Former Uttar Pradesh minister and Congress leader Begum Hamida Habibullah passed away after a prolonged illness, at her residence in Lucknow on 13 March. She was 102.
Her burial will take place later at Saidanpur, her native village in Barabanki.
Daughter of the late Nawab Nazir Yar Jung Bahadur, Chief Justice of the Hyderabad High Court, Begum Hamida was a front-ranking social worker known to the land of Avadh. She was married to General Inayat Habibullah, the founder commandant of the National Defence Academy(NDA), Khadakvasla, Pune. Their son Wajahat Habibullah became the first Chief Information Commissioner of India.
She joined active politics in 1965 after her husband's retirement.
Begum Hamida served as an MLA from Haidergarh (Barabanki) and was state minister of social and Harijan welfare, national integration and civil defence from 1971-73 and tourism minister from 1971-74.
She was also a member of the Executive Committee of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) till 1980 and an elected member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) from 1969.
She was known for her work with SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association), for encouraging self-employment for women and the art of Lucknow's famous chikankari, as per a profile in The Hindu.
(With inputs from IANS and The Hindu)
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