31 Facts About Syed Shahabuddin

Syed Shahabuddin was an Indian politician and diplomat from Gaya, Bihar.

Syed Shahabuddin began as a diplomat working for the Indian Foreign Service, but later became well known as one of the most articulate Muslim politicians of independent India.

Syed Shahabuddin switched careers after the Emergency, at the time when the Congress began its decline and Hindu nationalism first started its ascent to power.

Syed Shahabuddin was known for his leadership of the Muslim opposition to the Shah Bano case and the Demolition of Babri Masjid.

Syed Shahabuddin died in March 2017 of long-term asthma, at a hospital near his residence in Delhi, India.

Syed Shahabuddin graduated from the Science College of the Patna University with a Physics honours degree in 1956 where he topped the matriculation exam.

Syed Shahabuddin married Shaher Bano on 30 May 1958 and fathered one son and five daughters.

Syed Shahabuddin's daughter, Parveen Amanullah, is a social activist turned politician who in 2014 left Janata Dal and joined Aam Aadmi Party.

Syed Shahabuddin was elected as a candidate of the Communist Party of India's youth wing All India Students Federation.

But, according to his contemporary, former diplomat Muchkund Dubey, Syed Shahabuddin was not a member of the Communist Party.

Syed Shahabuddin served as a diplomat, an ambassador, and a politician.

Syed Shahabuddin's first posting, under Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was as Acting Consul-General in New York.

Syed Shahabuddin went on to serve in Rangoon, Burma, as Consul General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and later as Ambassador to Venezuela and Algeria from 1969 to 1976.

At the time of his premature voluntary retirement in 1978, Syed Shahabuddin was the Joint Secretary in charge of Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific in the Ministry of External Affairs, under External Affairs Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

In 1978, Syed Shahabuddin left the Indian Foreign Service through a voluntary retirement to join politics.

In 1984, Syed Shahabuddin lost the Rajya Sabha election to the Indian National Congress owing to alleged cross voting by the party legislators in favour of Communist Party of India.

Syed Shahabuddin wrote to party leader Karpoori Thakur saying that legislators Satya Narayan Sinha and Munishwar Singh conspired to defeat him and demanded action against them.

Subsequently, Thakur sacked three legislators after Syed Shahabuddin alleged that they had voted against him.

In 1985, Syed Shahabuddin was elected to the Lok Sabha as a candidate of the Janata Party.

Syed Shahabuddin was known for his strong belief in the federal structure of India and his desire to see more people participating at every level of governance.

Syed Shahabuddin often called for persistent action against corruption, nepotism, and inefficiency, for democracy within political parties and for equitable distribution of national income and resources in order to provide a life of minimum dignity for all people.

Syed Shahabuddin continued to guide the organisation until his death in 2017.

Syed Shahabuddin created, edited, and published the monthly journal Muslim India between 1983 and 2006, as a source of reference and research on all matters of interest to Muslims in India.

Syed Shahabuddin claimed that the book was an "indecent vilification of the Holy Prophet".

Syed Shahabuddin felt that the book would be rejected by any civilised society.

Rushdie hailed Syed Shahabuddin and Khurshed Alam Khan extremists for opposing the book.

On 13 October 1988, Syed Shahabuddin wrote an essay in the Times of India demanding that the book be banned.

Harold Bloom wrote that Syed Shahabuddin opposed the book to gain importance in the Indian Muslim politics.

Syed Shahabuddin was involved with many Muslim institutions and organizations including the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, of which he was the President between 2004 and 2011.

Syed Shahabuddin received criticism for his failure to bring major changes to his 'backward' constituency of Kishanganj.

Syed Shahabuddin received criticism for his open letter to Narendra Modi on 16 November 2012, regarding Muslim issues.