Rafiq Zakaria (5 April 1920 – 9 July 2005) was an Indian politician and Islamic religious cleric. Zakaria represented India abroad at the United Nations thrice. He was the first Muslim urban and development minister of the newly created Maharashtra State. Later, he served as deputy to Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the leader of the Congress Party, in the Lok Sabha. He was closely associated with the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

and 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 ...

party. He was known for his advocacy of traditional Islam.

Early life and education

Zakaria, a

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

from

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

, was an alumnus of Ismail Yusuf College,

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. He won the Chancellor's Gold Medal in the MA examination of the

University of Mumbai University of Mumbai is a public state university in Mumbai. It is one of the largest university systems in the world with over 549,000 students on its campuses and affiliated colleges. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. It was est ...

and in 1948 received a PhD from the

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

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 ...

. His doctoral thesis was titled ''Muslims in India: a political analysis (from 1885–1906)''. He was called to the bar from

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in England.

Career

Zakaria practised law in Mumbai, where he was appointed Chief Public Prosecutor. He spent over 25 years in public service, including some time as a cabinet minister in the state government of Maharashtra and later as a Member of the Indian parliament. He served as deputy to

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

, the leader of the Congress Party, 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 ...

. Zakaria represented India abroad, including at the United Nations in 1965, 1990 and 1996. He was Chancellor of th
Jamia Urdu

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. ...

(Uttar Pradesh), and President of Maharashtra College in Mumbai.

Aurangabad

Zakaria contested the first election of the newly created

state in 1962, from Aurangabad, and was elected to Maharashtra assembly. He was made Minister for Urban Development in the new ministry. It was under his guidance that planning for New Aurangabad was initiated. The responsibility for the new city was given to CIDCO which started development in the 1970s. He founded a number of schools and colleges in his constituency. These included a women's college of arts and sciences and the Indian Institute of Hotel Management, which is now known as the Institute of Hotel Management, Aurangabad (IHM-A). The Maulana Azad Education Trust Aurangabad operates multiple educational institutions.

Works

His many books include ''A Study of Nehru'' (ed.), ''The Struggle Within Islam'', ''Muhammed and the Quran'', ''The Price of Partition'', and ''Communal Rage in Secular India''. Zakaria mostly wrote on Indian affairs, Islam and the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. His works include: Tomb rafiq zakaria

*''A Study of Nehru'' *''The Man Who Divided India'' *''Razia: Queen of India'' *''The Widening Divide'' *''Discovery of God'' *''Muhammad and the Quran'' *''Rise of Muslims in Indian Politics'' *''The Struggle Within Islam'' *''Conflict Between Religion and Politics'' *''Iqbal, the Poet and the Politician'' (1993) *''The Price of Partition'' *''Gandhi and the Break-up of India'' *''Indian Muslims: Where Have They Gone Wrong?'' *'' Sardar Patel and Indian Muslims'' *''Communal Rage in Secular India'' (On the aftermath of the Godhra Riots) *''The Trial of Benazir'' (1989) He had earlier worked for the ''

News Chronicle The ''News Chronicle'' was a British daily newspaper. Formed by the merger of '' The Daily News'' and the '' Daily Chronicle'' in 1930, it ceased publication on 17 October 1960,''Liberal Democrat News'' 15 October 2010, accessed 15 October 2010 b ...

'' and ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' in London, United Kingdom. Zakaria also penned a bi-weekly column for the ''

Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'' newspaper.

Personal life

Zakaria was married twice. He was the father of four children by his two wives: * Mansoor Zakaria and Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, the art historian who works with INTACH in Mumbai, by his first wife, Shehnaz Khan, the daughter of a

Bhopal Bhopal (; ISO 15919, ISO: Bhōpāl, ) is the capital (political), capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes,'' due to ...

i aristocrat. * Arshad Zakaria and

Fareed Zakaria Fareed Rafiq Zakaria (; born January 20, 1964) is an Indian-born American journalist, political commentator, and author. He is the host of CNN's '' Fareed Zakaria GPS'' and writes a weekly paid column for ''The Washington Post.'' He has been a c ...

, the American journalist, by his second wife, Fatima Zakaria, who was for a time the editor of the Sunday ''

'' and was in 2008 the editor of the Taj magazine of the

Taj Hotels Taj Hotels is a chain of luxury hotels and a subsidiary of the Indian Hotels Company Limited, headquartered in Mumbai, India. Incorporated by Jamsetji Tata in 1902, the company is a part of the Tata Group. The company employed over 20,000 peop ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zakaria, Rafiq 1920 births 2005 deaths Indian diplomats 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam University of Mumbai alumni Alumni of SOAS University of London People from Aurangabad, Maharashtra Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra Maharashtra MLAs 1962–1967 Founders of Indian schools and colleges English-language writers from India Urdu-language writers from India Indian male journalists 20th-century Indian educational theorists Writers from Mumbai Indian Muslims Konkani Muslims Politicians from Marathwada Indian political writers 20th-century Indian journalists Journalists from Maharashtra Ismail Yusuf College alumni