Syed Ahmed is survived by his wife Syed Hasan Tara, two daughters and a son. A former Congress leader and Maharashtra minister, Syed Ahmed was sworn-in as governor of the north-eastern state of Manipur on May 16 this year. Prior to that he was governor of Jharkhand since September 2011.
He was elected to Maharashtra legislative assembly five times on Congress tickets from the Nagpada constituency in south Mumbai and later served as a minister in two governments, handling various portfolios.
His funeral will be held in Mumbai on Monday at 11 a.m. at the Rehmatabad Cemetery in Byculla, said son Syed Zeeshan Ahmed, who is a prominent state Congress leader.
President Pranab Mukherjee expressed grief over the demise of Ahmed and recalled his varied interests and rich contribution towards literature besides serving with distinction in different during his public life.
Expressing grief over Ahmed’s demise, Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao, described Ahmed as “a gentle, soft spoken and studious person”.
“Dr. Ahmed had sincere urge to address the problems of the common man. He was a writer and poet too. I convey my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family,” Rao said in a condolence message.
Senior leaders of the Maharashtra including state Congress president Ashok Chavan, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, ex-union minister Gurudas Kamat and the Mumbai Congress condoled the death of Ahmed on Sunday.
Besides politics, Ahmed was an academician and litterateur with masters degrees in Hindi and English and a Ph.D in Urdu.
Some of his prominent works include ‘Kafas Se Chaman’, ‘Jange-Azaadi Me Urdu Shayan’, ‘Maktal Se Manzil’ and his autobiography, ‘Pagdandi Se Shahar Tak’. (IANS)