Shoaib Sultan Khan | |
---|---|
Born | |
Education | Master of Arts in English, Bachelor of Law degree |
Occupation | Development Practionner |
Known for | Social development Poverty reduction Participatory development |
Notable work | Founder of Rural Support Programmes in Pakistan |
Spouse | Mussarat Rahim |
Children | Roohi, Afshan, Falaknaz, and Shelley |
Parent(s) | Mohammad Nasim Khan and Husna |
Relatives | Sultan Ahmad Beg (Grandfather) |
Awards | Global 500 Roll of Honour Sitara-i-Imtiaz Ramon Magsaysay Award World Conservation Medal Sitara-e-Eisaar Hilal-i-Imtiaz Rotary International Gold Medal |
Shoaib Sultan Khan NI (born 11 July 1933) is one of the pioneers of rural development programmes in Pakistan. [1] As a CSP Officer, he worked with the Government of Pakistan for 25 years, later on he served Geneva based Aga Khan Foundation for 12 years, then UNICEF and UNDP for 14 years. Since his retirement, he has been involved with the Rural Support Programmes (RSPs) of Pakistan full-time, on voluntary basis. [2] [3] [4] [5] Today,[ when? ] the Rural Support Programmes have helped form 297,000 community organisations in 110 districts including two Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. [6]
He has received the United Nations Environment Programme Global 500 Award in 1989, [7] the Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 1990, [8] [9] the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1992, [10] [11] [12] [13] the WWF Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Award in 1994, [14] [15] "Man of the Year" Rotary International (Pakistan) Gold Medal in 2005, Sitara-e-Eisaar [16] and Hilal-i-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan in 2007. [17] In 2009 he was elected as Senior Ashoka Fellow. [18] [19] He has written numerous research papers and books. [20] [21] [22] [23]
In 2009, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for "Unleashing the power and potential of the poor". [24] In 2019 he was awarded Nishan-e-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan. [25]
Shoaib Sultan Khan was born on 11 July 1933 in Moradabad, British India; a town now in Uttar Pradesh, India. His grandfather, Sultan Ahmad Beg, had won a coveted position in the state civil service of United Provinces, in the days of the British Raj. He maintained a large household that embraced his children and grandchildren. [26] [27]
Shoaib obtained his Master of Arts degree in English from Lucknow University and subsequently completed a Public Administration Course at the University of Cambridge. He has a Bachelor of Laws degree from Peshawar University, in addition to which he has also done academic work at Birmingham University and at Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford. [28] [29]
He started his career as a lecturer in 1953, but joined the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1955 and remained in it till 1978. Eventually rising through the posts of Deputy Director of Civil Service Academy, Deputy Commissioner Kohat and Peshawar, Commissioner of Karachi Division, Secretary Department of Health, Education and Social Welfare in the Government of North West Frontier Province and Director for the Pakistan Academy of Rural Development. [30] [31] [32] [33] [34]
His career in rural development started in 1959 when he came in contact with Dr. Akhter Hameed Khan. Dr. Khan asked him to follow three simple principles used in Germany by Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen – get the oppressed peasants to organize and identify a leadership and then acquire the capacity to acquire capital, have savings and upgrade human skills. That conceptual package revolutionized Germany. Even the Grameen Bank and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (now just BRAC) came out of this simple concept. [35] Under Dr. Khan's guidance he established the Daudzai Pilot Project of the Integrated Rural Development Programme in 1972 on the pattern of Comilla Project. [36] In 1978, he was deputed to Nagoya, Japan, as a consultant to the United Nations Center for Regional Development. As UNICEF consultant, he worked in Sri Lanka during 1979 and 1982 on the Mahaweli Ganga Development Project. [37]
In December 1982, the Aga Khan Foundation asked him to head the newly founded Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), a citizen sector organisation that targets poverty-stricken villages primarily in northern Pakistan (Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral) and engages their inhabitants in development programmes. [38] [39] [40] [41] AKRSP was established with strong personal interest of His Highness the Aga Khan in its success. [42] The same year Shoaib became the first and founding general manager of the newly established NGO. [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] At the outset, Shoaib obtained commitment from the Aga Khan Foundation for long-term financial support of the program. [48] The AKRSP model developed after trial and error in collaboration with 100,000 mountain farmers. [49] This model subverted the conventional model of social development, which assumed that either central government or outside agencies would lift people out of poverty. [50] And involved the local communities in the development initiative through an approach that was participatory rather than bureaucratic. [51] [52] [53] [54]
The success of the AKRSP model was replicated in many countries and at the request of the United Nations Development Programme, he undertook South Asian Poverty Alleviation programme (SAPAP), setting up demonstration plots on its pattern in India, Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Islamabad also started the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) and the provincial programmes replicating the same model. [55]
By the mid 1980s Shoaib had been successful in convincing Sartaj Aziz to lobby to set up the National Rural Support Programme. In 1987 Chief Minister of N.W.F.P Arbab Jehangir invited Shoaib Sultan to start the Sarhad Rural Support Programme. In 1993 Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif impressed with Shoaib Sultans international recognition donated 500 million rupees to the National Rural Support Programme. During the 1990s, when Sartaj Aziz was Finance Minister, Shoaibs interaction with him resulted in the establishment of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund. In 1997 he influenced Chief Minister of Punjab Shehbaz Sharif to commit 500 million rupees for the Punjab Rural Support Programme. [56] [57]
When Shoaib came to India in 1994 as part of the UNDP project, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao asked him to test the project in Andhra Pradesh, where it took off in three districts — Kurnool, Anantapur and Mehboobnagar. At the end of the U.N pilot, on Shoaibs suggestion, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu, then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, agreed to continue it. [58]
In this context, India launched a national programme called National Rural Livelihood Mission based on the SAPAP principles of development to benefit over 300 million poor. At the behest of Rahul Gandhi, Shoaib started a project in Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana (RGMVP) in his constituency in Uttar Pradesh on the same principles which have proven that the model can help marginalised people overcome obstacles even in the most hierarchical social structural settings. Similarly in Andhra Pradesh, the programme was started by the World Bank funding and it reached 50 million people and transformed their lives. [59] In 2011, Sonia Gandhi directed the Indian Ministry of Rural Development to launch the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) on the pattern of the Andhra experience to mobilise 70 million households across the country by 2017. [60] The Federal Government of India has now made it part of their central policy under the National Rural Livelihood Mission and 13 other states are following the Andhra Pradesh model. [61]
India’s Rural Development Ministry, has admitted that in India, the state has internalised that rights-based development was not a charity, but a right. Based on the model advocated by Shoaib, the Government of India annually allocates Indian Rs 270 billion for rural support programmes through community support organisations. [62]
Shoaib has served on the board of numerous organisations including:
He is also a Member of the Advisory Group of the World Bank sponsored Community Development Carbon Fund, Member of the Government of Pakistan Advisory Committee on Millennium Development Goals and Chairman of the Pakistan Government's Vision 2030 Group on Just Society.
In recognition of his services, he has been awarded the United Nations Environment Programme Global 500 Award in 1989, [83] Sitara-i-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan in 1990, [84] the Ramon Magsaysay Award by the President of Philippines in 1992 [85] and the World Conservation Medal by the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip in 1994, [86] [87] the Rotary International (Pakistan) awarded Man of the Year 2005 Gold Medal in 2006, Sitara Eisaar for earthquake work and Hilal-i-Imtiaz on Pakistan Day in 2006 by the President of Pakistan. In 2009 he was elected as Senior Ashoka Fellow. [88]
The list of nominees for the annual Nobel Peace Prize has always been a closely guarded secret over the last 50 years, with just a few names leaked to the public. One such nominee whose name slipped the net is Shoaib Sultan Khan. [89] [90] He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for "unleashing the power and potential of the poor". [91] The Prize eventually went to President Obama, [92] which raised more than a few eyebrows, considering the nomination came just 12 days after he took office. The New York Times called the decision a "stunning surprise", while less generous spectators accused the Nobel Committee of having political motivations. [93] With President Obama confessing to Stephen Colbert on The Late Show that he did not know why he won the Nobel Prize. [94] [95]
In March 2019, he was nominated to be a recipient of Nishan-i-Imtiaz, the highest civilian honour of Pakistan. [96] On 23 March 2019, Government of Pakistan awarded him the Nishan-i-Imtiaz. [97] In March 2019, he was nominated to be a recipient of Nishan-i-Imtiaz, the highest civilian honour of Pakistan. [98] On 23 March 2019, Government of Pakistan awarded him the Nishan-i-Imtiaz. [99]
Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, known as Aga Khan III, was the 48th imam of the Nizari Ism'aili branch of Shia Islam. He was one of the founders and the first permanent president of the All-India Muslim League (AIML). His goal was the advancement of Muslim agendas and the protection of Muslim rights in British India. The League, until the late 1930s, was not a large organisation but represented landed and commercial Muslim interests as well as advocating for British education during the British Raj. There were similarities in Aga Khan's views on education with those of other Muslim social reformers, but the scholar Shenila Khoja-Moolji argues that he also expressed a distinct interest in advancing women's education for women themselves. Aga Khan called on the British Raj to consider Muslims to be a separate nation within India, the famous 'Two Nation Theory'. Even after he resigned as president of the AIML in 1912, he still exerted a major influence on its policies and agendas. He was nominated to represent India at the League of Nations in 1932 and served as President of the 18th Assembly of The League of Nations (1937–1938).
The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a network of private, non-denominational development agencies founded by the Aga Khan, with the primary focus of improving the quality of life in different regions of Asia and Africa.
HBL Microfinance Bank Ltd (HBL MfB) is a Pakistani microfinance bank headquartered in Islamabad. HBL MfB operates over 200 locations all over Pakistan. It is one of the oldest microfinance bank in the country with its roots in the credit and saving section of the Agha Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP).
Shoaib Mansoor is a Pakistani television and film director, writer, producer, lyricist and musician of Muhajir origin.
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a private, not-for-profit international development agency, which was founded in 1967 by Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, the 49th Hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. AKF seeks to provide long-term solutions to problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and ill health in the poorest parts of South and Central Asia, Eastern and Western Africa, and the Middle East. In these regions, the needs of rural communities in mountainous, coastal and resource poor areas are given particular attention. The Foundation's activities often reinforce the work of other sister agencies within the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). While these agencies are guided by different mandates pertaining to their respective fields of expertise, their activities are often coordinated with one another in order to "multiply" the overall effect that the Network has in any given place or community. AKF also collaborates with local, national and international partners in order to bring about sustainable improvements of life in the 14 countries in which it implements programmes. The Foundation's head office is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
Prince Rahim Aga Khan is the second of the Aga Khan IV’s four children. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, he has been actively involved for many years in the governance of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
Akhter Hameed Khan was a Pakistani development practitioner and social scientist. He promoted participatory rural development in Pakistan and other developing countries, and widely advocated community participation in development. His particular contribution was the establishment of a comprehensive project for rural development, the Comilla Model (1959). It earned him the Ramon Magsaysay Award from the Philippines and an honorary Doctorate of law from Michigan State University.
Muhammad Raziuddin Siddiqui was a Pakistani theoretical physicist and mathematician.
Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, FCM was a German–Pakistani Catholic Christian religious sister and physician who was a member of the "Society of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary". She emigrated from Germany in 1961 and devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy in Pakistan. Pfau was honoured with Hilal-e-Pakistan, Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Nishan-i-Quaid-i-Azam, and the Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam awards.
Deep Joshi is an Indian social worker and NGO activist and a recipient of the Magsaysay award in 2009. He is recognised for his leadership in bringing professionalism to the NGO movement in India. He co-founded a non-profit organisation, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), of which he was the Executive Director till 2007. He was awarded the 2009 Magsaysay award for Community Leadership for his work for "development of rural communities". He is also a recipient of the civilian honour of Padma Shri.
Arif Hasan, is a Pakistani architect, planner, activist, social researcher, and writer. He is a recipient of Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the country's second highest award for its citizens.
The Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) is a private, non profit organization, established by the Aga Khan Foundation in 1982 to help improve the quality of life of the villagers of Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral. It is a Non Governmental Organization which is part of the Rural Support Programmes Network in Pakistan.
Muhammad Qavi Khan was a Pakistani film, radio, theatre and television actor, director and playwright.
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Shamsh Kassim-Lakha' is a Pakistani businessman, politician, and educational leader. He led the planning, building, and operation of the University of Central Asia (UCA), a regional institution founded by the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and His Highness the Aga Khan with campuses in the mountain areas of the three countries. He was the Diplomatic Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network in the Kyrgyz Republic from 2014-2017. He is currently Senior Advisor, Aga Khan Foundation Canada, in which capacity he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Central Asia and advises the Foundation on its work in Central and South Asia as well as Eastern Africa.
Masood ul-Mulk TI is a Pakistani expert on humanitarian aid and a development practitioner. He is the CEO of SRSP the largest NGO working to alleviate poverty in North-West Pakistan.
The Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) is a non-governmental organization dedicated to alleviating poverty in North West Pakistan. Established in 1989, its mission is to reduce poverty and promote sustainable livelihoods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
The Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) is the largest development network in Pakistan with an outreach to over 34 million rural Pakistanis. It consists of a network of 12 Rural Support Programmes (RSPs). The RSP’s rely on a community driven model of development. Communities are mobilised around their needs and organised to stimulate more effective demand for services.
Muhammad Amjad Saqib, is a Pakistani social entrepreneur, development practitioner, former civil servant and author. He is the founder and executive director of Akhuwat Foundation, which is the world's largest Islamic microfinance organization that provides interest-free loans to the most deserving segments of society.
Sultan Ali Allana is a Pakistani banker who is chairman of Habib Bank Limited and a director of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. He is a recipient of Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2006 and Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2022 for his services to Pakistan.
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