Dr. Syed Zafar Mahmood was appointed by Indian Prime Minister as ‘Officer on Special Duty’ for the ‘Sachar Committee’ to study the “social, economic and educational status” of India’s minority Muslim community. Dr. Mahmood was educated at Aligarh Muslim University. Dr. Mahmood is also the founder of three non-profit organizations: Zakat Foundation of India, Interfaith Coalition for Peace and God’s Grace Foundation. Zakat Foundation of India (founded in 1997) is a non-profit which runs an orphanage for victims of the 2002 Gujarat riots in partnership with USA’s One World Children’s Fund. The Foundation recently was in the news for adopting the family of the late 11-year old Shanno Khan. Dr. Mahmood’s work in regard to these organizations has also been featured on CNN and America’s National Public Radio (NPR). In September 2009, ZFI filed a ‘Right To Information’ application to question why the Government had rejected the Sachar Committee recommendations to ensure proper governance of Wakf properties.
