Prof. M N Faruqui
“When a boy winks and a girl smiles, information is exchanged in wireless mode”. This is how Prof. Mohammad Naseem Faruqui explained wireless communication while inaugurating “The cellular Radio and Mobile Communication (CRAM-92)”, a seminar in the Kennedy Auditorium of the Muslim University Aligarh in the winter of 1992. The event was organized by Department of Electronics Engineering; Aligarh Muslim University This is one of the best and easy to remember ways to explain wireless communication I have ever heard. This left a long lasting impact on me of Prof. Faruqui and his abilities to communicate. It is very sad news that Prof. Faruqui is no more with us. Even being such a good communicator, somehow the students, staff and the alumni could not receive his message and most part of his tenure ended up in disturbance and chaos. Even after so many disturbances and a chaotic situation, his efforts to bring Muslim University in 21st century could not be blocked by his detractors. Even though AMU campus faced a lot of turmoil and chaotic situation due to Demolition of Babri Masjid, riots in Aligarh, Police firing and death of a student, his mission to modernize Muslim University did not stop. He computerized and modernized the process of admission and examinations including Engineering, Medical and other competitive exams and the results of these competitions could be declared within few days of its occurrence.
He introduced many modern professional coursesincluding, (MFT) and B.Tech. in Masters in Finance (MFC), Masters in Tourism (MTA), Masters in International Business (MIBM), Masters in Food Technology Computer Engineering. He paid special attention to the Department of Electronics Engineering and used to teach a paper of Digital Communication for M.Tech. He helped out of the way to establish “Center of Telematics and Research” under the Dept. of Electronics Engineering and purchased state of the art equipments of the time. He used to regularly visit the center to guide the students working at the center. It was his tenure which gave finest faculty members to the Department of Electronics Engineering at AMU Aligarh. People may disagree with me but I personally consider Prof. Mohammad Naseem Faruqui as the best Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University in last quarter of a century. Mohammad Naseem Faruqui was born in district Sultanpur of United Province of British India in the family of Mr. Abdul Saleem Faruqui. After completing his primary education in Sultanpur, he joined Allahabad University for graduation before joining Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in 1952. After completing his B.Tech, M.Tech and PhD from IIT Kharagpur, he joined his Alma mater as a Lecturer in 1958 in Department of Electrical Engineering and rose to Reader, Professor and finally Deputy Director of IIT Kharagpur before becoming Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University on 15th October 1990.
He had published more than 35 research papers in national and International Journals and guided 4 students for PhD. His areas of interest were Digital Communication systems, Computer networking, Office automation, E-Governance, Image-Processing, Video & Speech Bandwidth Compression.
After having an experience of more than three decades in teaching and research at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India, Prof. Faruqui took over as the Vice Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University on 15th October 1990 and served till December 15, 1994. After leaving AMU Aligarh he became Chairman of U.P. Minority Commission for a while and then moved to his favorite profession of Teaching and joined as Professor at University Putra Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. After a while he moved back to India and joined as Chief Executive Development at Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Ghaziabad. He was awarded VASVIK Award for outstanding research, National Promotion award for development of AMD. He later joined Jaypee University of Engineering and Technology and Galgotia College of Engineering and Technology in Advisory role. He also served as Chair Professor - IIT Kharagpur Foundation. Prof. Faruqui also headed I.I.T. Foundations Project – “A computer and Internet access to every student in the hall rooms”. The project was the vision of Suhas Patil, an IIT graduate of 1965. This single project was to catapult IIT Kharagpur into the ranks of the most connected academic institutions in the world.
What can I say about someone who has been a teacher, a guide, a friend, a philosopher, an elder brother, a father figure for me for most of my adult life. It seems to me like “mere sirr sa haath uth gaya hai”.
I joined IIT Kharagpur when I was 16. I met him probably when I was 18 and he has been a key part of my life since then. I remember walking into the line communication lab in my 3rd year with Prof J Das, Prof M N Faruqui and Prof Maskara. I (and a lot of my class) had gone to Kharagpur to become Electronics Engineers and this was one of our first classes in the department. The Professors dismantled the Teletype machine (I think it was an ASR 33) into its approx. 1500 parts and asked us to put it together again and make it work. Obviously this did not happen. We could not even put it together. Prof J Das really ticked us off. He said we were wasting his time and we would never become engineers. I remember Prof Faruqui consoling us after that and telling us not to take it to heart and that these failures happen and we should work harder and smarter next time and surprise everyone. A simple lesson, but something as an 18 year old I have never forgotten and still try and treat failure as my stepping stone to the next achievement.
You may remember that to graduate in ECE, in my time, you had to have read the “Old Testament (Radio Engineering Handbook by Terman) and the “New Testament” (Switching Circuits by Millman and Taub). It has been over 42 years since I graduated but I still remember these books like it was yesterday. Prof Faruqui took our Switching Circuits classes. At that time it was another course that was taught well. Only when I went to work at DCM and got involved in their Electronic Calculator group in the commercial area, that I realized that I knew as much or more about the circuits and design of these switching circuits (that were the core of those machines) than my friends in R&D. This put me in a unique position with the Executive Director of that division as I could demystify the electronics and also give him a commercial view of the matter. I realize now that it was the Switching Circuits classes and knowledge that allowed me to be in this position. In fact, that exposure to strategic decision making at a large company, when I was 22 years old, probably played a vital role in my having the confidence to start HCL as a 25 year old some 4 years later in 1975. When we started Microcomp (the forerunner to HCL) in 1975, we initially decided to trade in calculators, make some money and invest it in developing our own computers. You may remember those were the days when the word entrepreneur did not exist and we all lived in a socialist license raj. Job security was the most important thing. I am not sure Prof Faruqui quite initially approved this change I had made. He rightly felt I should have pursued an academic career (which is what I had planned in Kharagpur). But as the business progressed and HCL grew I saw not just approval but also joy in the success of his student. You do not very often see teachers happy about the success of their students but I have to say that not only did I see this but I received a lot of advice and encouragement. I remember visiting his lab in Kharagpur 5 or 6 times a year and he would always have me see the work that was going on and invariably pull me into some technical discussion. I used to always wonder what value I was adding as I had been away from the technical field for many years. I realized later that he was trying to make sure I did not just become a “salesman” but had my “fundas” clear.
I know he has done this not just with me with a number of his students over time and I have them tell me about this. It is these things that made him a great human being. Someone I (and I am sure many others) will sorely miss. I could go on and on about what he did when he was Deputy Director at IIT Kharagpur, at IMT, at AMU etc. sometimes I really feel as a country we do not recognize our real role models. Then I feel I was fortunate not to have to share his time and wisdom with so many other people and was able to spend time with him when he came to Delhi over the last few years.
– Arjun Malhotra (1970 ECE RP)
Amongst my most enduring memories is that of one of our Professors, Prof M N Faruqui. Many generations of IITians will remember Prof Faruqui with great fondness . He taught in the Electronics and Electrical Communication Department. What made him stand out from the many others was his deep understanding of what inspired young minds and how one could shape them to become important contributors to society.
He taught us to be tolerant, humble, open minded and secular. My most memorable Holi and Diwali Celebrations were at his home. He embraced all with equal measure. He believed that education was a great leveler and encouraged his students to pursue excellence in all walks of life.
Prof Faruqui had many qualities of head and heart. We learnt how to swim and survive in the whirlpool of life from him.
Manoj Chugh ( B.Tech. (Hons) Chemical 1982 ) on Prof.M.N.Faruqui
The news of the sudden demise of our Naseem Bhai came as a shock. I tried
to call him on the Eid but could not
get across. A day later I got a mail from Arjun Malhotra to break this sad
news.
It would be futile on my part to put on paper all that this most noble of
human beings meant to everyone in the
IIT fraternity, and more so for me personally. The affection that I and my
family received from him and Bhabi
will always be cherished in our hearts. I always found him a great source
of strength and inspiration.
I had been in touch with many old students on Facebook, and had put the sad
news. A very large number of them have
expressed their sorrow, and fondly recall his impact on their lives. I am
attaching a copy of these responses for your perusal and
request you to forward it to Nadeem and Saniya. That he was loved
universally must have been known to them, but these
tributes would assure them that their loss is shared by everyone of the IIT
Kharagpur family. He has left a void for all of us,
but has also left a glorious legacy of lifelong dedication to a vocation
that he truly loved. The combination of firmness and kindness
in him would perhaps never be matched -- it was a gift from the supreme
being -- and he bestowed love on all that he came in contact with.
Aslam the loss of a brother is always a most distressing experience, but
when that brother happens to be someone like
our most beloved Naseem Bhai, it is heart rending. We all join you all in
praying for him.
Yash Pal Singh, Electrical Engineering Department of IIT Kharagpur on Prof.M.N.Faruqui
Prof. M. N. Faruqui was, no doubt, an academician par excellence. Some may doubt his administrative capabilities, particularly those from his AMU days. But, none will doubt his academic capabilities, even from his IIT Kharagpur days. One of the first few things he did after joining AMU as a VC was to walk into a classroom of Electronics Engg. Dept. and teach there. He kept doing that very regularly until he left his office. This only shows how passionate he was about sharing his vast knowledge with the students of his area. With a huge administrative burden on his shoulders, his course was officially shared by another member of the faculty, but seldom did Prof. Faruqui miss his class schedule.
I still remember that in 1994 itself, in one of the interviews, he was asking me about Windows-NT. I was surprised to see how much abreast he was about a field not even his own core field, but a related one nevertheless. Despite the administrative load of a VC, he clearly knew much more than a budding young faculty member in me.
He had a very authoritative voice, reminiscent of some of the great orators of the past. When he was talking, the audience used to get overwhelmed. He used to thrust the otherwise abstract concepts by interesting examples from the daily life. He did not keep talking alone, but he also changed the entire face of the IT infrastructure of AMU during his tenure.
He played an exemplary role during the communally tense period of 1990-92. I still remember Prof. Faruqui standing out of his lodge and initiating all actions to help and cure those who were injured by the communal riots taking place all around. There was an instant hero in him there. On the Babri Masjid having been brought down, he had reportedly said very boldly that it was not only the Babri Masjid but also the confidence of the Muslims that has been brought down.
He did face some stiff opposition towards the end of his stay with AMU. But, even his fiercest opponents do not have any hesitation in admitting that it was basically his generosity and kindness that landed him into controversies. Was he too soft for AMU? That question may have remained unanswered, but the fact remains that he was a gentleman through and through.
Prof. M. M. Sufyan Beg
B.Tech. (AMU, 1992), Ph.D.
Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi
