Thursday, Apr 28, 2005
Thursday, Apr 28, 2005 |
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Staff Reporter
KOCHI: The Indian National League (INL) president, Ibrahim Sulaiman Sait, died in a private hospital in Bangalore on Wednesday morning. He was 83 and is survived by two sons and three daughters. Mr. Sait was the unquestioned leader of the Muslim League and its ``national face.'' He articulated the views of the minority in Parliament for long, championing the Muslim cause. Along with G.M. Banatwala and the late C.H. Mohammed Koya, Mr. Sait brought the plight of Malabar Muslims to national focus and forcefully argued for social justice to the community, which stood behind these leaders for long. His victory margins in electoral contests in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts were a record. After student days, Mr. Sait plunged into Muslim League politics and was general secretary of the Mysore unit of the party in 1948. In the 1950s, he moved to Kochi. In 1955 he was the general secretary of the Ernakulam town unit and later became the district vice-president. He became a Rajya Sabha member in 1960 and was member of the Lok Sabha from 1967, representing constituencies including Ponnani, Manjeri and Kozhikode. After the death of Seethi Sahib, Mr. Sait was elected all-India general secretary and he took over the reins of the party after the demise of Bafakhi Thangal. He parted ways with the party in 1994, when he founded the Indian National League, following the demolition of the Babri Masjid. He was against the party continuing ties with the Congress and charted his own course. That was a turning point in his political career. Mr. Sait served in different positions in the Aligarh Muslim University, including as court member and on the Central Haj Committee. He was one of the members who founded the Muslim Personal Law Board, said his son Sulaiman Khalid. For the past couple of years, Mr. Sait was under treatment for ailments.
Sonia's message
The Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, condoled Mr. Sait's death. In her message, she said the country and particularly Kerala had lost a prominent voice of the community.
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