Sayed Zahoor Qasim (31 December 1926 – 20 October 2015) was an Indian

marine biologist Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life, organisms that inhabit the sea. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology clas ...

. Qasim helped lead India's exploration to Antarctica and guided the other seven expeditions from 1981 to 1988. He was a Member of the

Planning Commission of India The Planning Commission was an institution in the Government of India which formulated India's Five-Year Plans, among other functions. In his first Independence Day speech in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his intention to diss ...

from 1991 to 1996. He was the Vice Chancellor of

Jamia Milia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia is a public and research university located in Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla ...

from 1989 to 1991 and an Honorary Professor of universities including

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

Madurai Kamaraj University Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) is a public state university located in Madurai city, in southern Tamil Nadu, India, that was established in 1966. MKU is one of the 15 universities in India with the University with Potential for Excellence sta ...

Anna Malai University The Annamalai University (AU) is a public state university in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The sprawling campus offers courses of higher education in arts, science, engineering, management, humanities, agriculture, and physical education. ...

Indian Institute of Technology Madras The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras or IIT-M) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the eight public Institutes of Eminence of India. As an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), ...

, and

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia is a Public university, public and research university located in Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British R ...

. He was awarded the highest civilian awards

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

and

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Early life

Qasim was born in Rakswara Gram Allahabad presently Kaushambi in 1926. His ancestor were rulers of Kaushambi. He began his schooling from Majidiya Islamiya Intermediate College Allahabad, and then moved to

, where he obtained a

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in 1949 and a

M.Sc. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

degree in zoology in 1951. He stood first in the order of Merit for which he was awarded the University Gold Medal. For several years, he was a lecturer in the Department of Geography at Aligarh Muslim University before proceeding to the United Kingdom for higher studies in 1953. In 1956 he completed his

D.Sc. A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degrees from

University College of North Wales Bangor University () is a public research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 became one of the founding institutions of the federal ...

. He was the Director of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, Kerala from 1971 to 1974. On 20 October 2015, he died at the age of 88.

Awards and honours

(1974) *

Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award The Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award was created in 1956 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 1956 to recognize Indian researchers in the agricultural field. The award is named after Indian Independence activist Rafi Ahmed Kidwai. Award ...

(1978) *

Lal Bahadur Shastri national Award The Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award is an annual prestigious award instituted from Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management, Delhi. This consists of a cash award of 5,00,000 rupees plus a citation and a plaque. Background The award was ...

(1988) *

(1982) * Oceanology International Lifetime Achievement Award, UK (1999) * First National Ocean Science and Technology Award by Government of India (2003–04) * Asian Society Gold Medal (2005) * SOFTI Biennial Award (2007) * Lifetime Achievement Award, Indian Science Congress (2008)

References

*http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/view/creators/Qasim=3AS_Z=3A=3A.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Qasim, Syed Zahoor 1926 births 2015 deaths Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Scientists from Prayagraj Aligarh Muslim University alumni Indian Muslims 20th-century Indian biologists Indian oceanographers Indian Antarctic Programme Members of the Planning Commission of India Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering Indian marine biologists Alumni of Bangor University