Daijiworld Media Network - Tokyo
Tokyo, Oct 17: Veteran diplomat and Kasargod native Nagma Mohamed Malik has been appointed as India’s Ambassador to Japan, marking a notable new chapter in her three-decade career in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS).
She currently serves as India’s Ambassador to Poland and will now assume one of the country’s most strategically important diplomatic roles in East Asia.
Though she spent much of her childhood and education in New Delhi, Nagma traces her roots to Fort Road in Kasargod. She often says that “no matter where I go in the world, I always introduce myself as someone from Kasargod. It is my identity, and I wear it with pride.”
She is the daughter of Mohamed Habeebullah and Julubanu, and the daughter-in-law of the noted Kannada author Sara Abubakar, who is credited with pioneering a literary movement through her writings in Kasargod and Dakshina Kannada.
Nagma comes from a distinguished family with a strong tradition of public service and sacrifice. Her uncle, Lieutenant P. Mohamed Hashim, was martyred in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war at the age of just 23. To honour his sacrifice, a street in Thalangara bears his name, and a memorial pillar known as Pulikkunnil Stupa has been erected. Her grandfather, Ahmad, was among the first Muslim lawyers to practise in the Kasargod Court between 1930 and 1970, leaving behind a lasting legacy of legal excellence in the region.
After joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1991, Nagma earned the distinction of becoming India’s first woman deputy chief of protocol (ceremonial). She began her diplomatic career in Paris, where she worked at the Indian Embassy and at UNESCO. Later, she served with the Prime Minister’s Office under I K Gujral, managing the Western Europe desk.
Over the years, her overseas postings have included roles as first secretary and counsellor in Nepal and Sri Lanka, deputy chief of mission in Thailand (2010–2012), ambassador to Tunisia (2012–2015), high commissioner to Brunei Darussalam (2015–2018), and ambassador to Poland (2021–2024).
Back home in India, she has held several strategic positions within the ministry of external affairs, such as deputy spokesperson; director of the Eurasia division; head of the Policy Planning & Research Division (2019–2020); and additional secretary (Africa), overseeing India’s relations with East and Southern African nations.
Nagma holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a masters in Sociology, and she is fluent in English, French, Hindi, Urdu, and Malayalam — skills that have served her well across her global appointments. Beyond diplomacy, she has a deep interest in Indian classical dance, music, and literature.
On the personal front, she is married to Farid Inam Malik, a lawyer based in New Delhi, and the couple has a son and a daughter.
With her appointment to Tokyo coming at a critical moment for India–Japan relations, Nagma Mohamed Malik is expected to strengthen bilateral ties. Her journey from the lanes of Kasargod to the corridors of global diplomacy is not just a personal triumph but also an inspiration to aspiring diplomats across the nation.