By Shafeeq Alingal, TwoCircles.net
Kerala woke up today to hear of the sad demise of one of its most respected humanitarians, Mohammed Mon Haji. Haji, who was well known across the state and other parts of the country for his commitment to take care of orphans, breathed his last at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. He had been undergoing treatment for the past few days after he suffered renal disease. He was 75 years old.
Known for his dedication and boldness in ensuring rights for minorities and working for orphans, Haji was active in running the orphanage based in Mukkam, “He was bold and unflinching when it came to ensuring a better life for orphans. He got engaged in battles for rights of minorities. Whenever I called him, I heard Haji saying he was either in Delhi or Lucknow or Thiruvananthapuram, where he was visiting for community matters. For sure, his demise marks the demise of a generation, which dedicated to the community,” said Mohammed Ali Shihab an IAS officer who is now serving as Kiphire district collector in Nagaland. Shihab was brought up by Mukkam orphanage. Like him, hundreds of orphans here will miss their beloved Haji.
“He was not just a functionary of the orphanage. He was a parent, who accompanied orphanage inmates when they went to distant places for higher studies. He signed for them in columns of parents,” Shihab said.
After the demise of his elder brother Moideen Koya Haji, Mohammed Mon Haji selected Mukkam orphanage as his working filed. Since 1983, Haji was active in various roles. He was vice president of the orphanage. After completing his graduation, Haji pursued his studies in Islamic Studies at Baqiyat Salihath Arabic College in Vellore.
“Haji passed away at the same place where he spent years in taking religious education,” one of his friends Salam Faizy Mukkam said in a note.
A state executive member of IUML, Haji was elected as the member of Kozhikode district panchayat and discharged his duty well in developing Mukkam into a middle town after he was elected as panchayat president.
“The orator could draw an audience and keep better relations even with his political opponents. He played a crucial role in the growth of IUML in Kozhikode district,” commemorated IUML leader C P Cheriya Mohammed.
Apart from IUML, he also worked for feeder organisations of Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulema.
Haji, according to Shihab, will be remembered for his charity activities. He was careful in ensuring financial assistance of global agencies for students and underprivileged persons in Mukkam and its surrounding areas.
“He was a nodal agency of all charity initiatives like Red Crescent and Indian Muslim Relief and Charities(IMRC),” he said.
IMRC distributed food kits for 1,000 underprivileged families here in Ramadan in 2017 while food kits were distributed to 600 families in 2015 and 2016. Haji was leading all these activities. Besides, he organised Iftar parties at mosques in Mukkam, Chennamangaloor, Manassery and Pathanapuram after receiving fund from IMRC.
In addition to inmates at Mukkam orphanage, Haji extended a helping hand for more than 1,000 families at Mukkam, Koodaranji, Kodiyathur, Pathanapuram, Karassery, Nellikkapparamba, Malamkunnu, Aanayamkunnu, Chathoth, Koolimadu and Chennamangaloor.
“We lost a great personality, a person with so much passion for the orphans. They were like his children.This is a great loss to our community. Last year he participated in the graduation ceremony as a couple of his students’ completed engineering from Jahangirabad Institute of Technology,” said IMRC president Maqsood Quadri.