JEDDAH, 10 January 2007 — Dr. Shamim Ahmad, vice chancellor of Jamia Hamdard, was recently in the Kingdom to perform Haj as a guest of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. Dr. Ahmad, a famous scientist and educationist, spoke to Arab News on topics ranging from Saudi Arabia’s Haj arrangements to the establishment of Jamia Hamdard and its contributions to the field of education and medicine. His current interests involve applications of nanomaterials in MEMS/NEMS devices for health diagnostics, drug delivery and drug discovery and industrial applications of nanotechnology in association with Indian industry. He is a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineers, Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers and the chief editor of IETE Journal of Research. He is a recipient of the 19th R.L. Wadhwa Memorial IETE Gold Medal Award. Ahmad was director of Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute, Pilani. In October 2005, he became vice chancellor of Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University), New Delhi.
Following is the interview:
Q: Was this your first Haj?
A. Yes, thank God. My wife and I were able to perform the rituals peacefully and safely. We sincerely thank Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for his kind invitation which enabled us to fulfill our dream.
Q: How did you find the Haj arrangements? Do you have any suggestions?
A. I have only praise for the arrangements. The government of Saudi Arabia has done a tremendous job. During the Haj every individual visits the two Holy Mosques and then goes to Mina and Arafat. Every pilgrim wants to be near the Holy Haram during prayers. Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat all have fixed perimeters. To offer prayers, one needs space and no disturbance. Tawaf necessitates going around seven times and according to current practice, both these rituals are performed simultaneously. But the sheer numbers involved in the two rituals clash with providing relief for the maximum number of pilgrims. Islamic scholars might work out a solution for strictly followed schedules — though at the cost of restricting the freedom of pilgrims in the House of Allah and the Prophet’s Mosque. I am not finding fault with the present system but keeping in view the ever-increasing numbers of pilgrims, it would be good to look into possibilities for improvement.
Another suggestion is the use of multimedia to train pilgrims in their own countries. In order to ensure uniformity, the relevant DVD, CD and other related materials should be prepared centrally and distributed to the Haj missions. This would reduce the burden of confusion and uncertainty especially in cases where ignorance is the cause rather than anything else.
Q: When was Jamia Hamdard established?
A. Jamia Hamdard was established in 1906 as a small clinic by Hakim Abdul Majeed. His son Hakim Abdul Hamid converted this commercial enterprise into a Waqf public charity including health and education. Hamdard Tibbi College was established in 1963 in Gali Qasim Jan, Old Delhi. In 1964, Hamdard National Foundation was created and in 1972 Hamdard College of Pharmacy began its work. Jamia Hamdard was given the status of Deemed to be University by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Now it is a member of the Association of Indian Universities.
Q: What is nanotechnology and what are your areas of interest in it?
A. Nanotechnology is the art of manipulating materials on a very small scale in order to build microscopic machinery. Materials made of nanosize building blocks have unusual physical, chemical and biological properties. In nanoscience, the behavior of nanomaterials are studied and nanotechnology deals with the practical applications of such materials. The other areas in which the Jamia Hamdard teams and I are interested are drug delivery, drug discovery, nanocomposites, artificial bone transplant, tissue engineering, genomics and proteomics.
Q. Could you please comment on higher education and research in Muslim countries?
A. Yes, this area is close to my heart and we are making great efforts at Jamia Hamdard. For our progress today and in future, higher education and research and development are most important. Today we are at a stage where we talk of “knowledge” as wealth. “Knowledge” can be acquired by proper education. This education is appropriate only when it serves some specific purpose. Today a whole paradigm change is needed to make knowledge more useful. We have to prepare ourselves intelligently to develop education with a definite aim. User-specific or problem-specific higher education is going to be today’s demand. In the planning stage, we have to develop syllabi and methods to educate students with this in mind.
It is our lack of scientific understanding that makes us unable to use the abundant resources provided by Allah. Another problem is to look to developed countries for innovations to use. For our local resource utilization, we have to develop understanding so that we make our lives more livable at affordable costs. A high-level scientific working group could be entrusted with finding solutions based on raw materials available at a given location. It is now very well established that nothing is redundant in nature. Allah has provided everything with a specific use. And therefore we have to work out ways and means for using natural resources. The best approach seems that is based on natural processes. In this context nanoscience and nanotechnology-based higher education and research is the demand of the time. We, on behalf of Jamia Hamdard, would like to collaborate and cooperate with institutions of higher learning and research in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I am trying to contact institutions to enter into collaboration with the support of administrations from both the sides.
Q: How many foreign students are there in Jamia and what facility is there for NRI students?
A. The total number of foreign students from 25 countries is about 250. For foreign students, a merit-based admission system is followed. There are 15 percent of seats reserved for foreign students. NRI/Industry sponsored candidates are taken on a merit basis using 10+2 marks. Foreign students face language problems because of different standards in their countries. At Jamia Hamdard there are special 3-6 month courses to train these students in English.
