Professor Syed Tahir Mahmood has been in the field of legal research, writing and teaching for over 37 years. He began his career in Aligarh and later served the research faculty of the Indian Law Institute in Delhi. He joined the Faculty of Law at the Delhi University in 1974 and rose to the position of its Dean, which he occupied till the beginning of 1995. In 1996 the Government of India invited him to serve the National Commission for Minorities as its Chairman, in which position he also became a member of the National Human Rights Commission. Professor Mahmood has authored a large number of books on various aspects of law. His works on Hindu and Islamic laws are acclaimed at home and abroad.