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Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Empowering India’s Marginalized, Building A Humane Society – Essay
Celebrating life and times of Dr Mohd Manzoor Alam


In September 2016 at Bodhgaya, Dr Mohd Manzoor Alam with H.E the Governor of Bihar Mr R N Kovind at the national seminar on ‘Importance of Inter-Religious Understanding: Its implications for Mankind’. Mr Kovind was President of India from 2017-2022. 
Photo-credit: IOS, New Delhi

October 13, 2025 
By Raju Mansukhani

Rarely is there a multifaceted personality in public life who is as deeply entrenched in politics, religion, academia, foreign affairs and economic issues and yet has the strength and courage of conviction neither to seek public office nor favours from the ruling elites in his own country or from overseas. Dr Mohd Manzoor Alam, who turned 80 in October 2025, is a shining example of such a towering intellectual-activist whose Institute of Objective Studies (IOS) was established in New Delhi in 1986 and has, since then, steadfastly worked to empower India’s marginalized. In his own words, he was vision-inspired to work towards building a humane society.

Having earned his doctorate in economics from Aligarh Muslim University back in 1977, Dr Alam spent a decade working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, understanding issues of macro and micro-economics at the global and national levels, working with highly experienced men who became his mentors in the long journey he began when he decided to be back where his heart was: in India, in the dusty and hot heartlands where at least two generations of Indians were being marginalized, deprived of their Constitutional rights in free and independent India.

On 8 October 2025, three generations of Indians and foreign nationals gathered at the Constitution Club in New Delhi to felicitate the life and times of Dr Alam with the release of a well-researched biography aptly titled ‘Empowering the Marginalized’, written by A.U. Asif, a senior mediaperson who spent years on the book project ensuring Dr Alam shared details of his life, family, work and the vast global network of colleagues, associates and friends, all of whom gave IOS and Dr Alam the strength to face innumerable academic-intellectual-and spiritual challenges. Salman Khushid, former Union Minister of India and a senior parliamentarian, did the honours of releasing the book. Other dignitaries, Indian and foreign, spoke of the global recognition of Dr Alam’s work and the roll-out of IOS programs; the Institute was on Rooster Status with United Nations ECOSOC (as the Economic and Social Council is known as) and an active member of the Delhi Minorities Commission for decades.
Empowering the Marginalized’: Books on display at Constitution Club, New Delhi on 8 October 2025. Photo-credit: IOS, New Delhi


Intellectuals and activists

Speaking during the 25th Year Silver Jubilee Celebrations of IOS in 2011, Dr Alam said, “we hope you will appreciate our endeavour to involve and bring together a wide spectrum of academicians, intellectuals, ulema, legislators, mediapersons, opinion-makers and civil society activists from India and all over the world. They have been regularly participating in the international conferences, seminars, workshops, lecture-series and book release functions we have organized since 1987. Our efforts to build meaningful bridges between the intellectuals and leaders, on the one hand, and the grassroot-level activists, on the other, have continued to gain momentum. We have been vision-inspired to create and build a humane society: the thoughts, ideas, concepts, publications and road-maps that have emerged through the IOS programs have encouraged us to keep on forging ahead.”

Said AU Asif, during the October 2025 celebrations, “this biography delves into the life of an individual (we respectfully call him ‘Doctor Saheb’) with deep connections to the two iconic rivers of India, the Bagmati and Yamuna. Born on the banks of the Bagmati, Doctor Saheb was raised amidst the rich cultural heritage that flourishes along the river. His formative years, up to the completion of his matriculation, were spent in this vibrant environment. In 1964, he achieved the distinction of being the first matriculate from his village, Ranipur, Madhubani District, Bihar (the area comes under Mithila / Mithilanchal region), marking the beginning of his educational journey.” Quite obviously, the young Mohd Manzoor Alam soon became the first graduate, post-graduate and then the first Ph.D of the ancient land to which he belongs!

Asif pointed out that Dr Alam’s personal achievements as a young educated Indian went hand in hand with his significant contribution in leveraging formal education to combat illiteracy in Madhubani and in the region of Mithila. “That’s why the upcoming Census of India is expected to reveal significant positive changes compared to that of the previous years, such as 1961, 1981, 1971, 1991, 2001, and 2011, reflecting the ongoing efforts to eradicate illiteracy in this region,” he noted.


In Saudi Arabia

Some of the most formative years of Dr Mohd Manzoor Alam were spent in Saudi Arabia. The young economist from Aligarh Muslim University was now working in prestigious departments of the ministry of finance and affiliated departments. Nine long years into his employment in the Kingdom, his concerns towards the homeland did not flag. The biography notes that he remained determined, striving to pave the way for justice, inclusivity, and equality. “He came into contact with some of the important figures of that era which included Dr Ahmad Totonji, Dr AbdulHamid Ahmad AbuSulayman, Dr Taha Jabir Alalwani, Dr Hisham Altalib, Dr Jamal M Albarzinji, Dr Ismail Raji Al-Faruqi, Dr Fazlur Rahman, Dr Hassan Al-Turabi, Dr Anwar Ibrahim, Prof Omar Hasan Kasule, Dr Abdul Rahman Bin Aqeel, Dr Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Madani, Dr Ibrahim H Al-Quayid, Dr Abdullah Turkistani, Dr Sheikh Talal M Badkuk, Dr Abdullah Matouk Al-Maatouk, Prof Samir Qasim Fakhro, Datok Seri M Iqbal Rawther, Dr Mohd Ghazali Bin Md Noor, A J M Zaneer, Mohammad Siddiq, among others.”

Dr Anwar Ibrahim, now the Prime Minister of Malayasia, sent his special message for the book release function and expressed his views in the biography: “Dr M Manzoor Alam is a man of exceptional intellect, honesty and unwavering integrity. I’ve known him for over four decades. Certainly back then, our hair and beards were full black. Our paths first crossed at an International Islamic Federation of Student Organisation (IIFSO) conference in the 1970s, where I was immediately struck by his kindness and his deep commitment to the cause of dawah.”

“I have personally participated in numerous programs with Brother Manzoor in Delhi, Kozhikode (Calicut) and other places. He has a profound impact in bringing together great experts and thinkers to engage in academic work and research on various issues, particularly those related to the Muslims. He often cites notable reports like the Sachar Committee Report, which addressed the issues of Muslim educational and economic marginalisation and recommended immediate action for their resolution. He has also consistently been a voice for the Dalit community, the impoverished untouchables of India, believing that efforts to alleviate extreme poverty are essential and crucial for restoring the dignity of the entire Indian community, both individually and collectively,” he said.
Focus on the youth

From New York, a senior Islamic scholar-ideologue Dr Ahmad Totonji had recalled his memories of meeting and working with Dr Alam, “In Saudi Arabia, Dr Alam seized the opportunity to engage with students from 60 countries at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMISIU). During this time, he also collaborated with Dr Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Madani, chairman of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group to present a comprehensive report on the state of the Muslims in India. Their findings recommended a ten-day visit to assess conditions first hand. Dr Alam compiled a detailed report, which the IsDB utilised to allocate US $10 million for the enhancement of the Muslim educational institutions and further improvements in conditions. Additionally, it was also decided to commit an additional US $10 million over subsequent years, a commitment that continues to this day.”

Dr Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Madani, Founder President Emeritus, IsDB Group in Jeddah words echo these achievements of Dr Alam, “I always appreciate Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam’s role in launching the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) scholarship program in India. I also acknowledge the immense support he provided when I, as the President of the IsDB Group, visited India for the first time to explore ways to support the Muslim community. During that visit, I had the opportunity to visit various educational institutions in India with Dr Alam and meet with leaders working on the Muslim community education. It’s true that thanks to Dr Alam’s collaboration, the Islamic Development Bank was able to establish its most successful scholarship programme for students in the Indian Muslim community.”



From Bahrain, Dr Samir Qasim Fakhro director of Arab Open University and Technology Educator is another old colleague and dear friend who said, “I first met Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam in Delhi on November 13-14, 2006, at a two-day international conference on Indo-Arab Relations: Partnership in Development organised jointly by the Indo-Arab Economic Cooperation Forum and the IOS. Although this conference was a private initiative at a non-governmental level, the participation of some key officials, representatives, and experts from both regions and the serious consideration of Indo-Arab relations and cooperation at the public level essentially explained the importance of Dr Alam’s ‘bridge-like’ role. It is worth noting that he is the head of both the aforementioned institutions. He also has a deep understanding and expertise regarding both regions. He has also travelled to most of the countries in West Asia. It was only then that, on the occasion of this non-governmental conference, interaction between the then Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, five central ministers, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, and other experts, although not at the same level, was possible with high-level Arab representatives and renowned Asian policy expert and 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr Anwar Ibrahim. At that time, I felt the weight of Dr Alam’s determination that “we need to expand and enhance these opportunities in India and the Arab world, which, as a result of globalisation, are ensuring that inclusive and multi-dimensional growth is possible in our regions.”
Dr Mohd Manzoor Alam at the book release function on 8 October 2025, surrounded by friends and well-wishers. Photo-credit: IOS New Delhi

Presence across India

Dr Mohd Manzoor Alam was clear, crystal clear about the IOS mission which he always said was “to create synergy in the realm of ideas to foster peace, justice and universal brotherhood.” The IOS objectives were spelt out: developing paradigms and strategies in Islamic perspective; Creating specialized institutions and platforms for intellectuals, ulema and other religious scholars to establish a just and peaceful world culture; Promoting appropriate methodologies of enquiry and communication; Streamlining mechanism for the empowerment of Muslims and other marginalized communities; Disseminating information to the Ummah about challenges and opportunities in a changing global order.

As IOS reaches its landmark 40th year in 2026-2027 of establishing its pan-Indian presence, it can look back at organising over 1500 national and international conferences, seminars and workshops. There have been 500 or more publications, three journals and newsletters which underscore the importance of research in every domain of social sciences, with a focus on Islamic studies. Be it in English, Hindi, Urdu, Persian or Arabic, the IOS list of publications continues to grow and address the needs of its diverse audiences.

In one of the chapters of the biography Dr Alam speaks most powerfully and with utmost respect for “the privilege of being acquainted with two eminent figures of our time, each a luminary in their respective fields. One, a renowned authority in Islamic law, rendered numerous profound judgments as the esteemed Qazi, Imarat-e-Shariah, Phulwarisharif, Bihar. The other, a distinguished expert in modern law, delivered several landmark verdicts during his long career as a judge and finally as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India. The legal pronouncements made by these esteemed individuals are not only historically significant but also serve as benchmarks and sources of inspiration in their respective domains.” Dr Alam was referring to Qazi Mujahidul Islam Qasmi and Justice AM Ahmadi, both of whom gave IOS the benefit of their encyclopaedic learning and wisdom.

He explained, “one individual enriched the legal realm with the invaluable tome ‘Islamic Justice’, while the other’s seminal work titled ‘Flow of Thoughts’ stands as a beacon for judges worldwide. Qazi Saheb, through his illustrious career, played a pivotal role in establishing the Qaziul Quzzzat at Imarat-e-Shariah, Phulwarisharif, as well as the Islamic Fiqh Academy of India. His leadership as the President of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, and Chief Justice of the Central Shariat Court, left an indelible mark. The Islamic Fiqh Academy (India) fosters an environment conducive to ijtihad, promoting thoughtful discourse and exploration of contemporary issues in alignment with the teachings of the Quran and Hadith. The other led the country’s judiciary as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, and after retirement, participated in activities to enhance respect and dignity for the country’s Constitution among the general public. The companionship of both the experts in Islamic law and modern law not only provided me with camaraderie but also kept me aligned with my mission, and I had the privilege of supervising the IOS under their guidance.”

In 1996, in a documentary film commemorating the 10th Year Anniversary of Institute of Objective Studies, Dr Mohd Manzoor Alam spoke with poise and conviction in words that can be inscribed on stone: “A task without a vision is a drudgery; a vision without a task is but a dream; but a vision with a task is the hope of the world.”



Raju Mansukhani

Raju Mansukhani, based in New Delhi, is a researcher-writer on history and heritage issues; a media consultant with leading museums, non-profits, universities and corporates in India and overseas. Contributing regular columns, book reviews and features in the media he has drawn attention of the new generations to critical issues and personalities of Indian and Asian history. Over the last three decades he has authored books on diverse subjects including the media, palace architecture, sports and contemporary history. Through in-depth documentaries, he has profiled leading Asian public figures highlighting their research and publications.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Are Income Trusts A Ponzi Scheme

One has to worry about Income Trusts in Canada. The reason is that this country has such poor regulations around capital and investments, that it is literally the wild west for all sorts of get rich quick schemes. Bre-X was not an anomaly but business as usual.

Globeinvestor.com: Building Bay St.

The Toronto Stock Exchange was established in 1861, with 24 members (who paid $5 each to belong), trading 18 securities during half-hour daily sessions held at a local Masonic hall. But much of the action shifted to the cross-town Standard Stock and Mining Exchange, which was formed in 1901 and became the North American capital for mining shares and stock swindles. The Financial Post estimated that 400,000 investors were bilked out of $100 million, before the S&M was merged into the slightly more respectable TSE in 1934.

One of Bay Street's first major reforms was a crackdown on wash trading (a practice that created the appearance of activity through the manipulation of fictitious accounts) following the 1964 Windfall Scandal. Viola MacMillan, a doughty prospector, used the technique for fraudulent promotion of Consolidated Golden Arrow Mines. But it was Windfall Mines, another MacMillan company, that triggered the uproar after she drove up the price of its shares from 65 cents to $5.60 without any underlying value in the summer of 1964. She was later sentenced to nine months in jail in connection with Golden Arrow, but served just eight weeks. Windfall wasn't that much of a scandal because so many mine promoters followed her example, but the royal commission formed to investigate the case nevertheless recommended trading reforms. MacMillan died in 1993 at 90, fully pardoned and the holder of an Order of Canada. (Lenny Gaudet, please copy.)



Corporate crime in Canada is big business,it is actually business as usual, and it has had historic international or at least cross border connections with the United States.

Al Capone operated out of Moosejaw, the Bronfmans supplied Capone with booze and then operated on their own. Capone was indicted for income tax evasion, the Bronfmans are corporate big wigs in the international Entertainment business.

Corprate crime in Canada is still all wink, wink, nudge, nudge. And while corporate crime is big in Canada, in fact it is a major export, such as the boiler room swindle of British MP and author Jeffery Archer. The Canadain legal system is like Siberia when it comes to dealing with it, out in the cold and in the dark.

Welcome to the world of white-collar crime. It's always been there, but perhaps you didn't notice. A lot of criminologists like to refer to 1940 as the year when criminology first noticed, when Edwin Sutherland drew attention to it, and defined it as "crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation." Sutherland's (1949) pioneering study of legal action against the seventy largest U.S. corporations found that all seventy firms in the sample had at least one formal action against them, and that the average number of violations per company was fourteen. A full 60% of the firms had been convicted in criminal court. Goff & Reasons (1978) found similar white collar crime patterns in Canada, and Clinard & Yeager (1980) found that nearly two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies come under fire at least once a year for federal regulatory violations and/or violations of corporate/criminal law.

WHITE-COLLAR AND CORPORATE CRIME OVERLOOKED

While over one-million charges were laid against street criminals in 1988, only 23 were laid against corporations in the first two years of the 1986 Competition Act. According to Holmes, the lenient treatment of non-violent crime has led to the growth of a "get-something-for-nothing attitude." Similarly, many corporations view the penalties for corporate crime as a Òmere cost of doing business."

Judges require better corporate crime education: Judicial training has historically keyed on blue-collar wrongdoing

Securities regulators should place greater emphasis on restitution for aggrieved investors and Canada should create specialized criminal courts specifically for white-collar crimes, according to a York-authored study cited in the National Post June 15. 2005

Not surprisingly, said the Post, her paper also reiterated the widely held view that when compared with their US counterparts, Canadian regulators do not engage in enough enforcement activity and are less effective when they do. To support her assertion, Puri cited statistics that showed Canadian securities regulators devote a smaller percentage of their total budget to enforcement than their US counterparts. As well, Puri found financial penalties are 10 times higher in the United States than the average Canadian fine.

Corporate and white-collar crime is not victimless. The harms caused by corporate misconduct can result in substantial injury to a broad range of stakeholders, as witnessed by recent accounting and corporate governance scandals at Enron and Worldcom. Shareholders can lose their retirement savings, employees their jobs, and creditors significant investments. Ernst & Young fraud investigator Don Holmes estimates that white-collar crime costs Canadians $20-billion a year. The Canadian judiciary needs to recognize not only the magnitude and impact of corporate misconduct on large segments of the population, but also the broader ramifications of corporate crime on the Canadian economy.

The judiciary has historically treated white-collar criminal offenders more leniently in sentencing than blue-collar offenders. Compare robbery and burglary to accounting fraud and embezzlement. Compare tax evasion under the Income Tax Act to fraud under the Unemployment Insurance Act. Compare traditional theft to misleading advertising. Existing studies reveal that white-collar offenders are less likely to be imprisoned and that they receive lower average sentences and serve less time.


I am currently reading a great book on the 1960's mutual fund rip off done by Bernard Cornfeld, the book is called Do You Sincerely Want To Be Rich. Cornfeld and his company IOS were operated out of Europe and registered on the American Stock exchange via Ontario. They were underwritten by the Royal Bank of Canada. They sold mutual funds, and created a super fund of mutual funds which was really composed of lots of mini mutual funds that IOS created. When the market crashed in 1970 their swindle was revealed.
Bernie retired to Hollywood to live with Hedi Fleiss, the Hollywood Madame.


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Beautifully engraved Certificate from the Investors Overseas Services
issued in 1969. This historic document was printed by the Canadian Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of of a semi nude female sitting in front of an major industrial facility above the company's nototious logo. This item has the printed signatures of the company's officers including Bernard Cornfeld as President and is over 34 years old. There are 32 unused coupons attached to the bottom of this certificate not shown in the scan.

Robert Vesco

Another notrious crook took over IOS, Robert Vesco. Vesco ran a variety of financial black market operations including involvement with the U.S. Military and the spook (spy) community. He like Bernie also operated out of Canada for a while.

Robert Vesco


Sep. 19, 1983 The New Jersey financier fled the U.S. in 1972 after being indicted on charges that he looted $224 million from the Geneva-based Investors Overseas Services Ltd., and illegally donated $200,000 to Richard Nixon's re-election campaign. Since then Vesco has lolled in exile in the Caribbean, apparently in the Bahamas, safe from extradition efforts.

A Valhalla of the Vile/Here are the Felon Index rankings:

Scammer $mm (adjusted for inflation) years served in prison Felon Index Score
1. Bernie Cornfeld (1970) $2,305 0.92 2,514.5
2. Michael Milken (1986) $1,630 3 543.3
3. Tino De Angelis (1963) $1,170 7 167.1
4. Stanley Goldblum (1973) $1,209 8 151.1
5. Ivan Boesky (1986) $163 1.83 89.1
6. Barry Minkow (1989) $151 5 30.2
7. Charles Ponzi (1920) $ 17.9 5 3.6


The accounting firm Arthur Anderson, who also advised Mike Harris and his Ontario government about privatization schemes for work for welfare, was caught in the Enron scandal. But Wall Street knew about Andersons peccadillo for shady accounting. They had been Bernie Cornfelds IOS accounts back in the 1960's!

Enron and World Com were well connected with Bay Street and Canada's banking industry, CIBC the Royal Bank both had to bay out billions last year in fines for their involvement in the great dot.com swindle. And remember the Royal Bank underwrote Cornfelds IOS Fund of Funds back in the sixties.

Today CIBC is passing off its costs of fines for being a criminal onto its bond holders.
Bondholders warned to beware getting the short end of the stick

Then there are our own rip off artists, Nelson Skalbania and Peter Pocklington
who profited during the wild boom and bust of the 1980's, taking advantage of the unregulated Alberta and B.C. stock market. They swindled investors, screwed workers, ripped off governments, and in the case of Pocklington never went to jail. Skalbania spent some time in jail, certainly less than an average street criminal. And once out was allowed to continue trading on the stock market in Canada.

Alberta is home to the Income Trust business in Canada. It originated in the petro-towers of Calgary. The first Canadian income trust was a petro trust. Modeled on the American Trusts, they have managed to become a tax haven because of loose or non existant tax rules.


Marcel Tremblay, inventor of Canadian income-trust structure, dies at 64

A bold business leader with more than 40 years of experience in Canada's investment-management and energy industries, Tremblay is best known as the inventor of the income-trust structure in Canada.

Tremblay designed and created Canada's first income trust, Enerplus Resources Fund, in 1986, spearheading a sector of the Canadian economy that now represents over 15 per cent of the market capitalization of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

"Convincing the brokerage community that this idea made sense was an almost impossible task," Tremblay told The Canadian Press in 2004.

"My objective was always to give investors the best return possible, minimize the taxation issues, preserve capital as much as possible and make sure they participate in the upside."

The effect that income trusts have had on the Canadian business landscape is dramatic, to say the least.

Income trusts are now the fastest-growing sector of Canadian capital markets because of their sizable distributions of income to unitholders and their considerable tax advantages over a standard corporate structure.



It is finally after all the political debate this past year a business that is now under the scrutiny of Standard and Poors in the U.S.

Obscure income trust reports can mislead investors: S&P

The two analysts said income trust reports are so obscure, and so full of distortions, they can easily lead investors astray. To make it worse, key information is often missing.

"Coupled with insufficient and inconsistent disclosure by management, the information risks inherent in this area of the Canadian capital markets continue to be quite significant," S&P said.

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This is far more important an investigation than who leaked the Income Trust announcement. Though the profiteering off that announcement is an iconic metaphor for the shady nature of Income Trusts. Just as their name says it all, hiding income from the tax man

Also see:
Income Trusts
Corporate Welfare Bums
Criminal Capitalism
Crime




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Tuesday, April 25, 2023

If it pays to be a jerk, why isn’t everyone that way?

Long-term research on chimpanzees offers new clues to the puzzle of personality

Peer-Reviewed Publication

PEERJ

Known as a bully, Frodo the chimpanzee was Gombe's alpha male for five years. 

IMAGE: KNOWN AS A BULLY, FRODO THE CHIMPANZEE WAS GOMBE'S ALPHA MALE FOR FIVE YEARS. view more 

CREDIT: IAN C. GILBY, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Throw a tantrum. Threaten, shove aside or steal from your colleagues. Science confirms, yet again, that brutish behavior can be an effective path to power. And not just in humans, but in chimpanzees, too. 

A new study appearing April 24 in the journal PeerJ Life and Environment found that male chimps with more bullying, greedy and irritable personalities reached higher rungs of the social ladder and were more successful at siring offspring than their more deferential and conscientious counterparts.

But if that’s the case, researchers ask, why isn’t every chimp a bully? 

A team led by researchers at the University of Edinburgh and Duke University followed 28 male chimps living in Gombe National Park in Tanzania.

previous study of Gombe chimpanzees led by Edinburgh’s Alexander Weiss along with Duke professor Anne Pusey and colleagues showed how some chimpanzees are more sociable, while others are loners. Some lean towards easy-going, while others are more overbearing or quick to pick fights.

Tanzanian field researchers who knew the chimpanzees well performed the personality assessments, based on years of near-daily observations of how each chimpanzee behaved and interacted with other chimps.

In the current study, researchers found that male chimps with certain personality traits -- in this case, a combination of high dominance and low conscientiousness -- tend to fare better in life than others. 

“Personality matters,” said Joseph Feldblum, assistant research professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke and the other lead author of the study.

It may not be shocking to learn that bullying has its perks. But for some researchers, findings like these pose a conundrum: If males with certain personality tendencies are more likely to rise to the top and reproduce, and pass the genes for those traits on to their offspring, then shouldn’t every male be that way? 

In other words, why do personality differences exist at all?

“It’s an evolutionary puzzle,” Feldblum said.

One long-held theory is that different personality traits pay off at different points in animals’ lives. Even if being aggressive gives young male chimps an edge, it might backfire when they’re older. Or perhaps certain traits are a liability in youth but an asset in old age.

“Think of the personality traits that lead some people to peak in high school versus later in life,” Weiss said. “It’s a trade-off.” 

But when the team tested this idea, using 37 years of data going back to some of Jane Goodall’s early work at Gombe in the 1970s, they found the same personality traits were linked to high rank and reproductive success across the lifespan. 

The findings suggest that something else must explain the diversity of personalities in chimpanzees. It might be that the “best” personality to have varies depending on environmental or social conditions, or that a trait that is beneficial to males is costly to females, Feldblum said.

If that were true, then “genes associated with those traits would be kept in the population,” Weiss said.

Not too many years ago, the mere suggestion that animals have personalities at all was considered taboo. Jane Goodall herself was accused of anthropomorphism when she described some of the Gombe chimpanzees as “bolder” or “more fearful” than others, some as “affectionate” and others “cold.”

Since that time, scientists studying creatures ranging from birds to squid have found evidence of distinctive personalities in animals: quirks and idiosyncrasies and ways of relating to the world that remain reasonably stable over time and across situations.

Weiss says personality ratings for animals have proven to be as consistent from one observer to the next as are similar measures of human personality.

“The data just don’t support the skepticism,” Weiss said.

This research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (#BCS-9021946, #BCS-0452315, #BCS-0648481, #BCS-9319909, #IIS-0431141, #IOS-1052693, #IOS-1457260, #EF-0905606 and #DGE-1106401), the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, the Jane Goodall Institute, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (R01-AI058715), Harris Steel Group, the University of Edinburgh, University of Minnesota, Duke University and the British Academy (PF20/100086).

CITATION: "Personality Traits, Rank Attainment, and Siring Success Throughout the Lives of Male Chimpanzees of Gombe National Park," Alexander Weiss, Joseph T. Feldblum, Drew M. Altschul, D. Anthony Collins, Shadrack Kamenya, Deus Mjungu, Steffen Foerster, Ian C. Gilby, Michael L. Wilson, Anne E. Pusey. PeerJ,April 24, 2023. DOI:  10.7717/peerj.1508.