Tributes paid to popular Indian school principal who died in UAE
Mohammed Abubaker worked at schools in the Emirates for nearly 25 years until his death
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Family and friends of an Indian school principal, who died this week, paid tribute to an "amazing, dedicated and pious man".
Mohammed Abubaker, 59, principal of Scholars Indian School, died of a heart attack in his home in Ras Al Khaimah on Tuesday.
His funeral was held two days later in his native village of Thumbe, about 20 kilometres from the coastal town of Mangalore in India.
“His body was flown from Dubai to Mangalore on an Air India Express flight on Wednesday evening after completing the formalities, including a Covid-19 test. His daughter, Khadeeja Mafhooma, who lives in Dubai, travelled on the same flight,” Basheer Veerakamba, a neighbour and friend, told The National.
As is customary in Islam, Abubaker's body was washed at Mangalore’s Central Jumma Masjid, before being taken to his home for family and friends to pay their last respects.
“Funeral prayers were offered at a local mosque in the early hours of Thursday,” said Amin Ahsan, a long-time friend, who attended the prayers.
Abubaker is survived by his wife, Mumtaz, who lives in India; his son Mohammed Mahfooz, 28, who works in Ras Al Khaimah; and two daughters, Khadeeja Mafhooma, 24, and Hawwa Mubashira, 16.
It’s an irreplaceable loss, but we have to surrender to the will of Allah. He was an amazing father to all the three children
Mohammed Mahfooz
Abubaker worked at schools in the UAE for nearly 25 years until his death, with his first stint as principal at the New Model Indian School in Dubai in 1997. He later worked at various Indian schools in Ajman, Sharjah, Dubai and Al Ain. He also briefly worked at an Indian school in Thailand.
He joined Scholars Indian School in 2006, where he worked until his death.
“For the past 14 years, he has worked with tireless energy and passion to drive our school to greater and greater heights,” said Habibur Rahman Mundol, chairman of the school.
In addition to being principal, Abubaker worked as a counsellor for Central Board of Secondary Education pupils on matters related to behavioural, emotional, social and academic issues.
He was also treasurer for Gulf Sahodaya, a body of CBSE school principals from GCC countries, and was an honorary director of Diamond International School in his native village.
Mohammed Abubaker, second from left, with his son Mohammed Mahfooz, left, wife Mumtaz Abubaker, centre, daughters Khadeeja Mafhooma, second right, and Hawwa Mubashira, right. Courtesy: Abubaker family
Early in his career, he worked at schools in and around his home town for nearly 15 years before crossing the Arabian Sea. He was much loved by his pupils around the world.
“I was his pupil at Thumbe BA College and he ... gave a lot of importance to discipline and morals,” Mubarak P D, who is now in Abu Dhabi, told The National.
“We reconnected after I came to the UAE about 10 years back. Every now and then he would send or forward me informative and inspirational quotes on WhatsApp. He said 'assalam alaikum' on the eve of his death on WhatsApp. Looked like he had something important to share with me. But in the middle of my work, I forgot to send a reply,” Mr Mubarak said.
“I will have to live with this sense of regret for the rest of my life,” he said.
A deeply religious man, Abubaker would often post about Islamic teachings on his social media accounts, with a special emphasis on life after death. Over the past year, he published about 20 episodes of Quranic lessons in his regional lndian language of Kannada, on his YouTube channel.
A day before his death, he shared a post titled "Nine regrets after you die" containing Quranic verses.
His friends and family said Abubaker appeared to have a premonition about his death.
“Looks like he knew that death was lurking in the corner. I could sense a tinge of sadness in his voice during my interactions with him for the past few weeks,” his son said.
“On Friday, he was talking repeatedly about death and the life hereafter. He kept telling me that he would be gone soon and asked me to prepare for a life without him.
“Of course, it’s an irreplaceable loss, but we have to surrender to the will of Allah. He was an amazing father to all the three children,” Mr Mahfooz said.
His death shocked pupils and parents at Scholars Indian School.
Mubashir Hidayat, a Grade 5 pupil at the school, recalled how Abubaker helped to calm his nerves during admissions two years ago.
“He asked me to sing a song and he sang along with me. He was very friendly and kind. He loved the students like his own children,” Mubashir said.
Mubashir's elder brother Shahid shared similar sentiments, saying the principal's death was “a great loss to a lot of people, mainly because he was a very supportive, encouraging and caring person".
“Every day, at the end of school hours, he would stand near the exit point and talk with students, meet parents and help us if we’re going through bad times”, the Grade 8 pupil, from Kerala, said. “Definitely we will miss him.”
Courtesy: www.thenationalnews.com
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
