Dr. Ishaq Jamkhanawala (4 January 1930 – 31 August 2008) was an educationist, social worker and politician based in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. A former MLA (Nagpada:1978), MLC and a two times minister (1978, 1988) from

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. He played a major role in expanding the Mumbai-based educational institution Anjuman-I-Islam as its president from 1983 to 2006.

Early life

Born on 4 January 1930 into a middle-class family of traders in

Belgaum Belgaum (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, Dr. Jamkhanawala was the first person to complete secondary education in his family. He was still in high school when his father expired and pursued higher education by seeking scholarships.

Doctorhood and social work

He moved to Mumbai in the early 1950s in pursuit of higher education at Grant Medical College, Mumbai. In 1958, he opened his dispensary in the Chowki Mohalla area of Mumbai which was populated by mostly poor people. Despite having less money himself, he would treat the ones who couldn't afford it for free.

Politics and education

As a student, he was elected secretary of the literary association and cultural society of Grant Medical College and also elected general secretary of the Muslim students union of Mumbai in the 1950s. He contested and won his first election for the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly in Nagpada in 1977 representing the

Janata Party The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nati ...

. He was inducted into the cabinet as a minister of state for housing, finance, Waqf, labor and protocol. In 1988, he was again a minister of state for Urban Development and Waqf as part of the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

.
As a minister, he was known for regular attendance at his office and keeping an open door policy by granting all visitors easy access at Mumbai's Mantralaya, Mumbai, Mantralaya. He spoke for and participated in various public affairs.
He was the president of the Hindustani Prachar Sabha founded by

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

and a member of the

Gandhi Smarak Nidhi The National Gandhi Memorial Trust ( hi, गाँधी स्मारक निधि) also called the Gandhi Qaumi Yaadgar Fund, is a memorial trust run by the Central Government of India established to commemorate the life of Mahatma Gandhi. ...

. He orated many times in

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

and also promoted the Marathi language and literature. He was associated with the

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by Dr K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent instit ...

and a member of the court of the

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

Dr. Jamkhanawala was the President of the educational institution Anjuman-I-Islam from 1983 to 2006

built and renovated several buildings under his leadership including orphanages.

Personal life

Dr. Jamkhanawala loved reading and poetry. He died on 31 August 2008 in

References

Sources

*http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Anjuman-I-Islam-should-get-deemed-university-status/articleshow/29325915.cms *http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2004/16-31Jan04-Print-Edition/1631200403.htm *http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Muslim-moderates-hardliners-clash-at-symposium/articleshow/5809992.cms *http://www.sabrang.com/cc/comold/nov97/mukadam.htm *http://bvbthrissur.com/news-events *http://ignca.nic.in/cd_09030.htm *http://www.islamiclife.com/education/2014/anjuman-i-islam_gets_university_status.php *http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/shiv-sena-moots-uniform-civil-code-in-maharashtra/1/289016.html *http://www.rediff.com/news/column/column-remembering-eminent-muslim-scholar-omar-khalidi/20101202.htm *http://www.amu.ac.in/pdf/nov-dec2008ug.pdf *http://www.mushawarat.com/viewarchive.asp?issueno=23 *http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/electionanalysis/AE/S13/partycomp26.htm *http://www.hvk.org/1999/0199/0011.html *http://www.bengalinformation.org/2014/08/assembly-election-results-of-nagpada-in.html

*http://www.bharatvani.org/books/tfst/chv10.htm *http://www.bharatvani.org/books/tfst/chv19.htm *http://www.indiavotes.com/ac/details/30/2697/18 *http://islam4u.montadamoslim.com/t1760-the-new-age-freedom-fighters *http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=25158 *http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/cong-sets-up-committee-to-probe-solapur-debacle_124074.html *http://www.elections.in/maharashtra/assembly-constituencies/1985-election-results.html *http://archive.mid-day.com/news/2005/jul/113581.htm *https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/indiascope/story/19880930-row-over-proposed-ncpa-complex-in-bombay-797746-1988-09-30 {{DEFAULTSORT:Jamkhanawala, Ishaq Members of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly People from Belagavi district 1930 births 2008 deaths Indian Muslims People from Maharashtra Marathi politicians Janata Party politicians Indian National Congress politicians Politicians from Mumbai