Badruddin Ajmal is the president of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) and has served as the MP from Dhubri Lok Sabha constituency in Assam three times (2009, 2014 and 2019). Apart from being a politician, he is also a well-known businessman, industrialist, philanthropist and social worker.
Wiki/Biography
Badruddin Ajmal was born in Ali Nagar village in Khojai district of Assam. His full name is Badruddin Ajmal Qasmi. There is a dispute over his official date of birth. According to one source, he was born on Sunday, February 12, 1950 (now 74 years old; as of 2024); however, according to another source, his birth year is 1956 (now 68 years old as of 2020). Ajmal completed Fazil-e Deoband (equivalent to a Master’s degree in Islamic theology and Arabic) from Deoband University in Uttar Pradesh and joined the family business in 1975.
Family and caste
Ajmal was born into a wealthy business family in the Muslim community.
Parents and siblings
Badruddin’s father, Haji Ajmal Ali, was originally a rice farmer. He came to Mumbai in 1951 and became a perfumer. Later, Haji Ajmal Ali founded his own perfume company called “Ajmal Perfumes”. After his death, the company was taken over by his children.
Haji Ajmal Ali, founder of Ajmal Perfumes
Maulana Badruddin Ajmal has four siblings: Mohammad Amir Uddin Ajmal Ali, Mohammad Sirajuddin Ajmal (former MP), Fakhruddin Ajmal and Abdulla Ajmal.
Abdullah Ajmal
Fakhruddin Ajmal
Maulana Badruddin and his brother Mohammad Sirajuddin Ajmal submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighting several issues related to Assam
Wife and children
On December 30, 1979, Badruddin Ajmal married Rezwana Ajmal. They have seven children: six sons and one daughter. His two sons, Abdul Rahim Ajmal and Abdul Rahman Ajmal, are also active in politics.
Maulana Badruddin Ajmal and his son Maulana Abdur Rahim Ajmal after voting in the 2018 Assam panchayat elections
Maulana Badruddin Ajmal’s son Abdur Rehman Ajmal
Profession
As a politician
In 2005, he formed a political party called Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF), which was renamed to All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. In 2006, he was elected to the Assam Legislative Assembly from both South Salmara and Jamunamukh constituencies. His party won a total of 10 seats in the first elections. This was a major breakthrough for Badruddin Ajmal, who was not even recognized by the then Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi before the elections. Then in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Badruddin Ajmal defeated the incumbent Indian National Congress MP Anowal Hussain and won the Dhubri Lok Sabha seat.
All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal has filed his nomination papers to contest the Dhubri constituency elections
AIUDF’s performance in different elections
After that, he successfully retained the Dhubri seat in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019. There are a total of 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam, and Ajmal’s party AIUDF won 3 of them. Since then, his position in Assam and the country’s political circles has continued to grow.
As a businessman
There is no doubt that Ajmal’s party has become the third most important link in Assam’s political arena; but his identity is not just because of politics. He runs a world-renowned perfume production company “Ajmal Perfumes”. In 2011, the company’s turnover reached 14.75 billion rupees. Moreover, his business is not limited to perfumes, but has expanded from real estate to leather industry, tea production, medical services and education.
Perfume tycoon Badruddin Ajmal
Philanthropy
- He is the Chairman of Markazul Ma’arif, an NGO that runs schools, hospitals and orphanages with the sole motto of working towards improving the living standards of the economically and educationally deprived sections of the society. Apart from this, the NGO has promoted many other social, educational and economic development activities across India. Since its inception in 1982, the organization has worked for the welfare of the people in the areas of poverty, illiteracy and basic immunization, especially in Assam and other North Eastern states.
- He is the managing trustee of the Haji Abdul Majeed Memorial Public Trust in Khojai. The trust is known for building the multi-crore rupee charity hospital, Haji Abdul Majeed Memorial Hospital and Research Centre in Khojai, Assam.
- He is also the head of Jamiat Ulama-e-Assam and Tanzim Madaris-e Quamia (All Assam Non-Government Madrasa Committee), which sets the syllabus and organizes examinations for more than 400 madrassas in the state. He is also associated with many other schools, madrasas and orphanages, serving as the chairman or secretary in different parts of northeast India.
Children feel happy every time they get new clothes from their parents, but children who have lost their parents feel that moment is lost. Today, I feel happiness in my heart as I invite orphan students of Ajmal Modern Boarding School to Ajmal House and provide them with new clothes. pic.twitter.com/0RRSXHaXya
— Maulana Badruddin Ajmal (@BadruddinAjmal) March 11, 2020
dispute
- In December 2017, Badruddin Ajmal abused and threatened a journalist during a press conference when he was asked whether he would join the BJP or the Indian National Congress alliance. Ajmal was heavily criticized after the incident. Moreover, the journalist filed a case against him, after which Ajmal apologized for his behavior.
#watch All India Democratic Front (AIUDF) chief Badruddin Ajmal of Assam’s Hasinghimali threatened to smash the head of a journalist who asked him whether he would ally with the Congress or the BJP in future: “Go to hell, how much did the BJP take from you? Go away, I will smash your head. Go and register a case against me.” pic.twitter.com/XQvp5mZ4it
— ANI (@ANI) December 26, 2018
- In October 2019, Badruddin Ajmal sparked controversy by openly rejecting Assam’s two-child policy. He said,
Muslims will continue to have children and they will not listen to anyone. Our religion and I personally believe that those who want to come into this world will come into this world and no one can stop them.”
- In November 2020, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal faced public scorn after several members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shared a video claiming that people were shouting slogans of “Pakistan First” as they greeted Badruddin at the Silchar airport. On the same day, the AIUDF held a press conference to refute the claims, saying that it was an attempt by the BJP and some media outlets to defame the AIUDF by misrepresenting the actual slogan “Aziz Khan First” as “Pakistan First”.
Look at how shameless these anti-nationalist fundamentalists are, as they welcome the MPs while chanting “Long Live Pakistan” @BadruddinAjmal.
This is completely exposed @INCIndia They are encouraging these forces by forming alliances. We will fight them fiercely. Jai Hind🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/CiHZjDweFF
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) November 6, 2020
AIUDF issued a press statement on cheap politics by BJP, saying they along with a section of media had distorted the slogan of ‘Aziz Khan Feast’ into ‘Pakistan Feast’. pic.twitter.com/obzPASSLNg
— All India United Democratic Front – AIUDF (@AIUDFOfficial) November 6, 2020
- In December 2020, Satya Ranjan Borah, a member of the BJP, filed a case against Badruddin’s ‘Ajmal Foundation’ (a public charitable trust), alleging that the organization has been accepting funds from foreign organizations linked to terrorist organizations. The complaint was based on a report by the Legal Rights Observatory (LRO), a legal rights organization under the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Speaking to media reporters, Badruddin Ajmal refuted the allegations against the Ajmal Foundation and denied accepting funds from any foreign organization linked to terrorism. He said that the case filed against him was part of a political conspiracy planned by Himanta Biswa Sarma, the leader of the opposition in Assam of the BJP, to discredit him, his party (AIUDF) and the Ajmal Foundation. He also demanded a top-level investigation to find out the truth.
net worth
According to an affidavit filed by Badruddin Ajmal with the Election Commission of India, his net worth as of 2019 was Rs 780 crore.
Facts/Trivia
- Ajmal and his three elder brothers were born in a madrassa in the village.
- His name has been included several times in the list of 500 most influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center (RISSC) for his role in philanthropy and development activities.
- Badruddin Ajmal is a father of seven children and one of the two members of the Indian Parliament with the most children.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education