Former HOD of OU Journalism Prof Abdur Rahim passes away

Hyderabad, July 29 (INN): Former Head of the Department of Communication and Journalism, Osmania University Prof Abdur Rahim passed away at the Care Hospital, Nampally early on Friday.

Prof Abdur Rahim was 67 and is survived by his wife, two sons, three daughters and thousands of students who are mourning the passing away of their friend, philosopher and guide in the truest sense of the term.

The 'Namaz-e-Janaza' was offered after Friday prayers at the Shahi Masjid, Public Gardens where a large number of his associates were present. He was laid to rest at the Dargah Yousufain at Nampally.

Prof Abdur Rahim had been admitted to the Care Hospital on July 4 after a stroke leading to a clot on his brain. He had been operated up the clot successfully removed, but his kidneys were affected during his stay in the hospital.

His condition took a turn for the worse on Wednesday and he slipped into a coma. Despite the doctors' best efforts to save his life, he breathed his last at around 5:30 AM on Friday.

Besides his former colleagues in the Journalism Department of the Osmania University, many other professors, academicians, students and well wishers, including senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha Member K Kesava Rao, visited Prof Abdur Rahim's residence at Mehdipatnam and paid their last respect to his body. Prof Abdur Rahim was one of the senior-most journalism and mass communication educationalists in India.

Having retired from India's prestigious journalism school at Osmania University, Hyderabad after 35 years of service as Head of the Department, he was also the Visiting Professor at the Moulana Azad National Urdu, besides Visiting Faculty for many Journalism and Mass Communication Departments all over the country.

Widely travelled, he had lectured at the famous Columbia School of Journalism, at Harvard School of Government and Oxford University. Prof Abdur Rahim had participated in many international media conferences and addressed innumerable Seminars.

An author of several books on media, the retired Professor had contributed hundreds of articles in research journals, newspapers, both in India and abroad, and magazines. His areas of specialization were media theory and research, media ethics, and development communication.

Besides his educational pursuits, Prof Abdur Rahim was also the Vice-President of the Commonwealth Association for Education in Communication and Journalism (CAEJAC) and the Secretary of the South Asian Media Association (SAMA) and chairman of Bharat Samachar and also the Chapter Head of MICCI (Andhra Pradesh).

But for his students, Prof Abdur Rahim was a father figure, who they could turn to for any problem, whether in their studies or personal. He was known for going out of the way to help people, regardless of caste, creed or character. Prof Abdur Rahim commanded respect and loyalty from all those he came in contact with, and had the air of a man who cannot be ever forgotten. Ever willing to help anyone, his social service activities are legendary.

Right from the time he joined the Osmania University as a lecturer on October 3, 1972 till his retirement, he worked with and trained thousands of journalists and students from other fields. He had that unique ability to teach his students on how to think about any issue.

Prof Abdur Rahim would be always remembered for not only his contribution to education, but also for being a warm, caring, intelligent, articulate, untiringly selfless person. His contribution not only to the journalism but to society as a whole is immense and he has left a void which is near impossible to fill.