Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed

India’s fifth President signed the single most consequential document in the country’s post-independence history — the 1975 Emergency proclamation. This article covers Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed’s life and presidency.

Must Know

• Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was India’s fifth President, serving from 24 August 1974 until his death on 11 February 1977.
• He was the second Muslim President of India, after Dr. Zakir Husain.
• On 25 June 1975, he signed the proclamation declaring a National Emergency under Article 352, on the advice of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
• Born on 13 May 1905 in Delhi, he trained as a lawyer and took part in the Quit India Movement.
• He died of heart failure while still in office, becoming the second Indian President to die in office, after Husain.

Good to Know

• He was elected the fifth President on 20 August 1974, succeeding V.V. Giri.
• After the Emergency was declared, he signed a series of ordinances that let the government rule largely by decree — a period critics called “ordinance-raj.”
• Under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), tens of thousands of people were detained without trial during his presidency, including several senior opposition leaders.
• His presidency is often described as a “rubber stamp” one. A famous 1975 cartoon by Abu Abraham showed him signing ordinances from a bathtub, mocking how little scrutiny they received.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. Which President of India signed the proclamation declaring the 1975 National Emergency?

Zakir Husain

V.V. Giri

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed

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Great to Know

• Ahmed’s presidency is the clearest historical case study of the President acting purely on the Council of Ministers’ advice, as Article 74 requires — with none of the informal pushback other Presidents have sometimes shown.
• The Emergency he signed into effect lasted until March 1977, just weeks after his own death. His presidency and India’s most severe constitutional crisis were almost exactly coterminous.
• His death in office, only eight years after Husain’s, meant India saw two Presidents die mid-term within a single decade — a pattern not repeated since.