Bashir Hussain Zaidi | |
|---|---|
| Members of theConstituent Assembly | |
| In office November 1946 – 7 April 1948 | |
| Constituency | United Provinces |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 July 1898 |
| Died | (1992-03-29)29 March 1992 |
| Party | Janata Party |
| Awards | Padma Vibhushan, 1976 |
Sayyid Bashir HussainZaidi,CIE,MP (30 July 1898 – 29 March 1992) was a member of the firstLok Sabha and the Vice-Chancellor ofAligarh Muslim University from 1956 to 1962.He also served as a member of theConstituent Assembly of India fromUnited Provinces (laterUttar Pradesh).[1] He was awardedPadma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour, byGovernment of India in 1976.[2]
Zaidi was born on 30 July 1898 in Kakrauli, a town ofMuzaffarnagar district.[3] After his schooling inSonepat and Delhi, he was educated atSt. Stephen's College, Delhi, and atFitzwilliam College,Cambridge. After Cambridge, he was in chambers atLincoln's Inn, where he was called to the Bar in 1923.[4]
Zaidi returned to India in 1923. He taught atAligarh Muslim University from 1923 to 1930, when he entered the service of theNawab of Rampur, subsequently becoming the state'svizier or chief minister in 1936 and holding this position until Rampur merged with theDominion of India in 1949.
A member of the Indian Constituent Assembly from 1947 to 1949, he became a member of the new Parliament in 1950 and a member of theLok Sabha in 1952. He left Parliament in 1956 to become Vice-Chancellor ofAligarh Muslim University, returning as a member of theRajya Sabha in 1964. From 1967 to 1969, he served on theIndian Committee of Inquiry on Communal Disturbances; also leading a goodwill mission to nine African and Asian nations in 1964 and heading the Indian cultural delegation to Afghanistan in 1965 for its Independence Week celebrations.[5]
Zaidi retired from politics in 1970, continuing to serve as director of several industrial concerns and a publishing house until 1977.
Zaidi was appointed a CIE (Companion of theOrder of the Indian Empire in 1941.
He served as a member of the governing committees ofZakir Husain College from 1974 and Aligarh from 1983.
He was awarded an honorary D.Litt. fromAligarh Muslim University in 1964 and fromKanpur University in 1974.
In 1976, he received thePadma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour.[2]
In 1937, Zaidi married Qudsia Abdullah (d. 1960). They had two sons and a daughter, the screenwriter and costume designerShama Zaidi.
Zaidi died at his secondary home, Zaidi Villa, at Jamia Nagar, New Delhi on 29 March 1992, aged 93.[6]
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Vice-Chancellor of AMU 1956–1962 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
