Quamarul Islam: An engineer, sportsman, educationist, community leader and politician

coastaldigest.com news network
September 18, 2017

Quamarul Islam, a young engineer, started his political career in the 1970s as a leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Kalaburagi. Nicknamed as ‘Sher-e-Karnataka’ (Tiger of Karnataka) he is also an educationist and mass leader.

Qamarul Islam, who made a bow into electoral politics as a Muslim League candidate by defeating heavyweights such as the former Minister, Mohammed Ali, Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi who contested on the Congress ticket, and Ustad Sadat Hussain (Janata Party) in the 1978 elections, has won the seat in the 1989, 1994, and 1999 elections after losing to Mr. Kanta in 1983 and 1985 elections.

He won the 1989 election on a Muslim League ticket, in the 1994 elections on the Indian National League ticket, and in the 1999 elections as a Congress candidate.

In 1996, he had resigned from Congress and join the Janata Dal for a short time to enter the Lok Sabha on a Janata Dal ticket. He quit his Parliament membership and joined Congress to contest the assembly polls again and became a minister for housing in S.M. Krishna’s cabinet.

Considered the senior-most Muslim leader from Hyderabad-Karnataka, he represented Kalaburgi six times in the State assembly. He is the only Muslim leader after Aziz Sait from Karnataka to be continuously elected.

He held the municipal administration and Waqf portfolio for three years in the Siddharamaiah cabinet, and was the first chairman of the Hyderabad-Karnataka Regional Development Board, and has served as chairman of Karnataka Housing Board, Karnataka Minority Commission and Karnataka Slum Board in the past.

He had long lasting relationships with senior leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, N. Dharam Singh and Mallikarjun Kharge. In 2016 he became a member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

An achiever

Qamar ul Islam was born to Noorul Islam in Gulbarga on 27 January 1948. He completed his Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering from PDA College of Engineering, Gulbarga.

He first stood elections in PDA and became the president of the students union, becoming the 1st and last Muslim student to hold the post of students union president in PDA College.

He was professionally an engineer, trader and industrialist, social worker, educationist and an avid sportsperson who enjoys cricket and table tennis during his leisure time.

Qamar Ul Islam has also chaired numerous charitable trusts such as Hazrath Shaik Minhajuddin Ansari Kallerawan Charitable Trust, running K.C.T. Engineering College, Polytechnic Colleges Gulbarga; Hyderabad Karnataka Urdu Front; Meraj Noor Educational and Charitable trust running B.Ed, B. Pharma, D. Pharma & Nursing Colleges and Al Qamar Nursing College.

Also Read: Prominent Muslim leader, former minster Qamarul Islam passes away

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News Network
November 22,2025

Mangaluru: Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy C H has warned of strict action against individuals spreading rumours and attempting to create insecurity within the Muslim community and fuel hatred between Hindus and Muslims through social media.

Referring to a recent social media post alleging that police personnel had entered a masjid premises to check whether beef was being cooked, the commissioner said miscreants were attempting to push their communal agenda. 

“A group of people, both from Mangaluru and abroad, are trying hard to spread rumours. For the past 10 days, they have been attempting to rake up old issues, highlight routine matters as controversies, or fabricate news altogether,” he said.

He reiterated that any such attempts to disturb communal harmony would invite legal action. “Cases will be registered and the accused will be brought to book,” he stated.

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News Network
November 21,2025

Bantwal: A domestic dispute appears to have led to a violent confrontation in BC Road area, where the owner of a textile shop was allegedly attacked with a knife by his wife on Wednesday evening.

Krishna Kumar Somayaji, the owner of Somayaji Textiles, sustained serious injuries in the incident and was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment. He is currently receiving care in the intensive care unit and is reported to have survived the assault, according to police.

The Bantwal Town police have registered a case against Somayaji's wife, Jyothi KT, who has since been taken into custody.

Police stated that the complainant, Namita, an employee at the shop, reported the sequence of events. She stated that around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the suspect entered the shop, wearing a burqa and disguised as a customer, before attacking Somayaji with a knife. The employee then transported the injured owner to a local hospital via an autorickshaw.

Superintendent of Police Arun K confirmed that an ongoing domestic dispute between Somayaji and his wife reportedly preceded the attack. Police noted that Jyothi KT had previously visited the shop and issued threats.

Based on the complaint, Bantwal Town police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Indian Arms Act-1959. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

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coastaldigest.com news network
November 29,2025

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Mangaluru, Nov 29: Around 12,500 healthcare students from Medical, Dental, AYUSH, Pharmacy, Nursing, Physiotherapy and Allied Health Sciences colleges of Dakshina Kannada, affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), took part in a massive walkathon to promote awareness on Organ Donation and Nasha Mukth Bharat.

The inaugural ceremony was held at Mangala Stadium. Dr Bhagavan B C, Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor of RGUHS, delivered the welcome address. The walkathon was flagged off by Shri U T Khader, Hon’ble Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, and presided over by Shri Dinesh Gundu Rao, Hon’ble Minister for Health, Family Welfare and Dakshina Kannada District In-charge. Dakshina Kannada MP Shri Brijesh Chowta also addressed the students.

Music director Guru Kiran, MLA Dr Bharat Shetty (Mangalore North), Police Commissioner Shri Sudheer Kumar Reddy, Shri Manjunath Bhandary and Shri Harish Kumar were among those present.

Institution heads including Dr Haji U K Monu (Kanachur Colleges), Dr Shantharam Shetty (Tejaswini College), Dr Bhaskar Shetty (City Group of Colleges), Mr Abdul Rahiman (Kanachur Institute of Medical Sciences), and the District Health Officer, Mangalore, also participated.

The vote of thanks was delivered by Prof U T Ifthikar Fareed, Syndicate Member, RGUHS.

The event was organised by Dr U T Ifthikar Ali and Dr Shiva Sharan (Syndicate Members), Prof Vaishali (Senate Member), Prof Mohammad Suhail (Chairman, BOS Physiotherapy), Dr Sharan Shetty (Former Senate Member), along with principals and faculty of various colleges.

Students marched from Mangala Stadium to Karavali Grounds via MCC and Lalbagh signal. The event set a record as one of the largest gatherings of healthcare students for a social cause in the RGUHS Dakshina Kannada Zone.

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