By TCN Staff Reporter,
New Delhi: Gloom was palpable in the air of the Conference Hall of Institute of Objective Studies on December 1 when speakers and the audience, both comprising mostly intellectuals and media persons, were expressing their sorrow at the sudden demise of noted Indian scholar Dr Omar Khalidi.
Dr Khalidi, 57, was working as librarian at the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was also a trustee of the American Institute of Yemeni Studies. He died on November 29, 2010 in a car-train accident there. He is survived by his wife and daughter. Dr Omar Khalidi was born in 1953 in Hyderabad.
L-R: Dr Ausaf Ahmed, Dr Manzoor Alam, Abusaleh Sharief, Maulana Ataur Rahman Qasmi
A pioneer in the field of research on Indian Muslims, Dr Khalidi brought a sort of storm in the corridors of power when he came up with his remarkable work “Khaki and Ethnic Violence in India.” The book instigated debate on headcount in the Indian Army and armed forces.
At the condolence meeting organized by IOS on December 1, economist Dr Ausaf Ahmed said the death of Dr Khalidi is a huge loss for the community. Praising his research work and particularly mentioning his upcoming work on status of Urdu in India, Dr Abusaleh Sharief, Member Secretary, Sachar Committee, said Dr Khalidi was bringing out a historic, unprecedented work on Urdu in Independent India. He urged Dr Manzoor Alam, Chairman, IOS, to take over the work and publish it for the benefit of the community. He also informed the audience that he would first urge the Government of India to publish the work.
Kashif-ul Huda, Editor-in-Chief, TwoCircles.net speaking
Senior journalist AU Asif said that even in his life-time Dr Khalidi was widely quoted by the intelligentsia in India. “Scholar-politician Mani Shankar Aiyyar quoted him in his master-piece ‘Confession of a Secular Fundamentalist’”Asif said. He recalled that BJP leader L K Advani had once said that people like Omar Khalidi and Arundhati Roy live abroad but create problems for the country.
Addressing the gathering, Kashif-ul Huda, Editor-in-Chief, TwoCircles.net, highlighted the fact that Dr Khalidi was always for encouraging the youth and young people. He also said Dr Khalidi was a big support for TCN. Many of Dr Khalidi’s brilliant pieces have appeared on TwoCircles.net.