President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday honoured Prof Zikrur Rahman, Director, India Arab Cultural Centre and Centre for West Asian Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, with India’s highest Arabic Scholar’s Award for the year 2013 at a function in Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday. The award carries a certificate of honour, a citation and Rs 5 lakh.
Rahman is a seasoned diplomat who has held a number of prestigious positions in the Indian embassies in the Arab World. Considered as one of the best Arabic scholars in India, Rahman has a number of academic achievements to his credit which include Arab Diaspora in India, India Palestine Relations and Short Stories from India.
He has translated The Indian Heritage in Arabic written by Prof Humayun Kabir, The Argumentative Indian by Amartiya Sen. He has researched and edited the Arabic translation of The Ramayana. He is currently authoring books on, Indian Scholars of Arabic language and literature and Indian Hajj Missions to Mecca.