Moonis Raza

He was born in 1925 into a prominent Zamindar family in Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. He was the elder brother of lyricist Rahi Masoom Raza and scholar Mehdi Raza. [3]

Raza completed his higher studies from Aligarh Muslim University before joining the university as Lecturer and Reader. In 1966 he was appointed as the Head of Humanities Department and later as Principal of the Regional Engineering College, Srinagar. [4]

Raza's tenure as Vice Chancellor of Delhi University is regarded as one of the least controversial and academically productive in the institution's history. As one of the co-founders of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, he oversaw the landscaping of its campus and named its hostels. Raza is also believed to have strengthened the liberal ethos of Jawaharlal Nehru University. He is fondly remembered by his students for "Raza's Law of Ignorance", according to which "the ratio of the known to the known-to-be-unknown always remains constant".

Raza held a large number of positions at departments and commissions operated by the Government of India. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Tufts University, United States, in 1991.[5] He was a creator of and an original signatory to the Talloires Declaration,[6] a ten-point action plan devised by the Association of University Leaders for a sustainable future.

Raza died of cardiac arrest in Boston, United States, on 19 July 1994.[7]

• Chairman, Indian Council of Social Science Research[8][9]
• Founder Chairman, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development[8]
• President, National Association of Geographers of India[10][2]
• Honorary Director, Center of South Asian Studies
• Vice Chancellor of Delhi University[11][9]
• Founder Chairman and Rector, Jawaharlal Nehru University[11][2]
• Director, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA)[9][12][2][13]
• President, Indian Council of Educational Planners and Administrators
• President, International Association for Ladakh Studies[14]
• Member, Executive Board of the Commonwealth Council of Educational Administration
• Member, Advisory Committee of the UNCRD Nagoya[2]
• Member, Executive Board of the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration[2]
• Member, National Commission on Teachers[2]
• National Lecturer in Geography[2]
• Professor and Founding Chairman, Center for the Study of Regional Development (SSS), Jawaharlal Nehru University
• Visiting Professor, Cornell University, United States[2][15]

Raza authored, co-authored, and edited numerous books and articles, including Atlas of Tribal India, Atlas of the Child in India,Valley of Kashmir, and Education and the Future: A Vision.[16][17][18]