam is a DMIT (Diploma
from the Madras Institute of Technology)
in Aero Engineering. He was awarded a
Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) degree (Honoris
Causa). He was Director-in-charge of ASL-V
mission at Indian Space Research
Organization (ISRO) before becoming the
Director of the Defense Research and
Development Laboratory (DRDL) which is
located in Hyderabad, in Andhra Pradesh.
He is a Fellow of the Indian Academy of
Sciences.
Dr. Abul Kalam is the brain behind "Agni";
the indigenously developed 17 meter long
and 75 ton multiple stage missile with a
payload of 1000 kg (kilogram). Its range
is anywhere between 1600 km (kilometers)
to 2500 km. He was assisted by a
400-strong team of scientists.
Due to his team's efforts, India
overcame the stipulations made by the
seven Western Countries' Missile
Technology Control Regime (MTCR) to deny
missile technology to the third world
countries.
According to the eminent space
scientist, "our indigenous missile
technology is comparable to the best in
the East or the West with its re-entry
technology guidance and control
technology with on-board computers."
Dr. APJ Abul Kalam, who hails from Tamil
Nadu, worked on projects such as 'Prithvi',
etc. at the DRDL in Hyderabad, Andhra
Pradesh. For his contributions to
India's Missile Program and the
successful detonation of Nuclear Weapons
in May 1998, he was appointed as Advisor
to the Defense Minister and subsequently
awarded "Bharat Ratna" the highest
civilian award by the Government of
India.
Dr. Israr Ahmed - Physicist
Dr. Israr Ahmed, Director, Center for
Promotion of Science, Aligarh Muslim
University (AMU), Aligarh, is a
distinguished scientist. He is
considered an authority on Theoretical
Nuclear Physics and Quantum Scattering
Theory. Besides, he edits the AMU's Urdu
monthly 'Tahzibul Akhlaq' and Hindi
monthly 'Nishant' since 1986.
Born on December 19, 1940, Dr. Israr
Ahmed, is the son of Mr. Mukhtar Ahmed.
After his graduation from Gorakhpur
University in 1959, he pursued his
post-graduation studies and earned a
Ph.D. in Physics from AMU. He joined the
AMU as a Lecturer in 1961. Since 1984 he
is serving the Physics department as its
Chairman.
His 48 research papers have so far been
published in the international journals.
A number of research scholars have been
awarded M.Phil and Ph.D. under his
supervision.
Dr. Israr Ahmed is an associate member
of the International Center for
Theoretical Physics located in Trieste
(Italy) headed by the late Nobel
Laureate, Dr. Abdus Salam. He is a
member of the New York Academy of
Sciences and as well as the Indian
Physics Association.
He organized a conference on 'Religious
Seminarae and Science Education' on
March 26-28, 1987 and DAE (Department of
Atomic Energy) Symposium on Nuclear
Physics December 26-31, 1989 at the AMU,
Aligarh. He also conducted several
introductory science courses for the
teachers of Muslim religious seminaries.
Besides, he is also a science fiction
writer in Hindi, Urdu, and English.
M. Ahmed - Founder of 'Cardinal
Geometry'
Mr. M. Ahmed, IAS (Indian Administrative
Service) officer, is the author of a
Calendar for all years from 45 B.C. to
1999 A.D. and an abridged version of it
for 250 years.
He can tell in few seconds the day one
was born, if he puts before him his date
of birth. He has evolved new concepts in
Mathematics, popularly known as
'Cardinal Geometry.'
It is a new type of Geometry, which
deals with the Mathematical Curves,
surfaces and coordinates. He has also
written a treatise on the subject.
He was born to Mr. Abdul Muthalib
Rawther on November 2, 1941 at Adder (Kerala).
Mr. Ahmed was the first rank holder in
the University of Kerala in both B.Sc.
(1961) and M.Sc. (1963) examinations in
Mathematics.
After a year as a lecturer in
Mathematics in different colleges, he
joined the Indian Administrative Service
(IAS) in 1965. He was the Collector of
Madras, Member-Secretary, Madras
Metropolitan Development Authority,
Secretary to the Government, Chairman
and Managing Director of the Tamil Nadu
Warehousing Corporation and is now Vice
Chairman, Madras Metropolitan
Development Authority. Recently he has
been elevated to the grade of Special
Commissioner.
In spite of his busy schedule as an
administrator, Mr. Ahmed spends some
time in academic work and has made a
significant contribution to the
Mathematics by evolving new principles.
The Cardinal Geometry is an innovative
concept in Geometry, developed by Mr.
Ahmed, enabling the creation and study
of many symmetric mathematical curves
and surfaces. The classical geometry
knows only a few symmetric curves and
surfaces like the circle, ellipse,
parabola, hyperbola, cardioid, limacon,
lemniscafe, curves of Cassini etc., and
some of their surfaces of revolution.
Besides these curves, many lemniscafes,
blimps, crescents etc. have been
generated by him.
According to Mr. Ahmed, the Cardinal
Geometry theory could possibly be
extended to the study of magnetism,
motion of particles and bodies. It would
have both theoretical and practical use
in Engineering and Architecture.
Dr. S.Z. Qasim - Antarctica Hero
Dr. Syed Zahoor Qasim, Member Planning
Commission, Government of India, was
till recently the Vice Chancellor of
Jamia Millia Islamia(University) in
Delhi. He has had his early education in
Allahabad and then at the Aligarh Muslim
University, Aligarh from where he took
his M.Sc. degree in Zoology. He stood
first in the order of Merit for which he
was awarded University Gold Medal. For a
few years, he was a lecturer in the
Department of Zoology at Aligarh before
proceeding to the United Kingdom for
higher studies in 1953.
He returned to India in December of 1956
and joined the Department of Zoology of
AMU as a Lecturer. He became Reader in
1957 and started a new laboratory of
Fish and Fisheries in the Department. In
1962, he joined the Central Institute of
Fisheries Education, Bombay (Mumbai) as
a Professor of Fisheries Biology and in
1964, moved to Cochin as Assistant
Director in the Directorate of
International Indian Ocean Expedition
(IIOE) under the Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research (CSIR). Here he
extensively worked on biological
oceanography especially on the primary
productivity of Kerala Backwaters and on
the atolls of Lakshwadeep.
From 1970 to 1973, Dr. Qasim was the
Director of the Central Marine Fisheries
Research Institute at Cochin. He also
held the additional charge of the
Central Institute of Fisheries
Technology, Cochin for about one year.
Here he promoted new lines of work in
Fisheries Biology and initiated the
development of mussel culture and pearl
culture techniques for the first time in
India. This work earned him the
prestigious award of "Padma Shri."
In January 1974, he took over as the
Director of the National Institute of
Oceanography (NIO), Goa. In February
1976 he was responsible for the
commissioning of the first Oceanographic
Research Vessel Ganeshani for NIO. He
initiated many new programs on the
productivity of the Arabian Sea and Bay
of Bengal.
In May 1981, Dr. Qasim was appointed
Secretary to the Government of India in
the Department of Environment(DOE) and
within a year (April 1982) he took over
as Secretary of the newly established
Department of Ocean Development. He has
been responsible for the acquisition of
a second Oceanographic Research Vessel "Sagar
Sampada" for the Indian Oceanographic
research.
Dr. Qasim led India's First Expedition
to the Antarctica and successfully
organized and guided the other seven
expeditions to the frozen continent from
1981 to 1988.
His work on Fisheries Biology, primary
productivity, mari-culture particularly
mussel and pearl culture, estuarine
ecology, environmental pollution and
Antarctic research will always be quoted
profusely. He has published more than
200 original research papers in national
and international journals. For his
original work and distinguished
services, he won many honors and awards.
He led many delegations of India in
several international conferences and
meetings.
Dr. Qasim is a Fellow of the Indian
National Science Academy, New Delhi,
Indian academy of Sciences, Bangalore,
National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad,
among many others. Under his guidance
nearly 40 students obtained their Ph.D.
degrees from various universities in
India.
He is Editor for several journals and
member of the Editorial Boards of many
national and international scientific
journals. he is an Honorary Professor of
several Universities including Madurai
Kamaraj University, Madurai in Tamil
Nadu, Annamalai University, Chidambaram
in Tamil Nadu, Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras (Chennai) in Tamil
Nadu, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh
and the Jamia Millia Islamia(University)
in Delhi.
Dr. Qasim is blessed with three
daughters and lives in New Delhi.
Dr. C. M. Habibullah - Eminent
Gastroenterologist
Dr. C. M. Habibullah is known as one of
the most eminent Gastroenterologists of
the country. He is presently Dean of the
Decccan Medical College and Director of
Owesi Medical and Research Center
located in Hyderabad. Formerly Professor
and Head of the Department of
Gastroenterology at the Osmania Medical
College and Hospital, Hyderabad, Andhra
Pradesh.
He is also Chairman, Academic Committee,
All India Institute of Medical
Sciences(AIIMS), New Delhi and
president, National Association of Liver
Study Group.
Son of Mr. Ahmed Hussain, he was born on
12th October, 1936 at Chittor(Andhra
Pradesh). He took his early education
from Chennai. Afterwards, he did his
MBBS from Guntur Medical College in 1958
and was awarded Gold Medals in Pathology
and Surgery. He was awarded M.D.(General
Medicine) in 1963 and
D.M.(Gastroenterology) in 1972.
Afterwards, he worked in a number of
Hospitals and Medical Colleges in
different parts of the country. He is
associated with a number of
institutions. He is a fellow of National
Academy of Medical Sciences, American
College of Gastroenterology, and
International College of Angiology and
also elected member of the Academy of
Medical Sciences(Gastroenterology) of
the former USSR and nominated member of
National Board of Examination and AIIMS.
More than 80 major research papers by
him have appeared in scientific
journals. More than 106 papers have been
presented by him at national and
international conferences. His current
interest is in liver cell
transplantation therapy in cases of
acute liver failure and vaccine action
program in viral hepatitis cases.
Several scholars have obtained M.D., D.M.,
and Ph.D. degrees under his guidance and
many research projects have been
completed. Besides, new drug trials have
also been done.
He has two children lives in Hyderabad.
Dr. S. N. A. Rizvi - Authority in
Nephrology
Dr. S.N.A. Rizvi is considered one of
the few authorities on Nephrology in
India. He is a Professor of Medicine,
Head of Nephrology and Endocrinology
Division, Maulana Azad medical College
and associated Hospitals in New Delhi
Son of Hakim S. Sultan Ahmed Rizvi, he
was born in a family of renowned for
Hikmat, on 1 August 1939 at
Amroha(District Moradabad, U.P.). After
doing his graduation and postgraduation
in Biochemistry, from AMU, he took
admission in Medical College. Thereafter
completed M.B.B.S. and M.D. degrees in
1969 with gold medal in clinical thesis
from Delhi University.
Dr. Rizvi, who has specialized in four
fields-Endocrinology including diabetes,
Nephrology, Rheumatology and Internal
Medicine, is supervising the Dialysis
services at Maulana Azad Medical College
and LNJP and G.P. Pant Hospitals since
1972. Since then about 24,000 patients
have been given free dialysis service.
It is the only Hospital in the country
which provides free dialysis. it costs
about $600.00 The new dialysis unit is
fully equipped with ten machines in
non-infection units and two in Australia
antigen units. The latter is the only
unit available in the country. Dr. Rizvi
reduced patient Mortality from 69
percent to 36 percent; Acute renal
failure from 69 % to 36 %; and Chronic
renal failure from 100 % to 60 % . He
reduced Poisoning from 60 % to 4 %.
Dr. S.N.A. Rizvi, who has recently taken
over as the head of the newly
established Tetanus Department, has been
honored with several fellowships and
awards- Fellowship of AIID(All India
Institute of Infectious Diseases),
Bombay(Mumbai) in 1980 for his
distinguished work on diabetes; Fellow
of the Indian Academy of Medical
Sciences, Delhi in 1983; Fellow of the
Indian Society of Nephrology in
Chandigarh in 1984; Fellow of the Indian
Congress in Nutrition(International
Nutrition) in 1985. Fellow of the Indian
Congress of Allergy and Immunology) in
Delhi in 1986; Indian Congress of
Physicians Fellowship in 1990 besides a
number of national and international
awards. He was recently been awarded by
the Nobel Laureate Mother Theressa in
recognition of his significant
contribution to Nephrology. He was
invited as a Guest Speaker to speak on
several topics by national and
international organizations.
He has also been a life member of
numerous scientific societies. His 220
papers have so far been published
besides contribution of chapters in
various books of medical sciences. he
has also been the Associate Editor of
the Journal of Indian Medical
Association(IMA) of Medical Specialties,
and member of the Editorial Board of the
Journal of Indian Medical Association
and also member of the editorial board
of the Journal of Indian Society of
Nephrology.
He has got special interest in the poor.
He spends Sundays at free medical camps
in Delhi organized by the medical or
voluntary organizations. He has three
children and lives in New Delhi.
Ornithology - Study of birds
India has the credit of having eminent
ornithologists who are Muslims. Mughal
Emperor Jahangir was an expert
ornithologist. Jahangir described with
care and accuracy various
characteristics of animals and birds,
their geographical distribution and
behavior. The internationally renowned
Indian ornithologist, Salim Ali, says,
"His memoirs are a veritable gazetteer
of natural history of the India of his
day."
For the first time in the history of
ornithology, he noted how sarus cranes
mate, brood over their eggs, in turn,
and how chicks are hatched and taken
care of. He also observed one human
quality in this bird: the parents love
not only their eggs and chicks but also
each other.
In 1958 there was sensation in the world
of ornithology when a Russian
researcher, A. Ivanov, discovered a
portrait of the dodo, a large,
non-flying pigeon-like bird which had
become extinct about three centuries
ago, in a collection of paintings at the
Institute of Orientalists of the Soviet
Academy of Sciences. There was nothing
to identify the painter, but the style
was without doubt of Ustad Mansur, the
court painter of Jahangir. Now there is
other evidence to show that it was the
portrait of a Mauritius dodo which a
merchant had presented to the Emperor
around 1624. So, in the world of
ornithology, Jahangir and the dodo made
a dramatic reappearance nearly three
centuries after they had died.
Salim Ali - Internationally recognized
Ornithologist
Salim Moizuddin Abdul Ali, better known
as Salim Ali, the bird watcher
extraordinary was born on November 12,
1896.
He is a recipient of the J. Paul Getty
Wild Life Conservation Prize for his
contributions to ornithology, the study
of birds. He has won several national
honors and awards as well. Surprisingly,
Salim Ali has no university degree. He
is a world renowned expert on weaver
birds. Salim discovered Finn's Baya
which was believed to have been extinct
for 100 years until he discovered it in
the Kumaon hills.
In 1941 he published 'The Book of
Indian Birds' that contained
lively descriptions and colored pictures
of every species. It made spotting a
bird easy for the layman.
In 1948 he began an ambitious project in
collaboration with S. Dillon Ripley, an
ornithologist of international repute,
to bring out in ten volumes Handbook
of the Birds of India and Pakistan.
This work contains all that is known of
birds of the subcontinent, their
appearance, where thy are generally
found, their breeding habits, migration
and what remains to be studied about
them.
Salim Ali has travelled all over India
on his bird-watching surveys. It is
claimed that there is hardly a place in
the country where his heavy rubber shoes
have not left their mark.
Professor
Mushahid Husain -
This is written by Muzammil Husain
Professor Mushahid Husain, Department of
Physics, Jamia Millia Islamia, New
Delhi, is an eminent scientist. Born in
1952 at Moradabad, UP, Professor
Mushahid Husain did his postgraduate
degree in Physics from Agra University,
Agra (UP) in 1975 and joined Lucknow
University for his research work. He
worked on “Effect of chemical
combination of X-ray absorption edges”
and was awarded Ph.D. degree in 1982.
Same year, he joined Bhopal University
as Asstt. Professor, and established a
research group there, which later
produced couple of Ph.D. students on
“Application of Chemical Shift of X-ray
Absorption Edge” wherein a new
method of characterization of material
by chemical shift of X-ray absorption
edge was developed.
In Aug. 1986, he joined Jamia Millia
Islamia New Delhi as a faculty member
and set up a Material Science Laboratory
in the Department of Physics.
Under his able supervision, in a very
short duration the same laboratory was
identified as one of the centers to
undertake research training program in
the field of Semiconductor Science and
Technology by Regional Network of
Science & Technology (International
Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste,
Italy) and Centre for Science &
Technology of Non Aligned and Other
Developing Countries, New Delhi. Under
this program, a number of scientists
from NAM countries (Srilanka, Nepal,
Bangladesh etc.) have successfully
completed their research training at
this laboratory.
He is one of the pioneer workers in the
area of research on Amorphous
Semiconductors and has been instrumental
in creating a group of young scientists
to work in the field. In amorphous
semiconductor, his group is studying
the structural, electrical, dielectric,
thermal and optical properties of
amorphous semiconductors, which have
extensive use in the solid state
devices. Recently he has taken up
research work in conducting polymers and
nano materials specifically the carbon
nanotubes. He is synthesizing the carbon
nanotube by using Electron Cyclotron
Resonance Plasma Chemical Vapour
Deposition (ECR-CVD), which is a unique
method.
Prof. Husain has completed four research
projects on amorphous semiconductors
funded by University Grants Commission
and Department of Science and
Technology, New Delhi. He has also
conducted two major research projects
entitled ECR plasma etching of III-IV
group compound materials. In this
project his group has developed ECR
plasma etching systems. Different gases
with different pressure conditions were
used for studying the etching of Gallium
Arsenide wafers.
He has also studied and developed
diffusive cavities for solid-state
lasers in one of the esteemed DRDO
Project. Recently he has taken up a
research project on “Studies of
mechanism of new dye laser material and
their organic hosts”, funded by DRDO.
Here silica gel rod is being prepared by
using different dyes, which can be
eventually fabricated to laser rods. In
addition, a major superconductivity
project funded by UGC is continuing
since 1989.
Due to his contribution in the
semiconductors, the scientific community
unanimously elected him the Vice
Chairman of Semiconductor Society of
India for two consecutive terms (1999 to
2003). He is also holding various
positions in different academic
societies. In addition, he also held the
office of the Vice-President of Indian
Physical Society during the session
1990-92. At present he is the secretary
of one of the prestigious society i.e.
Society for Semiconductor Devices.
He is also
the winner of Young Scientist
Award/Project of Department of
Science & Technology, Govt. of India. He
is also the winner of Young Scientist
Best Paper Award-1991 from Muslim
Association for Advancement of Science
(MAAS), Aligarh. He has been awarded the
Associate Membership of Third World
Academy of Sciences, Abdus Salam
International Centre for Theoretical
Physics, Trieste,, Italy to
undertake the research work on the
structural aspect of amorphous
semiconductor.
Furthermore, he has also delivered a
number of invited talks in various
International and national forums. In
addition, a number of popular talks on
All India Radio and National TV Channel
(Doordarshan) have also been presented
by him. Prof. Husain has also organized
a number of National and International
Conferences on various aspects of
Physics of Materials. He has been
Secretary/Joint Secretary of the
steering committee of International
Workshop on Physics of Semiconductor
Devices (IWPSD) since 1997. He was
“Organizing Secretary” of “6th
International Workshop on Physics of
Materials”, held at Jamia Millia Islamia
in 1987. He has research
collaborations both at National and
International levels.
He had been regularly visiting the
International Centre for Theoretical
Physics, Trieste, Italy to participate
in various academic activities at the
centre. Prof. Husain has also worked in
High Temperature Superconductivity
Laboratory at ICTP, Italy. His visits to
University of Cambridge, University of
Princeton, New Jersey, UNAM, Mexico,
SIRIM, Malaysia, National University,
Singapore, resulted in scientific
collaborations. In 2005, he visited
National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu,
Taiwan for collaborative work on
Nanotecnology/ Nanomaterials specially
carbon nanotubes.
Prof. Husain has about 100 research
papers in reputed International Journals
to his credit. He has also edited a book
on “Advances in Physics of Materials.”
Recently, he has published a review
article on “Carbon Nanotubes and its
Applications”
Besides his scientific activities, he
enjoys the Membership of the Board of
Studies of different universities in
India. He was the “Elected Member”
of the “Academic Council”, Jamia Millia
Islamia, from 2000 – 2003. He is the
Member of “Board of Governors” of
National Institute of Technology,
Kurukshetra University.
Due to his vast teaching and research
experience he has the honour of being
Referee of various National
/International journals. Among these,
Physica B, X-ray Spectrometry and
Central European Journal of Physics are
worth mentioning.
He has three children and lives in New
Delhi. |
