Tributes paid to former President Zakir Hussain

Khammam: Members of the minority community in Khammam paid floral tributes to former President of India Dr Zakir Hussain on his birth anniversary and urged the government to instal his statue on the Khammam Tank Bund.

The tributes were offered at the Tank Bund, where participants garlanded the portrait of Dr. Zakir Husain, commemorating the 129th birth anniversary of India’s third President. Speakers recalled his contributions to the nation and highlighted his role as an educationist, administrator and statesman.

Born on February 8, 1897, in Hyderabad, Dr Husain served as Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University before being nominated to Parliament in 1956. He later resigned from Parliament after being appointed Governor of Bihar in 1957, a position he held until 1962.

He went on to serve as Vice-President of India from 1962 to 1967 and was elected President on May 13, 1967. In his first address as President, he famously said, “The whole of India is my home and all Indians are my family.”

He was the first President of India to die while in office. In recognition of his service to the nation, the Government of India conferred upon him the Bharat Ratna in 1963.

Among those who took part in the programme were Tausif, Badrullah, Sabir, Khadeer, Irshad, Ishaq, Mukheem, Sajid, Nawaz, Yakub Baba, Anjad, Khalil, Farzad, Afsar, Azam, Moeez, Arshad, Shakeel, Javid, Shah Rukh, Mohsin and others.