FLAIR - Forum for Learning and Action with Innovation and Rigour

We at FLAIR are mourning the untimely death of our dear Founder President - Professor (Retd.) Abdul Matin. He was the former Chairman of the Department of Sociology at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Matin Sir departed this mundane world on November 19, 2025. He had just returned from Apollo Hospital in Delhi following surgery and was recuperating from a serious car accident that had happened a month prior. His abrupt departure has left his family, students, colleagues, friends and scholars across India and internationally grieving the loss of a wonderful intellectual and a lovely, caring human being.

Matin Sir’s unique combination of passion and patience was something that all of us at FLAIR looked up to in all situations. It was because of these qualities that FLAIR has been able to dare attempting difficult tasks and working hard with patience and rigour for creating real and lasting solutions to some of the most complex and demanding social problems. He was a man looking to create solutions - prominent among which are a series of Books and Workbooks for Adolescents, Young People and the Aged on Cyber Safety and Mental Health, and a Software that we have developed to address the needs of Behavioural Disorders and other Common Mental Illnesses that arise from the challenges thrown by the Digital Society. Sir – you are not in this world to see the impact that these innovative tools and models will create, but the whole team at FLAIR wishes that may your soul rest in peace and rejoice on seeing the impact that you created is being carried forward with the same fervour, passion, patience and rigour.

Born on 5th January 1953, Professor Matin began his academic and professional career with deep commitment and excellence. He completed his B.A. and M. A. degrees in Sociology from Patna University, Patna. He pursued his M. Phil at the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi. His M.Phil. Dissertation titled “Agrarian Structure in Purnea District: 1793–1950” provided the foundation for a lifelong involvement with agrarian relations, social structure and exclusion.

Later, his scholastic excellence earned him the famous Canadian Commonwealth study, which opened the doors to overseas study. As a result, he was admitted to the University of Toronto, Canada, where he got his Ph.D. in Sociology. His doctoral thesis, "Changing Agrarian Relations in Mithila, North India," showed his longstanding interest in agrarian sociology, class relations, and structural inequality in India and was founded on painstaking field and archival research.

Known nationally and globally, Professor Matin was widely respected as a pioneering academic in Digital Sociology. He not only introduced and established the discipline within mainstream sociological discourse in India but also served as the Founder Convenor of Research Committee 30 (Digital Sociology) in the Indian Sociological Society, a contribution that transformed the discipline’s trajectory and opened new research pathways for emerging scholars.

He was a recipient of various distinguished recognitions during his career, including the prominent national honours commemorating his academic achievement and societal contribution including Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award. International biographical listings and the Bharat Jyoti Award recognize his scholarly impact. Additionally, he was a lifetime member of a number of scholarly organizations, such as the Indian History Congress, Indian Sociological Society, and Indian Institute of Public Administration.

Trauma Leaves Scars, but healing is possible