224. Maulana Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianavi

Maulana Habib-ur-Rehman Ludhianvi was one of the few influential Muslims who not only opposed the two-nation theory but also fought against it. In fact, he was so upset and dejected over Partition that he could not resist shouting at Jawaharlal Nehru, with whom he enjoyed cordial relationship.

The Maulana, born in Ludhiana on July 3, 1892, belonged to a religious and nationalist family. His great grandfather, Shah Abdul Qadir Ludhianvi, was the first person to issue a “fatwa” against the British in 1857, for which he had to pay dearly. And the Maulana lived by the nationalist beliefs and stayed back in Ludhiana, despite so much communal frenzy and manslaughter.

Much against the common belief that the demand for Pakistan had a strong backing of the religious leadership of the country, the Maulana always stood sincerely with the Congress. He happened to be one of the important symbols of secularism in the Congress along with Maulana Azad and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai.

The Maulana literally lived by his nationalist ideals. When Pandit Nehru unfurled the tricolour on the banks of the Ravi, the Maulana unfurled it in Ludhiana. He also vehemently opposed the “Hindu pani, Muslim pani” move of the British to put separate pitchers for Hindus and Muslims at railway stations. After his strong resistance, the move was withdrawn.

For his strong nationalistic beliefs, the Maulana had to spend 14 years in prison at various places like Shimla, Mianwali, Multan, Ludhiana and Dharamsala. He was kept in cold places during winters and hot places during summers. He developed serious infection in the jail that cut short his life and he died in 1956.

After Independence, he set up the “Phir Basau Committee” to arrange the return of Hindu and Sikh girls who had been forcibly detained in Pakistan and the Muslim girls who had been detained in India to Pakistan. Thousands of girls returned to their parents under this exchange programme. It was he who suggested running of the Samjauta Express train between India and Pakistan to restore the link between the divided families.

In 1952, he was appointed the leader of a delegation to visit Saudi Arabia by Pandit Nehru. He was one of the important ambassadors of Nehru to lobby for India in the Muslim world and it helped a great deal in establishing India’s credibility among the Islamic countries despite the presence of Pakistan. His influence was acknowledged by the then Saudi ruler Shah Saud Awal, with whom the Maulana had personal relationship.

Unfortunately, despite his immense contribution towards the freedom and the unity of the country, the Maulana remains a forgotten hero. Except for his descendants, not many people know about his secular ideals he cherished all through his life.

Given his influence over the Muslims across the region, he would have been always been welcome in the Muslim League, but he never looked towards it. In fact, he always got feelers from the league with “fabulous” offers. But he always remained true to secular spirit of Indian nationalistic movement.

Source : ludhianadistrict.com

223. Zafar Iqbal

Zafar Iqbal (born June 20, 1956) is an Indian field hockey player. He wore Indian blue jersey number 11.

Professional career

Iqbal was a member of the 1980 Summer Olympics field hockey team that won the last Olympic Gold Medal for India. He has captained Indian squad in various international events, among them being Asian Games, in 1982 and 1983 Champions Trophy, and the 1984 Summer Olympics. Iqbal is remembered for a strong attack as well as for missing a goal, in front of an open goal against West Germany, that would have placed India a semifinal spot in the 1984 Olympics.


Iqbal was awarded the Arjuna Award, the highest award given in sports by India. He has served as Chief National Coach for Indian hockey from early 1993 to October 1994. Iqbal currently works as manager for Indian Airlines and is a National selector for Indian hockey team.

Source : enotes.com













Zafar Iqbal is a known name in the field of sports, as captain of the 1980 summer Olympics field hockey team that won the last Olympic Gold Medal for India. Iqbal is also remembered for a strong attack and for his flick stroke which he used to play at his left in position on the ground.
A civil engineer by profession, Iqbal comes from a learned family. He is currently residing in Kaushambi for the past one and a half years and dreams of developing a sports club in Kaushambi.

Beginning
He started playing hockey, when he was a student in Aligarh. Iqbal said, "I used to play all sports like cricket, hockey, football, etc. But I used to play football a lot.
We had only two things to do at that time, either to play or study."
Zafar used to have a very hectic schedule those days but he worked hard and never complained. He practised around four to five hours a day which repaid him later in his life. He was the captain of the school team and later the college and Indian hockey team.

Inspiration
Zafar Iqbal was highly inspired and thankful to his professor, Zillur Rehman Khan for whatever he had achieved in his life."He taught physics and helped me to play hockey. He saw my game and under his guidance I got selected in the combined university team," he said.Later when he was in fourth year of his engineering college, he was selected to represent India.

Achievements
He wore Indian Blue Jersey number 11 and has captained Indian squad at various international events.
Among them being Asian Games in 1982, 1983 Champions Trophy and the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Iqbal was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1983 the highest award given in sports in India. He has served as chief national coach for Indian hockey team from early 1993 to 1994. He was also a government observer and selector for the recently held Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.

Other Interests
At the age of 54, Iqbal currently works as a general manager for Indian Airlines.
Iqbal likes to hear ghazals and qawwali.  He does not believe in watching television serials. Rather, he tries to catch knowledge-based programmes on TV.

Life in Kaushambi
Iqbal said, "Life here is different. Heavy traffic becomes a cause for concern at times.
There is also a vacant land which has been lying useless for several years, so we are now planning to develop a sports club on it." Zafar wants to thank his first coach Swami Jagannath for his guidance who was also the manager of 1936 Olympics. He said, "He taught me Left hit and was a very nice person. He gave me tips which were very crucial and important that provided me ample of confidence in my game."
Source : jagrancityplus.com

222. Dr. Mohammed Naseeb Qureshy

Advisor (Earth Sciences) in the Department of Sciences and Technology, Government of India

Mohammed Naseeb Qureshy (MN Qureshy) (January 4, 1933 – 2005) was a prominent geologist from India.
His main field of study was Exploration geophysics. He graduated from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and earned his Dsc degree in Exploration geophysics from Colorado School of Mines.
During the early 1970s, MN Qureshy designed and coordinated the first indigenous aerial geophysical survey of the Western Ghats and Chitradurga Copper District in India. He also initiated the national regional gravity mapping programme which culminated in publication of first comprehensive gravity maps of India .
From 1983 to 1989, he served as the Advisor to the Government of India, Earth Sciences. During this time he helped establish some key Indian scientific organisations such as the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad and the National Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), New Delhi. He also initiated the Natural Resources Data Management System (NRDMS) to better serve national needs related to exploitation of natural resources. In 1989, Dr. Qureshy planned and established the Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-Aligned (NAM) and other Developing Countries .
MN Qureshy's research is synthesized in a book entitled Geophysical Framework of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Source : Wikipedia

221. Moosa Raza IAS

Born	Moosa Raza 27 February 1937 (1937-02-27) (age 74) Minambur, Tamilnadu, India

Moosa Raza is the Chairman of the South Indian Educational Trust (S.I.E.T.), which runs six educational institutions; he is also Chairman of the Executive Committee of Coastal Energen Pvt. Ltd. Raza has written a widely read book, Of Nawabs and Nightingales.
Moosa Raza has been awarded the Padma Bhushan for the year 2010. He joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1960 and rose to be the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Gujarat. He then served as Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, Advisor to the Governor of Uttar Pradesh and, in Delhi, as Secretary to the Government of India in the Cabinet Secretariat and in the Ministry of Steel.

Early life

Moosa Raza was born on 27 February 1937 in Minambur, a small village located between Gingee and Villupuram in the Villupuram District in the State of Tamilnadu, India to Ghulam Ali Mehkari and Aasiya Begum. His maternal ancestors hailed from a farming community and belonged to the Nawayath Clan of South India. His maternal grandfather was the village munsif (District Munsiff Court) and had a number of villages in the region under his stewardship. Moosa Raza studied in the local village school until the age of 8 studying Urdu & Arabic after which he moved to Chennai (Madras) along with his family. He studied in a local school called Madrasa-e-Azam and went on to complete his intermediate from the then Government Arts College (now called Quaid-E-Millath College) in 1955.
He graduated from the Madras Presidency College, (now called Presidency College, Chennai) University of Madras with Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in English Language and Literature, in 1958, getting a First Class First. During his days at the college, he won seven college medals, not only of his own department but also from the departments of History, Physics and Economics. He is the only triple gold medal winner from the University, a feat reported by unsurpassed till now. He went on to earn a Masters degree from the same University.
During this time, he was known as a great orator and debater, and member of the quiz team participating in and winning in several in the College and inter-university competitions.

Early career

In 1958, the then Vice Chancellor, Sir Lakshman Swami Mudaliar appointed him as an Assistant Professor of English in the Presidency College, his alma mater. At the same time he prepared for the prestigious Indian Administrative Service examinations. He appeared for the selection exams in 1959 and was selected for the Indian Administrative Service for Gujarat (a state in India) in the year 1960, in the very first attempt.

 District Administration Career

Within just 4 years of service, Moosa Raza was posted in 1964 as Collector and District Magistrate in the district of the Banaskantha district in Gujarat, from where he later moved to Surendranagar district and then to Surat as District Collector. He was picked up by the then Finance Minister of India, Morarji Desai, to head his home District of Bulsar (Valsad) for 4 years. He was given charge of the flood relief operations in 1968 as the Municipal Commissioner when the city and the District of Surat was submerged due to heavy floods in the Tapti river.
In 1969 he was entrusted the onerous task of managing drought relief operations during the crippling famine and drought that struck Gujarat. As Director of Relief, Moosa Raza covered an area of over 50,000 kilometers, travelling by jeep, car, boats, on camel and on horseback. He was able to bring relief to over 12000 villages across Gujarat by way of providing government employment to over 1.5 million villagers, water to over 7500 villages and cattle feed to save the lives of over 3 million milch cattle, the livelihood of the rural communities in Gujarat.
In 1975, he was appointed as the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Madhavsinh Solanki. In 1998, when the state of Jammu and Kashmir was facing severe turbulence, he was appointed Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir where he helped in controlling the incipient militancy and implementing welfare measures for the State.

 Public Sector Undertakings

For a major part of his career Moosa Raza functioned as Chairman & Managing Director of several prestigious industrial and commercial enterprises both at the State and Central levels.
He was the youngest Indian Administrative Officer to head the National Textiles Corporation, which then managed over 110 nationalized textile mills with an employment of over 2,00,000 workers. As Managing Director, he helped turn the corporation from a loss making concern into a profitable one and helping save the jobs of over 2,00,000 workers and 25,000 officers.
Later as Chairman and Managing Director of Gujarat State Fertilizers Company Ltd., the largest integrated Chemical & Fertilizer Complex of the country, Moosa Raza helped in giving fillip to the industrialization of Gujarat State. For seven continuous years under his stewardship, the Gujarat Sate Fertilizer Company won the National Awards for best productivity, safety and industrial relations. Concurrently, he functioned as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Calico group of Industries, a private sector undertaking under the control of the State Bank of India.
He served as Chairman and Managing Director of India Trade Promotion Organization, a government body engaged in the promotion of India’s domestic and international trade. He also functioned as a Director on several PSUs including Cotton Corporation of India, Gujarat Fisheries Corporation, Marine Products Export Development Authority, Gujarat Narmada Fertilizer Company, etc. Most of the institutions were made to turn the corner during his tenure.
In the wake of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Moosa Raza was sent as an Advisor to the Governor of Uttar Pradesh where during his tenure, he helped in controlling the law and order situation. Later as Secretary to the Government of India in the Cabinet Secretariat in the Steel Ministry. , he formulated numerous proposals and policies to liberalize the steel industry of India and set it on the path of expansion and modernization.
He retired from government service in 1995 after 35 years of service as Secretary to the Government of India having served in that position in both the Cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Steel.

 Post IAS Career

Since retirement from active Government service, Moosa Raza has served on several Committees of State and Central Governments, the private sector as well as charity and non-profit organizations. For 5 years, he served as the Chairman of the Iridium India Telecom Co., and also on the Board of Iridium International at Washington.
He has been a Member of the National Integration Council of India headed by the Prime Minister of India for several years. He was Chairman of the Committee appointed by the Government of J & K to recommend measures to devolve power to the people and control corruption. He also served on the Government Committee to review the POTA cases in Jammu & Kashmir and Gujarat as well as the Task Force on Socio-Economic development of J & K headed by the Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister. He was a member of the Arjun Sen Gupta Committee to review reforms in the Public Sector of India. He was also the Convenor of the MOU Task Force for Mining & Mineral Industries of Government of India  as also for the Transport Industries Syndicate of Government of India.
Moosa Raza has been recently nominated on the ATF for evaluating performance of Government Departments and Ministries set up by the Prime Minister of India. He is currently a member of the Committee of SCOPE & Ministry of Public Enterprises for awarding Excellence Awards to the PSUs headed by Justice P.N. Bhagwati, former Chief Justice of India.
The National Minorities Commission of India had asked him to lead a delegation of Muslim Clerics and leaders to negotiate with the Hurriyat leaders and Government of J & K for the honourable return of Kashmiri Pandits to the valley.
Moosa Raza was nominated as the President’s nominee on the Senior Selection Committee of Indira Gandhi Open University and since 2009 has been on the Court of Aligarh Muslim University. Since 2000, he has also been functioning as the Chairman of Southern India Education Trust, a minority promoted institution which is running a College for Women, two High Schools, a Centre for Women’s Studies, a Centre for Dyslexic children etc. More than 50% of the 9,000 students of these institutions belong to the majority community.
In view of his long experience with industrial and commercial enterprises, Raza was elected and served as Chairman of the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises, an apex body of over 240 public sector undertakings in India. Moosa Raza also functioned during this period on the governing councils of the Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad), the Advanced Management Programme Committee, the Management and Administrative Research Council of India, International Management Institute, New Delhi, and the various expert committees to study public sector reforms and government functioning.

Social Work

Moosa Raza is the Founder Trustee of the India Islamic Cultural Centre, New Delhi, and as its Director General he helped set it up as an institution for establishing communal harmony and build understanding between various communities of India. He is a Member of Sarvodaya International, Tamilnadu Chapter, Chennai and a Member of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language.

Honours

Mr. Moosa Raza was conferred the prestigious award of Padma Bhushan in the Republic Day Honours in 2010. During the course of his services, he has been awarded the President’s Silver medal, the Shiromani Award, the Indira Priyadarshini Award, the Jewel of India Award, the Pride of India award and several other awards.

 Literary Work

Moosa Raza has authored a book titled “of Nawabs and Nightingales” which is a collection of his early experiences in the Indian Administrative Service. His book was very favorably reviewed by the noted author, Khushwant Singh in newspapers and magazines.

Personal life

Moosa Raza is married to his cousin, Husnara, and has one son and three daughters.

 Other Interests

Apart from his hands on experience in managing large enterprises, Moosa Raza has been intimately concerned with theories of management and governance, study of comparative religion, Islamic and Indian history, philosophy and law and has written several articles on these subjects. Extensively read in European and Indian history and Sufism, Raza has a deep knowledge of human motivation, ethos and culture of both the west and the east.
He has delivered lectures in Chicago, at the Nehru Centre in London and in Dubai, Heidelberg, Germany besides other centres in Inda.
He owns a personal library of over 10,000 books, over 7,000 of which are on Islam. He has delivered lectures on Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, Christianity, Buddhism and Sufism.
Raza has traveled widely both within the country and outside. He has led several delegations abroad on behalf of the Government, both diplomatic and commercial, and goes out on speaking assignments on management, country analysis, human resources development, corporate restructuring, project management and related fields. He is also deeply involved in many educational activities, especially for the deprived sections of society and minorities.


Source : Wikipedia

Padma Bhushan Shri. Moosa Raza is Non-Executive Independent Chairman of the Board of Nirlon Limited. He has been a Civil Servant for 35 years and is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan awarded by the Hon’ble President of India for his distinguished civil service. He has served the Governments of Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and the Government of India in various capacities as Secretary (Health), the Secretary in Cabinet Secretariat, Secretary of Steel, and Governor’s Advisor. He is also the President of the Indian Steel Alliance. He runs several NGOs dealing with Education and is associated with Central Universities. He also headed as CEO more than 10 public and private sector Industrial and Commercial organizations, such as the National Textile Corporation, Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals, India Trade Promotion Organization, Calico Group of Companies, etc. He was elected Chairman of the Standing Committee of Public Enterprises, and was a Member/Director of several organizations dealing with management and administration such as the International Management Institute, IMI-A, SMG, etc.


Source : reuters.com

220. Justice Bilal Nazki

Chief Justice of Orissa High Court from 14.11.2009 -17.11.2009

Born on November 18, 1947 at Srinagar, State of Jammu and Kashmir, India, the Hon’ble Mr Justice Bilal Nazki obtained his law degree from the Aligarh Muslim University in 1973 and then joined Bar at Srinagar where he practised in the High Court on its Original and Appellate sides, in subordinate courts and in the Supreme Court.
Justice Nazki served as Legal Advisor to various State Government undertakings and, for some time, was a lecturer in the Law Faculty of the Kashmir University. He was also a member of Delimitation Commission constituted under Jammu & Kashmir Representation of Peoples Act for the purpose of delimiting Assembly Constituencies in Jammu & Kashmir.















 


In 1986, Justice Nazki was appointed Deputy Advocate General for Jammu and Kashmir. From January 1992, Justice Nazki was the Advocate-General for Jammu & Kashmir, a position he held till his appointment as an Additional Judge of the J&K High Court on January 6, 1995. He was confirmed as a Permanent Judge of the J&K High Court on December 11, 1995. On October 15, 1997, Justice Nazki was transferred to the Andhra Pradesh High Court.
In Andhra Pradesh, Justice Nazki was twice the President of the Andhra Pradesh State Judicial Academy and also served as Chairperson of the Andhra Pradesh High Court Legal Services Committee. He was Acting Chief Justice of the AP High Court from April 4, 2005–November 26, 2005 and again from November 12, 2007–January 6, 2008. During this time, he was Chancellor of National Academy of Legal Studies & Research University (NALSAR), Hyderabad. Justice Nazki Was the Enquiry Judge of Coal Mine Accidents on two occassions and was also the Executive Chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Legal Services Authority.
On January 7, 2008, he demitted office as Acting Chief Justice of the AP High Court and took oath as a Judge of our High Court.


Source : bombaybar.com

219. Dr. Syed Ahmed

Governor, Jarkand

NAME                         :        DR. SYED AHMED

FATHERS NAME           :        SYED ALI NAQI

DATE OF BIRTH            :        6TH. MARCH 1945

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION       :        M.A LUCKNOW UNIVERSITY, Ph.D BOMBAY UNIVERSITY

LANGUAGE KNOWN      :       ENGLISH, MARATHI, HINDI, URDU, ARABIC, PERSIAN

:A I C C OBSERVER FOR MADHYA PRADESH STATEPARLIAMENT ELECTIONS FROM MARCH 2009 TO APRIL 2009

:A I C C OBSERVER FOR J & K STATE ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS FROM 19-11-2008 TO 12-12-2008

:A I C C OBSERVER FOR RAJASTHAN ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS FROM 12-08-2008 TO 18-08-2008 FOR AJMER & NAGAUR DISTRICT.

:A I C C OBSERVER AND IN-CHARGE FOR GUJRAT ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS FROM 16-10-2007 TO 14-12-2007 FOR SAURASHTRA DIVISION.

:Member: A.I.C.C. FROM 2005 TILL DATE

:MEMBER CENTRAL WAKF COUNCIL GOVT. OF INDIA FROM 2005 TILL DATE

:MINISTER FOR HOUSING, SLUM IMPROVEMENT, HOUSE REPAIRS AND RECONSTRUCTION & AUKAF, GOVT. OF MAHARASHTRA –2001 to 2004

:NOMINATED AS THE CONGRESS (I) CANDIDATE FROM 26, NAGPADA CONSTITUENCY DURING THE YEAR 1978, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 1999 & 2004 & 171, MANKHURD SHIVAJI NAGAR FOR THE YEAR 2009 AND WON IN YEARS 1980, 1985, 1990, 1999 & 2004

:ELECTED AS VICE-PRESIDENT, MUMBAI REGIONAL CONGRESS COMMITTEE IN 1995 & 2001

:MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENERGY, ENVIROMENT, TEXTILES, AUKAF AND PROHIBITION PROPOGANDA (1991), GOVT. OF MAHARASHTRA

:MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENVIROMENT, HOUSING, REPAIRS & RECONSTRUCTIONS, SLUM IMPROVEMENT AND AUKAF (1986-1988), GOVT. OF MAHARASHTRA

:CHAIRMAN MAHARASHTRA STATE HAJ COMMITTEE 2001 TO 2006

:MEMBER CENTRAL HAJ COMMITTEE (1985-1988) & 2001 TO 2006

:CHAIRMAN MAHARASHTRA PRADESH CONGRESS COMMITTEE (I) MINORITY CELL FROM 1989-1993

:MEMBER, CENTRAL GOVT. HAJ DELEGATION FOR SAUDI ARABIA IN 1989 & 1993

:CONVENOR, MINORITY CELL MUMBAI REGIONAL CONGRESS COMMITTEE (I), (1978 – 1985)

:VICE-PRESIDENT, ALL INDIA MUSLIM YOUTH CONFERENCE (A.I.C.C) (1978 –1990)

:A I C C OBSERVER FOR U.P. ELECTIONS DURING 26.03.2007 TO 07.05.2007 FOR FAIZABAD AND AMBEDKAR NAGAR DIVISONS.

:PARTICIPANT FOR JAMMU & KASHMIR ELECTIONS DURING 25.08.02 TO 27.08.02 & 18.09.02 TO 24.09.02

:A I C C OBSERVER FOR U.P. ELECTIONS DURING 03.02.02 TO 21.02.02 FOR SULTANPUR, FAIZABAD AND AMBEDKAR NAGAR DIVISONS.

:ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN PARIVARTNA YATRA FROM 18.09.01 TO 30.09.01 AND 11.10.01 TO 14.10.01 IN UTTAR PRADESH

:A I C C OBSERVER FOR M.P. ELECTIONS IN THE YEAR 1992 IN PANNA DISTRICT, MADHYA PRADESH FOR 4 MONTHS, TILL END OF ELECTIONS AND WON ALL THE SEATS IN THE DISTRICT.

:FOREIGN TOUR TO IRAN, SYRIA, DUBAI, AS A STUDY TOUR FROM 23.10.02 TO 29.10.02 BY CENTRAL HAJ COMMITTEE

:VISIT TO JEDDAH, MADINAH AS A LEADER OF DELEGATION OF CENTRAL HAJ COMMITTEE FROM 12.09.03 TO 16.09.03


SOCIAL ACTIVITIES     :

PRESIDENT: MAHARASHTRA WELFARE CENTRE – REGD., MUMBAI

PRESIDENT SABIRA NAQI EDUCATION SOCIETY – REGD.,U.P.

PRESIDENT: TAMEERI IDAARA – REGD., U.P.

PRESIDENT: AWADH CULTURAL SOCIETY – MUMBAI

PRESIDENT: SAYED & SAYED EDUCATIONAL TRUST – REGD., MUMBAI

PATRON: GREEN MUMBAI MOVEMENT – REGD., MUMBAI


AUTHORED URDU BOOKS OF :

 1) THE REVOLUTIONARY CHARACTER OF URDU POETRYLITERARY & HISTORICAL RELEVANCE (1857 A.D. TO 1947 A.D.)

2) COLLECTIONS OF ESSAYS ON THE ROLE OF MUSLIMS IN STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM.

3) COLLECTIONS OF ESSAYS ON THE ROLE OF URDU IN STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM.

Source : drsyedahmed.com

218. Dr. Valiya Mannathal Hamza

Geophysicist

Born	Calicut, Kerala, India
Residence	Rio de Janeiro
Citizenship	India, Brazil
Nationality	Indian, Brazilian
Fields	Geophysicist
Institutions	Observatório Nacional
Alma mater	National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, University of Kerala
Known for	Hamza River

Dr. Valiya Mannathal Hamza is an Indian/Brazilian scientist credited with co-discovering, together with Elizabeth Taveres Pimentel . , the "Rio Hamza" or Hamza River which runs underneath the much more well-known Amazon.

Hamza is listed as a Permanent professor in the Geophysics specialization at the Brazilian National Observatory.

 Early Life

Hamza did his undergraduate and postgraduate studies from University of Kerala in 1960s. He started as a Senior Scientific Assistant at the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad, India in 1966. He moved to University of Western Ontario,Canada for his PhD in 1968 . and subsequently went to Brazil in 1974.

Hamza River

The Hamza River (Por., Rio Hamza) is, or seems to be, a slowly flowing aquifer in Brazil, approximately 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) long. Its discovery was announced in 2011. The River Hamza was named in honour of scientist Valiya Mannathal Hamza, of Brazil's National Observatory, who has undertaken research on the region for four decades.

Source : Wikipedia

Valiya Hamza of Brazil’s National Geophysics Observatory says there are indications of a 6.000 kilometers long subterranean river located 4.000 meters below the surface.
The finding came from studying temperature variations at 241 inactive oil wells drilled in the 1970s and 1980s by Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras in search for hydrocarbons.

Hamza says the thermal information allowed his team of researchers to identify the movement of water under the Amazon River.

The flow of the underground river which follows a similar contour to the Amazon has been estimated at 3.000 cubic meters per second.

This however is considered a mere 3% of the Amazon river flow which is born in the Peruvian jungle and empties in the Atlantic Ocean, to the extreme north of Brazil and is catalogued the longest in the world with 6.800 kilometers.
Hamza says the thermal information allowed his team of researchers to identify the movement of water 13,100 feet under the Amazon River.

Scientists agreed to name the underground river Hamza in honour of the Indian researcher Valiya Mannathal Hamza who has been studying the region for over four decades.

Source : en.mercopress.com