4 min readGuwahatiMar 12, 2026 07:16 AM IST
The Assam Cabinet’s decision to drop former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed’s name from a state medical college and hospital — a move Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has claimed is for “uniformity” with other state medical colleges — has drawn criticism from different quarters.
On Tuesday night, Sarma had announced after a cabinet meeting that the cabinet decided to rename the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital (FAAMCH), located in Barpeta district, to Barpeta Medical College and Hospital.
“All the 15 medical colleges set up by the state government have been named after the places where they are situated. But the one in Barpeta was named after Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, which was different from the other such colleges and we had to face many questions on whether it was a private medical college,” he had said, adding that the state government would name another cultural or educational institute in the state after him instead.
Despite this rationalisation, this move has drawn criticism from bodies representing “indigenous Assamese Muslims” in the state. Ahmed, a native of Barpeta, was the fifth President of India, serving from August 24, 1974, to February 11, 1977. His tenure as President is remembered mainly for signing the Proclamation of the Emergency in 1975, which was declared by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He was only the second Muslim, after Zakir Husain, to occupy the post.
Mousham Ahmed, the Barpeta district president of the Sadou Asom Goria-Moria-Deshi Jatiya Parishad, said that the body appeals to the state government to reconsider its decision.
“We thank and support the chief minister for working towards securing the future of indigenous Assam Muslims at various times… But we are unhappy about the decision to change the name of the medical college named after Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. After holding seats in the legislative assembly and the Lok Sabha, he became the first Assamese president. He was from the Goria community. We take pride in him as an Assamese, and we had been very happy when the medical college was named after him… All Assamese Muslims are hurt by this and we request the Assam government and chief minister to reconsider this decision,” he said.
Goria is among five Assamese Muslim sub-groups which the Assam government has approved the identification as “indigenous” Assamese Muslim communities, in effect distinguishing them in status from the much larger population of Bengali origin Muslims in the state.
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The move has also been criticised by the political opposition in the state.
“In 2001, when a government was formed under Tarun Gogoi’s leadership, the government took a decision to establish a medical college in Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed’s name in Barpeta… Yesterday, we were shocked that the Chief Minister announced that the name will be changed. What is the reason, because he was a Muslim by birth and belief or something else? The Chief Minister tries to create divisions between Muslims. He talks of Goria Moria Syed Julha. Then there is an indigenous Muslims who had risen to the highest position in the country, who had fought for independence, who had gone to jail during the freedom movement, and it is very unfortunate to drop his name from the institution,” said Congress leader and former Barpeta MP Abdul Khalequa.
“Renaming a public institution that carries the legacy of such a distinguished personality sends the wrong message and diminishes the recognition he rightfully deserves. I urge the government to reconsider this decision and restore the name of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to the institution. Honouring those who brought pride to Assam should never become a subject of political disregard,” said AIUDF MLA Rafiqul Islam.
However, Chief Minister Sarma maintained on Wednesday that the move was to bring about uniformity with other state medical colleges.
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“The medical colleges in Dibrugarh, Dhubri. Guwahati, Silchar, Tezpur are not in anyone’s name. Then how can Barpeta be different? People will mistakenly think that it’s a private college. This was a request many people made when I visited Barpeta. This is a decision in the interest of the people. We will name another good institution after him,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
