Mohammad Hamid Ansari (; born 1 April 1937) is an Indian politician and retired
Indian Foreign Service
The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is the diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the 34th and the ...
(IFS) officer who was the 12th
vice president of India
The vice president of India (IAST: ) is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the ...
from 2007 to 2017.
Ansari joined the
IFS in 1961. In a diplomatic career spanning 38 years, he served as the Indian ambassador to Australia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. He also served as the
Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations
The Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations is India's foremost diplomat, diplomatic representative to the United Nations. The permanent Representative (UN ambassador)"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United N ...
between 1993 and 1995. He was appointed the
Vice-Chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...
of the
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...
from 2000 to 2002.
Later, he was Chairman of the
National Commission for Minorities
The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Six religious communities, viz; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been no ...
from 2006 to 2007.
He was
elected Elected may refer to:
* "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973
* ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008
*The Elected, an American indie rock band
See also
*Election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...
as the Vice-President of India on 10 August 2007 and took office on 11 August 2007. He was
reelected on 7 August 2012 and was sworn-in by
Pranab Mukherjee
Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...
, the
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
. The oath taking ceremony was conducted at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 11 August 2012. His second term ended in August 2017 since he was not offered another term, he decided not to run for a third term in the
2017 vice-presidential election.
Personal life
Ansari was born on 1 April 1937 at
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
,
Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
(present-day
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
, in the state of
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
) to Mohammad Abdul Aziz Ansari and Aasiya Begum. Though his ancestral home is in the city of
Ghazipur
Ghazipur is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ghazipur city is the administrative headquarters of the Ghazipur district, one of the four districts that form the Varanasi division of Uttar Pradesh.
The city of Ghazipur also constitute ...
of the
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
state, he spent his formative years in Kolkata. He is the grand-nephew of former
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 ...
president and freedom fighter
Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari
Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari (25 December 1880 – 10 May 1936) was an Indian nationalist and political leader, and former president of the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League during the Indian Independence Movement. One of the founders of t ...
.
He is also the second cousin to 3 Uttar Pradesh politicians, namely
Afzal Ansari
Afzal Ansari (born 14 August 1953) is an Indian politician of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Member of Parliament (MP) of India for Ghazipur constituency, Uttar Pradesh. He won the 2004 general Lok Sabha election on the Samajwadi Party tick ...
,
Sibaghatullah Ansari and the mafia-turned politician
Mukhtar Ansari
Mukhtar Ansari (born 30 June 1963) is an Indian gangster and politician from Uttar Pradesh. He has been elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Mau constituency five times, including twice as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate ...
.
Ansari did his early education from
St. Edward's School, Shimla. He pursued BA in Political science from
St. Xavier's College, Calcutta
St. Xavier's College is a private, Catholic, autonomous higher education college under Calcutta University run by the Calcutta Province of the Society of Jesus in Kolkata, India. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1860 and named after St. Fra ...
, affiliated with the
University of Calcutta
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...
, followed by a MA in Political science from the
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...
. He is married to Salma Ansari, fathering two sons and one daughter.
Early career
Diplomatic career
Joining the
Indian Foreign Service
The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is the diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vinay Mohan Kwatra is the 34th and the ...
in 1961, Ansari subsequently served Indian missions in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
,
Rabat
Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
,
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
. From 1976 to 1980, he served as the
Indian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Mohan Jashanmal, the Chairman of Indian Business and Professionals Group said that "Ansari was instrumental to get land for the Indian School from His Highness
Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan". He has also served as the Indian ambassador to Australia (1985–1989), Afghanistan (1989–1990), Iran (1990–1992), Saudi Arabia (1995–1999).
He also served as the
Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations
The Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations is India's foremost diplomat, diplomatic representative to the United Nations. The permanent Representative (UN ambassador)"History of Ambassadors", United States Mission to the United N ...
from 1993 to 1995.
His deputy
T. P. Sreenivasan wrote that while Ansari's stint as the Permanent Representative, he refuted Pakistan's allegations of
human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir
Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir range from mass killings, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual abuse to political repression and suppression of freedom of speech. The Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), ...
by "the horns and subdued it whenever necessary". He also wrote that appointing Ansari for this post at a time when "Pakistan went all out to bring Kashmir to the centre of international attention after the end of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
" showed India's secular credentials.
Academic stints
After serving as a
visiting professor
In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...
of the West Asian and African Studies Department of
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
from 1999 to 2000,
Ansari was appointed as the
vice-chancellor
A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system.
In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...
of the
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...
on 23 May 2000. After leaving the post in 2002, he served as a visiting professor of the Academy for Third World Studies Department of the
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 ...
from 2003 to 2005.
Chairman of NCM
Ansari became the chairman of India's
National Commission for Minorities
The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992. Six religious communities, viz; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been no ...
(NCM) on 6 March 2006. In June 2007, Ansari, in his capacity as NCM chairman, upheld the decision of St. Stephen's Delhi to earmark a small percentage of seats for Dalit Christians. He resigned as NCM chairman soon after his nomination for the post of India's vice-president.
Vice Presidency (2007–2017)
First term
![GNLU Vice President of India](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/GNLU_Vice_President_of_India.jpg)
On 20 July 2007, Ansari was named by the
UPA-
Left
Left may refer to:
Music
* ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006
* ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016
* "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996
Direction
* Left (direction), the relative direction opposite of right
* L ...
, the ruling coalition in India, as its candidate for the post of
Vice-President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
for the upcoming election. When asked, Ansari said he felt "humbled" over the UPA-Left decision naming him as their candidate. "I am humbled by the confidence reposed in me". Ansari refused to say more when asked about his prospects in the
August 2007 Vice-Presidential election. Ansari secured 455 votes, and won the election by a margin of 233 votes against his nearest rival
Najma Heptullah
Najma Akbar Ali Heptulla (born 13 April 1940) is an Indian politician. She is the Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia since 2017. She was a six time member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament, between 1980 and 2016, and D ...
.
Second Term
In
2012 Vice presidential election, the Congress-led UPA re-appointed Ansari as their candidate for the post of VP. The NDA nominated
Jaswant Singh
Major Jaswant Singh (; 3 January 193827 September 2020) was an officer of the Indian Army and an Indian Cabinet Minister. He was one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and was one of India's longest serving parliamen ...
, former
Finance
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...
,
External Affairs
A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through mu ...
and
Defence
Defense or defence may refer to:
Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups
* Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare
* Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks
* Defense industr ...
minister as well as former
Leader of Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
.
The NDA cited Ansari's conduct in the
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 ...
during
The Lokpal Bill, 2011
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, commonly known as The Lokpal Act, is an anti-corruption Act of Parliament, Act of Indian Parliament in India which "seeks to provide for the establishment of the institution of Lokpal to inquire into alle ...
debate when he had abruptly adjourned the House
sine die
In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side that is opp ...
.
Hamid Ansari was re-elected for the second term on 7 August 2012, defeating the NDA's nominee Jaswant Singh by a margin of 252 votes. Ansari was the first person to be re-elected as Indian Vice President after
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975), natively Radhakrishnayya, was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He served as the 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967. He also 1st Vice President of India from 1952 ...
in
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
.
Upon the inauguration of
Ram Nath Kovind
Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...
as
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
in 2017, Ansari became the first Indian Vice-President to serve during the terms of three presidents. He is the longest serving vice president of India.
Views
Ansari is a West Asia scholar and has written on the
Palestinian issue and taken positions inconvenient to the Indian official line on
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. He questioned India's vote in the
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
on Iran's nuclear programme where India voted against Iran. He said that though the Indian Government claimed to have acted on "its own judgement," this was not borne out by facts.
He was the chairman of a working group on "Confidence building measures across segments of society in the State," established by the Second Round Table Conference of the Prime Minister on
Jammu and Kashmir in 2006. The report of the working group was adopted by the Third Round Table in April 2007. Among other things, the report advocates recognizing the right of
Kashmiri Pandits
The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha-Gauda, Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, a mountai ...
to return to "places of their original residence". This right, it argued, should be recognized without any ambiguity and made a part of state policy.
See also
*
List of vice presidents of India
The vice president of India is the second highest constitutional office in the government of India after the president. In accordance with Article 63 of the Constitution of India, the vice president discharges the functions of the president when ...
*
Syed Akbaruddin
Syed Akbaruddin is a retired Indian civil servant from 1985 batch of the Indian Foreign Service and served as India's permanent representative at the United Nations at New York from January 2016 to April 2020. He had previously served as off ...
Notes
External links
Profile at Indian Government website* ''Iran Today: Twenty – five Years after the Islamic Revolution'' (Rupa, New Delhi,2005) ()
Goof up leaves Ansari fuming
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansari, Mohammad Hamid
1937 births
20th-century Indian educational theorists
20th-century Indian politicians
21st-century Indian educational theorists
21st-century Indian politicians
Aligarh Muslim University alumni
Ambassadors of India to Afghanistan
Ambassadors of India to Iran
Ambassadors of India to Saudi Arabia
Ambassadors of India to the United Arab Emirates
High Commissioners of India to Australia
Indian civil servants
Indian Foreign Service officers
21st-century Indian Muslims
Living people
People from Kolkata
Permanent Representatives of India to the United Nations
Politicians from Kolkata
Recipients of the Padma Shri in civil service
Scholars from Kolkata
St. Xavier's College, Kolkata alumni
University of Calcutta alumni
Vice-Chancellors of the Aligarh Muslim University
Vice presidents of India
Indian National Congress politicians from West Bengal
People from Ghazipur