IOS Chennai Chapter-OMEIAT organises webinar on “Nawab C. Abdul Hakeem Sahib: Life and Services”

IOS Chennai Chapter-OMEIAT organises webinar on “Nawab C. Abdul Hakeem Sahib: Life and Services”

Chennai: A multilingual International Webinar on Nawab C. Abdul Hakeem Sahib: Life and Services” was organized by the Institute of Objective Studies, Chennai Chapter on February 3, 2024. It was jointly organized with Organization of Muslim Educational Institutions and Associations of Tamilnadu (OMEIAT) and C. Abdul Hakeem College (Autonomous), Melvisharam. The Media partners were Global Tamil Muslims (GTM) based in USA.

The webinar was presided over by S. Ziauddin Ahmed, General Secretary, Melvisharam Muslim Educational Society and compeered by Mohamed Haneef Katib, Coordinator, IOS, Chennai Chapter.

The proceedings of the webinar started with the recitation of ha verse from the holy Qur’an. Mohamed Haneef Katib welcomed S. Ziauddin Ahmed, the great grandson of Nawab C. Abdul Hakeem, the dignitaries, distinguished speakers and the audience on behalf of the IOS, OMEIAT and Management of C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam.

Ibnu Soud Shahabdeen, President, All India Milli Council, Tamilnadu Chapter, and General Assembly member of IOS, introduced the activities of IOS to the audience. He informed that IOS was regularly conducting international webinars/seminars on the life and contributions of great personalities from Tamilnadu and documenting them. He said that a webinar was also organised some time ago on the life and contributions of Moulana Abdul Hameed Baqavi, who had the distinction of translating the holy Qur’an into Tamil for the first time. This webinar was being organized jointly with OMEIAT and C. Abdul Hakeem College which was established by the grandson of the great personality in his memory. He also acknowledged the participation of Global Tamil Muslims (GTM) based in USA as their media partners.

Dr. Abul Fazal, Asst. Professor and Head of the Department of History, Islamiah College, Vaniyambadi, while speaking on the topic lamented the projection of Nawab C. Abdul Hakeem as a mere leader of Muslims of Melvisharam or of Tamilnadu. As a matter of fact, he was truly a leader of national stature. He was hailed as an international Muslim leader by a newspaper from Lahore in 1938 on his demise. Although some books had been brought out as his biography, they did not truly portray all the aspects of his life and contributions. Numerous oral traditions of the philanthropic contributions of the Nawab which existed in and around Melvisharam needed to be documented, he felt. He was conferred the title of Nawab by the British government as an exclusive case in recognition of his noble deeds which proved his greatness. The speaker suggested among measures, collecting photocopies of documents from registration offices concerning land grants to educational and religious purposes by the Nawab, collecting press reports on him from various newspapers and also preparing an audio-visual presentation on his life and achievements.

Dr. Sajid Ahmed, Principal, C. Abdul Hakeem College (Autonomous), Melvisharam, spoke eloquently in Urdu on the iconic life of Nawab Sahib. He had great love and respect for his parents which led him to name the famous Siddique Sarai after his father in Madras. He referred to the biography of Nawab C. Abdul Hakeem ‘Muqayyire Azam’ (The great philanthropist) by Prof. Hafiz Abdur Razack Hafiz Baqavi which chronicled the events of his life. This was later translated into Tamil and English. Starting as a humble trader in leather, he rose to the heights of being titled ‘Merchant Prince’ by his sheer hard work and innovative techniques. He could truly be called Hatim Tai of his times, considering his generous donations not only to the Muslim individuals, families and Institutions but also to numerous non-Muslim Institutions. His involvement with Education was phenomenal. From Madras to Tirupattur and beyond, he was associated with all the Muslim Educational Institutions till his last breath. He was a beacon of light and his legacy had to be taken forward, the speaker concluded.

Sister Aalima A. S. Fathima Muzaffer M.C., Greater Corporation of Chennai, attributed the success of Nawab Sahib to his unshaken faith in Allah (SWT) and to his hard work and perseverance. Hs impeccable character from the beginning of his illustrious life till his end stood out as beacon of guidance to all Tamil Muslims. He focussed on his economic stability initially and established himself as a match for none in the leather trade. He was awarded the title of ‘Sheriff of Madras’ by the British government for his social commitment. In 1938, Sir Rajagopal Acharya, the then Prime Minister of Madras Presidency passed a condolence resolution in the Assembly after his sad demise, and paid tributes to his great personality. He was a great patriot and was deeply involved with the freedom struggle of India. But for his association with the Congress Party and freedom struggle, he would have been awarded the title of ‘Sir’ also. She thanked the organizers for conducting an international webinar on Nawab C. Abdul Hakeem and documenting his iconic life.

The webinar concluded with a vote of thanks by Advocate Muniruddin Sheriff, Vice President of All India Milli Council, Tamilnadu Chapter and a member of the IOS.