Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Shafiqur Rehman Barq (93), is back under the spotlight after praising BSP chief Mayawati and raising questions about the safety of Muslims in India. The nonagenarian is not new to political controversy. In 2019, Barq was the centre of debate in Uttar Pradesh after he refused to chant "Vande Mataram" in Parliament, during his oath taking ceremony, saying “it is against Islam”. Again, in April last year, Barq had attacked his own party, saying he was not satisfied with its working. He had then also alleged that not everyone in the SP had Muslim interests at heart. In August last year, Barq was booked for sedition, after he allegedly defended the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, equating it with India’s own freedom struggle. The SP MP had then defended himself saying his statement had been misinterpreted. A four-time MLA and five-time MP, Barq was born in 1930 in Sambhal’s Deepa Sarai, to parents who were daily wagers in pre-Independence India. He studied at Agra University, where he finished his graduation in 1952. He then returned to Sambhal and started treating minor ailments in the Nakhasa neighbourhood of Sambhal. He had learnt about medicine after working as a doctor’s assistant. Married to the late Quresha Begum, Barq has a son, Mamluk Ur Rahman Barq, who is a Muslim cleric in Sambhal. Mamluk’s son and Barq’s grandson, Ziaur Rahman Barq, is currently an MLA from Kundarki constituency in Moradabad district. Ziaur studied at the Aligarh Muslim University and was a Cabinet member of the AMU Students Union in 2006. Party leaders in Sambhal say that Barq, a “five-time namazi”, “lives a simple life as per teachings in the Quran”. His entry into politics happened when he joined ranks with tall socialist leaders – the SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. He was first elected as MLA from Sambhal in 1974 on the symbol of the Bharatiya Kranti Dal. In subsequent elections of 1980, 1989 and 1991, he was elected from the same seat on different symbols. Leaders in Sambhal say Barq’s political career took a jump after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992. “One of the decisive moments in Barq’s political career happened in the post Babri-demolition era, when he became vocal for the Muslim cause in UP and across the country,” said an SP leader. Barq joined the Babri Action Committee and was an active voice for Muslims in the 1990s, when the Ram Temple movement was spreading across India. In 1996, he contested his first parliamentary elections from Moradabad and was elected to the Lok Sabha on a Samajwadi Party ticket. He was reelected from the same seat in 1998 and 2004. In 2008, he switched over to the BSP and contested the Lok Sabha polls in 2009 from Sabhal, winning it. He then returned to the SP and unsuccessfully contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, when he lost to BJP’s Satyapal Singh Saini by a narrow margin of 5,000-odd votes. In 2019, he won back the seat, defeating the BJP’s Parmeshwar Lal Saini by 1.74 lakh votes. Despite his age, Barq is still an avid reader and reads several newspapers every morning, say his party colleagues. “He talks about world politics, Indian politics, Islam and a wide range of topics. He also reads a variety of literature from across the world,” said a leader in Sambhal. His image in Sambhal is that of someone who is not just important for the constituency, but of one who speaks up for Muslims across India. “He doesn’t shy away from making statements that could land him in trouble. He is not scared of police cases or proceedings. He speaks his mind. He is still active and meets people regularly, while also reciting the namaz and verses of the Quran every day,” said an SP leader in Moradabad. SP national spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi said Barq is someone who is “full of integrity”. “His focus has always been on marginalised communities. That's why he has won so many elections,” said Gandhi.
