Shaukatullah Shah Ansari

Shaukatullah Shah was born on 16 June 1908 in Yusufpur-Mohammadabad town in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. His father Amjadulla Shah was district judge at Mirzapur. Shaukatullah Shah received his early education at home. Thereafter he got enrolled at Aligarh Muslim University for higher studies. He obtained his Bachelor Degree in Sciences and Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) From Geneva High School, Switzerland and University of Paris, France. He was adopted by former president of Indian National Congress Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari. He started practicing medicine in Delhi in 1937 with his dispensary in Chandni Chowk near fountain. .[2] His close friends like Puran Chand Joshi, first General Secretary of the Communist Party of India and Dr. Ranen Sen were frequent visitors of his dispensary. Being educated in Paris at a time when European intellectual atmosphere was surcharged with socialism and anti-fascist struggle and Second World War was knocking at the door, Shaukat studied about the Movement for France and became committed to socialism before his return to India.[3]

In 1938 Shaukat shifted to 41-Rajpur Road in a rented house after the sudden demise of his uncle. Dar-as-Salam, the haveli of Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was sold to honour some social and national commitment. Shaukat house at Rajpur Road was a shelter for political activists and progressive writers like Poet Majaz and Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala'. In spite of being a member of Congress Shaukat regularly helped Communist Party of India (CPI) with financial support due to his commitment towards socialism.[4] However he drifted away from CPI in 1939 when the demand of Pakistan surfaced and left party supported it. Shaukat fought a losing battle tooth and nail organizing Nationalist Muslims under the banner of Azad Muslim Board. As the president of AMB he rejected the very idea of two nation theory and demand of Pakistan.

As an Indian independence activist he actively participated in the Non-cooperation movement. After the Independence he was appointed Counsellor in Indian Embassy at Ankara, Turkey in 1948.[5] In 1951, Dr Ansari was elected to the first Lok Sabha from Bidar, Hyderabad State. As a Member of Parliament, he served on the Advisory Committee for External Affairs. In 1954 and 1955, he went to the United Nations as member of the Indian delegation. In 1957, Dr Ansari went to Laos as Chairman of the International Control Commission. From July 1958 to September 1960 he served in similar capacity on the International Control Commission in Vietnam. He represented India at the International Labour Conference in Geneva in 1955. In 1960, he was appointed Ambassador of India to Sudan and Congo. He assumed office as Governor of Orissa on 31 January 1968 and held the post until 1971.[6]

Agreeing with the request of Jawaharlal Nehru he contested Second Lok Sabha general election in 1957 from his native Rasra Constituency but lost to Sarjoo Pandey, the candidate from Communist Party of India. In this electoral contest former Prime Minister of India Chandra Shekhar secured the third spot garnering Twenty percent of the total votes.[7] Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru experimented an interesting formula in this election. He shifted all left leaning Muslim candidates from their earlier seats to face communist friends." His logic was simple; if they win, communists lose; if they do not; problems are reduced within Congress." CPI defeated Shuakat in this contest with the help of their new found political friends.[8]

• Councellor, Indian Embassy in Turkey, 1947–48
• Member, Delhi University Court, 1947—49
• Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha),Bidar 1951-1957
• Member of Indian Delegation to United Nations, 1954, 1955
• Chairman, International Control Commission, Laos, 1957
• Ambassador to Sudan, 1960
• Ambassador to Congo, 1960
• Governor of Odisha, 1968-71[9]

• Syed Akbaruddin