149. Dr. Syeda Hameed

Member, Planning Commission,
Government of India.

In the Planning Commission, my sectoral responsibilities include Women and Children, Health, Voluntary Action Cell (nodal agency for govt-NGO interface) and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. I was responsible for writing these chapters for the 11th Five Year Plan. The states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and the UTs of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman&Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli are also under my charge. Apart from financial allocations, schemes and policies in these areas, I was involved in the mid-term appraisal of the 10th Plan and the drafting of the 11th Five Year Plan.

July 2008 - Present:
Chancellor, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad

• The Maulana Azad National Urdu University was established in 1998 by an Act of the Parliament as a Central University with an All India jurisdiction. The Mandate and Objective of the University, as per the Act, is to promote and develop the Urdu language, provide higher, technical and vocational education in the Urdu medium and to provide focus on women’s education.
• Other Important Positions held currently/recently
• Member, Island Development Authority (headed by the PM, the IDA was established in 1986 to ensure the ecologically sound development of the country's two major island chains.)
• Co-chair, Sub-group of Experts on the Jarawa (The group was formed by the National Advisory Council of the UPA Government to ensure the well being of the Jarawa, a primitive tribal group of Andaman and Nicobar islands)
• Vice Chairperson, National Board for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh administering the oath of office as Member Planning Commission to Dr. Syeda Hameed, in New Delhi on July 27, 2009.

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Corporate Affairs and Minority Affairs, Shri Salman Khurshid addressing at the Meeting with the women organizations on the Scheme of Leadership Development of Minority Women, in New Delhi on May 04, 2010.
The Member, Planning Commission, Dr. (Mrs.), Syeda Hameed, the Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Shri Vivek Mehrotra and the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Shri Ameising Luikham are also seen.

2000 to present:

• Founder Member: Muslim Women’s Forum (MWF)
  MWF is involved in Legal Literacy for Muslim women, voicing concerns of Muslim women to government and interfacing with Ulemas on matters concerning their rights.
• Founder Trustee: Women’s Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA)
  An organization where women are catalysts for people to people contact in the South Asian region on a sustained basis to bring about a climate of peace through dialogue. Took a Women’s Bus of Peace from Delhi to Lahore and Lahore to Delhi; later Women’s Bus of Peace from Kolkata to Dhaka.
• Founder Member: South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR)
  A regional membership based body focusing on human rights issues in the South Asian Region. It consists of members from the 5 countries namely Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. It is committed to addressing Human Rights at both regional and national level.
• Founder Trustee: Centre for Dialogue and Reconciliation
  Serving as an initiative that links the issues of dialogue with justice and equity and through this integral link, serves as a catalyst for both internal and external peace and reconciliation in South Asia.

1997 to 2000:

• Member: National Commission for Women, Govt. of India
  National Commission for Women (NCW) is a statutory body under the National Commission for Women Act 1990. The powers of the Commission are listed under Section 10 of the Act and encompassed under clause 10. “To investigate and examine the safeguards provided to women under the Constitution of India and make recommendations to govt. on the proper I looked after the following areas: Muslim Women, Violence against Women, Trafficking of women and children, Women in Prostitution, Political Empowerment of Women including Panchayati Raj, Sexual Harassment at Workplace, Girl Child, Female foeticide and infanticide, Gender and Media

MAJOR AWARDS

• Padma Shri, 2007
• Al-Ameen All India Community Leadership Award 2006

MAJOR PUBLICATIONS:
BOOKS:

• They Hang: 12 Women in My Portrait Gallery, Women Unlimited, 2006
• My Voice Shall be Heard: Status of Muslim Women 2003, Muslim Women’s Forum November 2003
• Mussaddas-e-Hali (Ebb and Tide in Islam) Verse translation of Maulana Altaf Husain Hali’s Magnum Opus consisting of 394 cantos. Harper Collins,

FEBRUARY 2003

• Shanti Parasmoni: Women’s Bus of Peace from Kolkata to Dhaka, WIPSA, 2003
• Journey For Peace: Women’s Bus of Peace from Delhi to Lahore, WIPSA 2000
• Dr. Zakir Husain: Teacher Who Became President, ICCR and Haranand, 2000
• Voice of the Voiceless: Status of Muslim Women in India, March 2000
• Islamic Seal on India’s Independence: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Oxford, 1998
• The Contemporary Relevance of Sufism, ICCR, 1995
• Rubaiyat-e-Sarmad ICCR 1991
• India’s Maulana: Abul Kalam Azad: in 4 volumes
  - Tributes and Appraisals
  - Selected Writings
  - Imamul Hind (Urdu)
  - Imamul Hind (Hindi)
• A Dream Turns Seventy-five (With Khushwant Singh) Allied, 1995

Selected, Introduced and Translated

• The Quilt and Other Stories: Kali for Women, 1986
• Parwaaz: Kali for Women, 1996

Translated

• Facts are Facts by Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Vikas, 1998
• Letters from Prison by Mohammad Yunus, Vikas, 1985

Under Publication

• Gard and Gardish: Dust and Movement (Working Title), Pearson Education, 2009. (With Gunjan Veda) This book is based on my travels across the country during my Planning Commission tenure and provides glimpses into the unknown, unseen faces of India and its people.

Education

• 1972 PhD University of Alberta, Canada
• 1965 MA University of Hawaii, USA
• 1963 BA Delhi University, India

Research

• 1994-1997 Indian Council for Historical Research
  Worked on Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
• 1991-1994 Nehru Memorial Museum and Library
  Worked on Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
• 1987-1991 Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)
  Worked on Azad and on Sufism.

Present Honorary Positions

• Advisory Board Member, SAF-India (South Asia Foundation-India)
• Board Member, Indo-Global Social Service Society
• Board Member, Olakh
• Chairperson, Hali Panipati Trust
• Governing Board Member, ActionAid Association
• Governing Board Member Indian Social Institute
• Member Haryana Urdu Academy
• Trustee Dalit Foundation
• Trustee Janvikas, Ahmedabad Gujarat
• Trustee Navsarjan Ahmedabad Gujarat
• Trustee, Sahr Waru
• Trustee, Sangat Trust

Past Honorary Positions

• Chairperson, Governing Body: Lady Irwin College
• Member Women’s Empowerment Committee, Govt. of NCT Delhi
• Member Management Committee: Modern School
• Member Delhi Urdu Academy
• Member National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language
• Trustee National Foundation of India

Administration

• 1975-1978: Executive Assistant to Minister of Advanced Education and Manpower Govt. of Alberta, Canada
• 1978-1985: Director of Colleges and Universities. Govt. of Alberta, Canada

Teaching

• 1972-1974: Sessional Lecturer University of Alberta, Canada
• 1965-1967: Lecturer, Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, India

Personal

• Resident of Delhi. Born in Kashmir. Travelled in South Asia, USA, Canada. A few countries in West Asia, South East Asia, UK and Europe and CIS States. Husband Dr.S.M.A.Hameed (late) was Professor of Business Admin and Commerce at the Univ. of Alberta, Canada. Three children: Dr. Morad Hameed Trauma Surgeon, Vancouver General Hospital, British Columbia, Canada, Yavar Hameed, Human Rights Lawyer and Teaching Law at Carleton University, Canada and Dr. Ayesha Hameed, Academic and film maker, Montreal, Canada.

Source : planningcommission.nic.in