Nagma Muhammad Fareed of Kasaragod is the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs
First Muslim woman to become Indian Foreign Service officer
If the right opportunity is given to Muslim women, they can achieve anything and scale any heights. Nagma Muhammad Fareed who is appointed as the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, held by Sushma Swaraj, is a fine example for this. Nagma Fareed is the first Muslim woman who was selected for the coveted Indian Foreign Service ( IFS ) post in India and she is also the first Muslim woman who is working in an important position with the External affairs Minister.
1920 and 1930s Muslim Community of Kerala and Karnataka was very backward. But a boy from ‘Pudipura family’ of Chemanadu village in Kasaragodu, situated on the bank of Chandragiri river, started going to primary school in Kasaragodu crossing the river during those days. He completed his high school in Mangaluru and left for Madras ( now Chennai) for college education. He got two degrees from the university and became an advocate. After returning to Kasaragodu, he started his profession as advocate and became famous as ‘Vakeel Ahmed’.
Nagma Muhammad Fareed is the daughter of this illustrious father Ahmed. Ahmed has sent his three sons to Madras for higher education. Against the existing practice in Muslim community at that time, Ahmed sent his only daughter to school. She was the only Muslim girl who had completed metric education during that time in the district.
Nagma was very good in her studies and secured good marks at Schools and colleges . Her parents wanted her to become a doctor. But the ambition of Fathima Nagma was different. She wanted to write IAS exam. She was educated at St Stephen's College & Delhi School of Economics. She holds a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a master's degree in Sociology. She appeared for IAS ( UPSC) exams in 1990. She secured a rank within 100. Due to her good ranking she got the opportunity to select the foreign service . So, Nagma selected Foreign service and joined in the batch of 1991.
In the beginning, she served in France, Arab countries, Sri Lanka, Nepal and other countries in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Later, she was appointed first as the Indian High Commissioner to Thailand and later as the Indian Ambassador to Tunisia. Before this posting, she served as a staff officer to Prime Minister I.K. Gujral. She then served as the first woman Deputy Chief of Protocol (Ceremonial).For the last three years, she was serving as Indian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam.
Now, she is elevated as the Joint Secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. One of her brother is serving in high rank in the Indian Air Force.
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Assam to lift all cases against Koch Rajbongshis in Foreigners' Tribunals: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Guwahati, Apr 4 (PTI): The Assam cabinet has decided to lift all cases pending against people from the Koch Rajbongshi community in the Foreigners' Tribunals, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
They will also no longer carry the tag of 'D' or doubtful voters, he said.
''There are 28,000 cases pending in different Foreigners' Tribunals in the state against people of the community. The cabinet has taken a historic decision of lifting the cases with immediate effect,'' Sarma said at a press conference here after the cabinet meeting.
The government believes that the Koch Rajbongshis are an indigenous community of the state and they are an inextricable part of ''our social and cultural fabric'', he asserted.
The people of this community are poor and have suffered a lot over the years, he said.
''They will no longer carry the tag of foreigners or ‘D’ voters,'' the CM said.
Foreigners Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies, particularly in Assam, established to determine if a person residing in India is a "foreigner" as defined by the Foreigners Act of 1946, based on the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964.
These tribunals are designed to address matters related to citizenship and the presence of “foreigners” in India, specifically focusing on cases where someone is suspected of being an illegal immigrant.
There are 100 Foreigners’ Tribunals across Assam.
The Koch Rajbongshis have a sizeable presence in Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and parts of Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan, and they demand Scheduled Tribe status.
