Asaduddin Owaisi (born 13 May 1969) is an Indian politician, who is the President of the

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen ( en, All India Council for Unity of Muslims) ( AIMIM) is an Indian political party based primarily in the city of Hyderabad. It is also a significant political party in the Indian States of Telangana ...

(AIMIM). He is a 4 time

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP), representing the

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

constituency in

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

, the lower house of the

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

. For years, he has been regularly listed by Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre (RISSC), among ''

the 500 Most Influential Muslims ''The 500 Most Influential Muslims'' (also known as ''The Muslim 500'') is an annual publication first published in 2009, which ranks the most influential Muslims in the world. The publication is compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies C ...

'' of the world.

Early life and background

Owaisi was born to Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi and Najmunnisa Begum on 13 May 1969. He comes from a political family of

. His grandfather Abdul Wahed Owaisi relaunched the political party

Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen ( en, All India Council for Unity of Muslims) ( AIMIM) is an Indian political party based primarily in the city of Hyderabad. It is also a significant political party in the Indian States of Telangana ...

as All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen 18 September 1957. He also succeeded

Qasim Razvi Syed Kasim Razvi (also Qasim Razvi; 17 July 1902 – 15 January 1970) was a politician in the princely state of Hyderabad. He was the president of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party from December 1946 until the state's accession to India i ...

as the party president after he was released from prison. His father Sultan Salahuddin was elected to the

Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly or Andhra Pradesh Śāsana Sabha is the lower house of the Andhra Pradesh Legislature. The Legislative Assembly consists of 175 members which are elected by adult universal suffrage under the first-p ...

in 1962. Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi was elected to the

from the Hyderabad constituency for the first time in 1984 and continued winning the elections till 2004, when he stepped down in favour of Asaduddin. He died in 2008. Asaduddin Owaisi did his schooling from

The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet The Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet (HPS, Begumpet) is a privately funded public school in Hyderabad, Telangana State, India. Children are schooled from the pre-primary stage to the 12th standard (ages 3 to 17). The school is affiliated with ...

and St Mary's Junior College before going on to do his graduation in

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Nizam College The Nizam College is a constituent college of Osmania University established in 1887 during the reign of Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI, in Basheerbagh, Hyderabad, Telangana. History The Nizampur University College was originally the "Mirsa ...

(

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. It ...

) in Hyderabad. He represented the South Zone inter-university U-25s cricket team as fast bowler in the Vizzy Trophy in 1994 and later got selected in South Zone university team. He is a barrister by profession and studied at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. His brother

Akbaruddin Owaisi Akbaruddin Owaisi (born 14 June 1970) is an Indian politician and leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party in Telangana. Since 2014, he has been Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), MLA of the Chandrayangutta (Assem ...

is a Member of Telangana Legislative Assembly and heads the party in it. His youngest brother Burhanuddin Owaisi is the editor of ''

Etemaad ''Etemad'' or ''Etemaad'' (in Persian ''اعتماد'' lit. ''Trust''; correct transcription: ettemād, because in pronunciation the letter "t" is duplicated) is a reformist newspaper in Iran that is published in Tehran. It is managed by Elias ...

''.

Personal life

Owaisi married Farheen Owaisi on 11 December 1996. The couple has six children which includes one son, Sultanuddin Owaisi (born 2010) and five daughters- Khudsia Owaisi, Yasmeen Owaisi, Ameena Owaisi, Maheen Owaisi and Atika Owaisi. His mother is Nazima Begum. He lives in Shastripuram, Mailardevpally, Hyderabad. His eldest daughter Khudsia Owaisi was engaged to Barkat Alam Khan, grandson of Nawab Shah Alam Khan (paternal) and Moinuddin Khan Sandozai (maternal) on 24 March 2018. His second daughter, Yasmeen Owaisi was married to Abid Ali Khan, son of physician Mazhar Ali Khan, cousin of Zahid Ali Khan, editor of ''

The Siasat Daily ''The Siasat Daily'' is an Indian newspaper published by the Siasat Press based in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana. It operates the Hindi-Urdu and English language digital news website ''Siasat'' and is the publisher of the ''Siasat English W ...

'', in September 2020. His third daughter Ameena Owaisi was married to Fahad Beg on 22 December 2022. He is hailed by his supporters as ''Naqeeb-e-Millat'' (Leader of the Community). He is fluent in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

and English. He wears a long ''

sherwani Sherwani is a long-sleeved outer coat worn by men in South Asia. Like the Western frock coat it is fitted, with some waist suppression; it falls to below the knees and is buttoned down the front. It can be collarless, have a shirt-style collar, ...

'', an Islamic cap and sports a clipped beard.

Political career

Owaisi belongs to the Hyderabad-based All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party, of which his father and grandfather have been presidents. The party, while opposed to jihadist terrorism, still practises a politics of "competitive chauvinism," according to journalist Kingshuk Nag. Owaisi made his political debut in 1994 in the

election. Contesting from the Charminar constituency which his party has been winning since 1967, he defeated his nearest rival a breakaway party Majlis Bachao Tehreek's candidate by a margin of 40 thousand votes. He succeeded Virasat Rasool Khan as the elected representative from the constituency. In the 1999 election, he defeated his nearest rival

Telugu Desam Party The Telugu Desam Party (; TDP) is an Indian regional political party operating in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at the state and central level. Since its founding by N. T. Rama Rao (often referred to as NTR) on 29 March 1982, the party has fo ...

candidate Syed Shah Noorul Haq Quadri by 93 thousand votes. Owaisi was polled 126 thousand votes in the election. In 2004 election, he was succeeded by

Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri Syed Ahmed Pasha Quadri is current MLA from Yakutpura (Assembly constituency), from AIMIM. Quadri was the trusted mentor and close friend of late Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi. Quadri won from Charminar in 2004 and was able to retain it in 2009, 2 ...

as the member of the Assembly from the constituency. In 2004, Owaisi's father Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi who had been representing the Hyderabad constituency in the

(lower house of Indian parliament) refused to contest further citing poor health. The constituency has 70% Muslim population. He was polled 38% votes compared to his nearest rival Subhas Chanderji's 28%. In 2008, the Left Front (which consisted of Communist Parties) withdrew their support to the central government of India which was led by the

United Progressive Alliance United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...

. This was done in response to Indo-US nuclear deal signed by Indian Prime Minister

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 ...

and US President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

which allowed India to keep nuclear bombs but in return had to allow international inspection. The Communist parties felt that by this deal, India would become a pawn of the United States. Due to the Left Front withdrawing support, a vote of confidence was held in Indian Parliament. When

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 ...

chief minister

Mulayam Singh Yadav Mulayam Singh Yadav (22 November 1939 – 10 October 2022) was an Indian politician, a socialist figure and the founder of the Samajwadi Party. In the course of his political career spanning more than six decades, he served for three terms as ...

claimed that Muslims of India opposed the deal, Owaisi said that it was an attempt to give a communal angle to the deal. Owaisi announced his support for the United Progressive Alliance in the vote of confidence. He claimed that his top priority was to prevent the opposition right wing

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 Modi ...

to ascend to power and to prevent

Lal Krishna Advani Lal Krishna Advani (born 8 November 1927) is an Indian politician who served as the 7th Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004. Advani is one of the co-founders and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is a longtime memb ...

from becoming the country's Prime Minister. He further stated:

We will express our reservations on the foreign policy impact but at no cost would we like to see the BJP coming in to power, at no cost we would like to see Mr Advani, who is an accused in
Babri Masjid demolition The demolition of the Babri Masjid was illegally carried out on 6 December 1992 by a large group of activists of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and allied organisations. The 16th-century Babri Masjid in the city of Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh, had ...
case becoming the prime minister of this great nation, thereby destroying the future of Muslims and weakening the secularism.

In the 2009 Indian general election, Zahid Ali Khan, the editor-in-chief of an Urdu daily ''

'' was pitted against Owaisi. He was supported by rival

Telangana Rashtra Samithi Bharat Rashtra Samithi ( ; BRS), formerly known as Telangana Rashtra Samithi ( TRS), is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in the state of Telangana. It was founded on 27 April 2001 as by K. Chandrashekar Rao, with a singl ...

Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...

. ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

'' wrote that the AIMIM party faced "tough challenge" in the Hyderabad constituency. However, Owaisi emerged victorious and defeated Ali Khan by a margin by 110 thousand votes. He increased the winning margin by 10 thousand votes as compared to 2004 election. Owaisi was awarded the 2014 Sansad Ratna award (Gem of parliamentarians) October 2013 for his performance in the 15th session of Indian parliament. During this period, he asked 1080 questions in the Parliament compared to the national average of 292. His attendance is at 70%.
''

The Milli Gazette ''The Milli Gazette'' is an Indian English language digital news publication (formerly a fortnightly compact newspaper) based in Delhi. Founded in January 2000, the publication describes itself as the Indian Muslims' Leading News Source. In ...

'' wrote that he "has gained wide respect nationally among Indian Muslims for his bold speeches in Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian parliament)". He took up issues in the Parliament which pertained to the interests of the minority community. Also when he raised the issue of ''

waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...

'' properties in the parliament, the then Rural Development Minister

Jairam Ramesh Jairam Ramesh (born 9 April 1954) is an Indian politician belonging to Indian National Congress. He is a Member of Parliament representing Karnataka state in the Rajya Sabha. In July 2011, Jairam was elevated to the Union Council of Ministers o ...

confessed that it was a fault of his ministry in not recognising ''waqf'' as a serious matter. In April 2014, Owaisi filed his nomination for the Hyderabad constituency in the 2014 general election. He declared movable assets worth 2.7 million rupees (around $42,000) and immovable assets worth 30 million rupees (around $463,000). He was elected from the constituency once again by defeating his nearest rival

's Bhagvanth Rao by a margin of 197 thousand votes. Owaisi announced that his party AIMIM would contest the

2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election The Legislative Assembly election was held over five-phases in Bihar through October–November 2015 before the end of the tenure of the prior Legislative Assembly of Bihar on 29 November 2015. In April 2015, the Janata Parivar group (a group ...

from mainly from the Muslim dominated area of Seemanchal region of the state. ''

News18 India News18 India is an Indian Media television channel owned by Network 18. It was launched in 2005 as Channel 7 by Jagran Prakashan Limited and acquired in 2006 by Network 18 and rebranded IBN7. In 2016 it took its current name. In 2013, News ...

'' wrote that the party candidates would divide votes and the voters suspected him of being an agent of the Hindu nationalist

. He said that he was realistic about their chances of winning. He claimed that the Seemanchal region was underdeveloped and he blamed Bihar's Chief Minister

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unit ...

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 ...

party and Bharatiya Janata Party for it. He said that his aim was to pressurise the government to create a regional developmental council for the region. Although the party contested from six constituencies of Seemanchal region, it failed to win any seat. Owaisi, who filed his nomination for Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency for 4th time declared assets worth over Rs 13 crore but he owns no vehicle.

Political views

Asaduddin Owaisi (right) with Sachin Pilot

Several commentators liken Owaisi to

Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

, though Owaisi has opposed

Two-nation theory The two-nation theory is an ideology of religious nationalism that influenced the decolonisation of the British Raj in South Asia. According to this ideology, Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus are two separate nations, with their own customs, ...

every time. According to Patrick French, Owaisi appeals to "non-sectarian Muslim identity," though not to the Muslim faith, in a way similar to Jinnah's bid to be the sole spokesman of the Muslim community. His brand of Islamism with nationalism thrives in Hyderabad Old City and Mumbai. Owaisi dismisses the comparison with Jinnah citing the fact that his fight is within the framework of the Indian constitution. He says that the secular parties of India have not been able to transfer their votes to Muslim candidates. Of the 23 Muslim MPs elected in 2014, 18 or 19 were from constituencies with 30% Muslim voters. While the parties claim not to discriminate against Muslims, they in practice leave the Muslims in a "ghettoized position." Hence, Muslims must develop their own political force, similar to OBCs, Dalits and Yadavs. In the aftermath of 2008 Mumbai attacks, Owaisi demanded action against

Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi (born 30 December 1960) is a Pakistani terrorist and co-founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba. One of the prime perpetrators in the 2008 Mumbai Attacks, he features on India's NIA Most Wanted list. In January 2021, he was arrested by ...

and

Hafiz Saeed Hafiz Muhammad Saeed ( ur, , born 5 June 1950) is a Pakistani Islamism, Islamist who co-founded Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a Pakistan-based Islamist militant organization that is List of designated terrorist groups, designated as a terrorist grou ...

for killing innocent people. He said that the enemies of the country were enemies of Muslims. Owaisi supports reservation for backward Muslims in government jobs and education institutes. He also maintains stand that he is against

Hindutva Hindutva () is the predominant form of Hindu nationalism in India. The term was formulated as a political ideology by Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in 1923. It is used by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), the ...

ideology but not against

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s. Owaisi argues for the abolition of the

Haj subsidy The Haj subsidy was a subsidy based on religion that was given to Hajj pilgrims by the Government of India in the form of discounted air fare so that a pilgrim can fly to Mecca for Hajj. The program has its origins in British colonial era. In p ...

given to the Indian Muslims for travelling to Mecca on religious pilgrimage and utilising the money for the education of Muslim women instead. In July 2016, Owaisi was praised for his speech

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

(ISIS) is a problem among Muslims and called them ''dogs of hell''. Owaisi said in his speech, which was delivered after 2016 Saudi Arabia bombings to monitor what is being said from some mosques, what and who is injecting radical venom. In August 2016, Asaduddin Owaisi expressed his displeasure at the centre for inclusion of the

Ahmadiyya Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...

community as a sect of Islam in

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, in a series of tweets. In April 2017, on the issue of ban on cow slaughter, Owaisi criticised BJP for being hypocritical in treating cow as holy in Uttar Pradesh and North Indian states, but un-holy in the Northeast, Goa and Kerala." Owaisi said that Muslim men divorcing their wife through instant triple talaq without reasons, must be socially boycotted, but said that the practice still exists. In December 2018, Owaisi told Pakistan Prime Minister

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

to learn inclusive politics of India, when Pakistan can't even have a non-Muslim President. After BJP's massive victory in 2019 Indian general election, Owaisi said the EVMs are not rigged, instead Hindu minds have been rigged. In June 2019, Owaisi said that

Rahul Gandhi Rahul Gandhi ( ; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian Parliament, representing the constituency of Wayanad, Kerala in the 17th Lok Sabha. A member of the Indian National Congress, he served as the president o ...

won from

Wayanad (Lok Sabha constituency) Wayanad Lok Sabha Constituency is one of the twenty Parliamentary Constituencies (Lok Sabha) in Kerala State in southern India. Assembly segments Wayanad Parliamentary Constituency is composed of the following Kerala Legislative Assembly ...

due to 40% Muslim population. On 17 November 2021 Owaisi filed a complaint against former chairman of the Shia Central Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh,

Syed Waseem Rizvi Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi (born Syed Waseem Rizvi) is the former member and chairman of the Shia Central Waqf Board of Uttar Pradesh, India. He had chosen to undergo religious conversion to Hinduism on 6 December 2021. He is known for filing ...

over a book written by the latter that had objectionable statements on Prophet Muhammad.

Legal issues

Owaisi has been in controversies and news due to his politics primarily centered around minorities. Owaisi, along with his younger brother Akbaruddin, was booked for charges related to manhandling the Medak district collector in 2005.MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi Placed in Judicial Custody for 2005 Medak Abuse Case
International Business Times (21 Jan 2013) On 20 January 2013, he was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days, and later shifted to Sangareddy jail. The case related to an MIM protest on 16 April 2005 against the demolition of a mosque for a road-widening project in

Medak district Medak district is a district located in the Indian state of Telangana. Medak is the district headquarters. The district shares boundaries with Sangareddy, Kamareddy, Siddipet and Medchal districts. History Traces of Neolithic and Megalithic ...

; police booked him under various charges including criminal intimidation, rioting, and promoting enmity between religious groups. In 2009, a case was registered against Owaisi on the order of Election Commission of India for chasing and beating up Syed Saleemuddin, a polling agent of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the Moghalpura area. In March 2013, he was detained for organising a rally without permission and carrying a gun without a licence in Bidar, Karnataka. In June 2014, Owaisi is said to have delivered hate speech against

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Narendra Modi in seeking the Muslim community's support for his party. In January 2015, Owaisi said that every child in the world is born as a Muslim, and his parents and society convert him to other religions. He also said Islam is the real home of all religions. On 7 February 2016, Owaisi surrendered before Hyderabad police and was later granted bail for an assault by a mob that he allegedly led, carried out against Telangana

legislators. His close aide and AIMIM Party social media head, Syed Abdahu Kashaf, assaulted the congress MLC and leader of the opposition Shabbir Ali. In March 2016, while addressing a public rally in Maharashtra, Owaisi said that he would never say the slogan ''

Bharat Mata Bhārat Mātā ( Mother India in English) is a national personification of India ( Bharat ) as a mother goddess. In the visual arts she is commonly depicted dressed in a red or saffron-coloured sari and holding a national flag; she sometimes ...

Ki Jai'' (Hail mother India) in response to

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( ; , , ) is an Indian right-wing, Hindu nationalist, paramilitary volunteer organisation. The RSS is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar (Hindi for "Sangh family" ...

chief

Mohan Bhagwat Mohan Bhagwat (, Marathi pronunciation: oːɦən bʱaːɡʋət̪ born 11 September 1950) is an activist currently serving as the 6th and current Sarsanghchalak of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in India. He was chosen as the successor to ...

's comment that the new generation needs to be taught to chant slogans hailing mother India; the comment was a reference to the

2016 JNU sedition controversy On 9 February 2016, some students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) held a protest on their campus against the capital punishment meted out to the 2001 Indian Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, and Kashmiri separatist Maqbool Bhat. The o ...

. Owaisi said, "Whom is he (Bhagwat) trying to frighten? He can't force his ideology on others. Nowhere in the Constitution it says that one should say: 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'." Later he clarified that he had no issues with slogan 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', but he had objection to RSS forcing people to chant the slogan as a test of patriotism.

Controversies

Owaisi's political opponents in the BJP have linked the leader with a proliferation of terrorist activity in Hyderabad. In 2019, India's Minister of State for Home Affairs

G. Kishan Reddy Gangapuram Kishan Reddy (born 15 June 1960) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as Minister of Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region of India. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is an MP rep ...

claimed that most of the country's terrorist incidents can be traced back to Hyderabad. Echoing Reddy's comments, BJP MLA for the Goshamahal assembly constituency in Hyderabad T. Raja Singh claimed, "If we take Gujarat Haren Pandya case, the accused were from Hyderabad consistency and 12 ISIS terrorist have also been caught from his (Owaisi's) constituency". Singh also accused Owaisi of financially supporting terrorists in the region. In 2016, Owaisi was arrested for sedition after providing legal aid to five members of a so-called

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

terrorist cell. The complaint, filed to the Eleventh Metropolitan Magistrate court accused Owaisi of, "directly or indirectly helping the ISIS". Owaisi filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the former politician turned writer

for allegedly offending Muslim religious sentiments following the publication of Rizvi's book, ''Muhammad''. Owaisi claimed, "The book, written in Hindi, vilifies Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) and uses objectionable language against the Prophet, the religion of Islam and its followers." Rizvi defended his book claiming that it was based on "hidden facts" and that Owaisi should have read the text before reacting to it. In the same statement Rizvi accused Owaisi of radicalising Muslim youths claiming, "Through his party, Owaisi is trying to mislead Muslim youths and pushing them further towards terrorism. He is hatching a conspiracy against the non-Muslim community and is planning a bloodshed". Following Owaisi's complaint, some members of the Muslim community in Telangana, Hyderabad hung and burned an

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

of Waseem in protest.

Positions held

Other work

Owaisi is the Chairman of Hyderabad-based

Deccan College of Engineering and Technology The Deccan College of Engineering and Technology (DCET) is a technical institute at Darussalam, Nampally in Hyderabad, India. The college is one of the eight Engineering colleges affiliated to Osmania University in Hyderabad. History The coll ...

, the Owaisi Hospital and Research Centre whose origin dates back to ''late Alhaj Moulana Abdul Wahed Owaisi''. The hospital functions in the field of Medical Education, Research and Medical care. Research programs at the hospitals are being carried out in collaboration with National and International research Agencies.

In popular culture

In the mock court television talk show, ''

Aap Ki Adalat ''Aap Ki Adalat'' () is an Indian television show that is hosted by journalist Rajat Sharma. The show began in 1993, was broadcast on the television channel Zee TV until 2004, moved on from Zee News in 2004, and now airs on India TV. It is the l ...

'' on

India TV India TV is a Hindi news channel based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. The channel was launched on 20 May 2004 by Rajat Sharma and wife Ritu Dhawan. The channel is a subsidiary of Independent News Service, which was co-founded by Sharma and Dha ...

, Owaisi was 'tried' and answered questions on his politics, controversies, and statements put forward by the host

Rajat Sharma Rajat Sharma (born 18 February 1957) is an Indian journalist and businessperson who is the chairman and Editor-in-chief of India TV, an Indian news outlet. Sharma is known for his show ''Aap Ki Adalat'' in which he is seen interviewing politic ...

before the 2014 elections. He has also appeared in stand-up comedian

Kunal Kamra Kunal Kamra (born 3 October 1988) is an Indian standup comedian known for his observational comedy about absurdities of life. His performances include jokes about politics, cabbies, bachelor life and TV advertisements. Early life and education ...

's online chat show ''Shut Up Ya Kunal'''s ninth episode in an informal talk about his political positions.

References

Source

External links

Official Website

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owaisi, Asaduddin 1969 births Living people Indian Muslims India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2009–2014 Alumni of the University of London Lok Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh Osmania University alumni India MPs 2014–2019 Lok Sabha members from Telangana Telangana politicians All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen politicians Politicians from Hyderabad, India India MPs 2019–present