Assam govt to remove Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's name from medical college in Barpeta, creates stir ahead of polls

Ali Ahmed had served as the President between 1974 and 1977 and had also promulgated the Emergency during Indira Gandhi's tenure as the Prime Minister.

The BJP-led government in Assam on Tuesday decided to remove the name of former President, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed from a medical college in minority-dominated Barpeta district, a move that invited anger of the Opposition Congress and AIUDF ahead of next month's Assembly elections.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the Cabinet on Tuesday evening, following which Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said it was decided to remove a "confusion" over the names of the medical colleges.

"If we look at the names of our medical colleges, all others have been named after their locations. We see that in the medical colleges in Guwahati, Dhubri, Silchar, Bongaigaon, Biswanath and Sonitpur. Somehow, the Barpeta one was named as Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital, which does not align with the naming pattern of other medical colleges," he said.

"As Barpeta Medical College has been named differently, many people often ask whether it is a private college," Sarma said in defence. He, however, said that his government would name another institution after Ali Ahmed, the first and only President from Assam.

Ali Ahmed had served as the President of India between 1974 and 1977. He had also promulgated the Emergency in August 1975, when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister.

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College was set up in 2011 and it began offering undergraduate courses in 2012, when Congress was in power in Assam. The college even started offering post-graduate courses in 2019, three years after BJP formed their first government in Assam with Sarbananda Sonowal as the CM. Sarma replaced Sonowal in 2021, when BJP came to power for the second straight term.

Tribute to heritage:

The Cabinet decision came hours after Sarma inaugurated a 4.2km-long flyover in Guwahati, the longest in Assam, named after Maharaj Prithu, a king of the ancient Kamarupa Kingdom (comprising parts of Assam and Bengal), who had defeated the Afghan invader Bakhtiar Khilji in the 13th Century. Sarma said it was part of his government's move to pay tributes to Maharaja Prithu and Narendra Modi government's policy of development and protection of heritage (Vikash bhi, Virasat bhi).

Opposition anger:

The move to drop Ali Ahmed's name from the medical college in Barpeta, however, invited anger from the Opposition Congress and Badruddin Ajmed-led AIUDF. "Entire Muslim society is hurt by this act. Those who have been targeting the Muslims in Assam by repeatedly calling them Miyas have done so. What benefit or peace he has got by removing the name?" Ajmal asked. "I was an MP when the medical college was set up and I also tried hard to have this medical college in Barpeta." Ajmal was an MP from Dhubri, another Muslim-majority constituency.

Congress leader, Pawan Khera, who addressed a press conference in Guwahati on Wednesday, also condemned the Act. "People of Assam are watching all these and they will give a fitting reply in the Assembly elections by removing Himanta Biswa Sarma from power," he said.