Kazim Khan Obituary
My late uncle, Kazim Khan, also known as Kaz to his acquaintances, was a notable academic and teacher, specializing in research on racism and drug addiction. He also served as a local council member in the London borough of Islington.
Kazim, the eldest son of Kaneez Ali and Mohammad Ameer Haidar Khan, was born in Mahmudabad, Uttar Pradesh. His father was from a distinguished northern Indian family that was involved in the struggle for India’s independence in the 19th and 20th centuries. Despite coming from a privileged Muslim feudal family, my uncle chose to rebel against the system. He was a man of strong Marxist principles and believed in the saying of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Islamic caliph and first Shia leader, “Never have I seen anywhere excessive riches, unless by its side there was a right denied.”
After attending school in Lucknow, India, Kazim was sent to Aldenham School in Hertfordshire. He then studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies (now Soas University of London), graduating in 1969 with a degree in the history of South Asia and modern Europe. He also got married that year to Lynda Cole, with whom he had a daughter named Yumna. He raised his daughter as a single father following the divorce.
Kazim worked as a specialist teacher at Samuel Rhodes School in north London from 1974 to 1982 and received a master’s degree from Birkbeck, University of London in 1979. He went on to become a teacher fellow at the Institute for Education’s new center for multicultural education. Additionally, Kazim served as a member and chair of the race relations committee for the Labour Party on Islington Council from 1982 to 1986.
From 1988, Kazim pursued research on Europe-wide racism and drug addiction issues at City University and Middlesex University. Following his retirement in 2010, he co-wrote a book with Terry Williams, entitled The Vanishing Indian Upper Class (2020), under a pseudonym, Raza Mohammad Khan.
Aside from his academic pursuits, Kazim enjoyed fine food and drink, including Indian and Russian cuisine, often cooked by himself. He was an avid reader of Russian literature, American poetry, and Urdu. He was fluent in several languages, including English, Urdu, French, and Italian. He was affable and soft-spoken, and was a wonderful friend and companion.
Kazim is survived by his second wife, Anita Nichols (nee Sadler), whom he married in 2001, along with her two children and six grandchildren. He is also survived by his daughter Yumna, grandson Jamie, and his brother Mohammad Askari.
