This is the story of the Ansari family. It all begins with one Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari. He was a Khilafat movement- and staunch Congress supporter. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru were his friends and mentors. That should really set the template of where we are getting. Having the likes of Nehru and Gandhi as buddies has not really worked well for anybody in India. Not only was Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari a staunch Congressman, but he was also a member of the Muslim League – until at least Muhammed Ali Jinnah rose to supremacy in that camp.
Sure, Ansari withdrew from the Muslim League after separatism became the League’s primary agenda. Ansari was one of the founders of Jamia Millia Islamia and also served as the chancellor of the Jamia Millia Islamia university in Delhi. The man’s support for the Ottoman Empire, manifested in the form of him supporting the Khilafat movement are really an indicator of just how ‘Indian’ his allegiances were.
The Family Tree
Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari was followed in independent India by family members like:
- Mukhtar Ansari – the famed gangster
- Sibakatullah Ansari – BSP and SP leader
- Afzal Ansari – BSP and SP leader
- Hamid Ansari – Former Vice President of India and Congress leader
Mukhtar Ansari is the grandson of Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari. Yes, this is the same Mukhtar Ansari who terrorised Uttar Pradesh and much of North India since the 1980s. Once touted as the Bahubali of UP, Mukhtar Ansari commanded a reign of fear in the entire state, especially in Poorvanchal during the late 90s and early 2000s. Whenever the cavalcade of Mukhtar Ansari passed by, there were slogans of ‘Bahubali Bhaiya’ filling the air. 20 to 30 SUVs passed through a single straight line. All the vehicles used to end at number 786 and no government machinery had the resolve to cross his way.
Ansari is currently facing 52 cases in the state and elsewhere. Ansari’s alleged hand in the murder of BJP MLA Krishnananda Rai in 2005 gave him the title of ‘Bahubali’. Shooting down a senior BJP leader in broad daylight was a chilling episode and Ansari showed that he was willing to go to any lengths to instil fear amongst the public.
Mukhtar Ansari also allegedly orchestrated a violent attack against Yogi Adityanath in September 2008. Yogi at the time had claimed that gun rounds were fired and stones were thrown his way by Ansari’s men, but UP police remained mum.
Today, Mukhtar Ansari has been destroyed. His ‘empire’ is in ruins, and the man is lodged in a jail in Uttar Pradesh. His reign of terror is over, and he will not be allowed another fighting chance. So that’s one member of the Ansari clan who has been neutralised.
Hamid Ansari
The other is, of course, former Vice President Hamid Ansari. Hamid Ansari has been quite a specimen in Indian politics. He has actually been providing comic relief to many for the past many years. Whenever Ansari speaks these days, it either has to do something with the diminishing ‘secularism’ of India, or the rising ‘Islamophobia’ of the country. His world has been reduced to a binary. And that is quite an achievement of the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PM Modi was never really fond of Hamid Ansari. While he was posted as India’s ambassador to Iran, Hamid Ansari refused to get a RA&W operative released from the custody of Iranian intelligence agencies. In fact, Ansari refused to pay heed to protests against him, demanding that he ensure the safety of Indian mission staffers.
Ansari is long-known for spewing venom against Indian nationalistic forces and he has also allegedly been involved in many anti-national activities. In 2019, RAW officers asked for a detailed inquiry into his role in the issuance of fake visas, and exactly why he failed to take appropriate action when staff members in Tehran were being kidnapped at the behest of the Iranian government; and most importantly, the role he played in damaging R&AW’s operations in Tehran and other Gulf countries.
Ansari has a long history of colluding with Islamist forces of Iran, Turkey as well as the Arab world to weaken India’s interests and furthering the agenda of Islamic countries. Even as the Vice President of India, from 2007 to 2017, Ansari continued pursuing his ideological agenda. In his last interview as VP, he mentioned that there is a growing sense of insecurity among the Muslims of India. He asserted the fact that the “ambience of acceptance” is now under siege.
PM Modi really destroyed Ansari while addressing the Rajya Sabha on the ex-VP’s final day as chairman of the Upper House. PM Modi said now that Ansari was getting relieved of the post of VP, he would be able to follow his ideologies to a greater extent, without hesitation.
Hamid Ansari, much like Mukhtar Ansari, has been reduced to a political nobody in India. The Ansari dynasty has become a thing of the past. Not very long ago, this family was among the most powerful and influential in India. Yet, today it is struggling for survival.