New Delhi: Syed Shahabuddin, ex-president of All India Muslim Majlis Mushawarat (AIMMM), and former Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer who served in different capacities in Indian embassies including Saudi Arabia and the US, breathed his last early morning Saturday in a Noida hospital. He was 82.
He was suffering from respiratory problems for the last several years and had to be hospitalized several times in the past, family sources said.
The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawerat had appealed for prayers after his health deteriorated further on Thursday evening.
The last time he was seen in public was during Golden Jubilee Session of the All India Muslim Majlis-e- Mushawarat (AIMMM) held at the India Islamic Cultural Centre in New Delhi in September 2015. Vice President Hamid Ansari presided the gala event.
Despite his poor health, two times former member of the Lok Sabha continued to work at a frantic pace as he had always done over the last six decades. He was a workaholic and till a few weeks before his death, he was a regular at All India Majlis Mushawarat office in Abul Fazal Enclave area in Jamia Nagar, New Delhi.
Shahabuddin will be known for his formidable work on Indian Muslims. At a time when the Indian Muslims lacked an articulate leadership, Syed Shahabuddin was among the very few people, who spoke on Muslim issues without fear or prejudice. He had his own view on almost everything and articulated them in impeccable language.
He edited and published a monthly journal, Muslim India. The publication launched in the year 1983, continued for more than two and half decades. It was eventually closed down as Shahabuddin struggled with health issues and lack of resources. His journal, Muslim India, was a source of information on Muslim issues and had a dedicated readership in India and abroad, according to viewsheadlines.com.
His stint in politics was rather stormy. Many thought that he will be able to rise high in politics. But he was a no nonsense politician who abhorred corruption more than anything. It was one of the major reasons for his eventual failure in politics. Another reason for his failure in politics was the fact that he couldn’t connect and maintain relations with common people. This is a trait that connects a leader and voters. And Syed Shahabuddin, who came from bureaucracy, couldn’t adjust like other politicians.
After being nominated as a Janata Dal MP in the Rajya Sabha he articulated Muslims’ grievances, asked questions and kept an open eye on all the ills pestering Indian Muslims. Undeterred by the hostility of the media as well as his own party he kept on speaking and writing on Muslim issues and paid the price by never being able to return to the parliament.
In this respect (being in a secular party and still articulating Muslims’ issues), except Maulana Hifzurrehman Saheb, he has no match in post-independent India. It was him who, in the 80s assembled Muslim MPs, from all the parties, and met the then Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi to highlight the problems being faced by Muslims in India, according to The Milli Gazette.
Syed Shahabuddin was also very articulate on Babri Masjid issue. The mosque in Ayodhya, that was eventually demolished by Hindu fundamentalists on 6th December 1992, was an issue that brought him closer to Muslim masses across the country. While many people claim that he needlessly politicized the issue by bringing it on the streets, he was of the view that without creating awareness about the issue, it would be usurped by the other party without any trace.
Syed Shahabuddin was elected as the president of All India Muslim Majlis Mushawarat, an umbrella oraganisation of Indian Muslim outfits. There was a vertical split in the forum around the year 2001, when he was appointed the President. Deobandi, clerics who were part of the forum from very beginning, split it and formed their separate organization.
Recently the two factions were brought together, apparently after persistent persuasion by Syed Shahabuddin. It was a dream of Shahabuddin that he successfully fulfilled. He also gave a formal shape to Mushawarat by establishing its office in predominantly Muslim locality of Delhi. Though he was no longer its president, he was a father figure for the organization. Besides he was involved in multiple philanthropic activities.
No Muslim or non-Muslim politician has written so much on Muslim issues as Shahabuddin. One of his most outstanding contributions to the Muslim community is the 'Muslim India', a journal of research and documentation that no research scholar working on Indian Muslims can afford to ignore.
Post Comments
| Quick links