by iFaqeer
Charaagh Hasan Hasrat once said:
allah allah fusooN naghma-e-ishq
saara aalam hai gosh bar aawaz
The news going around in Pakistani circles is the fact that one of our own is the one of the Convening Lead Authors for the IPCC team that shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore. And of course, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change) team is chaired by another South Asian; Rajendra Pachauri.
Pakistani scientist in Nobel team -DAWN - National; October 14, 2007: WASHINGTON, Oct 13: Pakistani professor Adil Najam, now teaching at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, US, is amongst the team of scientists and experts in the Intergovernmental …
Over the years, I have come to know Dr. Najam rather well, and have learned from and been inspired by him. I’ve written about him quite a few times at my blog. For Example: here and especially here.
From a comment Dr. Najam posted on Pakistaniat.com:
Thank you to all for their kind wishes and congrats. I should add, however, that the Nobel was awarded to the work of the IPCC (a panel of eminent global climate change experts), so I am just one of the many experts on that Panel. I have served on the IPCC for some 8 years, the last many as a Convening Lead Author. So, yes, it does feel terrific to have one’s work and research celebrated by the Nobel Committee, but it really is an honor shared by many (including by Dr. Tariq Banuri who played a leading role in the IPCC’s evolution in the past).
Some links: Dawn, Boston Globe, Encyclopedia of the Earth, The Fletcher School.
In the idiom of South Asian sport, I want to say:
“Well played, Adil bhai; buhat aala, Adil bhai!”
Note: This post is a tribute from iFaqeer, Owais Mughal and many other friends. It is being produced here inspite of Adil’s objection. We would’ve kept quiet but our situation is now what Dagh Dehlvi had once said:
Dagh ki shaamat jo aai iztaraab-e-shauq meiN
hal-e-dil kam-bakht ne sab un ke muNh par rakh dia
So while we’ve taken this action of writing our ‘haal-e-dil’, we hope our readers will give Adil due credit for his research work in their comments below.
This is really wonderful to hear. Congratulations to you, your family and friends. This is such an honor to hear that YOU did it, I always have respect for you now it has grown in leaps…Congrats :)
Adil, you have done us all proud. And I agree with iFaqeer’s view on why this entry was necessary. There may be a lot of things that we can be proud of, and you make a commendable effort to bring all those things to the forefront but there are very few people, specially those in the limelight, that can inspire this nation.
You were one of those people before your work was acknowledged by the Nobel committee, but becoming a Nobel laureate gives us so much more reason to try and play our part in making this world and our nation a better place.
Congrats Adil! We are proud of you!
Dear Adil Bhai, Dher saari mubarakbaad and all the best!!
Dear Adil, Congratulations. Its people like you which offers hope for Pakistan as a society and as a nation. Keep up the good work.
Also, I understand that Pakistan has many more important challenges then climate and global warming, but are there any key initiatives that you are working with GOP or any NGO in Pakistan?
Sorry for the long comment. Asli baat yeh hai keh yeh khabar sunn kar dil khush ho gaya hai. Khuda aap ko aur taraqi dey.
Adil Bhai, read your comment above. Very gentlemanly. But, with due respect, I understand that humility is a very Pakistani quality and a good thing, but sometimes basking in deserved glory is also good. You deserve the praise so accept it. Whenever any other Pakistani sings well, or dances in a US show, or plays good tennis, you go and sing their praises. Now its own time to sing yours. You have worked hard, the world’s biggest award has recognized your work, now is the time to bask in glory. I am sure it was a team effort, but janab you were in the dream team of the worlds top scientists and you helped make this possible.
Asli Pakistani to chooti si cheez ko barra bana daitay hain, aap itni barri cheez ko choota kar rahain hain!
After your comment I did some digging on Google and found some quotes from the IPCC Chairman. For example: “The Nobel Prize Committee has acknowledged the work that the IPCC has done. Let me clarify, as chairman, that all the scientists who have contributed to the work of the IPCC are the Nobel laureates who have been recognised and applauded by the Nobel Prize committee” (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39636).
On Berkeley website, I found an annoucemengt about some of the others on the IPCC panel, it quoted a letter from the IPCC Chairman to the authors of this year’s report and said: “I have been stunned in a pleasant way with the news of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for the IPCC. This makes each of you a Nobel Laureate and it is my privilege to acknowledge this honour on your behalf…. The fact that the IPCC has earned the recognition that this award embodies, is really a tribute to your knowledge, hard work and application.” (http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/Nobel -Peace-Prize-2007.html)
So yes it is a team effort but it is your important contribution to a team of researchers who get the world’s most prestigious prize that we are celebrating. We are all very very proud of your acheivement and agree with the IPCC Chairman that this is a tribute to your knowledge, hard work and application.
Adil, one of the reasons we/I felt an acknowledgement was necessary here was precisely to bring the work of the IPCC and the cause it stands for home to us Pakistanis. Your work and involvement with the panel gives us all a chance to feel part of a global cause and a global effort. It helps us shake off the depressive funk we often feel as a nation. Despite our own protestations to the contrary, we often sound like we’re a “useless” community that doesn’t matter much in the global scheme. This kind of thing reminds us that if we step up, get engaged, and play our part, we can contribute to the global scene. It inspires us all to do that.
And that is what we celebrate.
So thank you for doing all you do. And for carrying the spirit of “Pakistaniat” at that level; too often, people who are active and engaged at a global level are not engaged with their own communities or in touch with their roots. The fact that you are the very founder of a forum like this makes this kind of thing all the more sweet.