Obituary: Syed Hamidullah

[Jeff Kargel]

Professor Syed Hamidullah, Director, Centre of Excellence in Geology,
University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan.


It was with tremendous shock and grief that we learned the news that a good
friend of global peace and international understanding, Syed Hamidullah
("Hamid"), passed away in the line of professional duty.  He was killed in
an army helicopter crash on October 15 trying to bring relief supplies to
villagers whose homes and lives were destroyed by the magnitude 7.6
earthquake in Pakistan on 8 October 2005.  He died as he had lived, a man of
peace in a difficult region, a man who was making his world a little bit
better for having lived in it.  Hamid was also an advisor for the Himalayan
region for the GLIMS project and HIGH ICE.  Jack Shroder introduced Hamid to
GLIMS a few years ago, and we quickly learned first hand that Hamid was "the
real deal" in the South Asian peace movement.  Hamid lived amidst dangerous
and often violent circumstances in a troubled region of Pakistan.  He never
flinched from vigorous advocacy of women¹s rights, public education, and
peaceful reconciliation of India and Pakistan.  His dream was establishment
of an international University of Peace in Peshawar, Pakistan, for which to
begin he had recently been granted millions of dollars by his government.
He leaves behind students who will be in need of scientific mentoring and
personal support in the spirit of peace that Hamid instilled. An opportunity
for that will be available in an ongoing project that Hamid was instrumental
in beginning with the Karakoram Science Project Workshop that will be held
in South Asia in May-June 2006 to enable cross-border scientific
collaboration between Indians and Pakistanis with other world scientists.
Hamid would have been proud of this and collaborating in his memory would be
a good thing to honor his commitments to this project.

Syed Hamidullah was born in a rustic village in the Charsada District of the
Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan, last son in the large family of a
religious man who helped Mohatma Ghandi gain the independence of Pakistan
and India from the British. He was an avid flute player and loved the
natural beauty and ecology of the high mountains.  Educated at the
University of Peshawar in geography, chemistry, and geology, Hamid received
a first class, first position in the geology department with a B.Sc. in
1975, a similar high position with an M.Sc. from Peshawar in 1977, and a
Ph.D. in geochemistry/mineralogy-petrology from Glasgow University, UK, in
1983. He was recipient of numerous awards and honors in his all-too-short
life, including Scientist of the Year in the Earth Sciences in Pakistan in
1993, and several Fulbright awards to Princeton University and the
University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Dr. Hamidullah is survived by his wife Gazalla, and their three sons, Dr.
Fahad, M.D., Saad, and Sabaoun.

-- John (Jack) Shroder and Jeffrey S. Kargel

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Researchers wishing to offer their services as mentor or advisors to Hamid's
students in the cryospheric and Earth sciences should contact Jack Shroder
or Jeff Kargel. We can attempt to match student interests with mentor
interests and research areas.  We also urge participation in the HIGH ICE
effort (Himalayan Institutes for Glaciology: Hydrology, Ice, Climate, and
Environment) and the aforementioned Karakoram Science Project workshop.