Mohammed Fazal (2 July 1922 – 4 September 2014) was an Indian politician who was the

Governor of Maharashtra The governor of Maharashtra is the ceremonial head of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The Constitution of India confers the executive powers of the state to the governor; however, the de facto executive powers lie with the Council of Minister ...

from 10 October 2002 to 5 December 2004. Born in a well-known ''

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

i'' (landlord) family, he studied at the

Allahabad University The University of Allahabad is a Central University located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 23 September 1887 by an act of Parliament and is recognised as an Institute of National Importance (INI). It is the 4th oldest mode ...

and later at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. In 1977 he was appointed the Secretary of Industrial Development,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. He was the most senior member of the Planning Commission from April 1980 till his resignation in January 1985. He then founded and was the chairman of Hughes & Hughes Chem Ltd. In 1999, he was appointed the

Governor of Goa The governor of Goa is the nominal head of the Indian state of Goa. The governor is appointed by the president for a term of five years. P. S. Sreedharan Pillai became 22th governor on 7 July 2021. Powers and functions The governor has: *Exec ...

, a post he held until he was appointed

. He suggested to

Chief Minister of Maharashtra The chief minister of Maharashtra (IAST: Mahārāṣṭrāce Mukhyamaṃtrī) is the head of the executive branch of the government of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Following elections to the Legislative Assembly, the governor invites ...

Sushilkumar Shinde Sushilkumar Sambhaji Shinde (born 4 September 1941) is an Indian former police officer and statesman from the state of Maharashtra. He was the Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Power in the Manmohan Singh government, and the Leader of the ...

that

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

be legalised, which caused controversy. His grandson

Ali Fazal Ali Fazal (born 15 October 1986) is an Indian actor who works primarily in Hindi films and television series. He made his screen debut with a small role in the film ''The Other End of the Line'' (2008) before appearing in the television miniser ...

is an actor who had roles in films including ''

3 Idiots ''3 Idiots'' is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, co-written by Abhijat Joshi and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film stars Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Shar ...

'' and ''

Victoria & Abdul ''Victoria & Abdul'' is a 2017 biographical historical drama film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Lee Hall. The film is based on the book '' Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant'' by Shrabani Basu, about ...

''. Fazal died on 4 September 2014 at the age of 92 at his residence in Abu Bakrpur, Allahabad. He had been suffering from low blood pressure, congestion in the chest, and short-term memory loss.

References

External links

"''Green signal to red light''"
- article in Bombay Times about the governor's views
Biodata at website of Raj Bhavan
1922 births 2014 deaths Alumni of the London School of Economics University of Allahabad alumni 20th-century Indian Muslims Indian civil servants Politicians from Prayagraj Governors of Goa Governors of Maharashtra Indian expatriates in the United Kingdom {{Maharashtra-politician-stub