Zakir Husain | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Husain on a 1998stamp of India | |
| President of India | |
| In office 13 May 1967 – 3 May 1969 | |
| Prime Minister | Indira Gandhi |
| Vice President | V. V. Giri |
| Preceded by | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |
| Succeeded by | V. V. Giri (interim) |
| Vice President of India | |
| In office 13 May 1962 – 13 May 1967 | |
| President | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |
| Prime Minister |
|
| Preceded by | Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan |
| Succeeded by | V. V. Giri |
| Governor of Bihar | |
| In office 6 July 1957 – 11 May 1962 | |
| Chief Minister | Shri Krishna Sinha (1957–1961) Deep Narayan Singh (1961) Binodanand Jha (1961–1962) |
| Preceded by | R. R. Diwakar |
| Succeeded by | Madabhushi Ananthasayanam Ayyangar |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |
| In office 3 April 1952 – 6 July 1957 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Tara Chand |
| Constituency | Nominated (Education) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1897-02-08)8 February 1897 |
| Died | 3 May 1969(1969-05-03) (aged 72) |
| Party | Independent |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives |
|
| Alma mater |
|
| Profession |
|
Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indianeducationist and politician who served as thevice president of India from 1962 to 1967 andpresident of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969.
Born inHyderabad in anAfridiPashtun family, Husain completed his schooling inEtawah and went on to study at theMuhammadan Anglo-Oriental College,Aligarh and theUniversity of Berlin from where he obtained adoctoral degree in economics. A close associate ofMahatma Gandhi, Husain was a founding member of theJamia Millia Islamia which was established as an independent national university in response to theNon-cooperation movement. He served as the university'svice-chancellor from 1926 to 1948. In 1937, Husain chaired the Basic National Education Committee which framed a new educational policy known asNai Talim (literally meaning "New Education" in Urdu) which emphasized free andcompulsory education in thefirst language. He was opposed to the policy ofseparate electorates for Muslims and, in 1946, theMuslim League underMuhammad Ali Jinnah vetoed a proposal by theIndian National Congress to include Husain in theInterim Government of India.
FollowingIndependence and thePartition of India Husain stayed on in India and, in 1948, was appointed Vice Chancellor of theAligarh Muslim University which he helped retain as a national institution of higher learning. For his services to education, he was awarded thePadma Vibhushan in 1954 and was made a nominated member of theIndian Parliament during 1952 to 1957. Husain served asGovernor of Bihar from 1957 to 1962 and was elected theVice President of India in 1962. The following year, he was conferred theBharat Ratna. He was elected president in 1967, succeedingSarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and became the first Muslim to hold the highest constitutional office in India. He was also the first incumbent to die in office and had the shortest tenure of any Indian president. Hismazar lies in the campus of the Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi.
An author and translator of several books intoUrdu and a prolific writer of children's books, Husain has been commemorated in India through postage stamps and several educational institutions, libraries, roads andAsia's largest rose garden that have been named after him.
Husain was born inHyderabad in 1897 and was ofAfridi Pashtun descent, his forefathers having settled in the town ofQaimganj in theFarrukhabad district of modernUttar Pradesh.[2][3] His father, Fida Husain Khan, moved to the Deccan and established a successful legal career inHyderabad where he settled in 1892. Husain was the third of seven sons of Fida Khan and Naznin Begum.[2] He washomeschooled in theQuran,Persian andUrdu and is thought that he had hisprimary school education at the Sultan Bazaar school in Hyderabad.[2][4] Following his father's death in 1907 Husain's family shifted back to Qaimganj and he was enrolled at the Islamia High School inEtawah. Husain's mother and several members of his extended family died in aplague epidemic in 1911.[2]
Havingmatriculated in 1913, he joined theMuhammadan Anglo-Oriental College atAligarh and later, in preparation for a medical degree, at theLucknow Christian College enrolling for aBachelor of Science degree. A bout of illness led to him having to discontinue his studies and a year later he rejoined the college at Aligarh. Husain graduated in 1918 withphilosophy,English literature andeconomics.[5] He was elected vice president of thecollege's students' union and won prizes for his debating skills. Husain pursued the disciplines oflaw and economics for his post-graduate studies. Having obtained hismaster's degree in 1920, he was appointed as alecturer at the college.[5][6]
In 1915, while still pursuing his graduation, Husain marriedShahjahan Begum with whom he had two daughters, Sayeeda Khan and Safia Rahman.[7][8] Safia married Zil-ur-Rahman, a professor of physics at the Aligarh Muslim University while Sayeeda marriedKhurshed Alam Khan who served as a Union Minister and Governor.[9] Their sonSalman Khurshid became India'sExternal Affairs Minister in 2012.[10][11]
Of Husain's six brothers,Yusuf Husain became a historian and a winner of theSahitya Akademi Award who served as Pro Vice-Chancellor of theAligarh Muslim University.Mahmud Husain was closely associated with the Pakistan Movement, becomingMinister of Education in theGovernment of Pakistan and Vice-Chancellor atDhaka andKarachi Universities.[12] His nephew,General Rahimuddin Khan went on to become Pakistan'sChairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and laterGovernor of Balochistan andSindh.[13] Masud Husain, the nephew from his eldest brother, became Professor Emeritus in Social Sciences at the Aligarh Muslim University and later Vice Chancellor ofJamia Millia Islamia.[14][15]
In 1920,Mahatma Gandhi visited theMuhammadan Anglo-Oriental College inAligarh where he urged non-cooperation with theBritish Raj. In response to Gandhi's appeal, a group of students and faculty joined theNon-Cooperation Movement. In October 1920 they established the Independent National University aimed at imparting education free from colonial influence. Later renamed theJamia Millia Islamia, it shifted in 1925 from Aligarh to Delhi. Husain was one of the founders of this private university which hadMaulana Muhammad Ali as its first "Sheikh-ul-Jamia" (vice-chancellor) andHakim Ajmal Khan as the first "Amir-i-Jamia" (chancellor).[16][12][17] Jamia, as theTurkish educationistHalide Edib noted, had two purposes: "First, to train the Muslim youth with definite ideas of their rights and duties asIndian citizens. Second, to coordinateIslamic thought and behaviour withHindu. The general aim is to create a harmonious nationhood withoutMuslims losing theirIslamic identity. In its aim, if not always in its procedure, it is nearer toGandhian Movement than any other Islamic institution I have come across."[18] In its early years, Jamia faced shortage of funds and its continued existence was uncertain especially after the Non-Cooperation Movement and theKhilafat Committee closed down.[19]
Husain left forGermany in 1922 to do adoctorate ineconomics from theUniversity of Berlin. Supervised byWerner Sombart, his thesis on the agrarian structure in British India was acceptedsumma cum laude in 1926.[b][21] During his time in Berlin, Husain collaborated withAlfred Ehrenreich to translate into German thirty-three of Gandhi's speeches which were published in 1924 asDie Botschaft des Mahatma Gandhi.[22] Husain got published theDiwan-e-Ghalib in 1925 and theDiwan-i-Shaida, a collection of poetry byHakim Ajmal Khan in 1926.[23][24] He returned to India in 1926 and succeededAbdul Majeed Khwaja as "Sheikh-ul-Jamia". He was joined byMohammad Mujeeb and Abid Hussain – the latter becoming the universityregistrar. Husain travelled across India soliciting funds for the Jamia and got financial support from Mahatma Gandhi, the Bombay philanthropist Seth Jamal Mohammed,Khwaja Abdul Hamied the founder of the pharmaceutical firmCipla and theNizam of Hyderabad among others.[25]
In 1928, a National Education Society was established to manage the affairs of the Jamia. Zakir Husain became its secretary. To be a life member of the society, members pledged their services to it for 20 years with a salary that could not exceed Rs.150. Husain was one of the 11 initial members who took the pledge.[25] The society adopted a constitution for the university which stipulated that the Jamia would neither seek nor accept any help from the colonial administration, and that it would treat all religions impartially. Husain himself identified the aim of the Jamia as being to "keep alive Islamic culture and education and also help in the realization of the ideal of a common nationhood and the achievement of the freedom of the country [...] [and that] the Jamia's objectives areIslamic education, thelove of independence and service toUrdu".[18]
Husain remained the Jamia's vice chancellor until 1948.[19] In the 1940s he built his home, the Zakir Manzil, on theGulmohar Avenue in Jamia Nagar.[26] Husain was opposed to the policy ofseparate electorates for Muslims and was a political opponent ofMuhammad Ali Jinnah, the leader of theMuslim League, who vetoed the Congress proposal to include Husain as a member of theInterim Government in 1946.[27][28] Husain however convinced Jinnah to attend the Jamia'ssilver jubilee celebration on 17 November 1946. At a time of rising animosity between the Congress and the Muslim League andworsening inter-communal relations, the celebration was attended by Jinnah,his sister Fatima andLiaquat Ali Khan from the Muslim League andJawaharlal Nehru,Maulana Azad andC. Rajagopalachari of the Congress.[27] In a plea to the assembled leaders, Husain said
"You, gentlemen, are the stars of the political firmament. You have a secure place in the hearts of millions of people. Taking advantage of your presence here, I wish to submit in great sorrow a few words for your consideration on behalf of the educational workers. The fire of hatred is fast spreading which makes it seem mad to tend to the garden of education. This fire is burning in a noble and humane land. How will the flowers of nobility and sensibility grow in its midst? How will we be able to improve human standards which lie today at a level far lower than that of the beasts? How shall we produce new servants devoted to the cause of education? How can you protect humanity in a world of animals? ... . An Indian poet has remarked that every child who comes to this world brings along the message that God has not yet lost faith in man. But have our countrymen so completely lost faith in themselves that they wish to crush these innocent buds before they blossom?For God's sake sit together and extinguish this fire of hatred. This is not the time to ask who is responsible for it and what is its cause. The fire is raging. Please extinguish it. For God's sake do not allow the very foundations of civilised life in this country to be destroyed."[c][30][31][27]
In October 1937, an All-India National Education Conference was held atWardha under Mahatma Gandhi which sought to establish a policy forbasic education in India. The conference appointed a Basic National Education chaired by Husain (also known as the Zakir Husain committee) which was tasked with preparing the detailed scheme and syllabus for this policy.[32] The committee submitted its report in December 1937 and formulated the Wardha Scheme of Basic National Education orNai Talim. The policy, inter alia, proposed teachingcraft work in schools, instilling ideals ofcitizenship, and its establishment as a self-supporting scheme. It proposed seven years of free andcompulsory basic education in themother tongue, the teaching of crafts, music and drawing and learning theHindustani language. It also proposed a comprehensive plan for thetraining of teachers and framed its curriculum.[33][34]
The Congress party in itsHaripura session of 1938 accepted the scheme and sought to implement it nationwide.[35] An All-India Education Board (the Hindustani Talimi Sangh) was established to implement the scheme under Husain and E.W. Aryanayakam with Gandhi as its overall supervisor. Husain remained the President of the Hindustani Talimi Sangh from 1938 to 1950 when he was succeeded byKaka Kalelkar.[36][37][38][39] The scheme was wholly opposed by the Muslim League which saw the scheme as an attempt to gradually destroyMuslim culture in India and the focus on Hindustani language as a ploy to replaceUrdu withSanskritized Hindi. The Congress party's argument that the scheme had been formulated by Husain was rejected by the Muslim League in itsPatna session of 1939 where it declared that "the mere fact that the Principal of Jamia Millia at Delhi has taken a prominent part in the preparation of the scheme does not prove that it is not unsuited to the Muslims".[35] India'sNational Policy on Education of 1968, 1988 and 2020 all draw on the ideas contained in the Wardha Scheme of Basic National Education.[33][40]
Following thePartition of India, Husain was almost killed in communal violence at theJalandhar railway station while he was on his way toKashmir – an experience he described twelve years later to his friendAbdul Majid Daryabadi. On his return to Delhi, Husain worked to help the victims of rioting in Delhi.[41] The Jamia Millia Islamia's buildings atKarol Bagh were looted and destroyed in the violence in Delhi.[42]
Husain was appointed Vice Chancellor of theAligarh Muslim University in 1948, succeeding Nawab Ismail Khan.[16] The university had been closely associated with thePakistan Movement and had been a stronghold of theMuslim League. It was therefore perceived as a center of pro-Pakistan feeling and a threat tosecular India.Maulana Azad, theUnion Minister of Education, tasked Husain with leading the university so that it could be retained as a national institution of higher education.[12]Husain, who had served as a member of theUniversities Commission between December 1948 and August 1949 however took regular charge only in early 1950 as he was incapacitated following a heart attack in October 1949. He set to work, attempting to dissociate the university from its past association with the Muslim League and restoringschool discipline. Students released from prison for involvement inCommunist activism were readmitted andsocialists andcommunists from acrossNorth India took up the vacancies created by the departure of Muslim nationalists forPakistan. Husain also filled up vacant faculty positions with eminent academicians.[43][44] In 1951, Parliament enacted theAligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act which converted the university from aprivate, aided university to an autonomous institution of theGovernment of India, fully maintained by it. This ensured stability in the university's finances while also allowing it autonomy in governance.[43] By the end of his tenure, Husain had turned around the fortunes of the university, helping it overcome the uncertainty it faced inindependent India and become a national institution under the patronage of the Government of India.[44]
Husain served as a nominated Member of the Rajya Sabha from 3 April 1952 to 2 April 1956 and was renominated in 1956, serving until his resignation on 6 July 1957 following his appointment as the Governor of Bihar.[d][47][48] For his services in the areas of culture and education Husain was conferred thePadma Vibhushan in 1954.[49] Throughout the 1950s he was associated with various organizations working in the field of education. He was chairman, India Committee,International Students Service (1955), theWorld University Service,Geneva during 1955–57 and was a member of theCentral Board of Secondary Education (1957). He served on the executive board of theUNESCO during 1957–58.[50][37]
Husain was theGovernor of Bihar from 6 July 1957 to 11 May 1962.[51] Contrary to the advice of the then Chief Minister of Bihar,Shri Krishna Sinha, Governor Husain, who was alsoChancellor ofPatna University reappointed for a second term its serving Vice-Chancellor. In response, thestate government considered amending the law to require the governor to appoint a vice-chancellor as advised by thechief minister. Husain however threatened to resign rather than assent to such an amendment forcing the government to drop its plans.[52][12] In later appointments made as Vice-Chancellors of other state universities in Bihar, Husain accepted the advice of the Chief Minister in the exercise of his powers as Chancellor and acted accordingly although he was opposed to the appointment of non-academicians as vice chancellors to universities.[53]
On 14 April 1962, the Congress party chose Husain to be its candidate for the upcoming election to the office of theVice President of India.[54][55] The election was held on 7 May 1962, and votes counted the same day. Husain won 568 of 596 votes cast while his only rivalN. C. Samantsinhar won 14 votes.[e][57] He was sworn in as vice president on 13 May 1962.[57]
In 1962, Husain was nominated the Vice President of theSahitya Akademi – a post held by his predecessorS. Radhakrishnan before his election as President of India.[58] The following year, he was awarded theBharat Ratna.[59][60] In 1965 he served briefly as the acting president when President Radhakrishnan left for theUnited Kingdom to undergo treatment forcataract.[61][62] It was during his acting presidency thatPresident's rule was reimposed inKerala after elections held there the previous month failed to give any party a majority and efforts by theGovernor to facilitate the formation of a government collapsed.[63][64]
As ex-officioChairman of the Rajya Sabha, Husain gave rulings clarifying thatUnion ministers were entitled to speak ineither house of parliament and that a sitting member of parliament who had been appointed as aMinister in a State would not be debarred from attending Parliament or voting in its debates until the member had been elected to thestate legislature.[65] In 1966, he ruled thatparliamentary immunity from arrest would be limited to only civil cases and would not apply to criminal proceedings initiated against members.[66]
Husain was chosen as theCongress party's candidate to succeedSarvepalli Radhakrishnan as thePresident of India in thepresidential election of 1967. There was a lack of enthusiasm for the candidature of Husain within the party, but Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi chose to nominate him as the party candidate over objections raised byK. Kamaraj, theparty president, and other senior members of her cabinet.[69][70] A coalition of seven opposition parties got the sittingChief Justice of India,Koka Subbarao to resign his post and contest the election as their joint candidate.[71][72] Unlike the three previous presidential elections, the election of 1967 proved to be a real contest between the various candidates.[69][70] The campaign was marred bycommunal rhetoric and accusations of sectarianism being made against Husain by theJana Sangh party.[73][74] There was also speculation that Husain would lose on account ofcross voting against him by Congress legislators, an outcome which would have forced the Prime Minister to resign.[69][70]
There were 17 candidates in the fray for the election held on 6 May 1967. Of these, nine failed to win any vote.[75] Husain won 4,71,244 votes against the 3,63,971 received by Subbarao. The margin of 1,07,273 votes was much larger than what was expected by the Congress party with Husain winning the most votes in Parliament and in twelvestate legislatures including three where the Congress Party sat in theopposition.[76] The results of the presidential election, coming after thegeneral elections of 1967 where the Congress party had suffered severe setbacks, were seen as strengthening Prime Minister Gandhi.[77][78] Husain was declared elected on 9 May 1967.[79] His election as president was seen domestically as the Congress Party's attempt to reach out to theMuslims of India who had voted against it in the general elections and globally as burnishing India's claim of being asecular nation.[80][81]
Husain was sworn in on 13 May 1967.[82] In a memorable inaugural address, while dedicating himself to the service of the Indian nation and its civilization, Husain said[83][84]
The whole of Bharat is my home and its people are my family. The people have chosen to make me the head of this family for a certain time. It shall be my earnest endeavour to seek to make this home strong and beautiful, a worthy home for a great people engaged in the fascinating task of building up a just and prosperous and graceful life.[85]
Husain was the first Muslim and the first governor of a state to be elected President of India.[86][87][88] Husain's election was challenged before theSupreme Court of India on the grounds that the result of the election had been affected by undue influence exerted by the Prime Minister. Theelection petition filed by Baburao Patel was however dismissed by the court.[89][90] During his presidential tenure, Husain led state visits toCanada,Hungary,Yugoslavia,USSR andNepal.[91][92] Husain, who had an interest inroses, is credited with having introduced several new varieties in the Mughal Gardens of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and building aglass conservatory for its collection ofsucculents.[93][94][95]
Husain wrote extensively inUrdu and also translated several books into that language. His translations includeFriedrich List'sNational System of Economics,Edwin Cannan'sElements of Economics andPlato'sRepublic.[96] He also wrote extensively on education in books such asAala Taleem,Hindustan me Taleem ki az Sar-E-Nau Tanzeem,Qaumi Taleem andTaleemi Khutbat and on Urdu poetsAltaf Hussain Hali inHali: Muhibb-e-Watan andMirza Ghalib inIntikhab-e-Ghalib.[97][98][99] Husain wroteseveral stories for children which he published under anom de plume.[100] These includeUqab aur Doosri Kahaniyan and stories translated into English and published under The Magic Key series byZubaan Books.[101][102][103]Capitalism: An Essay in Understanding is a series of lectures he delivered at theDelhi University in 1946.[104] Hisconvocation addresses were published in 1965 asThe Dynamic University.[105][106] As President of India, Husain headed a committee to celebrate the Ghalib Centenary in 1969 which recommended the establishment of the Ghalib Institute as a memorial to Ghalib whereas theGhalib Academy in Delhi was inaugurated by Husain in 1969.[107][108]
Husain, who had suffered a mildheart attack earlier in the year, was unwell after returning to Delhi from a tour ofAssam on 26 April 1969. He died in the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 3 May 1969 of a heart attack.Vice PresidentV. V. Giri was sworn in as acting president the same day.[109][110][111] The Government of India declared thirteen days ofnational mourning.[112][113] His bodylay in state in the Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan where an estimated 200,000 people paid their tributes. The funeral was held on 5 May 1969. He isburied in the university campus of the Jamia Millia Islamia where his body was taken in agun carriage in a ceremonialfuneral procession, after thejanaza prayers and the national salute being offered at theRashtrapati Bhavan.[114][115] TheUnited Arab Republic,Syria,Iraq,Libya,Sudan,Nepal,Bhutan andTrinidad and Tobago all declared several days' ofmourning.[116] Husain's death was mourned in Pakistan as well where flags flew athalf mast on the day of his funeral.[117][118][119] Pakistan's President Yahya Khan sent theChief of Air Staff ofPakistan Air Force and DeputyChief Martial Law AdministratorAir MarshalMalik Nur Khan as his personal representative to the funeral.George Romney,Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, representedPresident Nixon and theUnited States whereas theSoviet Union was represented by itsPrime MinisterAlexei Kosygin. The Prime Ministers ofYugoslavia,Afghanistan andNepal too attended the funeral. Up to a million people are thought to have lined the streets as the funeralcortege made its way to the burial ground.[120][121][109] Husain was the first President to die in office and has served the shortest tenure in office.[122]
Husain's tomb was built in 1971 and was designed byHabib Rahman.[123] Its architecture reflects the influence ofBauhaus aesthetics on traditional Indian styles as seen in its eight curved,reinforced concrete walls topped by rough cutmarble which have been inspired byTughluq tombs.[124] These tapering walls stand along asquare plan to form an open structure topped by a shallow dome. The tomb has no ornamentation but featuresjalis and arches. The graves of Husain and his wife lie under thedome of the tomb.[125][126]
Commemorativepostage stamps on Husain were issued byIndia Post in 1969 and 1998.[127][128]A Rose Called Zakir Husain – A Life of Dedication is a 1969documentary film on the life of Husain produced by theFilms Division of India.[129][130] In 1975 the Delhi College, aconstituent college of theDelhi University, was renamed theZakir Husain Delhi College.[131][132] The Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies at theJawaharlal Nehru University and the Dr. Zakir Husain Central Library of the Jamia Millia Islamia are also named after him.[133][134] Delhi's Wellesley Road was renamed the Dr. Zakir Husain Marg.[135][136][137] TheZakir Hussain Rose Garden inChandigarh, which is Asia's largestrose garden, is also named after Husain.[138][139]Dr. Zakir Hussain – Teacher who became President, a book on Husain by theIndian Council for Cultural Relations, was released in 2000.[140]
India:
Bharat Ratna (1963)
Padma Vibhushan (1954)
{{cite book}}:|journal= ignored (help)
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University 1948–1956 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Bihar 1957–1962 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice President of India 1962–1967 | Succeeded by |
| President of India 1967–1969 | ||
