245. Muhammad Hamidullah Khan

Hajji Nawab Hafiz Muhammad Hamidullah Khan (9 September 1894-4 February 1960) was the last ruling Nawab of Bhopal, which merged with the state of Madhya Pradesh in 1956. He ruled from 1926 when his mother, Begum Kaikhusrau Jahan Begum, abdicated in his favor, until 1949 and held the honorific title until his death in 1960. A delegate to the Round Table Conference in London, he served as Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes from 1931–1932 and from 1944–1947, when India became independent. During the Second World War, Nawab Hamidullah Khan was present at the Battle of Keren and the Battle of El Alamein. At his death, he left no sons and so was succeeded by his second daughter, Sajida Sultan, Begum of Bhopal



Personal life

On 5 September 1905 at Peshawar, Nawab Hamidullah Khan married Maimoona Sultan Shah Banu Begum Sahiba (1900–1982), the great-great-granddaughter of Shah Shuja of Afghanistan. The couple had three daughters:

• 1. Suraya Jah, Nawab Gowhar-i-Taj, Abida Sultan Begum Sahiba
• 2. HH Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Nawab Mehr-i-Taj Sajida Sultan Begum Sahiba, Nawab Begum of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal
• 3. Nawabzadi Qamar-i-Taj Dulhan Rabia Sultan Begum Sahiba (1916–2001). Married twice and had one son and five daughters.

In 1947, he married Aftab Jahan Begum Sahiba (1919–2002), the daughter of a Bhopali Muslim Local Family. The couple had one daughter:

• Farzana Begum Sahiba (1948)

 Titles

A young Nawab Hamidullah Khan

• 1894-1903: Nawabzada Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur
• 1903-1907: Hajji Nawabzada Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur
• 1907-1921: Hajji Nawabzada Hafiz Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur
• 1921-1922: Hajji Nawabzada Hafiz Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, CSI
• 1922-1923: Hajji Nawabzada Hafiz Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, CSI, CVO
• 1923-1926: Lieutenant Hajji Nawabzada Hafiz Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, CSI, CVO
• 1926-1927: Lieutenant His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, CSI, CVO
• 1927-1929: Lieutenant-Colonel His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCIE, CSI, CVO, KStJ
• 1929-1932: Lieutenant-Colonel His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCIE, CSI, CVO, KStJ
• 1932-1939: Lieutenant-Colonel His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCSI, GCIE, CVO, KStJ
• 1939-1943: Colonel His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCSI, GCIE, CVO, KStJ
• 1943-1945: Air Commodore His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCSI, GCIE, CVO, KStJ
• 1945-1946: Air Vice-Marshal His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCSI, GCIE, CVO, KStJ
• 1946-1960: Major-General & Air Vice-Marshal His Highness Sikander Saulat, Iftikhar ul-Mulk, Hajji Nawab Hafiz Sir Muhammad Hamidu'llah Khan Bahadur, Nawab of Dar ul-Iqbal-i-Bhopal, GCSI, GCIE, CVO, KStJ

 Honours

• Delhi Durbar Gold Medal - 1903
• Delhi Durbar Gold Medal - 1911
• Prince of Wales Visit Medal - 1922
• Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) - 1922
• Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) - 1929
• Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI) - 1932 (CSI - 1921)
• Knight of the Order of St John (KStJ)
• King George V Silver Jubilee Medal - 1935
• King George VI Coronation Medal - 1937
• 1939-1945 Star - 1945
• Africa Star - 1945
• Burma Star - 1945
• Defence Medal - 1945
• India Service Medal - 1945
• Indian Independence Medal - 1947
• Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal - 1953

Source : Wikipedia

244. Begum Ashraf Mulla

Ashraf is a simple woman. Her plain looks obscure much of her persona and the difference she has brought about in lives of people around herself. She talks without frills, often disarming her subjects with practical logic.

Ashraf did not look far enough to identify problem areas. She knew the illiteracy and ill-health existed in Muslim pockets of her own city, Pune. She selected Syednagar, a settlement of labourers, petty merchants and menial workers.

Lack ofeducation, paucity of resources, and absence of a vision of life had all combined to make life hell for the people of the teeming slums. These pained her. But she spurred into action when her mother died. She wanted to do something in her memory. That is how she organised a crafts workshop in 1985 and trained women in tailoring,papadandshikakaipowder making.

Her good work was soon recognised and a kind soul from the village donated 3,000 sq.ft. of land for her Muslim Samaj Prabodhan Sanstha. A primary school came up in 1990. Since then Ashraf — Ashrafi Mulla to people close to her — has not looked back. She created a stir in 2003 when all the 11 girls from her Rehmani Foundation High School passed the SSC Board exam. Never before from Syednagar village had so many girls taken the school leaving certificate.

Today, altogether 1,200 students study in the three schools set up by her. Looking at her zeal, several organisations like Rehmani Foundation, Mumbai, Muslim Cooperative Bank, Pune and Rotary Club chipped in to help her build a 5,400 sq. ft. complex. But this has become inadequate for the work which is expanding in all directions.

All these urged her to set up “Home for the Girls” in 1993. Mumbai philanthropist Abdul Qadir Supariwala turned it into a concrete reality in 2003. Today 100 destitute girls live, eat, study, play and receive vocational training in the elegant building called Yasmin Iqbal Aashiyana (building named after Sopariwala's wife).

Retirement from Government school had set her free for social work. A philanthropist donated her a plot of land next to Aashiyana to build a junior college in order that girls could continue their education.

Currently, she is setting up a polyclinic in the same complex complete with x-ray machine, diagnostic lab and dental chair. Her ITI started classes last June.

Relentlessly mobile, she has hardly anything by way of a cogent vision. But she acts at the spur of the moment, configuring the needs of society and knows no rest till her plans are realised.

She may just pass off for a commoner, one in a crowd. Rural, rustic in manners, ever clad in a sari,palluover head, Mulla Ashraf Adam has no urban air about herself. Till two decades ago, she was just a teacher in a Government Urdu Primary School. Hung in a three-room society apartment in Pune's Kondhwa area, Ashraf went about balancing her daily life between teaching at the school and raising a family at home.

But precisely those were the years her nerves got that steely twirl. Passion was building up within her to transform society. But being a school teacher and a family woman, she knew her limitations. She started in a small way, setting up a stitching class, then a primary school and on to a high school. Today she is a household name in Pune. She has already set up half a dozen educational and skill imparting centres and does not feel tired of pursuing her objective of the light of education to the lowliest of the low.

Source : thehindu.com

Often, simple, silent workers achieve through their consistent efforts what learned, loud-mouthed remain from attempting. Pune's Ms. Mulla Ashraf Adam is one such iron-willed woman. For over 30 years, Ms Ashraf—Ashrafi to most of those who know her in Pune—has been at work, devoting every single moment to the cause of the children, their education, health and overall welfare. The rustic woman had been relentlessly mobile, balancing her teachers' job with social work and domestic chores. Three years ago she earned her retirement, only to engage herself in newer assignments. Service with devotion rather than success and fame had been fuelling Ms. Mulla's life. A humble Government primary school teacher, few can imagine that the rustic woman today presides over half a dozen institutions that she went about setting up during her nearly 30 years of service. She built them from scratch and guides the destiny of nearly 1,200 kids who are either inmates or students. A passionate social worker, Ms. Mulla has never learnt to sit quiet. It was in 1984 that she gathered a clutch of social activists and began the Rehmani pre primary school in Syednagar, a locale inhabited by the underprivileged people of Pune, The outfit called itself Muslim Samaj Prabodhan Sanstha (MSPS). The school would gather local poor women who would engage themselves in making vanity bags, paper covers, shikakai powder (rural variant of shampoo) and embroidery. Looking at her zeal, Shamsuddin, a local philanthropist donated a plot of 1,000 sq ft for school. Shamsuddin's widow later contributed an equal measure. The school was upgraded into a high school in 1998 and even began to get government aid from last year. As it is realized, the more one tries to tackle the people's woes, the more he or she is likely to get drawn into them. Ms. Mulla soon became aware that mere bringing the kids to school would not address the problem. Poverty had the people in its vice like grip. Hungry kids fainted in school, girls from broken homes faced insecure living conditions and women deserted by their husbands were pushing kids into jobs. Circumstances were urging her to address the question at much more basic level. She set up 'Darul Banat' (Home for the Girls) in 1993. Mumbai philanthropist Abdul Qadir Supariwala turned it into a concrete reality in 2003. Today 80 destitute girls live, eat, study and receive vocational training in the elegant building called Yasmin Iqbal Aashiyana. By this time, Ms. Mulla and her scientist husband had retired. With her own (all male) children settling in life, she was freer to attempt bigger assignments. In 2005, she came up with a junior college with a gentleman donating her 1,200 sq. ft of land next to the Aashiyana. I have seen Ms. Mulla struggling with her stitching class in Syednagar from 1991 onwards. When I visited her earlier this year, she was organizing a polyclinic complete with an X-ray machine and diagnostic lab next to the junior college. Few would disagree, we need hundreds of Ms. Mullas who could grapple with poverty, illiteracy and deep-seated social maladies.

Source : islamicvoice.com

243. Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi

Nawab of Pataudi

Personal information
Full name	Iftikhar Ali Khan
Born	16 March 1910(1910-03-16) Pataudi, Punjab, British India
Died	5 January 1952(1952-01-05) (aged 41) New Delhi, India
Nickname	Pat
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Batting style	Right-handed
International information
National side	England
	India
Test debut (cap 265/32)	2 December 1932 England v Australia
Last Test	20 August 1946 India v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1945–1946	Southern Punjab
1932–1938	Worcestershire
1928–1931	Oxford University
Career statistics
Competition	Test	First-class
Matches	6	127
Runs scored	199	8,750
Batting average	19.90	48.61
100s/50s	1/0	29/34
Top score	102	238 not out
Balls bowled	0	756
Wickets	–	15
Bowling average	–	35.26
5 wickets in innings	–	1
10 wickets in match	–	0
Best bowling	–	6/111
Catches/stumpings	0/–	58/–
Source: Cricinfo, 12 May 2009

Iftikhar Ali Khan , sometimes I.A.K. Pataudi (16 March 1910—5 January 1952) was the 8th Nawab of Pataudi and captain of the Indian cricket team. He was one of few cricketers to have played for two countries, having also played for the English Test side. Iftikhar Ali Khan's son Mansoor also later served as captain of the Indian cricket team, a father-son feat without parallel in India.

 Personal life

Iftikhar Ali Khan was born at Pataudi House in Delhi, into the family of the Nawabs of Pataudi, a small non-salute princely state located in the present-day Indian state of Haryana. He was the son of Nawab Muhammad Ibrahim Ali Khan of Pataudi and his wife Shahar Bano Begum, daughter of a Nawab of Loharu. Thus he was related to great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib as well as later day Pakistan prime minister Liaqat Ali Khan.
Educated at Chiefs' College (later renamed Aitchison College), Lahore, and at Balliol College, Oxford, Iftikhar married Begum Sajida Sultan, second daughter of Hamidullah Khan, last ruling Nawab of Bhopal, in 1939. Hamidullah Khan was to have been succeeded in the titles and privileges associated with the ruling house of Bhopal by his eldest daughter Abida Sultan, She emigrated to Pakistan in the aftermath of the partition of India.His voluntary accession of his state to India by going to Delhi has been recounted in V P Menon 's book "The story of Integration of Indian States".V P Menon remembered him as "Great Patriot who unfortunately died young". Sajida therefore succeeded her father and was recognised by the government of India as Begum of Bhopal in 1961. Upon her demise in 1995, Mansoor, son of Iftikhar Ali Khan & Sajida Sultan, succeeded to the estates and titles associated with the Nawabs of Bhopal.
Apart from Mansoor Ali Khan, Iftikhar and Sajida were the parents of three daughters. Iftikhar died at Delhi of a heart-attack, while playing polo, on 5 January 1952, which incidentally was the 11th birthday of his son Mansoor Ali Khan, who succeeded him as Nawab of Pataudi, and who was also later to serve as captain of the Indian cricket team. He (Iftikhar Ali Khan) is also the grandfather of Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan.

 Cricketing career

Iftikhar Ali Khan played for the English cricket team in the 1930s, before becoming captain of the Indian cricket team that toured England in 1946, making him the only Test cricketer to have played for both England and India. He played in six Tests in all.
Iftikhar went to Oxford in 1927. It was two years before he won a blue; this was for a 106 & 84 that saved a match against Cambridge. In 1931, he scored 1307 runs for Oxford and finished on top of the Oxford averages with 93. In the University match that year, A. Ratcliffe scored 201 for Cambridge, a new record. Pataudi declared that he would beat it, and hit 238* on the very next day. This stood as a record for a university match until 2005. Pataudi was qualified for Worcestershire in 1932 but played only three matches and scored just 65 runs in six innings. However, his slaughter of Tich Freeman with marvellous footwork during an innings of 165 for the Gentlemen at Lord's gained him a place on the Ashes tour for that winter.
Selected for the first Test of the 1932–33 Ashes series, Pataudi followed in the footsteps of Ranjitsinhji, by scoring a century (102) on his Test debut. He nonetheless incurred the ire of his captain Douglas Jardine by dissenting against Jardine's bodyline tactics. Upon Pataudi's refusal to take his place in a bodyline leg-side field, Jardine retorted, "I see His Highness is a conscientious objector." He was dropped after the second Test, and did not play again that series. Towards the end of the tour, Pataudi commented, "I am told he has his good points. In three months I have yet to see them."
1933 was Pataudi's only full season of county cricket, and he batted marvellously, again slaughtering Freeman at Worcester and scoring two other double-hundreds. He finished with 1749 runs at an average of 49, but after more brilliant batting early in 1934 his health broke down and he played just ten games. Pataudi did not play at all in 1935 and 1936 and only five times altogether in 1937 and 1938. Nonetheless, in these games he batted so well that Worcestershire, weak in batting, were always regretting he could not play more often.
He was appointed captain for the India tour of England in 1936, but withdrew at the last moment; it was another 10 years before he led India into the field. He played his next three Tests for India as captain in the India tour to England in 1946.
He was also a fine hockey and billiards player and an accomplished speaker. After the Indian independence, he was employed in the Indian Foreign Office till the time of his death. In 2007, in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of India's Test debut, the Marylebone Cricket Club has commissioned a trophy in Pataudi's name to be competed for between India and England.

Source : Wikipedia

242. Ustad Sultan Khan

  

Ustad Sultan Khan (1940–27 November 2011 ) was an Indian sarangi player and singer who performed Hindustani classical music. He was one of the members of the Indian fusion group Tabla Beat Science, with Zakir Hussain and Bill Laswell. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honor, in 2010.

Early life

Sultan Khan learned from his father Gulab Khan.

Career

Khan gave his first performance at the All-India Conference at the age of 11, and has performed on an international scale with Ravi Shankar on George Harrison's 1974 Dark Horse World Tour. Having learnt the Sarangi from his father Gulab Khan, he won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award twice. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian honour, in 2010. A Hindustani classical music exponent par excellence, Khan was renowned for his international collaborations and is known as the voice behind 'Piya Basanti' and 'Albela Saajan' in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.











He has won numerous musical awards including, twice, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, also known as the President's Award, as well as the Gold Medalist Award of Maharashtra and the American Academy of Artists Award in 1998. In 1997 he was requested to perform at Prince Charles' 50th birthday celebrations.
Khan has taught music producers such as Sukshinder Shinda and Ram Gopal Varma (who provided the music for his film, Deyyam) to play the sarangi. Belonging to the Indore Gharana, Khan plays the Sarangi and sings. He has many students, but few gandhabandha disciples (notables are Anand Vyas and Ikram Khan). He is also the teacher of Deeyah, a Norwegian born singer, and he performed on her debut album I Alt Slags Lys in 1992. He contributed vocals and Sarangi to Gavin Harrison's 1998 solo album Sanity & Gravity. He sang "Albela sajan aayo re..."along with Shankar Mahadevan in the Hindi film 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' in 1999.
Sultan Khan performed for the Tamil film Yogi. He played a solo sarangi for Yogi's theme and also for the song "Yaarodu Yaaro" from the same album.

 Family

His son Sabir Khan, who was his student too, is also an up and coming Sarangi player.

Death

Khan died on 27 November 2011 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India after prolonged illness. He was undergoing dialysis for the last four years and speech failed him in his last days. He expired on his way to the hospital. The funeral will be held in his hometown of Jodhpur, Rajasthan on 28th November 2011

Source : Wikipedia

241. Alisha Abdullah

India's only woman super bike racer

Alisha Abdullah has the unique distinction of being India's only woman super bike racer. Well it is no surprise because racing runs in her genes. Her father RA Abdullah was himself a famous bike racer and a seven-time national champion.

Alisha has been fascinated by racing since she was a kid. As a nine-year-old, Alisha was drawn to go-karting. She was winning go-karting races by the time she was eleven. When she was just 13-years-old, she won the MRF National Go-Karting Championship and the Best Novice Award in the National level Formula Car Racing in the open class .

Alisha then moved on to formula car racing and managed to come fifth in the JK Tyre National Championship, 2004. She made the switch from four wheels to bikes in the same year.

Talking about the change Alisha's father who noted, “The fact is formula car racing can get very expensive. Motorbike racing is easier to manage financially, and moreover, I know what is what in motorbike racing and I can guide her. So I asked Alisha to try bike racing."

Alisha regards her father as a role model and hero. "I have never seen anybody ride better," is her take. Her idol in India is Karun Chandok whom she says is very strong and can beat anyone.
Inevitably, eyebrows are raced when she zooms past men in a flash but this only makes the whole scenario more inviting for Alisha as she opines “Speed thrills me. They say girls generally hate racing, but I love it and that's why I'm here.” She also goes on to add “Whenever I win a Championship in he open class, the exclamatory remarks that I get to hear from the men makes me really proud.”

Alisha and racing are just inseparable. She is synonymous with speed, guts and glory.

Alisha Abdullah is a car racing daredevil. Eyebrows were raised when the petite 21-year-old from Chennai participated as sole Indian female driver in the Polo R Cup competing with a batch of 19 male car racers. With a rating of No 6 at the Volkswagen Polo R Cup championship, Alisha has the unique distinction of being India’s only woman super bike racer.

Her father RA Abdullah was a famous bike racer and a seven-time national champion, so when at the age of nine Alisha showed interest in bikes, it was no surprise. Racing, one can say runs in her genes. “I was always into cars, bikes and fitness. As a kid, I used to play with toy cars and I still have a few of them,” smiles the charming lass.






Initially racing at Go Karting events, she won the MRF National Go Karting Championship and the Best Novice award in the national level Formula car racing in the open class.  Her switch to car racing came after an accident in the JK Tyre National Championship Super Bikes Class, which put an end to her dream of being an international bike racer. She had to give up bike racing but she took up formula car racing in 2004, winning fifth place in the JK Tyre National Championship.


Despite a recurring pain in her right shoulder, she kept at it and is happy with an option she thinks she should’ve chosen much earlier. “Car racing is so much fun, I regret I didn’t get a chance to realise its full potential. But now, I seriously want to make a career in car racing, even though it's much more expensive than bike racing,” says the Sociology graduate who also has a masters in Human Resources from Liba College, Chennai.


The only child of her parents, Wendy and Abdullah, Alisha is happy her parents approve of her career choice. Alisha’s mother is her cheerleader and watches all her races, while her father is not just her inspiration, but also her coach.


On the track, Alisha gives tough competition to the male competitors and a clash of egos is inevitable. “Off the track, I interact with my fellow drivers, but things change on the track. Their egos take over and they let professionalism go to the dogs,” says the racer recalling an incident in Chennai last month, when her vehicle was damaged in a minor crash, bumping her from the fifth position to ninth.


While at college, Alisha recalls being the centre of attention because of her driving skills. “My friends were thrilled to have a race car driver in their midst. But I never really thought it was a big thing. I believe that each person has a talent of their own. Racing is my passion.” Coerced by her friends, Alisha obliges by taking them for a spin, or even doing a few simple stunts that leave her friends petrified.


Alisha is of the opinion that the major pitfalls that prevent women from racing are finance and society’s disapproval. One season of racing like the Volkswagen motor sport event could set a racer back by anything between seven to eight lakh rupees.


“I wish more young girls would take this sport seriously. If you have a passion for the sport and love for cars, nothing can stop you. As a girl, I competed with young boys in bike races. You have to have the guts and patience. Until you lose, you won’t win. I don’t dream of things that are impossible, I dream of what I can attain, that’s why I am here.” However, her dream to own the Audi TT Coupe two-seater still remains. Till then, she continues to use the family cars – a Skoda Superb which is her favourite, a Hyundai i20 and a Chevrolet Captiva.


Had Alisha not been a racer, she would’ve been a tennis star like Sania Mirza, she reveals. “I love tennis and whenever I am free, I either go to the gym or play tennis. I am also a big foodie and love cooking,” says Alisha, whose favourite preparation is Parsley rice with Chilli Chicken. She also loves baking cakes and is an expert at making chocolate fudge.


So the big question. Will she be at the F1 races in Delhi this month? “I have no idea but I do hope something works out for me.” On that note, she excitedly talks about meeting F1 champion driver Lewis Hamilton when he was in Chennai for an event. “Hamilton is an extremely nice person and I am in touch with him as his brother is participating in the Sirocco Cup in Germany this year.” So what tips did the champion driver give her? “He told me always to keep my head cool on the race track. But how can you be cool on a race track? The pressure is always mounting every second. In fact he remarked that he would be angry if a girl wins a race in which he is driving, so you see what I am up against,” says Alisha with a tomboyish grin.

Awards

National Road Racing Championship UCAL

Awarded on : November 2008

Group A stroke up to 750 cc Novice Round 4, THIRD PLACE

Rotary’s Young Achiever Award

Awarded on : September 2008

Honoured with Rotary’s Young Achiever Award. The Rotary Club of Madras Northwest presented the award applauding her trail-blazing achievements in car and bike racing.

National Road Racing Championship UCAL

Awarded on : 2006

Group D4 stroke 80 cc to 110 cc Novice Round 5th Round, THIRD PLACE

National Road Racing Championship UCAL

Awarded on : 2006

Group D4 stroke 80 cc to 110 cc Novice Round 4th Round, THIRD PLACE

National Road Racing Championship UCAL

Awarded on : 2006

Group D4 stroke 80 cc to 110 cc Novice 3rd Round, SECOND PLACE

Kadet – Indian National Karting Championship

Awarded on : 2003

 

Overall Championship novice , all FIRST PLACE in the first 5 races out of 6

Source :  alishaabdullah.com

240. Matin Zuberi

A professor of international politics and disarmament studies at Jawharlal Nehru University, Prof. Zuberi was arguably India's most perceptive academic observer of international nuclear developments. His contributions went beyond academics.

In three stints — 1990-91, 1998-99 and 2000-01 — he was a member of the National Security Advisory Board. On the last occasion he participated in the preparation of the Draft Indian Nuclear Doctrine.

 

Earlier, he was a member of the Indian delegation to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament and Development.

Prof. Zuberi was born at Marehra in Etah district of Uttar Pradesh on July 15, 1930. After obtaining his Master's degree from Aligarh Muslim University, he went to St. Anthony's and Balliol colleges in the University of Oxford. On his return home, he was appointed senior fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla. He joined JNU in 1978 and continued there till 1995.

Prof. Zuberi was also a member of the executive council of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and the governing body of the Society of Indian Ocean Studies.

At the time of his death, Prof. Zuberi was working on a study, "Fateful decisions of the nuclear age." Despite his illness, he dictated a couple of paragraphs for an article on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal.

A condolence meeting will be held at the India International Centre Auditorium here at 2 p.m. on March 22.

Source : hindu.com

239. Khalid Hameed

Khalid Hameed, Baron Hameed, CBE DL, is currently the Chairman of Alpha Hospital Group, as well as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the London International Hospital. Prior to this, he was the Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Cromwell Hospital in London. He hails from Lucknow, India.
He chairs the Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council. He is a Board member of the British Muslim Research Centre, and also the Ethnic Minorities Foundation. He is an Executive member of the Maimonides Foundation and a Trustee of The Little Foundation. Dr Hameed supports various charities and was awarded the Sternberg Award for 2005 for his contribution to further Christian - Muslim - Jewish Relations. He has received several national and international honours from various countries including the United Kingdom. He is a Governor of International Students House; President of The Little Foundation; Chairman of The Woolf Institute of Abrahamic Faiths, and is Chairman of the Friends of the British Library.
He is involved with interreligious matters and lectures on this subject.
He was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as the first Asian High Sheriff of Greater London for the year 2006-2007. This office is 1,000 years old and is the second oldest office in the country after the monarchy.

















In February 2007, it was announced by the House of Lords Appointments Commission that he will be made a life peer and will sit as a Crossbencher. The peerage was gazetted on 27 March 2007 as Baron Hameed, of Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. He was also named British Asian of the year 2007.
He was awarded Padma Bhushan, "third in hierarchy of civilian awards" by the Government of India in 2009. He was the chief guest at Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas 2010 held in New Delhi.

Source : Wikipedia

238. K K Suhail

K.K. Suhail (Suhail Kachai Korail) was the National President of the largest student organisation of Asia, the Students Islamic Organisation of India. He took charge from Mr Bishruddin Sharqi in December 2008. More than hundred representatives of SIO from all states took part in three day long election process in New Delhi from 15 to 18 December 2008 and elected Suhail as the President of SIO. K.K. Suhail, aged 28, with educational qualification: M.Com in Travel and Tourism is from Kannur, Kerala and he is the former PR Secretary of the organisation, which has lakhs of associates across the country.








This group of students has been in news for its stem opposition of sex education last year which culminated in national campaign by most of the Muslim and other organizations which eventually forced many state governments to withdraw sex education proposals.
K K Suhail said, ‘Students’ and education issues are always marginalized in every election debates and people of the country are always misguided by vested interest politicians and communalists’. SIO is going to chalk out a detailed program for it in January 2009 in which newly elected members of Central Advisory Council will take decisions about their next steps to intensify struggle for social justice in education vis-à-vis political challenges before the nation.

Source : Wikipedia

237. Rafeeque Ahmed Mecca

 

Chairman, Farida Group

Rafeeque Mecca started his career in 1963 under the guidance of Late Haji Mecca Abdul Majid Sahib and took over full control of the business after his father’s demise in 1965. Under his guidance Farida has grown from a tannery to many shoemaking divisions. He was instrumental in diversifying the business by starting upper making factories in late 1960s and then established full shoe making factories in 1980s. He became chairman of the group in the year 1996. He is a distinguished figure in the industry and he has held various notable positions in the different industrial associations in the country.

Affiliations
	PRESIDENT, FICCI,Tamil Nadu Chamber.
	PRESIDENT, All India Skins & Hides Tanners & Merchants Association, Chennai.
	CHAIRMAN, Ambur Economic Development Organization Ltd, Ambur.
	DIRECTOR, Indian Institute of Leather Products, Chennai.
	DIRECTOR, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai.
	FORMER CHARIMAN, Council of Leather Exports, India.

Mr. M. Rafeeque Ahmed, the Chairman of the Farida Group and the recently elected Chairman of the Council for Leather Exports has been honoured with the prestigious Padma Shri award for the current year 2011. It is a befitting honour to him and the leather industry he represents by the government of India. He deserves it well and the leather fraternity in India particularly in Tamil Nadu is happy over this honour.

One feels that the Almighty Allah has paid good dividends to Mr. Rafeeque Ahmed for his principled approach, determination and efforts to achieve what he wants along with his friendly nature – a beautiful trait inherited from his ever smiling, cool and calm but at the same time strong willed father the late Mecca Abdul Majeed sahib.

Mr. Rafeeque Ahmed expanded his family business – the Farida group – founded in 1957 by his father to the present position. To put it in the words of the group, what started off as a small unit in Ambur, Farida today has expanded to 12 plants in the last five decades making them self-sufficient in sourcing of raw materials like finished leather and other shoe components and sub-assemblies from their own subsidiaries. They have a work force of about 7000 people in their units and almost double the number benefit through indirect employment from this group.

Mr. Rafeeque Ahmed has also been serving the cause of the leather industry by holding high posts in different trade associations. He is now the Chairman of the Council for Leather Exports, President of the All India Skin and Hide Tanners and Merchants Association, Chairman of the Ambur Economic Development Organization Ltd.(AEDOL), etc. He was instrumental in establishing the Aedol icon “Ambur Trade Centre” in Ambur at the cost of Rs.11.5 crore with the government assistance for the development of the leather and leather products industry. He also holds many other posts in some other organizations. He is the President of the TN state council of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) He is also a Director of the Apollo Hospitals. He is also associated with different educational institutions and associations. He holds high posts in the Ambur Muslim Educational Society (AMES) and the Muslim Educational Association of Southern India (MEASI). He played an important part in the three day Centenary Celebrations of the AMES in June 2006  to which Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was invited when he was the President of India. No doubt he is an active gentleman well known in the national and international leather circles.

We congratulate him for receiving the prestigious national Padma Shri award and wish him all the best in all his future plans and programmes for the betterment of the industry, community and country.

About Farida Group

Farida Group is a family owned business that was founded in 1957 by late Haji Mecca Abdul Majid Sahib at Ambur for finished leather to be sold initially in the domestic market.

In 1960s, fulfilling Abdul Majid Sahib’s vision to move into overseas markets, we became the pioneers in import substitution starting with exports of finished leather and shoe uppers to USA, Germany and Italy.

In mid 1970s, Rafeeque Ahmed Mecca expanded the scope of product line from shoe uppers to complete shoe making. He started operations in Chennai (Madras) and also moved the group headquarters there.

What started off as a small unit in Ambur, Farida, today, has expanded to 12 plants in the last five decades making us self sufficient in sourcing of raw materials like finished leather and other shoe components and sub-assemblies from our very own subsidiaries.

The establishment of the subsidiary plants close to the shoe manufacturing units helps our companies to keep inventory at a minimum and follow the Just-in-Time supply method.

For the last forty years, we have primarily targeted the international market. Europe makes up close to 47% of our group sales with Asia Pacific and North Americas each accounting for close to 26-27%.

We currently employ 7,000 people directly and almost double the number of people benefit through indirect employment from Farida Group by providing components, sub-assemblies and services that are solely dependent on the volume of our shoe manufacturing units.

Arcot Soles Private Limited (ASPL)

• ASPL was established in the year 2005 as a spinoff from Farida Leatherware Private Ltd. Specialist in TPR (thermo plastic rubber), PVC (Polyvinyl chloride), its 200 strong workforce produces 10000 pairs of TPR & PVC footwear soles per day. It has small in-house tool room to promptly address the mould related issues with a proposal to make it a full fledged one.

Delta Shoes Private Limited

• Delta shoes was incorporated in 1987. Initially our factory was set up to manufacture the ladies full shoes to supply to Germany, UK, & Korea. Later we moved focus to make uppers for women footwear. Around 2003, we got the Certification to GORETEX Uppers and in 2006, we started supplying Uppers for Safety shoes We have a workforce of 500 employees in India and also have a sample making materials unit and sourcing office in China.

Farida Classic Shoes Private Limited (FCPL)

Farida Classic Shoes Private Ltd is the first full-fledge full shoe factory within the group. We started operations in 1981 under the guidance of Mr. Rafeeque Ahmed Mecca who is our present Group Chairman. We had a starting capacity of 1000 shoe pairs per day and having kept pace with customers’ growth and expectations, are now able to deliver 6000 pairs a day. Our employee base of 1500 caters to major markets and brands.

Farida Shoes Private Limited (FSPL)

• Farida Shoes Private Ltd. was established in the year 1976 at Ambur. It is a full shoe factory, being one of the biggest facilities in South India with a capacity of 14,000 pairs per day. Farida Shoes specializes in making cemented and moccasin construction articles. The factory is certified with ISO 9001:2000 from BV.

Farida Prime Tannery (FPT)

India Shoes Exports Private Limited (ISEPL)

Kenmore Shoes Private Limited

Farida New Line Studio Private Limited (FNLS)

FNLS was started in the year 2002. This sample making and engineering division delivers technical input to all the factories. FNLS acts as a bridge between factories and customers and has the latest design tools like ProCAM, ShoeMaster and CAD. It has state-of-art last grading facility (Digitizing machine) to cater to customers’ specified range of sizes. FNLS also has an imported wooden model-making machine for making soles which helps in early delivery of sample soles. FNLS has all necessary development equipment to support its customers’ requirements which leads to on-time delivery of quality samples.

Source : farida.co.in