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The genius of Dr Raziuddin Siddiqi
The people who know him consider that Prof Raziuddin Siddiqi was definitely a re-incarnation of great scholars like Ibn-e-Sina, Al- Zahrawi and Ibn-ul- Hathaim. He was, at the same time, a noted scientist, a top-notch mathematician, a philosopher, a literary icon, an academician, a writer, a scholar of Islamic tradition and an educational administrator.
Dr Mohammad Raziuddin (b. April 7, 1905; Hyderabad Deccan) in a family of jurists (Qazis) and scholars, got his early schooling in Arabic and Oriental studies. He graduated with honours from the Osmania University, Hyderabad Deccan where the Nizam’s government was very keen to promote all disciplines in Urdu language. Many of the well known veteran doctors and scientists graduating from this princely state of the subcontinent acquired their higher education in Urdu as had Dr Siddiqi.
At college, though he was a student of science, yet he had special interest in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. During the college hours, he learned sciences and kept busy in the labs, and afterwards his teachers of linguistics were ever eager to teach him the Oriental disciplines. It is well-known that because of his genius the examiner awarded him 105 marks out of 100.
Raziuddin Siddiqi was among the first batch of students enrolled for the bachelor's degree programme at Osmania. In 1925, he was awarded scholarship for higher studies and decided to study at Cambridge University. Despite his “Urdu-medium” background, he stood first in the entrance examinations and got admission directly in the second-year class. In the Cambridge he was among the first students of the Nobel laureate Paul Adrien Dirac, English theoretical physicist known for his work in quantum mechanics and for his theory of the spinning electron. In 1933, Prof Dirac shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger.
During his Cambridge days, Siddiqi attracted the eye of Sir Arthur Eddington, one of the most prominent astrophysicists of the time who proved general relativity at the 1919 eclipse. It was under Sir Arthur’s guidance, that Raziuddin Siddiqi studied the works of the Muslim mentors of Astronomy and Mathematics. He had the fortune to observe the paradigm shift in Physical Sciences such as the Theory of Relativity and the Quantum Mechanics. After completing his masters at Cambridge he went to Germany for his doctoral studies and research, under the supervision of such great physicists as Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg and Max Planck.
Dr Werner Heisenberg was his principal teacher and mentor who influenced Raziuddin Siddiqi’s future career. He also attended the lectures of Albert Einstein regularly.
Siddiqi completed PhD in 1930 for his research work on the "Theory of non-linear partial differential equations" under the supervision of Profesor Leon Lichtenstein while Prof Heisenberg was his overseer for theoretical Physics. Dr Siddiqi was a scholar of Pure Mathematics and he done superb research work on the theory of operators, which is now considered an important aspect in Quantum Mechanics.
After doing his PhD, on the suggestion by Heisenberg, Raziuddin Siddiqi moved to Paris where he presented lectures and got papers published in the leading French journals. In 1931, he returned to Hyderabad Deccan and taught Mathematics at the Osmania University.
In 1937, his series of lectures on Quantum Mechanics was published by the Osmania University. The book was titled Lectures in Quantum Mechanics. Among other topics, it also discussed the special theory of relativity and the general theory of Hamilton dynamics. The work was highly appreciated by his mentor, Dr Werner Heisenberg, to whom the book was dedicated.
Dr P. A. M. Dirac, complemented Dr, siddiqi saying that he had selected materials "very well and included just the things that students most read".
In 1938, Dr Siddiqi was decorate with the Gold Medal by the Indian National Academy of Sciences for the best research work during the last five years. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru presented the medal.
In 1940, Anjuman Tarraqi-i-Urdu Hyderabad published his first major book in Urdu, the Nazariya-e-Izafiat (the Theory of Relativity).
The great poet and scholar Allama Muhammad Iqbal was keen to see the works of Prof Einstein in Urdu. Dr. Raziuddin Siddiqi fulfilled his desire.
Besides being a scientist and teacher, Dr Siddiqi was also a gifted scholar of Persian, Arabic, German and French languages. He was considered an authority on Ghalib, Iqbal and Hafiz Shirazi and
In 1950, the government of Pakistan requested the Indian government to assign Dr. Raziuddin Siddiqi as a delegate in the All-Pakistan Science Conference to be held in Karachi. Interestingly, as soon as he arrived in Pakistan, Dr Siddiqi was offered vice-chancellorship of not one but three different universities. Sardar Abdur Rab Nishter asked him to accept the vice-chancellorship of the Punjab University. Minister of Education, Fazlur Rehman offered him the vice-chancellorship of the University of Karachi.
Dr Siddiqi could only say that he had come just to attend the conference and had to go back to carry on his work at Aligarh University. Incidentally, Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan, the then chief minister of NWFP, was in Karachi and invited Dr Siddiqi to visit and see the Khyber Pass before leaving for Aligarh. On reaching Peshawar, he received two papers from the NWFP chief minister's office. The first was a copy of Abdul Qayyum Khan’s telegram to the prime minister of India, informing them that Dr Siddiqi had been detained in Pakistan and requesting them to send his family over. The second paper was his letter of appointment as professor of Mathematics and director of research at the newly established University of Peshawar. Dr Siddiqi was flabbergsted. Because of this hasty action of Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan, the government of India seized all the property and the valuable library of Dr Siddiqi.
Raziuddin Siddiqi took charge of the Sindh University as vice-chancellor in 1960 and dedicated himself to enhancing the standard of this university. In 1964, President Ayub Khan appointed him as the vice-chancellor of the proposed university of Islamabad. He took the new assignment as a challenge and visited the United States, UK, France, Germany and other countries to gain new ideas and the support for building a strong base for the creation of new university. He proposed valuable steps and the roadmap to make that university a great seat of learning.
Among the prominent scientists and notable educationists with whom Dr Siddiqi discussed his ideas was Prof Ralph Tyler of the Stanford University, Werner Heisenberg of the Max Planck Institute. He was also in constant touch with the heads of the MIT, Caltech, the National Academy of Sciences in the United States, and the Royal Society.
Dr. Siddiqi's vast network of international contacts helped immensely to develop excellent faculties in the university. He also asked eminent Pakistani experts working abroad to visit and teach in this institution, now called the Quaid-e-Azam University.
An unwise political decision made in 1971 about education brought some drastic changes in the country and affected this premier university as well. Teachers’ appointments were made on the basis of master's degree instead of a minimum qualification of PhD. Many of the new appointments were made on political basis rather than merit.
Furthermore, the entrance qualification requirement of admission with first class was set aside. Average, even below average students were admitted to the university. These acts resulted in steep decline in the standard of education and, as a result, international funding was greatly reduced. Foreign and Pakistani faculty invited to work in Pakistan left the country. Dr Raziuddin was a heart-broken man to see this turn of events. Throughout his life he projected his belief that education was the only solid defence against ignorance, poverty and disease. He was always eager to voluntarily aid the educational and scientific institutions requiring his supoort.
Dr Raziuddin Siddiqi played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and was appointed its chairman from 1961 to 1972. He was a founder-fellow of various national and international societies and authorities. He was also the vice-president of the Indian Academy of Sciences (with Sir C.V. Raman as president).
From 1947 to 1949, he was elected the president of the Indian Mathematical Society and was Unesco's special consultant for science.
In 1975, he was appointed as the general president of the International Congress of Mathematical Sciences.
In 1952, he was selected the chairman of the National Committee of the International Mathematical Union and kept this honor for 20 long years. He was awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 1960 and Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 1981 for his dedicated service to Pakistan. The president of the Federal Republic of Germany conferred upon him the Grosse Verdienst Kreuz (Grand Cross of the Order of Merit) in 1962.
Dr Mohammad Raziuddin Siddiqi passed away in the morning of January 2, 1998.
The writer
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