Salman Khurshid
Khurshid in 2011
28th Minister of External Affairs
In office
28 October 2012 – 25 May 2014
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byS. M. Krishna
Succeeded bySushma Swaraj
Minister of Law and Justice
In office
12 Juli 2011 – 28 October 2012
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byVeerappa Moily
Succeeded byAshwani Kumar
Minister of Minority Affairs
In office
28 May 2009 – 28 October 2012
Prime MinisterManmohan Singh
Preceded byA. R. Antulay
Succeeded byK. Rahman Khan
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
2009–2014
Preceded byChandra Bhushan Singh
Succeeded byMukesh Rajput
ConstituencyFarrukhabad
In office
1991–1996
Preceded bySantosh Bhartiya
Succeeded bySakshi Maharaj
ConstituencyFarrukhabad
President of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee
In office
1999–2000
In office
2005–2008
General Secretary of
AICC
In office
2004–2005
PresidentSonia Gandhi
Personal details
Born (1953-01-01) 1 January 1953
Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Political partyIndian National Congress
SpouseLouise Khurshid
Parent
RelativesZakir Husain (grandfather)
Shah Jahan Begum (grandmother)
Alma materUniversity of Delhi (B.A.)
University of Oxford (M.A., BCL)
ProfessionSenior Advocate

Salman Khurshid Alam Khan (born 1 January 1953) is an Indian politician, designated senior advocate, eminent author and a law teacher. He was the Cabinet Minister of the Ministry of External Affairs. He belongs to the Indian National Congress. He is a lawyer, and a writer[1] who has been elected from Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency in the General Election of 2009. He belongs to the Farrukhabad area. Prior to this he was elected to the 10th Lok Sabha (1991–1996) from the Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency. He became the Union Deputy Minister of Commerce in June 1991, and later became the Union Minister of State for External Affairs (Jan. 1993 – June 1996).[2] He started his political career in 1981 as an Officer on Special Duty in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) under the prime ministership of Indira Gandhi.

Early life and education

He is the son of Khurshed Alam Khan, a former Union Minister of External affairs, Government of India, and maternal grandson of Zakir Husain, the third President of India.[2] He is of Pashtun ancestry on both his paternal and maternal sides of his family, he traces his lineage to the Afridi and Kheshgi Tribes of Afghanistan.[3][4]

He studied in St. Xavier's High School, Patna,[5] Delhi Public School, Mathura Road.[6] He obtained B.A. (English and Jurisprudence) from St. Stephen's College, Delhi and later did M.A., Bachelor of Civil Law at St Edmund Hall of Oxford University.[2] He also taught as lecturer in law at Trinity College, Oxford.

Political career

Salman started his political career as an Officer on Special Duty in the Prime Minister's Office, during the Prime Ministership of Indira Gandhi in the early 1980s. Later he became the Deputy Minister of Commerce in the Government of India. In 1991, he won the election to parliament from the Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh and was appointed Minister of State for External Affairs by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. He lost the election of 1996 and it was not until 2009 that he returned to Parliament.

In the General Election of 2009, he was elected as Member of Parliament from Farrukhabad, winning as a candidate of the Indian National Congress, with 169,351 votes. He became the Union Minister of State (with Independent Charges) of Corporate Affairs and Minority Affairs in the Government of India. He took over as Minister on Friday, 29 May 2009. In the Cabinet reshuffle of 12 July 2011, he was made Cabinet Minister for Law and Justice, and for Minority Affairs, in the Government of India.

He came 4th and lost his deposit in the Lok Sabha elections 2014 contesting from the same constituency of Farrukhabad. In the next parliamentary election (2019), he stood 3rd in with 55,258 votes.

Political Offices

He has been the President of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee twice. He was also the President of the Delhi Public School Society and Dr. Zakir Hussain Study Circle and PATRON of Mother Teresa Memorial Trust/Mother Teresa Foundation.

Political views

Salman Khurshid appeared for Students Islamic Movement of India, a group banned in India and frequently charged by Indian authorities with terrorist activities, as its defence lawyer, appealing the 2002 ban; in June 2006 the Supreme Court of India rejected the appeal noting "the appeal against the ban should be first argued before the tribunal established for the purposes". Asked about his appearance, Khurshid said :

I would refuse a client only when I am personally satisfied that taking up the case would go against the ethics of the profession. A lawyer has to appear for an accused. It is my constitutional duty. A party and the government too cannot pre-judge an organisation.[7]

Khursid with John Kerry, Secretary of State, United States in 2013, during his term as the External affairs minister

In 2009, Salman Khurshid criticized the partition of India, opining that a united India would have been better than a divided one.[8]

In 2009, incumbent president Sirajuddin Qureshi beat Salman Khurshid for the presidency of India Islamic Cultural Centre.[9] Campaign for the election was very intense which became high-profile with Khurshid's entry in the fray.[10]

Writings

Khurshid has been deeply involved in writing and acting in plays since his student days in Delhi and Oxford. He is the author of the play Sons of Babur, published by Rupa & Co., which has been staged, with Tom Alter in the lead role, at the Red Fort in Delhi.

Salman Khurshid has also been the editor of "The Contemporary Conservative: Selected Writings of Dhiren Bhagat" [11] published in 1990.

In October 2021, Khurshid published Sunrise over Ayodhya: Nationhood in Our Times, writing about India's decline in secularism surrounding the Ayodhya dispute.[12] BJP leaders shared an excerpt from the book and triggered a controversy regarding Khurshid's attempt to draw a parallel between Hindutva and radical Islamist groups.[13] The controversy resulted in his Nainital home being vandalized and set on fire.[14][15][16][17]

A suit filed by Hindu Sena President Vishu Gupta, wanting to stop the publication, circulation, and sale of the book Sunrise over Ayodhya was dismissed by a Delhi court on 18 November 2021. The court said that the author and publisher had the right to write and publish the book.[18][19]

Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust and Operation Dhritrashtra

Khurshid and his wife Louise run the Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust for physically challenged people.[20] The trust was founded on 30 October 1986 and commemorates the third President of India, Zakir Husain, who is the maternal grandfather of Salman Khurshid.[21] The Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust is registered at Khurshid's residence as an NGO and Louise is its chief functionary officer.[22][23] It has been operating in many states and receiving substantial grants from several important ministries of the government of India.[20] As of 2012, it is chaired by Sayeeda Alam, Khurshid's father. In October 2012, India Today and Aaj Tak alleged that the Khurshids had embezzled funds, a charge denied by them. The ruling party Congress strongly defended Khurshid, but former social activist Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party began what he called "indefinite agitation". Angered by the allegations, Khurshid called Arvind Kejriwal a 'guttersnipe'.[24] About 7.1 million was allegedly used by Salman Khurshid which was funded by the government to buy tricycles for the disabled.[25][26][21][27][28][29][30]

"Operation Dhritrashtra"[31] was an investigation conducted by TV news channel Aaj Tak which alleged financial misappropriation by the trust. The investigation conducted by Deepak Sharma,[32] Editor, SIT, India Today Group, revealed that it forged signatures and stamps of senior officials of several districts in Uttar Pradesh.[33][34] Aaj Tak gathered documentary evidence of the alleged forgery and false reporting from at least ten districts in the state. The Uttar Pradesh Economic offence wing[35] investigated the matter.[36][37][38][39] Louise filed a defamation case against the TV Today news broadcaster, which had publicised the allegations.[40]

References

  1. ↑ "External affairs minister". 20 January 2013. Archived from the original on 25 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Biography Archived 14 May 2011 at archive.india.gov.in (Error: unknown archive URL) Lok Sabha.
  3. ↑ "All the best, my fellow Pathan". The Week. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  4. ↑ Network, L. I. (29 April 2021). "SALMAN KHURSHID ALAM KHAN". Law Insider India. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  5. ↑ "Khurshid nostalgic over Patna". The Times of India. 21 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013.
  6. ↑ Salman Khurshid – Introduction of a Modern Leader Archived 29 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Security check Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine The Indian Express – 16 July 2006
  8. ↑ "An undivided India?". NDTV. 29 August 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  9. ↑ Sirajuddin Qureshi wins IICC election Archived 4 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Campaign for India Islamic Cultural Centre elections getting intensified Archived 4 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Bhagat, Dhiren (1990). The Contemporary Conservative: Selected Writings. ISBN 067083789X.
  12. ↑ "Sunrise over Ayodhya". Penguin Random House India. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  13. ↑ Ghosh, Poulomi (11 November 2021). "'Version of Hindutva similar to ISIS': Complaints filed against Salman Khurshid over new book on Ayodhya". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  14. ↑ "नैनीताल में सलमान खुर्शीद के घर आगजनी-पथराव, अयोध्या पर किताब लिखने के बाद से हो रहा विरोध". Aaj Tak (in Hindi). 15 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  15. ↑ "Congress's Salman Khurshid's Home Set On Fire: "Left A Calling Card..."". NDTV. 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  16. ↑ "Congress leader Salman Khurshid's Nainital home set on fire amid controversy over his new book". Scroll. 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  17. ↑ "Amid Salman Khurshid Book Controversy, His Nainital Home Was Vandalized". India Today. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  18. ↑ "Delhi court refuses to stop publication, circulation, sale of Salman Khurshid's Ayodhya book". India Today. Press Trust of India. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  19. ↑ "सलमान खुर्शीद की किताब पर रोक से इनकार, कोर्ट ने हिंदू सेना से कहा- भावनाओं को ठेस पहुंच रहा तो..." Aaj Tak (in Hindi). 18 November 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  20. 1 2 "Arvind Kejriwal takes on Salman Khurshid again, presents counter proof". The Indian Express. 15 October 2012. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  21. 1 2 Sharma, Deepak (14 October 2012). "First letter from India Today group to Salman Khurshid on September 2, 2012". India Today online. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  22. ↑ "India News - Latest News, Breaking News and Headlines from India". Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  23. ↑ "Disabled people protest against Salman Khurshid". The Times of India. RANCHI. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  24. ↑ "Khurshid fumes at 'guttersnipes' Kejriwal & company". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
  25. ↑ "Disabled people protest against Salman Khurshid". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
  26. ↑ Reddy, B. Muralidhara (14 October 2012). "Khurshid flaunts photos to show camps for disabled were held". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  27. ↑ Mathur, Swathi. "34 district officials accuse Khurshids Trust of forgery". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  28. ↑ Pandey, Alok (13 October 2012). "Draft CAG report points to irregularities, 'suspected fraud' in Salman Khurshid's trust". NDTV news. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  29. ↑ PTI (15 October 2012). "Khurshid returns to Delhi, vows to fight back legally". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  30. ↑ IANS (13 October 2012). "Arvind Kejriwal announces indefinite agitation till Salman Khurshid is arrested". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  31. ↑ Deepak Sharma. "Operation-dhritrashtra-how-we-did-it". India Today Group. New Delhi. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  32. ↑ "Deepak Sharma". Aaj Tak News. New Delhi. Archived from the original on 1 June 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  33. ↑ "Operation Dhritrashtra: NGO headed by Union Minister Salman Khurshid's wife comes under scanner for 'forgery'". India Today Group. New Delhi. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  34. ↑ "North India Headlines - News Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, UP - India Today". Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  35. ↑ "Eow". Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  36. ↑ Ashish Tripathi. "Salman Khurshid Trust case". The Times of India. TNN. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  37. ↑ "Business News Today: Read Latest Business news, India Business News Live, Share Market & Economy News". Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  38. ↑ "HC notice to Salman Khurshid-run Trust". February 2013. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  39. ↑ PTI. "UP: HC notice to Salman Khurshid-run Trust". Lucknow. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  40. ↑ "Govt mulls action against Zakir Hussain Trust". Hindustan Times. 15 October 2012. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
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