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

way2barak, March 12: On Tuesday night, Sarma had announced after a cabinet meeting that the cabinet decided to rename the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital (FAAMCH), located in Barpeta district, to Barpeta Medical College and Hospital.

“All the 15 medical colleges set up by the state government have been named after the places where they are situated. But the one in Barpeta was named after Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, which was different from the other such colleges and we had to face many questions on whether it was a private medical college,” he had said, adding that the state government would name another cultural or educational institute in the state after him instead.

Despite this rationalisation, this move has drawn criticism from bodies representing “indigenous Assamese Muslims” in the state. Ahmed, a native of Barpeta, was the fifth President of India, serving from August 24, 1974, to February 11, 1977. His tenure as President is remembered mainly for signing the Proclamation of the Emergency in 1975, which was declared by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He was only the second Muslim, after Zakir Husain, to occupy the post.