IOS Felicitates Prof. (Dr.) Mohammad Afshar Alam, Vice-Chancellor, Jamia Hamdard

IOS Felicitates Prof. (Dr.) Mohammad Afshar Alam, Vice-Chancellor, Jamia Hamdard

New Delhi: A felicitation programme to honour the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Hamdard, Prof. (Dr.) Mohammad Afshar Alam, was organised by the Institute of Objective Studies on October 15, 2022.

The function began with the recitation of a verse from the Holy Qur’an by Hafiz Athar Husain Nadwi. Prof. Haseena Hashia, Assistant Secretary-general of the Institute, welcomed the guests and presented a brief profile of Prof. Mohammad Afshar Alam. She said that he was the first internal professor from Jamia Hamdard to have been elevated to the position of vice-chancellor. Having more than 25 years of experience in teaching and research, he has guided 30+Ph.D. scholars and 200+ post-graduate research projects. His research areas include software re-engineering, data mining, bio-informatics, fuzzy databases and sustainable development. He had been invited to several countries, including UAE, Nepal, Syria, Yemen, Iran, KSA, Singapore, Malaysia and the Republic of China, to deliver special lectures, plenary talks and keynote addresses at conferences. She held that Prof. Afshar Alam authored 10 books and has more than 150 research papers in reputed journals to his credit. He has also served as a member of various committees of the government of India, such as NAAC, UGC, AICTE, SERB, NCPL, etc. He had been conferred with several prestigious awards, like AMP Award for Excellence in Education, Cooperative Award, World Environment Day Award, Mahatma Gandhi International Peace Award and the Time Magazine India’s Excellence Icon Award, she added.

Prof. Md. Ishtiyaque, Former Vice-Chancellor of Magadh University, Bodhgaya, Bihar, and a professor of geography at Jamia Millia Islamia, presented a bouquet and shawl to Prof. Afshar Alam. The occasion was marked by the presentation of the memento to Prof. Afshar Alam by Prof. Z.M. Khan, Secretary-general of the Institute.

Expressing his gratitude to the IOS, Prof. Afshar Alam said that his association with the Institute went back to the year 1988 when Dr. A.R. Kidwai, who was serving as the governor of Bihar at that time, told him about the Institute of Objective Studies and advised him to visit to see how the Institute was working. Being a general assembly member of the IOS, he has been closely associated with social science activities even though his areas of expertise lie in the field of computer science. He observed that he read many books published by the IOS and had relied on data procured by the Institute and also submitted the data to the authorities as and when needed. This close association encouraged him to work on the topic of sustainable development goals (17 in number) and correlate it with computer science.

Prof. Afshar Alam maintained that the IOS had been engaged in bridging the gap between different sections of society for maintaining goodwill and harmony among them, and Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam is an example of that. The untiring effort of Dr. Alam has resulted in recognition of the Institute at the national and international levels for promoting research, community service, conducting surveys on relevant themes, and publishing books and journals in the area of national concern and pressing challenges of civil society. The IOS is constantly trying to uphold the ideals of secularism, democracy, the rule of law and constitutionalism. The Institute has acquired credibility in bringing together social scientists, policy planners, and social workers. He said that the Institute had completed 445 projects, reports and translations of other important books. He informed that an MoU with the IOS is going to be signed very shortly. He added that after taking the responsibility of the vice-chancellor of Jamia Hamdard, he started the centre of international studies. The university has also started B.A. and M.A. programmes in Public Policy and Human Rights. He said that he aims to develop a research centre in Jamia Hamdard in collaboration with the IOS. He informed the audience that this year, more than 700 applications for the B.A. programme in Public Policy had been received through CUET in Jamia Hamdard, and it is also planning to start programmes on developmental economics and the likes of it with the help of the U.G.C., he concluded.

In his address, Prof. Md. Ishtiyaque said that the work being done by the IOS in different fields has been recognized not only in India but also in the world. That’s the reason for its global recognition. Referring to Prof. Afshar Alam, Prof. Md. Ishtiyaque said that although he is a computer scientist, his interest also extends to social sciences. And now, he is planning to set up a centre of political science and sociology in Jamia Hamdard, Prof. Md. Ishtiyaque observed.

Presiding over the function, Z M. Khan said that he was delighted and encouraged by the speech of Prof. Afshar Alam. He noted that the scope of activities of the Institute has undoubtedly widened, but it could not do all the things alone due to a host of factors. Keeping this in view, the Institute decided to rope in several universities and organisations to collaborate with it in its varied programmes. He held that due to limited resources and financial constraints, the Institute decided to seek the cooperation of other institutions based in Delhi. The IOS would serve humanity with the collaborative efforts of other organisations. He concluded by saying that the Institute gave serious thought to the observations of the vice-chancellor of Jamia Hamdard.

Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, Chairman, IOS, observed that the IOS had previously signed memoranda with 8-9 institutions. He said that a programme on the need for a dialogue with the followers of other religions concluded recently. Another such programme is scheduled to take place shortly in Himachal Pradesh. Underlining the need for inter-religious dialogues, he said that Prophet Moses was ordered to engage himself in a dialogue with Pharaoh. Therefore, we can say that Islam places great prominence on strategic dialogue. He urged that the Islamic message of respect and honour to every individual should reach every household because the word of Allah would always remain supreme. He said that with a view to spreading the message of the Qur’an, Hadith and Islam, some 117 booklets are in the process of preparation, and their translation into 18 Indian languages is nearing completion. And about 63 books have already been published.

The felicitation programme ended with a vote of thanks proposed by Prof. Haseena Hashia.