M. H. Jawahirullah

Dr. Prof. M. H. Jawahirullah
Jawahirullah at party office
President of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi
Incumbent
Assumed office
2009
Member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
2021
Preceded byR. Doraikkannu
ConstituencyPapanasam
In office
2011–2016
Preceded byK. Hussan Ali
Succeeded byDr. M. Manikandan
ConstituencyRamanathapuram
Personal details
Born (1959-07-22) 22 July 1959 (age 65)
Thoothukudi district
NationalityIndian
Political partyManithaneya Makkal Katchi
RelationsHithayathulla (father)
ResidenceChennai
Alma materMadras University, Chennai
ProfessionProfessor
Websitetmmk.in

Dr. Prof. M. H. Jawahirullah (born 1959) is an Indian politician currently elected as a member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly 2021 from Papanasam Constituency and a former member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from the Ramanathapuram constituency. He represents the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi party,[1] of which he is the founding member and present leader.[2] He is also the member of Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham.

Early life and education

Jawahirullah was born in Udangudi Thoothukudi District in Tamil Nadu. He received his bachelor's degree in commerce from the Madras University. He then obtained masters in business administration (MBA) in 1983 and Master of Philosophy in 2000. He worked as a lecturer at Islamiah College, Vaniyambadi. In 2008, he was awarded PhD by the Madras University for his dissertation on "Performance Evaluation and Assessment of Service Quality in Islamic Banks: A Study with special reference to Bank Islam Malaysia".[3] He was a member of SIMI until 1989 and left the organisation due to its involvement in violence.

Activism and community service

Jawahirullah has been actively involved in the non-violent struggle for the rights of minorities especially Muslims in India. He calls for coordination of all Muslim groups in India for positive development.[4] His Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazagham (TMMK) organization mobilized hundreds of volunteers to help in rescue work when a tsunami struck the coast of Tamil Nadu in 2004 and it also played an important role in 2007 during negotiations to secure reservations for Muslims in government jobs. It has been praised by a Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, and won an award for recruiting the highest number of blood donors in emergencies. It runs 148 free ambulances in Tamil Nadu.[5]

Jawahirullah, representing 25 Islamic trusts, societies and charities, sought a ban on Kamal Haasan's then-unscreened movie Vishwaroopam as "it will affect social harmony" and it gave the impression that "all Muslims are terrorists". The Tamil Nadu state government banned the movie from being screened in the state[6] for a little over a week in 2013 until a compromise was agreed.[7][8][9]

References

  1. ^ "List of MLAs from Tamil Nadu 2011" (PDF). Govt. of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012.
  2. ^ "Tamim Ansari, MH Jawahirullah to leave MMK divided". 7 October 2015.
  3. ^ "TMMK president awarded doctorate for his thesis on Islamic banks". 30 April 2008.
  4. ^ "India: Muslim parties echo minority aspirations".
  5. ^ Sahi, Ajit (16 August 2008). "The Haunt of Our Past Lives". Tehelka. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Court to watch Kamal Haasan's banned thriller - Hindustan Times". Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Ban on Vishwaroopam lifted". DNA. 3 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Vishwaroopam ban lifted". The Hindu. 30 January 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  9. ^ "Ban on Vishwaroopam's release lifted in Tamil Nadu". NDTV.com. Retrieved 5 February 2013.