KASARGOD: Malayalis elsewhere may refrain from ‘uttering a word on Poland’ but Kasaragod may have found a new love for the central European country. Nagma Mohammed Mallick, an IFS officer of the 1991 batch and additional secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, has been appointed the ambassador of Poland and Lithuania. Mallick, who grew up in Delhi, traces her roots to Kasaragod. Her parents, Mohammad Habibullah and Zulu Bhanu, are natives of Fort Road in Kasaragod town.
Habibullah and his family moved to Delhi after he got a job in the Overseas Communication Department. Mallick did her bachelor’s degree in English from St Stephen’s College and postgraduation (Sociology) from Delhi School of Economics. She speaks English, French, Hindi, Urdu and Malayalam.
According to the website of the Embassy of India, Poland & Lithuania, she started her diplomatic career in Paris with the Indian Mission to UNESCO. Back in New Delhi, she began as a Desk Officer in the West Europe Division of the Ministry of External Affairs. She also served as staff officer to the former Prime Minister IK Gujral.
She had served in India’s Missions in Nepal and Sri Lanka as the first secretary and counsellor, respectively. As the director in the Eurasia Division, she looked after India’s bilateral relations with Russia and the 11 CIS countries. From July 2010 to September 2012, she was Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy in Thailand. She was India’s ambassador to Tunisia from October 2012 to November 2015, and high commissioner to Brunei Darussalam from December 2015 till December 2018.
After being named the ambassador-designate to Poland, Mallick met deputy minister of foreign affairs Marcin Przydacz on September 15.
Hers is a celebrated family in Kasaragod and Mangaluru. Noted Kannada writer Sara Aboobacker is the sister of her father Habibullah. Their younger brother (Mallick’s uncle) Lieutenant P Mohammed Hasheem was killed in action during the 1965 India-Pakistan war at the age of 23. The Lt Hasheem Street in Kasaragod’s Thalangara is named after him. Mallick’s paternal grandfather Puthiyapura Ahmed was one of the first Muslim advocates of Kasaragod, who practised from the 1930s to 1970. Mallick is married to Delhi-based lawyer Fareed Inam Mallick and they have one son and one daughter.
Nagma Mohammed Mallick had served in India’s Missions in Nepal and Sri Lanka as the first secretary and counsellor, respectively. As the director in the Eurasia Division, she looked after India’s bilateral relations with Russia and the 11 CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries.