Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed

"How does the press manage to come out with the controversial bits in the cabinet meeting?"

"lt should not be forgotten that we are carrying on the Government in the province under an irresponsible centre, and almost under the shadow of the scheme of the All India Federation which has been rejected not only by the National Congress but also by other political organizations and the Princes and the people of the States."

"The Chartered ccountants by virtue of their qualifications, experience and training can render valuable services in these difficult times in areas which are vital to economic and industrial growth. It should be the duty of the members of the profession in the Northern India Regional Council, apart from examining accuracy of transactions, the modern auditor should also look into the propriety of such transactions… the profession has to develop uniform accounting principles, standard terminologies and precise definitions of various accounting concepts. This was desirable from the point of view of providing reliable information in the financial statements for the benefit of the intending investors, members of the public, government agencies and financial institutions. This will enable individuals and organisations to form a fairly accurate judgment of the financial position by a study of the audited financial statements of companies."

"A man of high principles, he worked for the country long and loyally, adding lustre to our traditions of tolerance and selfless service. A devout Muslim, he personified compassion and humanity which are the core of all religions and was thus an illustrious symbol of our secularism. He labored with utter devotion for the uplift of his state and soon his field of work expanded to embrace the entire country. He dealt with every issue with patience, calm and a sense of fairplay. In many delicate international missions which he undertook on behalf of the Government, his earnestness and dignity enhanced India’s prestige."

"One of the great sons of Assam and India. His contribution to the Indian freedom struggle was invaluable. A firm believer in the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, he left an indelible imprint on the political landscape of our great nation. His long and distinguished career in public life, which culminated in his occupying the august position of President of India is a shining example of commitment to ethical values and selfless service to the people. Indeed, his contribution to the building of our society and country continues inspiring all of us."

"The son of an army doctor from Assam, he was educated in India and studied history at the University of Cambridge, graduating in 1927. After returning to India, he was elected to the Assam legislature (1935). As Assam’s minister of finance and revenue in 1938, he was responsible for some radical taxation measures. On the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the Indian National Congress party had a confrontation with British power, and he was jailed for a year. Soon after release he was again imprisoned for another three and a half years, being released in April 1945. In 1946 he was appointed advocate general of Assam and held the post for six years."

"After a term in the national Parliament, he returned to Assam politics until Prime Minister Indira Gandhi included him in her first cabinet in January 1966. He held a variety of portfolios—irrigation and power, education, industrial development, and agriculture. Ahmed became India’s fifth president in 1974."

"He was rudely woken up at midnight on 25 June 1975 and asked to sign the emergency proclamation which he faithfully did. Its effect was telling in six hours, with Newspapers without news and the entire opposition in jail."

"In his book My Eleven Years with Fakhruddin Ahmad, Mr. Fazle Ahmed Rehmany quotes an incident which throws interesting light on the psychology of secularism and its need to keep Muslims in isolation and in a sort of protective custody. During the Emergency period some followers of the Jamaat-e-Islami found themselves in the same jail as the members of the RSS; here they began to discover that the latter were no monsters as described by the 'nationalist' and secularist propaganda. Therefore they began to think better of the Hindus. This alarmed the secularists and the interested Maulvis. Some Maulvis belonging to the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Hind met President.. Fakhruddin Ahmad, and reported to him about the growing rapport between the members of the two communities. This 'stunned' the President and he said that this boded an 'ominous' future for Congress Muslim leaders and he promised that he would speak to Indiraji about this dangerous development and ensure that Muslims remain Muslims."

"He was a nationalist to the core. Nationalism was in his blood. In fact he surpassed his father even, as far as nationalism or patriotism was concerned. He joined Indian National Congress in the year 1931 as its primary member. Soon he became the darling of the top leaders in the Congress."

"He was very close to Jawaharlal Nehru. He could have joined the Central Cabinet much earlier but the Chief Minister of Assam, wanted him to work with him and resisted his going to the centre."

"He had been very close to the Nehru family from the very beginning. Like her father, Indira Gandhi also had a great liking for him and his wife Abida. Indira Gandhi after she took over as the Prime Minister in the year 1966, inducted him in the Council of Ministers."

"He continued in the council of Minister till July 1974 and resigned as he was proposed for the office of the President of India. He was the second person who had been selected by the Party High Command, particularly Indira Gandhi, for the August Office. This was the highest example of national integration and communal harmony of the Indian Democracy."

"A son of a "kazi", he was elected to the highest office, which he, or any member of the family could ever think of these pleasant incident is the proof, that destiny has a great role to play in one’s life."

"No religion has one single language. Muslims are spread all over the world and all Muslims do not speak one language. For instance the Turk Muslims speak Turkish, the Iranian Muslims speak Persian, the Indonesian Muslims speak Bhasha Indonesia; the Punjabi Muslims speak Punjabi, the Maharashtrian Muslim speaks Marathi, and like wise. He was against imposing any language on any people and he spoke a language which is known as Hindustani."

"He was a man with modest habits, he was fond of light music, he had neither smoked nor even took ‘pan’ but he was fond of good dress."

"He was a close friend of Zakir Husain, the third President of India. It was a coincidence and a tribute to their friendship that both occupied the highest position of the land, died in harness of heart failure and collapsed in the same bathroom of the Rashtrapathi Bhavan."

"He was one of those few Muslims who by virtue of his service to the country under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi reached the pinnacle of honour as the President of the Indian Republic, the fifth in the roll."

"As a Congressman he actively participated in the freedom movement...offered personal satyagraha in 1940 and was imprisoned for a year….Again in the Quit India Movement he was detained as a security prisoner for three and half years until April 1945."

"His initiative in introducing the Assam Agricultural Income Tax Bill, the first of its kind in India, in 1939, that levied taxes on tea garden lands in the State and his pro-labour policy in the British-owned Assam Oil Company Limited at Digboi irked the European planters and their henchman who considered that the measures of the Congress Coalition Government were radical and, therefore, constituted a danger signal tot eh interests of the British commercial community."

"In the Congress hierarchy, he enjoyed an enviable position being a member of the Congress Working Committee for many years."

"Elegantly dressed he was always courteous but firm in what he believed to be just and fair and presented himself as a Moghul, as it were, which quality he possibly inherited from his maternal side."

"He was the president who proclaimed the two-year period of Emergency that marked such a difficult period in India's political history. This, and his subsequent death in office, marked him in public memory forever as the “Emergency President”."

"He studied at Cambridge University’s Catherine College and became barrister from the Inner Temple of London. He could not complete his parents’ dream of appearing for ICS examination due to severe bout of illness. When he returned to India, he began practicing law in the Lahore High Court in 1928. In October that year, his father took him to Guwahati in Assam to take care of some paternal property, which included a few hundred acres of land in and around Guwahati. Thus the Ahmed family connection to Assam, which had been severed abruptly by his father’s posting to the northwest many years ago was restored... and two years later he returned in 1931 to become a primary member of the Congress, a move which greatly influenced his future development. **In: p. 49"

"As a student in England he had befriended Jawaharlal Nehru whose progressive ideas had influenced him, and who became his close friend and mentor."

"As President, he put signature to the order on promulgation of Emergence on 25 June 1975 – the most notable decision of the presidential term. This move was widely criticized by the opposition leaders who considered it a servile act, driven more by considerations of being seen as loyal to the Nehru-Gandhi family, rather than of genuine concern for the safety of the government."

"A gentlemen president from the upper strata of society, his upbringing seldom allowed anger and prejudices to get the better of him. He was also staunch Congressman, with a deep sense of commitment to secularism...later in life he had to contend with being called "communal" because he tried to attract young Muslims who had been educated at Aligarh Muslim University – a campus then perceived to be influenced by the communal ideas of the Muslim League – to the Congress."