Arif Mohammad Khan

Arif Mohammad Khan Biography

Arif Mohammad Khan is an Indian politician representing the Bharatiya Janata Party. He currently serves as the Governor of Kerala since 6 September 2019. He is the second Governor of Kerala to be appointed by the ruling Narendra Modi government at the centre after P. Sathasivam. Earlier a parliamentarian, he has served as a cabinet minister too. He is a 4-term parliamentarian representing Kanpur and Bahraich in the 1980s and 1990s. Following his support to the controversial bill of NRC and CAA, he was heckled and disrupted during a speech at a public event in Kannur University, which brought him to limelight. He authored Text and Context: Quran and Contemporary Challenges.

Arif Mohammad Khan was born in 1951 in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. He got into active politics during his college days. He served as the President of Aligarh Muslim University Student's Union in the year 1972-73. He also served as honorary Secretary of the university the previous annual year. He unsuccessfully contested in Siyana constituency of Bulandshahar in the 1970s representing Bharatiya Kranti Dal, but got elected when he contested the next time. Thus he became a member of the legislative assembly of UP in 1977 at the age of 26.

In 1980 he joined Indian National Congress. He got elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 from Kanpur and 1984 from Bahraich, both with Congress ticket. In 1986, he quit the Indian National Congress due to differences over the passage of Muslim Personal Law Bill. He was against the triple talaq legislation and also Government stand on Shah Bano case in 1986. He joined the Janata Dal and was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989 from Bahraich. He served his last term as parliamentarian during 1998-1999. In 2004, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election from Kaisarganj constituency. He has always supported reformation within Muslims.

Published: January 05, 2020

Updated: January 05, 2020