Shazia Ilmi (born 1970) is an Indian politician. She was previously a

television journalist Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

and anchor at Star News. She led a media campaign for an anti-corruption bill (to institute an ombudsman popularly known as the

Jan Lokpal Bill The Jan Lokpal Bill, also referred to as the Citizen's Ombudsman Bill, was a bill drawn up by civil society activists in India seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body to investigate corruption cases and complete the investi ...

). She was a member of the Aam Aadmi Party's National Executive but left the party in May 2014 and joined the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

in January 2015.

Early life

Shazia Ilmi comes from a middle-class Kanpur-based Muslim family with links to the

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 E ...

political party. Her father, Maulana Ishaq Ilmi, was the founder and editor of ''Siyasat Jadid'', a Kanpur-based

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

. Her sister is married to

Arif Mohammed Khan Arif Mohammad Khan (born 18 November 1951) is an Indian politician representing the BJP. He currently serving as the Governor of Kerala & the Chancellor of all State Universities in Kerala. He is a former Union Minister. He has held several po ...

, a former

politician and Union Minister who recently was appointed as the

Governor of Kerala The governor of Kerala is the constitutional head of state of the southern Indian state of Kerala. The governor is appointed by the president of India for a term of five years and holds office at the president's pleasure. The governor is ''de j ...

. Ilmi was educated at St. Mary's School in Kanpur and Nainital and then at St. Bede's College, Shimla. She then completed degree courses in journalism and broadcasting at Jamia Millia Islamia and the

University of Wales , latin_name = , image = , caption = Coat of Arms , motto = cy, Goreu Awen Gwirionedd , mottoeng = The Best Inspiration is Truth , established = , , type = Confederal, non-member ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, and also completed a diploma in 16mm film production at

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a private for-profit film school and acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York Film Academy was founded in 1992 by Jerry Sherlock, a former film, ...

In January 2017, Ilmi was appointed the additional director (non-official part-time independent) of Engineers India Ltd (EIL) from 27 March 2017 to 30 January 2020. She is married to Sajid Mallik.

Television career

Ilmi spent 15 years in varied aspects of television news and documentary production. She has been an anchor on Star News, where she hosted and produced the popular prime time news show ''Desh Videsh''. Ilmi has been a member of the

International Association of Women in Radio and Television The International Association of Women in Radio and Television (IAWRT) is a women's organization involved in the broadcasting industry. The organisation of professional women working in media or educating about electronic and allied media, has a mis ...

. Her film titled ''P.O. 418 Siyasat Kanpur'', concerning the struggle for survival of an

Urdu language Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. She was also a co-director, with Radha Hola, of a 1996 documentary concerning the eco-feminist

Vandana Shiva Vandana Shiva (born 5 November 1952) is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and anti-globalisation author. Based in Delhi, Shiva has written more than 20 books. She is often referred to as "Gandh ...

. This film, called ''Daughter of the Earth — Portrait of Vandana Shiva'', has been shown by various television broadcasters, including the Discovery Channel.

Politics

She was a member of the National Executive of the Aam Aadmi Party and was seen in a sting operation, along with other AAP leaders such as

Kumar Vishwas Kumar Vishwas (born Vishwas Kumar Sharma; 10 February 1970) is an Indian Hindi poet, politician, and a lecturer. He was a founding member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and a former member of its National Executive. Life and career Vishwas was ...

, allegedly accepting money for the party in return for favours. She offered to withdraw her candidature in the Delhi legislative assembly elections of 2013. which the party has rejected after going through the entire raw footage, calling the operation a political conspiracy. The Election Commission ordered an inquiry regarding the legitimacy of the video. She contested the Lok Sabha elections, 2014 for the AAP from

Ghaziabad Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziabad Mun ...

but lost to V. K. Singh. After this, being unhappy with the party's leadership, she resigned her party membership on 24 May 2014. Ilmi joined the BJP on 16 January 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilmi, Shazia Living people Indian women activists Freedom of information activists 21st-century Indian Muslims People from Kanpur Aam Aadmi Party candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Women in Delhi politics 1970 births Former members of Aam Aadmi Party from Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Delhi Indian women television journalists Indian television journalists Indian anti-corruption activists Activists from Delhi 21st-century Indian women politicians 21st-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian journalists Journalists from Delhi Women writers from Delhi Jamia Millia Islamia alumni