Dr. A. Abdullah
Dr. A. Abdullah, Former Chairman, Board of Trustees and Founding President of The Federation of Aligarh Alumni Associations (FAAA) is a scientist, social activist and an Urdu Poet living in Washington D.C. area in United States.
Dr. A. Abdullah was born in an aristocratic family of Pharia (old name-Farah), Azamgarh India. He is very closely related to Maulana Hamiduddin Farahi and Allama Shibli Noamani. He completed his primary education from Shibli School and Inter College Azamgarh in 1956 and obtained his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Statistics from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in 1961. He served AMU for six years as a lecturer in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. He was a member and later captain of AMU Volley ball team. He came to USA on a scholarship to the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo for an M.S. degree (Statistics) in 1967, and completed his Ph.D. in Biostatistics from George Washington University, Washington, D.C. He initially worked for NASA and later joined GE, and for the last couple of decades he is managing his own company. He is well recognized for his role in expansion and advancement of Urdu language in USA. He has published a collection of his Urdu poems, Rait ki Lehrain and recently edited a book, Satyapal Anand ki Nazm Nigari. A number of his articles have been published in literary magazines and newspapers. Along with Nuzaira Azam, Abdullah has also produced a CD, Goongi Awazain; they have narrated and recited poetry of selected women Urdu poets of US and Canada. Additionally, he has been an invited guest for speeches and interviews on national and international audio-visual media on various topics mostly related to the growth of Urdu language in the west. In recognition of his contributions to Urdu, Abdullah has received numerous awards from national and international literary organizations such as the Bazm-e-Adab (New Jersey), Mohib-e-Urdu (Osmania University Old Students Association (Chicago), Bazm-e-Adab (Philadelphia), and Zinda-Dillan (USA).
Dr. Abdullah has been very active in community service. He was the founding president of India Association of SUNY (Buffalo), has been an office holder of the Indian Cultural Coordination Committee (ICCC), the American Federation of Indian Muslims (AFMI), Darul Musannifeen (Shibli Academy), and the Muslim Community Center (Silver Spring, Maryland). He has received awards and accolade from two successive Governors of the State of Maryland for his outstanding services to the community.
A well-known Aligarian, Dr. Abdullah is the charter member of Aligarh Alumni Association (AAA), established in 1975, in Washington DC and the founding President of FAAA in USA. For his dedicated service to the AMU, he has been recognized with Distinguished Services Awards from the Aligarh Alumni Associations of New York (Tri-State) and New England and is also a recipient of awards from the AMU Old Boys’ Association (Karachi) and Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (Karachi).
Although the seminal role of Aligarians in organizing Mushaira in Northern America was initiated as early as in 1960s in Canada, Abdullah organized first Mushaira in Washington, DC under the auspicious of AAA in 1975. His efforts made the event as an integral part of Sir Syed Day celebration program. Furthermore, he systematized Mushaira in a manner that now it has become an appealing and most-awaited exciting occasion in the cultural life of Urdu lovers in North America. Today, these series of Mushairas—organized by FAAA and managed by Dr. Abdullah—are held in every metropolitan city in United States and Canada and poets from all over the world participate in these events. Dr. Abdullah is the most communicative and vibrant Master of Ceremony (Nazim) of Mushairas and he conducts Mushaira in his inimitable style. Just when we started getting concerned about the fading standards of Urdu language in the Sub-continent, here is an event that rejuvenates and fortifies our zeal about the survival of the language in the western world. Dr. Abdullah has played a pivotal role in upholding the nostalgic thrill of Mushaira and keeping this institution alive in the west. Aligarians believe that what they have inherited must be valued and should be protected by organizing such events.
Dr Abdullah lives with his wife, Dr Sofia, their sons, Amir and Faisal, Amir's wife Farheen and a grand son Ali in the city of Potomac in Maryland, USA.
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