Unsung Heroes — Volume II

About The Author

Abdul Kader Mukadam

Abdul Kader Mukadam, as a protagonist of progressive ideology and values, has always been actively associated with a number of social organisations committed to the propagation of these values. He is associated with the Muslim Satya Shodhak Mandal, the first progressive movement of Muslims in India, and is a founder-member of Muslims for Secular Democracy. He regularly contributes articles to newspapers and periodicals on the subject of the problems of Indian Muslims and has participated in debates on this subject on All India Radio and on television. He has presented research papers at seminars organised by Bombay University, Pune University, and Surat University. His areas of interest include Sufism and the politics of the Middle East. He is the author of several books in Marathi: Problems of Indian Muslims, The story of Indian Muslims, and Chandrakorichya Chhayet (In the Shade of the Crescent). A compilation of some of his articles, which have appeared in newspapers and periodicals, has also been published.

Arvind Mambro

Arvind Mambro is a well-known writer of essays and
short stories in Konkani. He has won numerous awards
from the governments of Maharashtra and Goa, as well as
from the Sahitya Akademi. He was principally responsible
for setting up the Tata Archives and served there in a senior
capacity for many years. He is the editor of the book JRD
Tata: Letters and Keynote published in 2004.

Farrukh Waris

Prof. (Dr.) Farrukh S. Waris is the vice-principal and head of the department of history at the Burhani College. She did her M.Phil (History) from A.M.U. Aligarh in 1976.

She is a member of the Mumbai chapter of Taleem-e-Niswan, an organisation committed to encouraging education amongst underprivileged Muslim women. She is also the secretary of Idrak, an organisation of educated Muslims committed to creating socio-political awareness among the Muslims at large.

She is also a pioneer-member of Muslims for Secular Democracy, Mumbai, and a founder-member of the study circle “Parivartan – A Need for Change” that aims to educate students on socio-political issues, independent thinking and accepting social and national commitments. Dr. Waris has presented papers at several seminars and workshops and is a member of the Indian History Congress and also of the Indian History Association.

She has also initiated a Women’s Development Cell (W.D.C.) to create gender sensitisation, economic empowerment and fight all kinds of marginalisation.

Harish Dhillon

Harish Dhillon had his schooling at the Lawrence School, Sanawar, trained for the army and was then boarded out of the services on medical grounds. He went on to do his post-graduation and doctorate in English Literature from the Lucknow University, where he lectured for seven years. In 1995 he became headmaster at Sanawar and then moved to Yadavindra Public School, Mohali (Chandigarh), as Principal in 1999. His books include The Lives and Teachings of the Sikh Gurus, Love Stories from the Punjab, The Legend of Banda Bahadur, The Living Saint (a biography of Bhagat Puran Singh), Spiritual Masters: Guru Nanak, and Kali Saver (short stories in Punjabi). He has also written two collections of short stories in English titled After the Storm and The Song of Silence.

J V Naik

J.V. Naik taught history first at the Elphinstone College, then at the Govt. of Maharashtra I.Y. College and before his retirement he was professor and head, department of history, University of Mumbai. He was awarded a fellowship of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute for research in Canada. He has lectured at some Universities in Canada and participated in international conferences in India and abroad. He was the general president of the Indian History Congress, and he has delivered several prestigious endowment lectures. He was UGC visiting fellow at the M.S. University at Baroda and at the Shivaji University, Kolhapur. He has authored several books and booklets, including one on national integration for the Central Board for Workers’ Education, sponsored by the Ministry of Labour, Govt. of India. Through his numerous research papers, which are widely cited, he has made a seminal contribution to a better understanding of the nature of 19th century Maharashtrian renaissance and the history of the quest for social justice in India. He has been a member of the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India. He is presently a trustee of Mani Bhavan Gandhi Sangrahalaya, and of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai.

R Srinivasan

Dr. R. Srinivasan was born in Mumbai in 1929 and had his school and college education in Mumbai. He did his B.A. (Hons.) in history and his M.A. in politics. He was awarded the P. A. Wadia Prize, the William Wedderburn Scholarship and the Telang Gold Medal by the University of Bombay. In 1960 he went to the University of Toronto on a Vincent Massey Scholarship for higher studies. On his return he joined the Department of Civics and Politics of the Bombay University and retired as professor in 1989. He has guided a number of students for their M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees. He has edited and authored several books. His special interests are modern Indian history, political philosophy, and political sociology.