Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Profession: Civil Servant, Diplomat, Politician
Daughter of Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Nuriya Ansari
Father of Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Mohammad Abdul Aziz Ansari
Mother of Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Aasiya Begum
Wife of Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Salma Ansari
Favourite Sports of Mohammad Hamid Ansari
Golf, Cricket
Awards/Honours of Mohammad Hamid Ansari
1984: Padma Shri
2011: Honorary Doctorate for International Relations, Mevlana University Konya, Turkey
2016: Honorary Doctorate, Mohammed V University, Rabat, Morocco
2017: Honorary Doctorate, Yerevan State University, Yerevan, Armenia
Major Controversies of Mohammad Hamid Ansari
In 2006, he courted a controversy by criticising comments made by Pope Benedict XVI as anti-Islamic.
He was criticized for the abrupt adjournment of the House on 30 December 2011, when the Rajya Sabha was witnessing discussion on the Jan Lokpal Bill in the wake of the Anna Hazare movement. Around midnight, Ansari came on his seat and the stroke of midnight, he abruptly adjourned the House even though the debate was underway.
He also has to face criticisms for not attending the First International Yoga Day on 21 June in 2015. Pranab Mukherjee (the then President of India) held the function at Rashtrapati Bhavan and all ministers took part in it. However, Ansari was the only senior constitutional office-bearer not to take part in Yoga Day. For the past 3 years, Ansari has been skipping it every time.
He also courted controversy for not saluting the national flag when it was hoisted, and the national anthem was being sung at Rajpath on the Republic Day of 2015. Alongside Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then visiting US President Barack Obama (who was also the Chief Guest at the parade), US First Lady Michelle Obama and Manohar Parrikar (the then Defence Minister of India), Ansari was seen standing at attention.
Information about Mohammad Hamid Ansari