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Syed Zafar Mahmood

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Not to be confused with Syed Zafar Islam.
Syed Zafar Mahmood
Born8 June 1951
EducationGraduated from Aligarh Muslim University
Occupation(s)Civil servant, Social activist
RelativesTahir Mahmood (brother)

Syed Zafar Mahmood is an Indian civil-servant and former 'Officer on Special Duty' for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.[1] On March 9, 2005, the Prime Minister appointed the 'Sachar Committee' to study the "social, economic and educational status" of India's minority Muslim community.[2][3] Mahmood worked with the Sachar Committee to submit its report to the Government of India within two years on November 17, 2006.[4][5] He has since given numerous talks in and outside India on the topic. In his presentations at Case Western Reserve University and Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government he has commented on the steps forward to bridge the economic, social and educational divide of Indian Muslims.[6]

During President George W. Bush's 2006 visit to India, the U.S. president convened an interfaith meeting in New Delhi and Mahmood was one of the representatives of Indian Muslims.[7]

Education

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Mahmood was educated at Aligarh Muslim University where he earned B.Sc. (Honours) in Physics, M.S. in political science, and Ph.D. in Public Administration.[6]

Non-Governmental Work

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Mahmood is also the founder of three non-profit organizations: Zakat Foundation of India,[8] Interfaith Coalition for Peace[9] and God's Grace Foundation.[10]

Of note, Zakat Foundation of India (founded in 1997) is a non-profit which runs an orphanage for victims of the 2002 Gujarat riots in partnership with USA's One World Children's Fund.[11] The Foundation recently was in the news for adopting the family of the late 11-year-old Shanno Khan.[12] Mahmood's work in regard to these organizations has also been featured on CNN[13] and America's National Public Radio (NPR).[14] In September 2009, ZFI filed a 'Right To Information' application to question why the Government had rejected the Sachar Committee recommendations to ensure proper governance of Wakf properties.[15]

On June 29, 2013, Mahmood was invited as a speaker to 'Young India Conclave' in Gandhinagar, Gujarat along with the state's Chief Minister Sri Narendra Modi.[16] Mahmood challenged the Chief Minister on his poor records towards Muslims,[17][18][19][20] highlighting anti-Muslim rhetoric on the BJP website,[21] as well as policies that the BJP would need to adopt to appeal to Indian Muslim voters.[22]

References

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  1. ^ Page (iv) - "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-04. Retrieved 2010-06-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ Page (v) - "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-04. Retrieved 2010-06-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Somini Sengupta (2006-11-29). "Report Shows Muslims Near Bottom of Social Ladder". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  4. ^ "News18.com: CNN News18 Latest News, Breaking News India, Current News Headlines". Ibnlive.in.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-03. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  5. ^ "India awakens to its other pariahs: Muslims". CSMonitor.com. 2007-01-04. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  6. ^ a b "Secular Democracy- India's Strength: A Case Study of the Sachar Report and the Interfaith Movement". Harvard - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  7. ^ "Bush will hold inter-faith meeting after PM lunch". Indianexpress.com. 2006-03-02. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  8. ^ "Zakat Foundation of India". Zakatindia.org. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  9. ^ "Interfaith Coalition For Peace - Let us seek mutual help and friendship and stand firm in constancy and patient perseverance, ICP India, ICP, Interfaith Society, Interfaith India, Interfaith Foundation". Icpindia.org. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  10. ^ "Home". godgraces.org.
  11. ^ "One World Children's Fund :: Zakat Foundation of India". Archived from the original on 2014-06-05. Retrieved 2014-06-01.
  12. ^ "Archive News". The Hindu. 2009-04-30. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  13. ^ "Video News". CNN. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  14. ^ "News from Canada, India and Listener's Forum". Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  15. ^ "Government rejects Sachar recommendation on Wakf boards - India - NEWS - the Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2009-09-06. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  16. ^ "Modi's youth conclave in Gandhinagar includes Islamic scholars : Gujarat, News - India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  17. ^ "At Modi's Muslim outreach, speaker flays BJP". The Hindu. 2013-06-30. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  18. ^ "I knew why I was called, but wanted to challenge Modi and BJP: Zafar Mahmood". TwoCircles.net. 2013-06-29. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  19. ^ "Modi Lends Ear to Presentation on 2002 Riots | news.outlookindia.com". news.outlookindia.com. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03.
  20. ^ "India News, Latest Sports, Bollywood, World, Business & Politics News". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  21. ^ Dr. Mahmood's PowerPoint slides from June 29, 2013 Gujarat presentation to Sri Modi: http://www.zakatindia.org/Files/S. Zafar Mahmood talk - Ahmedabad June 29 2013.pdf
  22. ^ "CM watches slide show on 2002 riots, says point taken". Indian Express. 2013-06-30. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
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