Jabir Husain

Shri Jabir Husain (born 5 June 1945, Rajgir), a politician from Rashtriya Janata Dal party, is a Member of the Parliament of India representing Bihar in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament. He is also a published writer. Husain was the recipient of the 2005 Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu for his memoirs Ret per Khema.Well known Hindi and Urdu writer Jabir Husain was born on 05 June1945. His father’s name is Syed Saifuddin and mother’s name is Najmunnisa Begam. He was born at a very famous historical place Rajgir in Nalanda district of Bihar.

He is M.A. in English language and literature/Distinction in English, Urdu and Hindi languages. He worked as a Professor of English language and literature at College of Commerce, Patna under Magadh University. He was married on 18 September 1972 with Shrimati Ishrat Husain.

He had very deep involvement and active participation in the 1974 movement led by Jaiprakash Narain. He was confinement under MISA, suspended from university service and suffered persecution. Later he elected from Munger Vidhan Sabha constituency in 1977 with largest number of votes. He got the responsibility of cabinet Minister (Health) in the Ministry of Late Karpoori Thakur. He worked on special emphasis on extension of medical services in rural areas and development of Indian medical system.

He became a nominated member of Bihar Legislative Council in June, 1994 by the Governor. Then he appointed acting chairman of Bihar Legislative Council in April, 1995. He elected uncontested the Chairman of Bihar Legislative Council on 26 July 1996. He elected as a member of Bihar Legislative Council from Vidhan Sabha constituency in May, 2000. He appointed Acting Chairman of Bihar Legislative Council on 7 May 2000.

Jabir Husain, as Chairman of the Council, added different new dimensions to Parliamentary politics. He established a convention of democratic dialogues on contemporary parliamentary, cultural and social issues. He worked for solving several socially important issues and problems through parliamentary intervention. He played an active role in finding remedies for serious questions relating to Jharia landslide, Jaduguda Radiation Effects, Child Labour, Public Literacy, Compulsory Education, Destiny of Rivers, Children’s Rights, etc.

Earlier, as Chairman of the Bihar State Minority Commission (October, 1990 to March, 1995) studied deeply the problems of a number of religious and linguistic minority groups and presented several recommendations/reports for their remedy. For the first time in the country, the State Minority Commission attained legal status and special powers in regard to investigation. Minority Welfare Department was set up in the state on the recommendation of the State Minority Commission.

He is an ardent supporter of social and humane cause. There are innumerable examples of helping the displaced, the Bangla refugees, the riot-affected families, bonded labourers, child labourers in getting justice. Special Campaigns among the victims of communal and caste violence. Pad-Yatras and public-campaigns under the Jan Sangharsh Samiti banner in rural areas against the police-feudal nexus. Successfully led public-action plans against communal and caste violence in the state under the banners of institutions like Ekta Manch, Insani Ekta Muhim and People’s Union for Civil Liberties. He played an important role in helping the riot-victim families get adequate compensation. He made serious efforts towards development of minority languages of the state. Special emphasis on facilities for the study of Urdu, Bangla, Oriya and Tribal languages.

Prof. Jabir Husain was elected to the Rajya Sabha on 29 March 2006 and subsequently, he relinquished the post of Chairman, Bihar Vidhan Parishad on 15 April 2006.

He is among the rare politician who got the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award. He got this award for the year 2005 for the book “Ret Par Khema” (Urdu). He is an original, creative writing in Hindi, Urdu and English. 14 books published so far in these languages. Discovery, editing and publication of over 40 rare manuscripts and other literary works is an extraordinary job for which he will be remembered always. He is the Editor of Sakshya (Hindi) and Dastavez (Urdu), the journals of Bihar Legislative Council. These two magazines are archives of great liteary and sociological writings. At present, he is engaged in serious writing on the tradition of Dalit Sahitya. He has written an analytical book on women affected by communal riots in Bihar that is going to be published soon. He is very well known for the experiment he has done in an innovative and extraordinary creative way in the diary writing style.

External links

• Profile on Rajya Sabha website