Sheikh Showkat Hussain; born on 5 February 1954 is a Kashmiri political analyst and a prominent scholar of human rights and international law, he has authored several books on the Kashmir conflict. Biography Early life and education Sheikh Showkat completed his bachelor of law degree in 1978 from Aligarh Muslim University, India. He proceeded for higher studies and completed his masters in law. He was awarded PhD for his thesis "The Status of Non-Muslims in Islamic state" in 1990. The thesis was published in form of a book, titled, "Minorities, Islam and Nation state" in Malaysia. Right from his student days he has been actively observing and participating in political movements. Even when he was a graduate student he participated in an election campaign against Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah in Ganderbal constituency once the later compromised his stand on self-determination of Kashmir for coming to power. After his graduation he proceeded to Aligarh where he remained a proactive student. When he joined Aligarh Muslim University the University was in a severe crisis because government of India through an enactment of 1972 had deprived the University of its Muslim Character and was in process of erasing its cultural ethos. He valiantly fought against this campaign and was suspended from the University for opposing the cultural proselytisation of his alma mater. His activism transcended beyond the University in the form of his activities for the restoration of minority character of Aligarh Muslim University, preservation of Muslim personal law and restoration of Babri Masjid to Muslims. In this context he again remained in forefront of the campaign against the election of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in his constituency Ameti while the later was challenged by Raj Mohan Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. Academic career Right from his student days along with being an activist he has also been a researcher on student activism. On this subject he conducted a survey of various students groups within India. Sheikh Showkat has specialised expertise in Human Rights, minority rights and Humanitarian Law, he developed a comparative perspective on Islam and modern notions of human rights. His work in this regard was published in India (Islam and Human Rights) and Malaysia (Islam and Human rights). The work on human rights received appreciation far and wide, Muslim World League journal, Mecca also published its portions in its journal. He worked actively in dissemination of humanitarian law