TRIBUTE PAID TO ABID HUSSAIN

TRIBUTE PAID TO ABID HUSSAIN

Abid Hussain, who was among those who helped break mental barriers after the end of the Cold War, passed away in London on Thursday morning ,21^st June,2012,after a massive heart attack. He was 85 years old and is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.While following the normal career progression of an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre officer, which wound up in the Commerce Ministry, Dr. Hussain was one of the key persons who set the ball rolling for India’s economic liberalisation. He chaired six committees of which the ones on trade and small scale industries are still important reference markers.A senior trustee of Observer Research Foundation and involved with innumerable organisations when he passed away, Dr. Hussain was made India’s Ambassador to the United States during the tumultuous years of 1990 and 1992 when India had to recast its foreign policy and abandon many beliefs that had become shibboleths.

Dr. Hussain’s stint in diplomacy was preceded by a five-year tenure in the Planning Commission, during which he was honoured with Padma Bhushan for meritorious services.Of late, he was the Chairman of Ghalib Academy and Vice President of Rumi Foundation, Chancellor of English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, member of a UNESCO panel, Professor Emeritus at several institutes, including the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and Foreign Service Institute of the Ministry of External Affairs.A soft-spoken person who grew up in the genteel culture of Hyderabad, Dr. Hussain was the trustee of several educational, cultural and charitable institutions  in India and abroad.At the time of his death, he was also the chancellor of English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, a member of the International Panel on Democracy & Development of UNESCO, Prof Emeritus at Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Prof Emeritus at the Foreign Service Institute of Ministry of External Affairs, Chairman of Ghalib Academy and Vice President of Rumi Foundation.He was Trustee of various prestigious educational, cultural and charitable institutions. He was a member of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco and BP Koirala Foundation and a Trustee of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts Trust.

Hussain had also served for nine years as special rapporteur to UN on freedom of opinion and expression. He was a member of the Constitution Review Commission set up by the Government, and also a member of the Prasar Bharati Board till April 2001. Till recently Hussain was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, New York.

Prof. John Kurakar