Book & Author
S. M. Ismail: Salimuzzaman Siddiqui
By Dr Ahmed S. Khan
Chicago, IL
Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui is the father of science in Pakistan; he made significant contributions in developing the science and technology infrastructure in Pakistan. He laid the foundations of the R&D work in Pakistan by establishing PCSIR research labs in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Dhaka, Rajshahi, and Chittagong. Dr Siddiqui was the founder of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the drafting committee of the Pakistan Science Commission, Chairman of the Pakistan Council of Science & Technology, Director Institute of Chemistry and the founder of Hussain Ebrahim Jamal (HEJ) Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1961. He published over 400 research papers and was granted 50 patents.
Born on 19 th October 1897, Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was the son of Chaudri Muhammad Zaman. prominent Muslim League leader, and one of the founding fathers of Pakistan. Chaudhri Kaliquzzaman was his elder brother. Salimuzzaman received his early education in his hometown Lucknow, UP. After graduating from Aligarh in 1919, he studied for a year at the University College, London, then attended the University of Frankfurt-on-Main from 1921-27. On completing his first and second Verband examinations, he pursued his DPhil program under the supervision of Professor Julius von Braun. After receiving his doctoral degree, he returned home where he was asked by Hakim Ajmal Khan to establish a drug research institute at the Tibbi College, Delhi.
He initiated his research work with the analysis of Rauwolfia (Chand booti) and later diversified his research undertakings. During his 10-year tenure as director of the institute he carried out extensive research studies on the isolation and chemical structure of alkaloids and other physiologically active constituents of a number of plants used for medicinal purposes by t Hukamah. One of Dr Salimuzzaman’s achievements was the formulation of ink that was used in the election of 1946 and resulted in the partition of India.
In recognition of his research successes Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui received many national and international academic honors: Gold medal of Society Academy and D.Med.Honoris Causa from the Frankfurt University (1958); Fellow of Royal Society (1961); member of Vatican Academy of Sciences and Pontifical Academician (1964); DSc Honoris Causa, University of Karachi & University of Leeds (1967); and Foundation member of the Indian and Pakistan Academy of Sciences. Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui also received numerous awards for his scientific contributions: order of the British Empire (1946), Tamgha-e-Pakistan (1958); Fellow of the Royal Society (1961): Sitara-e-Imitiaz, Pakistan (1962); President’s Pride of Performance Medal, Pakistan (1966); Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan (1980); Prize of Islamic Medicine Organization Award by Kuwait Foundation for the advancement of Sciences (1981).
Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui et al. published 15 research papers on Neem (Melia azadirachata) and other bitter plants. In the 1990s he was still isolating new compounds from Neem; when he was asked about his perseverance, he humbly recited Faiz:
Kai bar Iss key kha’tir Zur’reh ka Jegar Chee’rah
Magar Chash-may-HaraN key Hara’Ney na’heiN Ja’tee
Many times, I have sliced the core of the particle
But the curiosity of my curious eyes never vanishes.
And then he recited Ghalib:
Kaya Khoob hay ka sub koo Milay aik sa Jawab
Aa’oh kay hum bhi sair karaiN Koh-e-toor key
It is not necessary that everyone finds the same answer
Come let’s visit Mount Toor.
Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Dr Salimuzzaman were close friends. In honor of friendship with Salimuzzaman, Faiz named his first child Salima. When Dr Salimuzzaman heard about the death of Faiz, he was busy writing a letter to someone, in it he observed, “And now comes the shattering news of the sudden death of Faiz. His intense humanity and cosmic sense of wonder which were the basis of all his creative life and work would long be in search of a home…You remember my repeated citation of his verse, which he recited at a function: Kai bar Iss key kha’tir Zur’reh ka Jegar Chee’rah/Magar Chash-may-HaraN key Hara’Ney na’heiN Ja’tee.”
In Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, Dr Saira Ismail narrates the story of Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui in eight chapters: Self Introduction, Lucknow at the turn of the century, Family and early life, Germany in the Twenties, Scientific Achievements, The Story of Rauvoffia , Science Policy, and Human Aspects.
Saira Ismail aka Dr S. M Ismail (b. 1937, Patna, British India) received her early education from StXavier School, Patna and NJV High School, Karachi; received her MSc from University of Karachi (1957), a post-graduate diploma from Universite de Paris (1960) , and her PhD. from University of Bristol (1964). Dr Ismail served as a Research Scientist in PCSIR (until 1978), as Professor of Chemistry, Al-Fateh University, Sebha, Libya (1978-1982), and as Professor of Chemistry, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya (1983 - 1988). Since 1990, Dr Saira Ismail as contributed stories as science journalist in The News, Karachi.
In his introductory remarks, Mr Basit Hasan, Vice-President ,Pakistan Association of Scientists and Scientific Professions, observes: the “…book is on the life of our celebrated scientist, Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui who in a way brought science to Pakistan. Dr Siddiqui achieved significant results through classical chemistry at a time when present-day facilities of instrumentation for identification and analysis of compounds were non-existent. A great deal of his energies was used on time-consuming and lengthy processes. The present generation of chemists is far more favorably placed in the profession than their predecessors. In addition to his achievements in the field of Sciences, the author has dealt with personal traits and some important events during Dr Salimuzzaman's life which, as usual, form purely personal observation of the author rather than of the sponsors. The Association is of the view that the future of science in Pakistan is inextricably linked with the patronage of scientists whose services it desires to be emulated by the younger generation of scientists. “
In the foreword, the author recalls the impetus for the book: “It all began on 15 March 1990, when the Pakistan Association of Scientists and Scientific Professions (PASSP) hosted a reception to pay tribute to Salimuzzaman Siddiqui. I noticed how frail he looked. He could barely utter a few words, apart from a verse from his favorite Ghalib, in his thank-you speech. I happened to write an article covering the event, which appeared on the morning of 13 April 1990, in the newspaper 'Dawn' under the heading 'Portrait of a Man-of-a-Thousand-Interests'. I enjoyed writing that so much that I decided to write the life story of the founder of scientific research institutes like PCSIR and HEJ.”
Referring to her first meeting for seeking permission to conduct interview sessions for the book, the author states: “Next day, I went to see him to ask for his permission. He readily agreed to grant me interviews and during the following weeks patiently answered my queries. I would normally visit him elevenish in the morning in his laboratory where I usually found him at his work-bench. It was a delightful and inspiring sight to see him still working at his age. His paintings hung on the walls of his laboratory. There was a painting of his mother sitting on her prayer mat, done in oil in 1928. A sitting Christ, unique among the paintings of Christ all over the world, crucified, walking on water, eating the last supper. ‘I wanted to show how Christ sat on God's good earth’, he said: Another painting of a mother and child and a self-portrait of himself as a young man. A charcoal sketch of a young woman done in twelve strokes. One bold stroke showed her hair arrangement. I suspected it was a sketch of a very young Frau Siddiqui.”
Remembering the start of her association with Dr Siddiqui, the author observes: “My association with him began in 1957 when he came as an external examiner for my master’s in chemistry in the University of Karachi, After the viva-voce examination was over, he asked me: ‘What do you intend to do after your MSc?’ ‘I would look for a job, Sir!’ ‘If you are interested in research, come and see me one afternoon.’ Later, I realized that he had literally offered me a job. So, I went to see him after a few days. I was ushered in his office. He bade me sit down and asked: ‘Do you know Farsi?’ Panicked, I thought I had come to the wrong address. So, I replied: ‘I have done my MSc in chemistry.’ ‘I know that. Every educated man should know Farsi.’ Such was his passion for the classical languages. I was nevertheless ‘selected for the position of technical assistant in PCSIR.’ Thus, I came to know him. From the very beginning his towering personality over-awed me. He is a dapper, short man, having long windswept grey-white hair rather like Albert Einstein, and a pale-pink face. His shining eyes underneath thick eyebrows are quick and mischievous. He has a flattened snub nose.”
Referring to the objectives of the book, the author states: “I hope I shall not be criticized for failing to accomplish something which I did not want to achieve in the first place, namely, to provide a full definitive scientific work of Salimuzzaman Siddiqui. Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle recognizes that the very act of measuring distorts that which is being observed. What is true of atomic particles is even more true in the field of human achievements. In writing this book, about the life of a giant of a man such as Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, it is neither my position nor my intention to measure him. What I do intend to do is to collect and compile as much facts about his long and varied life as possible. I wish to write not only an account of an active and rewarding life, but also a sweeping panorama of an interesting period.”
Reflecting on how people tried to own or disown him, the author observes: “It is incredible that very few people who have been associated with Salimuzzaman are willing to talk about him and that, too, not in any good terms. During the course of writing this book I had the occasion to meet many of his former students, subordinates, fellow research workers and colleagues, but only a few of them had anything to say about him. These were the people who had watched Salimuzzaman progress to the pinnacle of fame and perhaps, did not willingly accept it. There were others who wanted to capitalize upon his name and fame for their own aggrandizement. One such event was when the PASSP invited him, to pay tribute to this great man, as I have mentioned earlier. The Governor of Sindh graced the occasion. In his welcome address, the President of the PASSP said: ‘Dr Salimuzzaman. Siddiqui is an asset for Sindh’. While everyone in the audience was feeling uncomfortable on this remark, Ali Imam, the painter, later retorted, ‘It was not fair to confine Salimuzzaman to the province of Sindh. Nobody in his right mind would say that Ibn Seena (Avicenna) belonged to Tajikistan or Russia. The Tajiks, of course, claim that he belonged to them. So do the Russians, and the Turks, the Arabs, the Persians and indeed the whole world. As Ibn Seena is a world citizen, so is Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, because science is universal and is not confined to a province’. The Governor of Sindh concluded the meeting by saying: ‘Salimuzzaman Siddiqui is a soul the entire nation is proud of.’”
Discussing the secrets of longevity, the author notes: “When asked the secret for his longevity and apparent good health, he said:
‘I have never been jealous in my life, nor did I envy anybody’ As an exegesis he explained: ‘I have seen the Halley's comet twice. Once as a young boy in 1910 when the comet's tail grazed the earth and there were fireworks all over the sky for many nights, and again in 1984 as an old man when I saw it from the university observatory’. One has to be lucky to see the Halley's comet once in a lifetime, as the comet visits the earth every 76 years, he was lucky twice.”
Dr Salimuzzaman never mixed politics with his scientific inquiry, but it was a political decision to oust him from the chairmanship of PSCIR on February 15, 1966. One day after he was forced to leave PCSIR, Dr Mahmood Hussian, Vice Chancellor of University of Karachi, approached Dr Salizzuman Siddiqui and requested his services for the University of Karachi. Dr Salimuzzaman agreed on one condition: to establish a post-graduate research institute at Karachi University. The condition was that the institute be an independent entity and not a part of the Chemistry Department. Dr Salimuzzam started his research institute, but many narrow-minded educators of Chemistry Department did not like his research endeavors and became his staunch opponents. From 1966 until his demise on April 14, 1994, he continued to conduct research and train young scientists at H.E.J. Institute of Chemistry at University of Karachi. Dr Salimuzzam’s hard work and vision had transformed H.E.J. into a world class institution.
Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui believed in the application of science for the service of mankind. In an article “Contribution of Science in the Context of Human Value Systems and Peace in Modern Times,” he observed, “At the end I would like to cite a verse from great poet sage of Shiraz – Sheikh Saadi: ‘Bani Adam A’azai yak Digarand,’ the children of Adam are like limbs of one another. If there should be any place for simple wisdom of this verse in modern times, it may serve to keep to irrational component of the human psyche under control, allowing the peaceful operations of science of overcoming the baneful sources of material and ideological of mankind.”
Dr Saira M. Ismail has done a wonderful job of narrating the life story of the great scientist in “Salimuzzaman Siddiqui.” It is a must read for all readers quizzical about the life and times of this great scientist!
[Dr Ahmed S. Khan ( dr.a.s.khan@ieee.org ) is a Fulbright Specialist Scholar (2017-2022)]
