Luck may have eluded Hamid Ansari in denying him a shift to Rashtrapati Bhavan but he is soon set to create a record as only the second Indian to get a consecutive term as Vice President. 75-year-old Ansari,a career diplomat who has also served as Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University,will emulate the late philosopher-statesman S Radhakrishnan,who got two terms as Vice President between 1952 and 1962. In 2007,Ansari was a surprise choice for Vice President when the Left parties - which were supporting the UPA-I government from outside - proposed his name and the Congress-led alliance accepted it. He had defeated Najma Heptuallah of BJP in the 2007 election securing 455 votes in an electoral college of 788. Rashid Masood,candidate of UNPA,was placed third. Well read and an affable personality,Ansari was among the front runners in the race for the Presidential election next week. His name was the UPA's second choice as revealed by Sonia Gandhi but Pranab Mukherjee pipped him to the post after Trinamool Congress' pressure tactics on the Congress failed. Ansari was Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities when he was nominated for the Vice-Presidential poll in 2007. By and large,he carried himself well in the post as well as Chairman of Rajya Sabha except for the controversial decision to abruptly adjourn the House on the last day of the winter session last year when the House was expected to vote on the Lokpal Bill. The BJP was critical of the adjournment decision alleging it was done to rescue the government from a possible embarrassing defeat. Ansari tried to innovate in the House proceedings when he shifted the Question Hour to post-lunch session to avoid loss of opportunity for members to question the government on account of routine disruptions in the morning. The move was given up after just a session when he found the questioners themselves absent from the House and the government also not not very enthusiastic about it. The suave Ansari has served as Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations,Indian High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates,Afghanistan,Iran and Saudi Arabia. He had joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1961. A Padma Shree awardee,Ansari became Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University in May,2000 and held the post till March,2002. Ansari is also known for his role in ensuring compensation to the victims of the Gujarat riots and pushing for a complete re-look into the relief and rehabilitation for riot victims since 1984. He is also known for his strong views on burning issues. The language used by the Pope sounds like that of his 12th century counterpart who ordered the crusades. It surprises me because the Vatican has a very comprehensive relationship with the Muslim world, Ansari had said in 2006 as Chairman,Minorities Commission of India,in reaction to Pope Benedict XVI's comments on Islam. As Chairman of the Rajya Sabha,Ansari faced criticism when opposition parties expressed unhappiness over the manner in which he "abruptly" adjourned the Upper House on the night of December 29,2011 during the Lokpal Bill debate. The Bill was slated for voting. He also dealt with barbs thrown at him for being non-political when he took over as vice-president in 2007 in his own inimitable way. "No citizen is apolitical; as a citizen,by definition,has to take interest in public affairs," he had then said. Though Ansari was born in Calcutta on April 1,1937,his family hails from Ghazipur,Uttar Pradesh. He studied in Calcutta,and later in Shimla. He got his doctorate degree from the Aligarh Muslim University. He is the grand-nephew of former Congress President Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari,a leader of the Indian independence movement. Ansari is also a reputed West Asia scholar. He has authored a book- Travelling Through Conflict. He has written books on Palestine,Iraq and Iran. Some of his views have run contrary to India's official position. He had questioned India's vote at the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) on Iran's nuclear programme where the country voted against Iran. He also upheld a controversial decision as NCM Chairperson when in 2007 he agreed with the position taken by St. Stephens College,Delhi,to set aside a quota of seats for Dalit Christians. Ansari was Chairman of a working group on "Confidence building measures across segments of society in the State," established by the Second round Table Conference of the Prime Minister on Jammu and Kashmir in 2006. The report of the working group was adopted by the Third round Table in April 2007. The report advocates recognising the right of Kashmiri Pandits to return to "places of their original residence". He maintained that this right should be recognised without any ambiguity and made a part of state policy. When he contested for the vice-president post in 2007,he had secured 455 votes and won the election by a margin of 233 votes against his nearest rival Najma Heptullah.
