Gauhar Raza

Gauhar Raza is a Scientist, Social Activist, Poet, and documentary filmmaker. He was born on 17th August 1956 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. Wizarat Husain, his father, was a renowned educationist and science teacher at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. Since it was the time of British rule, his father was also a freedom fighter and a communist party member. His mother was also a freedom fighter and had worked with Indira Gandhi in Allahabad. He is married to activist Shabnam Hashmi. They have a son, Sahir Raza Sahir Raza is an Indian director, cinematographer, >> Read More... , and a daughter, Seher.

He got a degree in BSc in Engineering from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), in 1977. He pursued his studies and gained an M.Tech in Power Apparatus and Systems from IIT, Delhi, in 1979. He was the SFI Secretary of Western Uttar Pradesh during the emergency. He joined a multinational company as an electrical engineer and worked there for 3 years at Eicher Goodearth Ltd. He rose to the Executive-Engineer level. He is a scientist at the National Institute of Science, Technology, and Development Studies.

He has done prominent work and has published many books. Some of his work includes- Plague, Media, and People, NITADS, 1996;  Confluence of Science and Peoples' Knowledge at the Sangam, NISTADS, 1996; A Delicate Space Ship, Youth for Disarmament, Delhi, 1998; Jazbon Ki Lau Tez Karo, Raj Kamal, Delhi, 1999; Walk the Sky, A play on violence against women, V-Day, Delhi, 2001; Science Crafts and Knowledge: Understanding of Science Among Artisans in India and South Africa: a Cross-cultural Endeavour, Protea Book House, Pretoria, 2002 edited along with Hester du Plessis; HIV/AIDS Public Understanding and Attitude, NYKS, 2007 (co-writers: Surjit Singh and Chader Shekhar Pran) University Grants Commission (UGC) awarded him the Best subject expert for educational film in 1999 with the Creative Literature Award; Hindi Academy, 2001, for the collection of poems 'Jazbon Ki Lau Tez Karo'.