扎基尔·侯赛因

Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the vice president of India from 1962 to 1967 and president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969.

Born in Hyderabad in an Afridi Pashtun family, Husain completed his schooling in Etawah and went on to study at the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, Aligarh and the University of Berlin from where he obtained a doctoral degree in economics. A close associate of Mahatma Gandhi, Husain was a founding member of the Jamia Millia Islamia which was established as an independent national university in response to the Non-cooperation movement. He served as the university's vice-chancellor from 1926 to 1948. In 1937, Husain chaired the Basic National Education Committee which framed a new educational policy known as Nai Talim (literally meaning "New Education" in Urdu) which emphasized free and compulsory education in the first language. He was opposed to the policy of separate electorates for Muslims and, in 1946, the Muslim League under Muhammad Ali Jinnah vetoed a proposal by the Indian National Congress to include Husain in the Interim Government of India.

Following Independence and the Partition of India Husain stayed on in India and, in 1948, was appointed Vice Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University which he helped retain as a national institution of higher learning. For his services to education, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1954 and was made a nominated member of the Indian Parliament during 1952 to 1957. Husain served as Governor of Bihar from 1957 to 1962 and was elected the Vice President of India in 1962. The following year, he was conferred the Bharat Ratna.……

Early life and family

Husain was born in Hyderabad in 1897 and was of Afridi Pashtun descent, his forefathers having settled in the town of Qaimganj in the Farrukhabad district of modern Uttar Pradesh. His father, Fida Husain Khan, moved to the Deccan and established a successful legal career in Hyderabad where he settled in 1892. Husain was the third of seven sons of Fida Khan and Naznin Begum.……

Career

Sheikh-ul-Jamia, Jamia Millia Islamia (1926–1948)

In 1920, Mahatma Gandhi visited the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh where he urged non-cooperation with the British Raj. In response to Gandhi's appeal, a group of students and faculty joined the Non-Cooperation Movement. In October 1920 they established the Independent National University aimed at imparting education free from colonial influence. Later renamed the Jamia Millia Islamia, it shifted in 1925 from Aligarh to Delhi.……

Vice President & President

Vice President of India (1962–1967)

Vice Presidential election

On 14 April 1962, the Congress party chose Husain to be its candidate for the upcoming election to the office of the Vice President of India. The election was held on 7 May 1962, and votes counted the same day. Husain won 568 of 596 votes cast while his only rival N. C. Samantsinhar won 14 votes. He was sworn in as vice president on 13 May 1962.

President of India (1967–1969)

Husain was chosen as the Congress party's candidate to succeed Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan as the President of India in the presidential election of 1967.……

Author and translator

Husain wrote extensively in Urdu and also translated several books into that language. His translations include Friedrich List's National System of Economics, Edwin Cannan's Elements of Economics and Plato's Republic.……

Death and legacy

Husain, who had suffered a mild heart attack earlier in the year, was unwell after returning to Delhi from a tour of Assam on 26 April 1969. He died in the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 3 May 1969 of a heart attack. Vice President V. V. Giri was sworn in as acting president the same day. The Government of India declared thirteen days of national mourning.……

Commemoration

Commemorative postage stamps on Husain were issued by India Post in 1969 and 1998.

Awards and honours

India:

Bharat Ratna (1963)

Padma Vibhushan (1954)