Begum Abida Ahmed Explained

Begum Abida Ahmed
Birth Date:17 July 1923
Birth Place:Badaun district, United Provinces, British India
Death Date:7 December 2003 (aged 80)
Death Place:New Delhi, India
Office1:First Lady of India
Term Label1:In role
Term Start1:24 August 1974
Term End1:11 February 1977
President1:Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed
Primeminister1:Indira Gandhi
Vicepresident1:Gopal Swarup Pathak
B.D. Jatti
Predecessor1:Saraswati Bai
Successor1:Sangamma Jatti
Party:Indian National Congress
Children:3
Education:Aligarh Muslim University
Office2:Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Termstart2:1981
Termend2:1989
Predecessor2:Misaryar Khan
Successor2:Santosh Gangwar
Constituency2:Bareilly

Begum Abida Ahmed (17 July 1923 – 7 December 2003) was an Indian politician, artist, and social activist, notable for her role as the First Lady of India from 1974 to 1977 and later as a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, representing the Bareilly parliamentary constituency of Uttar Pradesh. Abida Ahmed was also the wife of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, the fifth President of India, serving from 1974 until his death in 1977.

Early life

Begum Abida Ahmed was born on 17 July 1923 in Sheikhupur, Badaun, Uttar Pradesh. She grew up in a politically engaged environment, which shaped her future interests in public service and activism.

She pursued her education at the Women's College, Aligarh and the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.[1] There she excelled academically and demonstrated an interest in national and international affairs. Her early exposure to politics and social issues inspired her to pursue a career in public life.

She married her husband Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed on 9 November 1945.[2] [3] Their marriage was arranged while Ali Ahmed was in prison and Abida Ahmed in college.

In 1957 Abida Ahmed traveled with her husband and relocated to New York City as part of her husbands assignment to the United Nations.[4] She also accompanied Pat Nixon while she and her husband were on a state visit to India.[5] [6]

Career

First Lady of India

Begum is credited with having overhauled the presidential kitchen and ensuring Awadhi cuisine was included in its repertoire.[7] [8] [9] Additionally she worked at redecorating the rooms and upholstery of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and aided in designing the surrounding landscaping.[10] [11] She also organized events and gatherings involving the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Her husband died while in office in 1977 marking the end of her role as first lady.[12]

Member of Parliament

In 1979 while attempting to file her paperwork for the 1980 election Ahmed was stopped by protesters surrounding her home in an attempt to prevent her and other women from filing election paperwork.[13] [14] [15] As the police attempted to break up the protest two people died.[16] Her paperwork was later smuggled out of her home by one of her supporters with a police escort.[17] [18]

In 1980, she was elected to the 7th Lok Sabha, serving Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh as a member of the Indian National Congress. She was re-elected in 1984 to the 8th Lok Sabha.[19] [20] In 1986 she spoke out against a bill giving women who divorce their husbands alimony.[21]

She later served as the president of the Mahila Congress from 1983 until 1988.[27] [28]

Personal life

Abida and Fakhruddin had two sons and a daughter.[29] [30] The elder of their sons, Parvez Ahmed, is a doctor who contested the General Elections of 2014 in the Barpeta constituency as a candidate of the Trinamool Congress party.[31] [32] [33] Their other son, Badar Durrez Ahmed, served as a judge of the Delhi High Court and retired as Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.[34] [35] Abida was a badminton player and led the Assam team in the 1958 national championships.[36]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Ram . Sharmila Ganesan . 2022-07-11 . Times top10 . 2024-10-02 . The Times of India . 0971-8257.
  2. Web site: Vajpayee . Ramkrishna . 2020-12-07 . बेगम आबिदा अहमद की पुण्यतिथि, जानिए उनकी जिंदगी से जुड़े अनसुने किस्से . Begum Abida Ahmed's death anniversary, know the unheard stories related to her life . 2024-10-02 . newstrack.com . hi.
  3. Book: Agrawal, M. G. . Freedom Fighters of India (In Four Volumes) . Isha Books . 2008 . 9788182054684 . 119.
  4. News: De Groodt . Helene . 1973-12-12 . Indian Painter Gives Watergate Interpretation in Oils . 2024-10-02 . THe Orlando Sentinel . 24.
  5. News: 1969-07-31 . Pat charms Indian village as President meets brass . 2024-10-02 . The Evening News . 15 . UPI.
  6. Book: Thornton, Thomas . The Hope and the Reality: U.S.-Indian Relations from Roosevelt to Reagan . Routledge . 1992 . 978-0-429-31161-1 . Gould . Harold A. . 1 . en . U.S.-Indian Relations in the Nixon and Ford Years . 10.4324/9780429311611 . Ganguly . Šumit.
  7. Book: Collingham . Lizzie . Lizzie Collingham . Around India's First Table : Dining and Entertaining at the Rashtrapati Bhavan . Husain . Salma . Government of India . 2016 . New Delhi, India . 119 . en . 2024-10-02.
  8. News: 16 September 2021 . All the Presidents' Meals: What is served at the First Table . en . The Indian Express . live . 3 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220903153113/https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/all-the-presidents-meals-whats-served-at-the-first-table-7513249/ . 3 September 2022.
  9. Book: The presidential retreats of India . 2015 . Publications Division, Government of India . 978-81-230-2075-4 . Wright . Gillian . New Delhi . 935310855 . Fanthome . André Jeanpierre . India . Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts . India.
  10. Book: Life at Rashtrapati Bhavan . 2016 . Publication Division, Government of India . 978-81-230-2298-7 . Gopalakrishnan . Sudha . RB series . New Delhi . 967545120 . Yashaswini Chandra . Khanna . Dinesh . India . India . Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts . Rashtrapati Bhavan (New Delhi, India).
  11. News: 1 November 2020 . Feels Like Home . en . The Indian Express . live . 3 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220903153110/https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/feels-like-home-6911758/ . 3 September 2022.
  12. News: 1977-02-11 . India's President Ahmed dies; hailed as 'a great Moslem' . 2024-10-02 . The Berkshire Eagle . 2 . UPI.
  13. Book: Goswami, Sabita . Along the Red River: A Memoir . 11 March 2014 . Zubaan Books . 1 . New Delhi, India . 978-93-83074-26-6 . en . Mathur . Triveni Goswami . 2024-10-12.
  14. Book: Class, caste, gender . 2004 . Sage Publications . 978-0-7619-9643-9 . Mohanty . Manoranjan . Readings in Indian government and politics . New Delhi ; Thousand Oaks, Calif.
  15. Book: A Space Within the Struggle: Women's Participation in People's Movements . November 27, 1990 . Zubaan . 1990 . Sen . Ilina . New Delhi, India.
  16. News: Avishek . Sengupta . 2016-11-12 . Martyrs' families angry, confused . 2024-10-02 . The Telegraph India.
  17. News: Niesewand . Peter . 1979-12-11 . Two die in Indian Election violence . 2024-10-01 . . 7.
  18. Bhagabati . Dikshit Sarma . 2021 . Exorcisms: Xenophobia, citizenship, and the spectre of Assamese nationalism . Jindal Global Law Review . en . 12 . 1 . 171–203 . 10.1007/s41020-021-00147-4 . 0975-2498 . 8178655.
  19. News: 2017-07-26. Savita Kovind enters Rashtrapati Bhavan, but India's First Ladies are yet to make a mark . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220903153109/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/savita-kovind-enters-rashtrapati-bhavan-but-indias-first-ladies-are-yet-to-make-any-mark-4767676/ . 3 September 2022 . 3 September 2022 . The Indian Express . Rathi. Nandini.
  20. Book: Women and politics in Asia: a springboard for democracy . 2012 . Institute of Southeast Asian Studies ; Lit Verlag . 978-981-4311-73-1 . Fleschenberg . Andrea . Singapore : Zürich . Derichs . Claudia . Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
  21. Book: Majumdar, Maya . Encyclopaedia of gender equality through women empowerment . Sarup & Sons . 2005 . 978-81-7625-548-6 . New Delhi . 248 . Time of Transition.
  22. Web site: About - God's Grace School . 5 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120331182622/http://www.godgraces.org/AboutSchool.html . 31 March 2012 . dead .
  23. Web site: 2019-01-04 . India Islamic Cultural Centre - 1981-2018 Genesis, Aims, Obligations . 2024-10-02 . Muslim Mirror . en-US.
  24. Web site: Masoud . Abdul Bari . 2024-08-15 . Khurshid becomes India Islamic Cultural Centre president, RSS-backed candidate loses . 2024-10-02 . IndiaTomorrow.
  25. News: The royal touch . . 7 January 2010 . 9 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121103000440/http://www.thehindu.com/arts/theatre/article77192.ece . 3 November 2012 . dead .
  26. News: July 11, 2022 . Gender+ newsletter . The Times of India . 2023-07-18 . 0971-8257.
  27. Web site: Devi . Prasad . 2019-09-02 . How OBCs have had little say in the Congress party . 2024-10-03 . Forward Press . en-US.
  28. News: Badhwar . Inderjit . 1986-10-31 . All India Mahila Congress hit by political infighting between its chairperson and convenor . 2024-10-12 . India Today.
  29. News: The Orlando Sentinel 11 Feb 1977, page 48 . 3 September 2022 . Newspapers.com . en . 3 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220903100333/https://www.newspapers.com/image/303515006/?terms=%22fakhruddin%20ali%20ahmed%22&match=1 . live .
  30. News: 1974-10-25 . India's First Lady Moves Into the Official Spotlight . 2024-10-01 . . 34.
  31. News: The Orlando Sentinel 11 Feb 1977, page 48 . en . Newspapers.com . live . 3 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220903100333/https://www.newspapers.com/image/303515006/?terms=%22fakhruddin%20ali%20ahmed%22&match=1 . 3 September 2022.
  32. News: Former President's son to fight for TMC . The Economic Times . live . 3 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220903153109/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/former-presidents-son-to-fight-for-tmc/articleshow/32236377.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst . 3 September 2022.
  33. News: 31 March 2014 . Former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's son files nomination . Business Standard India . Press Trust of India . live . 3 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220903154612/https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/former-president-fakhruddin-ali-ahmed-s-son-files-nomination-114033101103_1.html . 3 September 2022.
  34. News: 22 March 2018 . Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed . Kashmir Life . live . 3 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220903153114/https://kashmirlife.net/justice-badar-durrez-ahmed-issue-51-vol-09-168850/ . 3 September 2022.
  35. Web site: Sharma . Nalini . May the Force be with you! Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed bids farewell to Delhi HC [Read speech] ]. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230709143246/https://www.barandbench.com/news/justice-badar-durrez-ahmed-delhi-hc-farewell . 9 July 2023 . 3 September 2022 . Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news . 29 March 2017 . en.
  36. Web site: 2021-05-30 . How successive Indian presidents patronised sports and became champions too . 2023-06-20 . The Indian Express . en.

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