After years of seclusion and a courageous battle with illness, Dr Manzoor Alam has returned to his Creator—Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji‘un (To God we belong and to Him we return). His passing is not merely the loss of an individual; it marks the end of an era and the departure of one of the most prolific institution-builders the Indian Muslim community has produced. It is the culmination of a long and meaningful journey, defined by service to the nation, visionary leadership, and relentless dedication.
While death is an inevitable reality, the departure of a figure like Dr Manzoor Alam comes at a particularly critical moment. Indian Muslims today face layered political, social, and intellectual challenges, alongside a palpable vacuum of thoughtful leadership. Losing a personality of such depth and foresight—someone whose heart beat for the Ummah and who possessed a nuanced understanding of its crises—is an irreparable loss.
Dr Manzoor Alam: The Institution Builder Who Redefined Muslim Leadership
Born into an ordinary family in Ranipur village of Bihar’s Madhubani district, few could have imagined that this young man would rise, through sheer perseverance and intellectual rigour, to guide and shape the destiny of a community. His life story is nothing short of remarkable. One of the enduring reasons for the marginalisation of Indian Muslims has been the inheritance of leadership rather than its cultivation. Dr Alam decisively broke this cycle. He carved out his own space among national thinkers and demonstrated the power of systematic, research-based work by building institutions such as the Institute of Objective Studies (IOS).
For him, leadership was never about political sloganeering or public theatrics. It was about providing intellectual and moral direction—about shaping economic, social, and communal thought with clarity and purpose. Through institutions like the Institute of Objective Studies, the All India Milli Council, the Islamic Fiqh Academy, and dozens of other platforms, he laid the groundwork for community-building and leadership development. He never chased popularity or indulged in emotionalism; the collective welfare of the community always mattered more to him than personal recognition.
From Ranipur to National Thinker: The Intellectual Journey of Dr Alam
As a journalist, I had the privilege of interviewing Dr Manzoor Alam nearly half a dozen times and covering several of his programmes. In 2014, when India’s political landscape was undergoing a decisive shift, I interviewed him in Kolkata on “Indian Muslims in the Modi Era.” I posed a blunt question: Are Muslim organisations and political parties themselves responsible for the rise of Hindutva forces and the growing alienation of Hindu youth from Muslims?
Dr Alam responded with characteristic seriousness. He argued that this was not merely an Indian phenomenon but part of a global trend, where right-wing forces were exploiting the sense of deprivation and anxiety among young people. He described Hindutva as a contemporary manifestation of Brahmanism and drew striking parallels between the ideological trajectories of Zionism and Hindutva—an analysis that was both provocative and deeply rooted in historical understanding.
What also set Dr Manzoor Alam apart was his humility. Many community leaders hesitate to engage with lesser-known Muslim journalists, preferring mainstream media platforms they otherwise criticise relentlessly. But when I was a novice journalist in 2006 and called him seeking an interview for the newly launched Hindustan Express, he agreed without hesitation. He gave me ample time, patiently answered my questions, and never once made me feel small or inadequate because of my inexperience.
Dr Manzoor Alam was a man acutely attuned to the pulse of his times. His thinking was marked by foresight rather than reaction, by depth rather than noise. Until his last years, he remained deeply concerned with the future of the community, the pursuit of social justice, and the cultivation of a research-driven, intellectually confident Muslim society.
In his passing, Indian Muslims have lost not just a leader, but a compass.
