Begum Abida Ahmed (17 July 1923 – 7 December 2003) was an Indian politician, First Lady of India from 1974 to 1977, and the wife of the fifth President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1974–1977). She was twice member of the Lok sabha from Bareilly parliamentary constituency of Uttar Pradesh in 1980 and 1984.
Early life
She was born on 17 July 1923 at Sheikhupur, Badaun, Uttar Pradesh to Mohammad Sultan Hyder 'Josh'. Abida was educated from the Women's College, Aligarh and the Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.
Career
First Lady of India
Begum is credited with having overhauled the presidential kitchen and ensuring Awadhi cuisine was included in its repertoire, as well as redecorating the rooms and upholstery of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Member of Parliament
Abida was member of Lok Sabha, elected twice from Bareilly Lok Sabha constituency, Uttar Pradesh. She founded the society named "God's Grace" which was registered with the Registrar of Societies under the Indian Societies Registration Act. She was member of India Islamic Cultural Centre (IICC), a society registered in April 1981. She formed Humsub Drama Group in 1974 for Urdu theatre.
Tributes
Shamsul Hasan made a life-size statue of "Ghalib", which had been ordered by Ahmed.
A train was named after her: the Abida Begum Express: Delhi Jn. - Raxaul. It has since been renamed. It is now called Satyagrah Express.
Personal life
Abida and Fakhruddin had two sons and a daughter. The elder of their sons, Parvez Ahmed, is a doctor who contested the General Elections of 2014 in the Barpeta constituency as a candidate of the Trinamool Congress party. Their other son, Badar Durrez Ahmed, served as a judge of the Delhi High Court and retired as Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
Abida was a badminton player and led the Assam team in the 1958 national championships. She also played billiards and tennis.
See also
First ladies and gentlemen of India
References
External links
8th Lok Sabha: Members Bioprofile Lok Sabha website.