| Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed فخرالدین علی احمد |
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|---|---|
| President of India | |
| In office 24 August 1974 – 11 February 1977 |
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| Prime Minister | Indira Gandhi |
| Vice President | Basappa Danappa Jatti |
| Preceded by | Varahagiri Venkata Giri |
| Succeeded by | Basappa Danappa Jatti (Acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 May 1905 Delhi, British Raj (now India) |
| Died | 11 February 1977 (aged 71) New Delhi, India |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Spouse(s) | Begum Abida Ahmed |
| Alma mater | St Catharine's College, Cambridge University of Delhi |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Islam |
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (13 May 1905 – 11 February 1977) was the fifth President of India from 1974 to 1977.[1][2]
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Fakhruddin's grandfather, Khaliluddin Ali Ahmed, of Kacharighat near Golaghat, Assam, married in one of the families who were the relics of Emperor Aurangzeb's bid to conquer Assam [3]
Ahmed was born on 13 May 1905, in Hauz Qazi area in Old Delhi, India. [2] His father was Col. Zalnur Ali who married the daughter of the Nawab of Loharu in Delhi[4]
He belonged to Gujjar community.
He started his education in the Government High School from Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh, India. He matriculated from the Delhi Government High School and went to England for higher education in 1923 continuing studies at St Catharine's College, Cambridge and was called to the Bar from the Inner Temple of London.. He started legal practice in the Lahore High Court in 1928.[4][2]
He met Jawaharlal Nehru in England in 1925. He joined the Indian National Congress and actively participated in the Indian freedom movement. In 1942 he was arrested in the Quit India movement and sentenced to 3 1/2 years' imprisonment.[2] He was a member of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee from 1936 and of AICC from 1947 to 74, and remained the Minister of Finance, Revenue and labour in the 1938 Gopinath Bordoloi Ministry.
After Independence he was elected to the Rajya Sabha (1952-1953) and thereafter became Advocate-General of the Government of Assam. He was elected on Congress ticket to the Assam Legislative Assembly on two terms (1957-1962) and (1962-1967).
Subsequently, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Barpeta constituency, Assam in 1967 and again in 1971. In the Central Cabinet he was given important portfolios relating to Food and Agriculture, Cooperation, Education, Industrial Development and Company Laws.
Picked for the presidency by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1974, and on 20 August 1974, he became the second Muslim to be elected President. He used his constitutional authority as head of state to allow her to rule by decree once Emergency in India was proclaimed in 1975. He was the second Indian president to die in office, on 11 February 1977. Today his grave lies right across Parliament of India, next to Sunhari Masjid, at Sansas chowk, in New Delhi.
He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Pristina, in Kosovo in 1975, during his visit to Yugoslavia.
He was elected President of the Assam Football Association and the Assam Cricket Association for several terms; he was also the Vice-President of the Assam Sports Council.
In April 1967, he was elected President of the All India Cricket Association. He was a member of the Delhi Golf Club and the Delhi Gymkhana Club from 1961.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Varahagiri Venkata Giri |
President of India 1974–1977 |
Succeeded by Basappa Danappa Jatti Acting |
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