About EN

Rise as social & political activist:

Born on 15th October, 1957 in an ordinary family of Bhadari Village in Prayagraj (earlier Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh, Shri Naqvi took keen interest in socio-political movements at a very tender age. An active participant in the “Sampoorna Kranti” (Total Revolution) movement launched by “Loknayak” Jaiprakash Narayan during the Emergency, Shri Naqvi had been sent to jail under “MISA-DIR” at the age of just 17 years. He led and participated in various socio-democratic movements and was even jailed for his participation in these public movements.

Ministerial Accomplishments:

Shri Naqvi’s achievements as MoS, Information and Broadcasting include major reforms like Direct to Home broadcast system (DTH), conferment of industry status to the Indian film industry and ensuring Doordarshan telecast reaches to even the remotest areas of the country through High Frequency Transmission Towers. Shri Naqvi, as an MoS, Parliamentary Affairs, played a crucial role in several key legislative works and the passage of various important Bills. He was able to facilitate their passage despite the Government being in a minority in the Upper House due to his excellent skills and coordination with other parties.

As a Cabinet Minister of Minority Affairs, Shri Naqvi worked with the commitment to “Inclusive Empowerment” and “Equal Opportunity to All”. His achievements include India becoming the first country of world with 100 per cent digital Haj process; Haj subsidy was removed; A record number of 2 lakh Indian Muslims performed Haj even after removal of Haj subsidy; removal of restriction on Muslim women to perform Haj with “Mehram” (male companion) only; 100 per cent digitisation of records of Waqf properties; Scholarships to more than 5 crore students from Minority communities resulting into significant decline in school dropout rate and increase in school enrolment especially among the Muslim girls. Shri Naqvi is also credited with war-footing development of infrastructure projects related to education, health, self-employment across the country under “Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karykram”.

Guided by his commitment to “protection, preservation, promotion” of ancestral legacy of indigenous artisans and craftsmen, Shri Naqvi launched “Hunar Haat” which became a credible brand of “Swadeshi Se Swawlamban”. More than 10 lakh 50 thousand artisans from all sections of the society were provided employment and self-employment opportunities through “Hunar Haat” during his tenure. More than 50 % of these beneficiaries are women.

Admired for his simplicity and integrity in the social and political life, Shri Naqvi resigned from the Union Cabinet on 6th July, 2022, a day before completion of his Rajya Sabha tenure. In another display of political probity, Shri Naqvi vacated his official bungalow the very next day of resigning from the Union Cabinet.

Literary zeal:

Postgraduate in Mass Communication, Shri Naqvi has a keen passion for writing and literature. His spectacular novels such as “Balwa”, “Rajleela”, “Cyber Supari”, “Danga”, “Vaishali” and “Syah” became very popular amongst the readers.

Source of Inspiration:

Shri Naqvi has been inspired by the life and works of “Father of the Nation” Mahatma Gandhi, Syama Prasad Mukherjee, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay, “Loknayak” Jaiprakash Narayan, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, Sardar Patel, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shri Lal Krishna Advani and Shri Narendra Modi in political & social fields. He believes in the principle that one should “Never stop learning because life never stops teaching”.

Organisation-Parliament-Government:

• Cabinet Minister, Govt. of India, Minority Affairs; Parliamentary Affairs (MoS), 2014-2022

• Deputy Leader, Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament), 2021-2022

• MoS, Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, 1998-2000

• Elected to Lok Sabha from Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) in 1998

• Elected to Rajya Sabha, 2002 and 2008 (Uttar Pradesh) and 2016 (Jharkhand)

• Effectively played responsibilities as Chairman/Member of various important Parliamentary Committees such as Defence, External Affairs, Home, Finance, Information Technology, Privilege etc.

• National General Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party, 2002-2005

• National Vice-President, Bharatiya Janata Party, 2005-2014

• National Secretary, Bharatiya Janata Party, 2000-2002

• National Spokesperson, Bharatiya Janata Party, 2002-2014

• Member, Central Election Committee, Bharatiya Janata Party, 2002-2004

• Chairman of Central Election Management Committee, Bharatiya Janata Party in 2004; 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections

• Chairman, Election Reform Committee, Bharatiya Janata Party, 2002-2004

• National Vice-President, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, 1990-1998

• Organisational role as In-charge of various states in Youth Wing and BJP