Mohammed Afzal, better known as Meem Afzal, is an

Indian politician Politics of India works within the framework of the country's Constitution. India is a parliamentary democratic secular republic in which the president of India is the head of state & first citizen of India and the prime minister of India is ...

and Urdu journalist. He was a member of parliament and also served as an Indian ambassador to various countries./* Currently he is a National Spokesperson of

Indian National Congress party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

and

Chief Editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''Akhbar E Nau'', an Urdu weekly published from New Delhi.

Early life

Born in Delhi, Meem Afzal completed his

M.A A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

and

BEd A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax. Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many b ...

from

Jamia Milia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...

. He started his newspaper in the year 1983 which he edits till date and has written nearly five thousand articles and write-ups, which is a record in Urdu journalism. He has interviewed a large number of political leaders in his journalistic carrier spanning over four decades. He was appointed as the president of All India Urdu Editors Conference, member of All India Newspapers Editors Conference, Indian Federation of Small and Medium Newspapers Federation and Legislatures of India.

Political career

Afzal began his political career in 1988 and got elected to

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

in 1990 from Janta Dal. As a member of parliament, he raised his voice on matters like enactment of

TADA Tada or TADA may refer to: Places * Tada, Nellore district, a village in Andhra Pradesh, India * Tada mandal, in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India * Tada Shrine, in Kawanishi, Hyōgo, Japan * Tada Station (disambiguation) *Tada, a Nupe town on the ...

or innocent people arrested under

, repression in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

, disappearance of voters’ name from voters lists in the Parliament. He has also worked to promote the

Urdu language Urdu (;"Urdu"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ur, , link=no, ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, In ...

and Urdu journalism. He also served as member of numerous consultative and standing committees of Parliament and Advisory Committee of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for Urdu programs. After disintegration of Janta Dal, he joined

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

in the year 2000 and was appointed as National Secretary of its Minority Department. In the year 2004 he was nominated as Vice-Chairman of Urdu Academy,

Government of Delhi The Government of Delhi, officially the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) is the governing body of the Union Territory of Delhi, whose urban area is the seat of the Government of India. It also governs the city or l ...

. In 2005 he was appointed as an Indian ambassador to Angola (also accredited to Republic of Congo and Gabon) during the government headed by

Dr. Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

. Upon completing his tenure in Angola, he was appointed as an ambassador to

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

. After completing his diplomatic assignment in 2010, he joined active politics again and was appointed National Spokesperson of

party by the

Congress President The President of the Indian National Congress is the chief executive of the Indian National Congress (INC), one of the principal political parties in India. Constitutionally, the president is elected by an electoral college composed of members ...

Smt.

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi ('' née'' Maino; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independ ...

in 2013.

Personal life

Afzal is married to Shehnaz since 1977 and has a son Adeel and daughters Sana & Ariba.

References

External links

Interview of Senior Congress Leader Meem Afzal
on ''

News18 Urdu News 18 J&K-Ladakh-Himachal ( ur, ) is an Indian television network that broadcasts in Urdu and is owned by Network 18 which is owned and operated by Reliance Industries. It was launched on 15 August 2001 by Media Baron Ramoji Rao. It is the f ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Afzal, Meem 21st-century Indian politicians Members of the Rajya Sabha Delhi University alumni Jamia Millia Islamia alumni People from Delhi Living people 1952 births Indian National Congress politicians from Delhi Janata Dal politicians