Vice President Hamid Ansari of India

Ansari was born in Kolkata on April 1, 1934 though his family belongs to Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh.

Ansari is a renowned West Asia scholar and has written trenchantly on the Palestinian issue and taken positions inconvenient to the Indian official line on Iraq and Iran.

Ansari was the 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.

On July 20, 2007, Ansari was named by the UPA-Left, the ruling coalition in India, as its candidate for the post of Vice President for the upcoming election.

When asked, Ansari said he felt "humbled" over the UPA-Left decision naming him as their candidate.

At a time when it appeared that politics was descending to a new low, the discovery of Ansari has rekindled hopes that India still has the possibility of rising above partisan politics and to find true patriots with integrity to shoulder State responsibilities.

Hamid Ansari has not stopped working even after several years after retirement.

Like other good people with a sense of decency and rectitude, Hamid Ansari is susceptible to exploitation by selfish people and there have been instances of it happening inside and outside the Foreign Service.

Many feel that Ansari was the left parties choice because he opposed the India-US nuclear deal while being steadfastly against US policies in Iraq, Iran and Palestine.

in political science from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Ansari joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1961 and served the country in different capacities.

Asked how his experience as a diplomat will help in his new assignment, Ansari said that after all diplomacy was the art of bridging the gap between two different, rather two contradictory, points of views.

Talking to reporters after his candidacy was announced, Ansari said the debate whether a politician should occupy the top post was irrelevant as every citizen was an integral part of the countrys politics.

One of the finest gentlemen that he is, Hamid Ansari has started leaving his imprint on job that expects him to be genuinely apolitical and legitimate.

It is widely believed that Hamid Ansari has had minimal experience of dealing with political leaders, and their partymen.

The next day, Hamid Ansari came to Kidwai’s residence and spent an hour with her in discussion.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari said that the cadets hailing from different parts of the country with different linguistic and religious background represented a ''Mini India.

In his greetings, Ansari said that the dawn of the New Year is always welcomed with renewed hope, which can only be fulfilled by working together with resolve and dedication.

After presenting the ‘National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with the Disabilities’ at a function organised by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment here today, Ansari said that disability needs to be part of all programmes, policies and legislation with the objective to achieve equality in all political, economic and social spheres.

Ansari meets Gayoom and New President Nasheed Submitted by Mohit Joshi on Tue, 11/11/2008 - 12:00.

Hamid Ansari met former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom at his private residence here on Tuesday.

Male, Nov 10 : Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari has arrived in Maldives’ capital Male on a two-day visit, where he will represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-elected President of Indian Ocean Island Republic, Mohammed Nasheed on Tuesday.

Speaking at the conference organised by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) here, Ansari said the interfaith dialogue is critical to our health as a society.

Addressing a gathering of over 500 Aligarh Muslim University alumni from as many as 20 countries, Ansari said the Muslim community should adapt to changing requirements of time and pointed out the need to draw every segment including women into the sphere of education.

New Delhi, Sept 27 : Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari has condemned the blast that occurred today at a flower market in Mehrauli area of New Delhi.

New Delhi, July 20: Mohd Hamid Ansari, a seasoned diplomat and a distinguished academic, was today unanimously chosen as the UPA-Left candidate for the Vice Presidential election in a smooth process that contrasted sharply with the one witnessed during the selection for the Presidents post.

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An expert on West Asia, Ansari has also served as vice chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University.

Ansari joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1961.

New Delhi, August 10: UPA-Left candidate Mohammad Hamid Ansari was declared elected the countrys 13th Vice President Friday winning by a convincing margin in a triangular contest whose outcome was on expected lines.

Ansari said the House must reflect the changing perceptions and requirements of people, particularly the weaker sections, who constitute the overwhelming majority of the population.

Ansari said a referee carried coloured cards in his pocket.

The former diplomat, Mohammad Hamid Ansari, has taken charge as chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM.

Ansari was Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, High Commissioner to Australia and Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

needs to properly harness its demographic asset of 430-million strong youths, Vice President M Hamid Ansari said on Monday.

Career diplomat and National Commission for Minorities Chairman Mohammad, Hamid Ansari, will in all likelihood be the next vice-president as the UPA-Left selected him as its nominee on Friday.

The selection of Mr Ansari is politically significant because of the role he played as the NCM chairman in ensuring compensation to Gujarat riots victims as also backing a full re-look into the rehabilitation of all riot victims since 1984.

ANIVice President presented with Communal Harmony FlagVice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari was presented on Monday the Communal Harmony Flag by a group of orphaned and destitute children from different parts of the country to observe the Communal Harmony Campaign and Fund Raising Week.

ANIVice President arrives in MaldivesVice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari has arrived in Maldives capital Male on a two-day visit, where he will represent India at the swearing-in ceremony of the newly-elected President of Indian Ocean Island Republic, Mohammed Nasheed on Tuesday.

ANIVice President condemns Mehrauli blastVice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari has condemned the blast that occurred today at a flower market in Mehrauli area of New Delhi.

ANIVice President congratulates Olympic gold medal winner Abhinav BindraVice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari has congratulated Abhinav Bindra for winning the gold medal in the mens ten-metre air rifle event at the Beijing Olympic Games today.

ANIVice President, PM condoles death of Harkishan Singh SurjeetVice President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari has condoled the sad demise of veteran Communist Party of Party-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet.

Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, who was President of the Indian National Congress in 1927 , Ansari is currently the National Commission for Minorities(NCM.

Born in Calcutta on April One 1937, Ansari has a deep interest in West Asian affairs and often took positions inconvenient to the Indian official line on Iran and Iraq.

Inaugurating the 15th Triennial Conference of ICOM-CC here, Ansari said societies are seeing the value of conserving cultural property for many associated economic benefits and in a world that is increasingly globalised people look towards their cultural heritage to reaffirm their identities and nurture the sense of belonging to their communities, social groups and nations.

Speaking after a meeting with Abhinav Bindra, India's lone Olympic gold medal winner, Ansari said that he is extremely proud of the achievement of Bindra and hoped that in future Indian players would win more medals in Olympic Games.

Hamid Ansari says museums are places of social learning.

NEW DELHI, Aug 10: Former diplomat Mohammed Hamid Ansari was elected India’s vice-president on Friday, easily defeating his opposition-backed rival, a senior official said.

The 70-year-old Ansari was elected by India’s electoral college which comprises 788 MPs from the national parliament’s two houses.

Rashid Masood, sponsored by fringe parties, finished third with 75 votes in the all-Muslim contest which Ansari had been tipped to win.

Ansari has served as India’s representative in the United Nations as well as an ambassador to war-torn Afghanistan in the late 1990s.

NEW DELHI (ICNS): National Minority Commission chief Hamid Ansari is the United Progressive Alliance governments vice-presidential candidate for elections on August 10.

Ansari is UPA's unanimous choice for vice-president,'' Gandhi announced.

Ansari has been the Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University and a Visiting Professor at the Centre for West Asian and African Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Academy for Third World Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia.

Ansari has edited Iran Today: Twenty Years After the Islamic Revolutionand has written a number of academic papers and newspaper articles on West Asian politics Mohammad Hamid Ansari assumed charge of Chairman of the 5th Statutory National Commission for Minorities in March last year.

70-year-old Ansari was chosen at a meeting of the ruling alliance and its supporting parties at the residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh which was attended among others by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat.

NEW DELHI — Former diplomat Mohammed Hamid Ansari yesterday took over as chairman of the reconstituted National Commission for Minorities.

Ansari said that life expectancy at the time of birth is 56 years in Uttar Pradesh.

Quoting data for Uttar Pradesh, from the National Family Health Survey 2005-06, Ansari said around half of the women in the age group of 15-50 years and 85 per cent children under age three suffer from anaemia.

Taking serious note of the methodology of science teaching in the country, Ansari said that nearly fifty per cent of school students fail in mathematics and science.

An AMU alumnus himself, Ansari had served as the AMU vice chancellor from May 2000 to March 2002.

The exercise, in which members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha exercised their franchise, appeared a mere formality with UPA-Left nominee Hamid Ansari was far ahead of his two rivals in the numbers game.

Joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1961, Ansari has served as Indian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Hamid Ansari has been elected as the next Vice-President.

Born in Kolkata in 1937, Ansari joined the foreign service in 1961 after studying at Shimlas St Edwards High School and St Xaviers College in Kolkata.

Before being nominated for the post, Ansari was chairman of the National Commission for Minorities.

11 Aug 2007, 1944 hrs IST,PTINEW DELHI: Mohammad Hamid Ansari was sworn-in as the 13th Vice-President on Saturday at an impressive ceremony here.

The 70-year-old Ansari was administered the oath of office by President Pratibha Patil in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other top leaders at Rashtrapati Bhawan here.

Scholar-diplomat Ansari was elected Vice-President on Friday.

From speaking at the Urs celebration of poet Amir Khusro to delivering the key address at the national conference on Dalit organizations, talking to an assorted audience at the convocation of Gwalior's Lakshmibai National Institute or addressing alumni of Berkeley University, Ansari has been a big draw.