Drabu first Kashmiri to be awarded honour of commander

SYED ALI SAFVI

SRINAGAR, June 8: UK-based and Kashmir born senior judge, Khurshid Hassan Drabu, will be the first Kashmiri to be awarded the honor of Commander, Order of the British Empire (CBE) “for bringing communities together”.

Former skipper of Kashmir Ranji Trophy team, Drabu will receive the award from Britain's Queen Elizabeth at an impressive function in London on June 12, 2010. Talking to Kashmir Times over phone, Drabu said that he feels elated that his hard labour has been recognised.

“Thank God, I am happy for having been acknowledged,” he said. “There was a time in Britain when Muslims were looked upon with suspicion, but now the time has changed. You can live in Britain without fear. You can be articulate, and if you are honest you can gain respect.”

Drabu said that unlike other judges, he was, throughout his judicial career, allowed to do community-based works.

“Both Conservative and Labour parties allowed me to do community-based work,” he said. “Thank God, I have developed a good reputation in all the communities. That helped me in my endeavor to bring the communities together.”

To give voice to Muslims in England, Drabu co-founded Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), which was launched in 1997. He also drafted the constitution of MCB. Presently, he holds the position of chairman legal committee in MCB, which is an umbrella body with over 500 affiliates.

Drabu’s father, Khwaja Ghulam Nabi Drabu, is a retired IAS officer. He was also a member of J&K Public Service Commission (PSC).

Drabu had his schooling from Tyndale Biscoe School Srinagar and then completed his BA (Hons) Political Science from Sri Pratab College Srinagar.

During his days at SP College, Drabu was also selected to represent J&K team in Ranji Trophy.

“I played with Nawab Pataudi and Bishen Singh Bedi,” he said. “At 24, I was made skipper of the team in 1969.”

After completing his graduation, Drabu went to Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) where he completed his Bachelor of Law (LLB), securing first position and a gold medal in 1969.

Later, he practiced law for two years in Kashmir. In 1971, Drabu went to UK to do his Bar at Law. In the course of his stay, he also taught law at University of Manchester.

“I got a scholarship to do a post graduate diploma in International law,” he said. “I did a dissertation on judicial settlement of civil aviation disputes in context to high jacking of Indian plane in 1971.”

In September 1973, Drabu married his cousin sister, Reefat in England. Reefat, a doctor by profession, was born in Pakistan in 1949. “I was 23. Reefat was 21,” he said. After finishing Bar at Law, Drabu came back to Kashmir with an intention to permanently settle here.

“I worked here for two years, but soon realized that what was happening here was not advocacy of law but a different kind of practice,” he said. “I was very disappointed and went back to England.”

In 1996, Drabu became the first Muslim to be appointed as judge to the British judiciary. Later, he rose to become Vice President, Immigration Appeal Tribunal.

“I have practiced in fields of equality law, human rights, and mental health law,” he said.

Owing to deteriorating health conditions, Drabu took early retirement in 2008 when he was Senior Immigration Judge at the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal in London.

“I had three heart bypass surgeries,” he said. “After retirement, I was requested by ministry of justice in England to resume my duty as senior judge. They asked me to decide how many days I could sit as judge depending upon my health.”

He said that government in England believed that Mosques were spreading animosity and violence.

“In order to remove the wrong impression about Islam, we launched ‘Mosque & Imams National Advisory Board’ (Minab) to promote best practice in the Brittain mosques,” he said. The Minab supervises mosques and trains Imams.

“Islam is the fastest growing religion in England, and majority of English people used to associate Islam with violence, because the concept of Jehad has been misunderstood,” he said.

In 2006, Drabu was included in the Muslim Power 100, a list of most influential Muslims in the UK. In the following year, he was chosen for for Alija Izbetgovic award for Good Citizenship. He was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 1977. Since 2002 he has been an Honorary Advisor to the British Ministry of Defence on Islamic Affairs.

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Drabu’s wife denied visa

SRINAGAR, June 8: The Indian high commission in London denied visa to the wife of UK-based senior judge, Khurshid Drabu.

“She was denied visa because she was born in Pakistan,” Drabu said.

Born in Pakistan, Reefat was included in the list of most powerful Muslim women in Britain by Times Magazine. Dr Reefat Drabu has been a GP in Eastleigh, Hampshire, for the past 24 years and is General Practice Appraiser for Eastleigh and Test Valley South Primary Care Trust. She chairs the Social and Family Affairs Committee of the Muslim Council of Britain. Drabu said that Reefat also wanted to come with me to see my parents.

“She has visited Kashmir before,” he said. “Officials at Indian high commission London said that they have changed the law after 26/11,” he said.

“On one hand Indian government is building bridges and starting bus services, and on the other it is prosecuting people who want to come here to meet their families,” he said.