Islamic scholar Rafiq Zakaria dies
MUMBAI: Veteran Congress leader and Islamic scholar Dr Rafiq Zakaria died at his residence early on Saturday, family sources said.
He was 85 and is survived by wife Fatma, three sons and a daughter. Zakaria complained of acute back pain shortly before he breathed his last at around 7 am, the sources said.
From his student days, Zakaria was active in the freedom struggle, both at home and abroad. After a successful legal career, he served as a cabinet minister in Maharashtra for over a decade.
Born on April five, 1920, Zakaria joined the freedom struggle after the Quit India call was given by Mahatma Gandhi.
Zakaria straddled the world of education, journalism, politics and Islamic studies with élan. He was a Chancellor’s gold medallist of the Bombay University and PhD with distinction from London University. He was called to the bar from Lincoln’s Inn.
The veteran Congress leader made a pioneering contribution to the field of education by setting up about 10 to 12 colleges.
His body will be shifted to a city hospital, as one of his sons Farid Zakaria (editor of Newsweek) is expected to come from the United States on Sunday, family sources said, adding the body is likely to be taken to Aurangabad, Maharashtra on Monday for burial.
In 1978 Zakaria became deputy leader of the ruling Congress party in Parliament. He held important assignments including that of the Prime Minister’s special envoy to the Muslim world in 1984 and represented Indian at the United Nations in 1965, 1990 and 1996.
Zakaria was a scholar of international repute. He authored more than 15 books, including ‘a study of Nehru’. His rejoinder to Salman Rushdie, entitled ‘Muhammad and the Quran,’ became popular. His books dealt with Indian politics and the history and jurisprudence of Islam.
An eminent educationist, Zakaria founded a dozen educational institutions of higher learning in Mumbai and Aurangabad. He chaired several important government of India committees and was member of the national jury for the Ambedkar Award and the National Integration Council.
Zakaria was passionately involved in the promotion of Hindu-Muslim unity and also delivered prestigious memorial lectures at various universities.
Zakaria, who held many important portfolios in the Maharashtra government, first as a minister of state and later as a cabinet minister, including public works and urban development, is credited with playing a key role in setting up the Aurangabad water supply scheme three decades ago.
At that time, the population of Aurangabad was around two lakh and the scheme envisaged bringing water from Jaikwadi reservoir on Godavari River, around 50 km from there. Today, when the population of Aurangabad is over a million, the same scheme is being used to meet water supply needs of the city.
Zakaria was also instrumental in setting up industrial estates around Aurangabad. Today, the city has twin industrial areas of Chikalthan and Waluj, which manufacturing units of leading names in Indian industry.
Zakaria set up 15 colleges, including the Maharashtra College. He founded the Maulana Azad Educational Trust, which runs these colleges, which are in the fields of humanities, hotel management, pharmacy and sciences.
