People & Events Track

Maulana Asad Madni, President of the Jamiatul Ulema-e Hind, passed away here on February 6, after prolonged illness. He was 78. Maulana Madni led the Jamiat for nearly 43 years. He is survived by four sons and two daughters.


Born on April 27, 1928, in Deoband in Uttar Pradesh, Maulana Madni had acquired a Fazilat degree from Darul Uloom Deoband, a noted Islamic theological school in North India. He was first appointed the general secretary of the Jamiat and later became president. He was member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament for three terms and was a member of the Congress Working Committee, Aligarh Muslim University Court, All India Muslim Personal Law Board, and Rabitat Alam Al-Islam, Makkah.


Since Jamiatul Ulema Hind was a satellite organisa-tion of the Congress, Maulana Madni was considered very close to several Congress prime ministers and his advice was heeded to by the Congress party. Though Jamiat’s influence waned in the Hindi heartland in the wake of communal riots during the 1980s, consequent to the Congress’ indifferent attitude towards tackling them, it commanded considerable clout with Muslim masses in the state of Assam where the Congress dare not antagonise it. Maulana Madni was sent to several Muslim countries as head of the official delegation to dress the image of the Government of India. However, his son Maulana Mahmood Madni, who appeared on the Muslim political firmament during the last one decade has steered a path different from the Jamiat’s trajectory in the past. The Jamiat supported several parties other than the Congress in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where Congress became irrelevant in the last two decades. He made waves when he addressed Dalit-Muslim rallies in North India together with new Dalit leaders like Udit Raj. He is seen as the most likely successor of the late Maulana. Maulana Asad Madni was buried in Deoband immediately after Fajr prayers on February 7.

Wajid Ali Khan, a noted social worker of Mysore passed away on February 13. He was 61. Politeness personified, Khan was a grassroots social worker who had a moderating influence in discussing sensitive issues. Never a prisoner of blind ideology and guided by prudent realism, Khan devoted prime years of his youth to organisations like Azam Baitul Maal, literary organisations like Hadiqatul Adab and Jamaat-e-Islami.


An engineer, he began his career with Land Army Organisation, building roads in border areas in the heat of the 1965 Indo-Pak War. He later joined Bharat Earth Movers Limited in Bangalore and still later worked for MNC Cummins, in Egypt and England, to finally return to Mysore for setting up business. He is survived by his wife and two sons. (Report by K.Javeed Nayeem).

ACP, Muhammed Rafiq Mulla from Bangalore has been awarded the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service in the Police Department. The award was presented to him on the occasion of Republic Day this year at Raj Bhavan in Bangalore . Earlier he was also awarded the Chief Minister’s Gold Medal in the year 2001. He is still in the service. Also, M.T Ali from Mysore was awarded the President’s Police Medal on the occasion of Republic Day.

The Wisdom International School, here in the city held its “Educational Exhibition” recently. Students of the school, both boys and girls put up their creations from the field of science and environment. It was amazing to watch students explain “optical illusion” with a Laptop Powerpoint presentation. Three little girls wearing white coats, confidently confirmed the blood group of visitors in their lab. Lined with colourful bottles containing different chemicals, their lab was thronged by enthusiastic visitors who did not mind getting their fingers pricked to check their blood groups. Linking Quran and Science, each showpiece had a chart with verses from the Quran. It was heartening to watch the students explain ‘water pollution’ in Kannada as fluently as they explained the facts and figures about DNA, in English.

Humane Touch, in association with Al-Azhar Foundation in the city organised a mass Nikah ceremony for 16 couples recently at the Al-Azhar Foundation school. The Open Day celebration of the school was followed by a sermon by Maulana Riyaz-ur-Rahman, Imam and Khateeb, Jamia Masjid, Bangalore, who also conducted the mass Nikah ceremony for the couples. For more details, contact Tazaiyun Omer-Humane Touch/ Al-Azhar Foundation-Ph: 26754141.

The International Seerah Academy organised a ‘Sualihaat Milan’ programme titled “The Rising Sun” recently. Chairperson of the Iqra Educational Trust, Mumbai, Uzma Nahid was the chief guest. The programme dedicated for women comprised a ‘mela’ showcasing Islamic books, hijabs, Islamic greeting cards and Prophetic medicines.

The Silicon City Public School in the city celebrated their fifth Annual day recently. Dr. M. Khajapeer, vice-chancellor, Karnataka University, Dharwad was the chief guest. Amrithavalli, Principal of the school read the report highlighting the activities of the school. The Kindergarten Graduation day was also held on the same day. Secretary of the school, Ziaullah Khan announced that a Junior college for girls would be set up soon.

The Al-Ameen Educational Society, Bangalore, presented the “Al-Ameen All India Community Leadership Award,” this year to Syed Sha Mohammed Mohammed Al-Hussaini, Sajjad-e-Nasheen, Dargah Hazrath Band-e-Nawaz, Gulbarga. The programme held on February 25, also comprised the Hazrath Tippu Sultan Shaheed Memorial Lecture on “Itehad-e- Millat” which was delivered by Maulana Mufti Ashraf Ali, Ameer-e-Shariath, Karnataka. Chairman of Al-Ameen Educational Society, S.S. Peeran presided over the event.