President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and First Lady Begum Abida Ahmed

Begum Abida Ahmed (17 July 1923 – 7 December 2003) was an Indian politician, artist, and social activist, notable for her role as the First Lady of India from 1974 to 1977 and later as a Member of Parliament in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

, representing the Bareilly parliamentary constituency of Uttar Pradesh. Abida Ahmed was also the wife of

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (13 May 1905 – 11 February 1977) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the President of India from 1974 to 1977. Born in Delhi, Ahmed studied in Delhi and Cambridge and was called to the bar from the Inner ...

, the fifth

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

, serving from 1974 until his death in 1977.

Early life

Begum Abida Ahmed was born on 17 July 1923 in

Sheikhupur, Badaun The town of Sautbad, known as Sheikhupur, is about 4 km from the centre of Badaun city across the river Saut, Uttar Pradesh, India and comes under Badaun Metro Area. It is 1 km from Budaun and will be part of the city in one year. T ...

, Uttar Pradesh. She grew up in a politically engaged environment, which shaped her future interests in public service and activism. She pursued her education at the

Women's College, Aligarh Aligarh Muslim University is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875. Muhammadan Angl ...

and the

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

. There she excelled academically and demonstrated an interest in national and international affairs. Her early exposure to politics and social issues inspired her to pursue a career in public life. She married her husband

on 9 November 1945. Their marriage was arranged while Ali Ahmed was in prison and Abida Ahmed in college. In 1957 Abida Ahmed traveled with her husband and relocated to New York City as part of her husbands assignment to the United Nations. She also accompanied

Pat Nixon Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of President Richard Nixon. She also served as the Second ladies and gentlemen of the United States, second lady ...

while she and her husband were on a state visit to India.

Career

First Lady of India

Begum is credited with having overhauled the presidential kitchen and ensuring

Awadhi cuisine Awadhi cuisine (, ) is a cuisine native to the Awadh region in Northern India and Southern Nepal. Awadhi cuisine can be divided in two parts; Traditional Awadhi cuisines and Nawabi cuisines. Cooking patterns of Lucknow are similar to those of C ...

was included in its repertoire. Additionally she worked at redecorating the rooms and upholstery of the

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrapati Bhavana''; ; formerly Viceroy's House (1931–1947) and Government House (1947–1950)) is the official residence of the President of the Republic of India at the western end of Rajpath, Rai ...

and aided in designing the surrounding landscaping. She also organized events and gatherings involving the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Her husband died while in office in 1977 marking the end of her role as first lady.

Member of Parliament

In 1979 while attempting to file her paperwork for the 1980 election Ahmed was stopped by protesters surrounding her home in an attempt to prevent her and other women from filing election paperwork. As the police attempted to break up the protest two people died. Her paperwork was later smuggled out of her home by one of her supporters with a police escort. In 1980, she was elected to the

7th Lok Sabha The 7th Lok Sabha, (18 January 1980 – 31 December 1984) was elected in 1980 Indian general election. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the Parliament of India nine sitting members from Rajya Sabha were elected to 7th Lo ...

, serving

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

as a member of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

. She was re-elected in 1984 to the

8th Lok Sabha The 8th Lok Sabha ran from 31 December 1984 to 27 November 1989. Politicians were elected in December 1984, taking office by the end of the month. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house in the bicameral Parliament of India. 9 si ...

. In 1986 she spoke out against a bill giving women who divorce their husbands alimony. * She founded the society named "God's Grace" which was registered with the Registrar of Societies under the

Indian Societies Registration Act The Societies Registration Act, 1860 is a legislation in British India which allows the registration of entities generally involved in the benefit of society – education, health, employment etc. The British Indian Empire, with a wish to enco ...

. * She was member of India Islamic Cultural Centre (IICC). * She formed Humsub Drama Group in 1974 for

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

theatre. She later served as the president of the Mahila Congress from 1983 until 1988.

Personal life

Abida and Fakhruddin had two sons and a daughter. The elder of their sons, Parvez Ahmed, is a doctor who contested the General Elections of 2014 in the Barpeta constituency as a candidate of the Trinamool Congress party. Their other son, Badar Durrez Ahmed, served as a judge of the

Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi ( Hindustani: दिल्ली उच्च न्यायालय; ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') is the high court in Delhi, India. It was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966. ...

and retired as Chief Justice of the

Jammu and Kashmir High Court The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh is the common high court for union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. It was established as the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on 26 March 1928 by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. The s ...

. Abida was a badminton player and led the Assam team in the 1958

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

References