M. Badruddin Ajmal (born 12 February 1950) is an Indian businessman, politician, philanthropist and Islamic theologian from the state of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. He is the state-president of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind for Assam.

Biography

Ajmal was born on 12 February 1950 to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

family from

Hojai Hojai is a town and a municipal board in Hojai district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Assam. It is located on the banks of the two tributaries of Brahmaputra namely Kapili and Jamuna Etymology The term Hojai means Prie ...

in central

. His family traces their origins to the Sylhet district of eastern Bengal. He is the son of Haji Ajmal Ali, a rice farmer who moved to Mumbai in 1950 to try to succeed in the perfume industry using the ''

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'' plant. After the opening of the first store in the 1960s, the Ajmal perfume brand quickly grew to become a large brand in the Middle East. He holds master's degrees in

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

from Darul Uloom Deoband.

Career

The son of the founder of Ajmal Perfumes, he established the

All India United Democratic Front The All India United Democratic Front (also known as AIUDF and ''Sarva Bharatiya Sanyukt Ganatantric Morcha'') is a political party active in the Indian state of Assam. It is the 3rd largest political party in Assam Legislative Assembly after ...

(AIUDF) in 2005. He is also the president of the Assam State

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind () is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought in India. It was founded in November 1919 by a group of Muslim scholars including Abdul Bari F ...

. He is a three-time MP from

Dhubri Dhubri (Pron: ˈdhubri) is an old town and headquarter of Dhubri district in Indian state of Assam. It is an old town on the bank of the Brahmaputra river, with historical significance. In 1883, the town was first constituted as a Municipal Bo ...

constituency. He has been regularly listed 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. He is the managing trustee of Haji Abdul Majid Memorial (HAMM) Public Trust, Hojai. This trust is best known for the

charitable hospital A charitable hospital, or charity hospital, is a non-profit hospital that provides treatment for poor and uninsured people who can't purchase treatment. An example would be St. Jude Children's Hospital that provides assistance to children and funds ...

Haji Abdul Majid Memorial Hospital and Research Center at

, Assam. He also established a hospital at Malua near Badarpur of

Karimganj Karimganj is a city in the Karimganj District of the Indian state of Assam. It is the administrative headquarters of the district. Karimganj city is located at . The area of Karimganj city is 16.09 km2. It has an average elevation of 13 ...

, named as Badarpur Hospital. In 2005, he established Ajmal Foundation, a non-governmental organization based in Assam, India, and operating 25 educational institutions across the state.

Political activities

He was the president of Hojai session reception committee of

Assam Sahitya Sabha The Asam Sahitya Sabha (; Literary Society of Assam) is a non Government, non profit, literary organisation of Assam. It was founded in December 1917 in Assam, India to promote the culture of Assam and Assamese literature. A branch of the organi ...

, 2004 and Darul Hadith, Jayanagar Madrassa. Assam Ajmal's political debut came in 2005 after the Supreme Court struck down the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act. Ajmal founded the Assam United Democratic Front, which was renamed the All-India United Democratic Front in 2013. Before the 2006 Assam assembly elections, Ajmal was politically insignificant. During the 2006 elections however, his party managed to win 10 seats fighting the Congress. he was elected simultaneously from two constituencies – South Salmara and Jamunamukh – by a large margin of votes. In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Ajmal won from

constituency. In the 2011 Assembly polls, AIUDF won 18 seats and emerged as the largest opposition party in

. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Ajmal was re-elected from Dhubri and his party won 3 Lok Sabha seats. In the 2016 assembly elections, however, the BJP swept the polls and Ajmal himself lost the Salmara South constituency. His party was reduced to 13 seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Ajmal was the only candidate from his party to keep his seat, winning again from Dhubri. With 7 children, he has most children for any Member of Parliament in India. In 2020, Ajmal announced he and Congress would be in alliance for the 2021 polls.

Controversy

Ajmal's statements have often courted controversy for polarizing Bengali Muslims. Following the 2012 Assam riots, Ajmal claimed the violence was between Bodos and Muslims. The remarks were criticised by an Assamese Muslim group, the Sadou Asom Gariya – Moria Desi (SAGMJ), along with the

All Assam Students Union All Assam Students' Union or AASU is a Assamese nationalist students' organisation in Assam, India. It is best known for leading the six-year Assam Movement against Bengalis of both Indian and Bangladeshi origin living in Assam. The leadership, ...

, for ignoring that Assamese Muslims were not involved at all. On 22 January 2021, at a rally in Dhubri, Ajmal claimed the BJP had a list of 3500 mosques it would destroy if returned to power at the Centre and that “they will not let women go out wearing ‘burqa’, grow a beard, wear a skullcap or even offer ''azaan'' at mosques.” The BJP claimed he was making "communal statements" out of "nervousness" since BJP "will get majority share of Muslim votes" this election. Congress, with whom Ajmal is in alliance, as well as NDA party

Asom Gana Parishad Asom Gana Parishad (translation: ''Assam People's Council'', AGP) is a state political party in Assam, India. The AGP was formed after the historic Assam Accord of 1985 and formally launched at the Golaghat Convention held from 13–14 Octobe ...

also condemned the remarks.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ajmal, Badruddin People from Dhubri district India MPs 2009–2014 Living people 1950 births 21st-century Indian Muslims Lok Sabha members from Assam India MPs 2014–2019 All India United Democratic Front politicians India MPs 2019–present Indian businesspeople Darul Uloom Deoband alumni 21st-century Bengalis 20th-century Bengalis