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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Bombay HC to form high-powered committee on Mumbai air pollution
Mumbai (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Thursday said it would form a high-powered committee to oversee the compliance of measures to tackle air pollution in the Mumbai region, noting that the efforts taken so far by state and civic authorities are insufficient.
It was not criticizing anyone but wanted to ensure that "people should live in pure air," said a division bench led by Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar.
The HC had in October 2023 taken suo motu cognizance of the rising pollution in the metropolis "which was ranging between good, satisfactory, moderate poor, very poor and severe", the bench noted.
Directions were issued by the court on November 6, 2023, and suggestions were made for short-term, mid-term and long-term measures.
Since then, the HC has made observations expressing dissatisfaction about the steps taken by the Mumbai and Navi Mumbai civic bodies, the judges said.
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) is simply "sailing on its affidavits," but the steps purportedly taken by it were not sufficient, the court stated.
Air pollution in Mumbai has not decreased, in fact it was reported to be very severe in December, said the judges.
"We have apprised ourselves of the previous orders, and find that compliances so far made by (municipal) corporations and MPCB are not sufficient and satisfactory," the court said.
The authorities might have taken serious steps but their results were not visible, it added.
The court expressed inability to examine all the affidavits filed by the municipal corporations and MPCB and reports submitted by an expert committee (formed in 2023), citing the "rising number of dockets and limited hours and time."
After hearing all the parties at length, the high court decided to form a high-powered committee led by a former Supreme Court judge to monitor the compliance of measures to tackle air pollution in Mumbai and the surrounding areas.
The committee should meet on a daily basis, the court said, adding that its members should be provided necessary facilities.
The bench also referred to a suggestion that the citizens affected by pollution should be compensated.
The lawyer for the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation said there are existing statutory bodies to look into this aspect.
"Maybe there are statutory bodies formed in Maharashtra, but then we have not come across any suggestion or action taken by such a body in the present proceedings..." the court said, adding that it was inclined to give "some powers" to the committee.
The court is expected to finalize the names of the committee members in its written order.
