Dr Tahir Mahmood, Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari to attend Sir Syed Day as Chief Guest, Guest of Honor respectively

Dr Tahir Mahmood, former chairman of National Commission for Minorities, distinguished legal luminary whose books are frequently cited by the Supreme Court and the High Courts and Professor of eminence, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Amity University will attend the AMU Sir Syed Day celebrations as the Chief Guest; while Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari, former Chairperson of Punjab State Human Rights Commission and former Chief Justice of Patna High Court will be the Guest of Honour.

The Chief Guest, Dr Tahir Mahmood, Former Member, Law Commission of India, and alumnus of AMU, is a globally renowned jurist specialising in Islamic Law, Hindu Law, Religion and Law and Law Relating to Minorities.

Dr Tahir’s seminal work on progressive interpretation of laws is widely acclaimed and has been cited by the Supreme Court of India and many State High Courts in more than 50 judgments besides being prescribed by many Indian and foreign Universities for higher legal studies.

He has written and edited a number of books and anthologies and numerous research papers on Islamic Law, Legal Systems of the Arab World and Hindu Law.

Dr Tahir authored a number of widely acclaimed books such as Laws of India on Religion and Religious Affairs (2008), Religion, Law and Society across the Globe (2013), Principles of Hindu Law: Personal Law of Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs (2014), Reminiscing on Law Brains: Bench, Bar and Academia (2014), Minorities Commission 1978-2015: Minor Role in Major Affairs (2nd edition 2016) and Muslim Law in India and Abroad (2nd edition 2016). His thematic autobiography, Amid Gods and Lords: Living through Labyrinths of Religion and Law, was published in a second edition in 2015.

He launched two prestigious journals – the Islamic and Comparative Law Quarterly in 1981 and the Religion and Law Review in 1992 and regularly contributes opinion pieces to major English and Urdu newspapers.

Dr Tahir is a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Law and Religion Studies at Brigham Young University (US), Steering Committee of the International Consortium of Law and Religion Studies at the University of Milan (Italy), and Editorial Board of the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs (Jeddah-London).

He has served as the Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi; Chairman, National Commission for Minorities; Member, National Human Rights Commission and Jurist-Member, Ranganath Misra Commission.

Dr Tahir received the Distinguished Service Award from the International Center for Law and Religion Studies. He is also a recipient of the 7th Shah Waliullah Award for Contemporary Understanding of Islamic Law (India 2009) and Distinguished Academic Services Award (US, 2010).

Besides receiving many such honors, Dr Tahir has also inaugurated, attended and presided over numerous international conferences and seminars across the world and has delivered numerous lectures at internationally renowned Universities including the Universities of Harvard, Cambridge, London, Iowa and many others.

The Guest of Honour, Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari served as the Chairperson of Punjab State Human Rights Commission from August 1, 2017.

He did BSc from Darrang College, Tezpur and graduation in law from the Tezpur Law College.

He was elevated to Guwahati High Court on March 4, 2004 and also served as Executive Chairman of State Legal Services Authority in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland and has accordingly performed the duty of legal awareness.

In July 2016, Justice Iqbal became the Chief Justice of Patna High Court.

During the Sir Syed Day celebrations, Vice Chancellor Prof Tariq Mansoor will deliver the welcome address and present the Sir Syed Excellence awards. The winners of All India Sir Syed Essay Writing Competitions will also be felicitated.