Syed Zahoor Qasim

Syed Zahoor Qasim was an eminent Indian marine biologist who played a pivotal role in India's exploration of Antarctica and ocean development. He was born on 31 December 1926 in Rakswara, a village in the United Provinces of British India (now Kaushambi district of Uttar Pradesh). He belonged to a royal family of Kaushambi and was a descendant of the Mughal emperor Babur. He received his early education from Majidiya Islamiya Intermediate College Allahabad and then moved to Aligarh Muslim University, where he obtained a B.Sc. degree in 1949 and a M.Sc. degree in Zoology in 1951. He stood first in the order of merit for which he was awarded the university gold medal. For several years, he was a lecturer in the Department of Geography at Aligarh Muslim University before proceeding to the United Kingdom for higher studies in 1953. He completed his D.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from University College of North Wales in 1956. He returned to India in 1956 and joined the Department of Zoology of Aligarh Muslim University as a lecturer. He became a reader in 1957 and started a new laboratory of fish and fisheries in the department. In 1962, he joined the Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Bombay (now Mumbai) as a professor of fisheries biology and in 1964, moved to Cochin (now Kochi) as assistant director in the Directorate of International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE) under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Here he extensively worked on biological oceanography especially on the primary productivity of Kerala backwaters and on the atolls of Lakshadweep. From 1970 to 1973, he was the director of the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute at Cochin. He also held the additional charge of the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin for about one year. Here he promoted new lines of work in fisheries biology and initiated the development of mussel culture and pearl culture techniques for the first time in India. This work earned him the prestigious award of Padma Shri in 1974. In January 1974, he took over as the director of the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa. In February 1976 he was responsible for the commissioning of the first oceanographic research vessel Gaveshani for NIO. He initiated many new programs on the productivity of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. In May 1981, he was appointed secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Environment (DOE) and within a year (April 1982) he took over as secretary of the newly established Department of Ocean Development (DOD). He was responsible for the acquisition of a second oceanographic research vessel Sagar Sampada for the Indian oceanographic research. He led India's first expedition to Antarctica and successfully organized and guided the other seven expeditions to the frozen continent from 1981 to 1988. He established India's first permanent station Dakshin Gangotri in Antarctica in 1983 and laid the foundation for India's second station Maitri in 1989. He also initiated India's participation in the Southern Ocean and Arctic research. He was instrumental in drafting and signing the Antarctic Treaty on behalf of India in 1983. He was a member of the Planning Commission of India from 1991 to 1996 and the vice chancellor of Jamia Milia Islamia from 1989 to 1991. He was an honorary professor of several universities including Aligarh Muslim University, Madurai Kamaraj University, Annamalai University, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, and Jamia Millia Islamia. He was also a fellow of various national and international scientific societies and academies, including the Royal Society of London, the Indian National Science Academy, the National Academy of Sciences, India, the Indian Academy of Sciences, and the Third World Academy of Sciences. He was awarded the highest civilian awards Padma Shri (1974) and Padma Bhushan (1982) by the Government of India. He also received many other awards and honors, such as the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award (1978), the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award (1988), the Oceanology International Lifetime Achievement Award, UK (1999), the First National Ocean Science and Technology Award by Government of India (2003-04), the Asian Society Gold Medal (2005), the SOFTI Biennial Award (2007), and the Lifetime Achievement Award, Indian Science Congress (2008). He was married to Zainab Begum, a royal descendant of Nawab of Rampur, who died in 2009. He had four children: two sons and two daughters. He died on 20 October 2015 in Delhi at the age of 88 after a prolonged illness. He was a pioneer and a visionary who made significant contributions to India's oceanographic and polar research and development. He was an inspiration for many young scientists and researchers who followed his footsteps.