HughStoate90988 at 07:48, 1 November 2025

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{{Short description|1977 funeral in India}}
[[Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed]], the fifth [[President of India]], died in office of heart failure on 11 February 1977, aged 71.

==Background and death==
On 6 February 1977, Ahmed left India for state visits to [[Malaysia]], the [[Philippines]] and [[Burma]]. On 6 February, he arrived in [[Kuala Lumpur]], but after two days of engagements felt fatigued and was examined by his physician, following which he cancelled his engagements and the remainder of the trip.<ref name="data_India">{{cite book|pages=83|title=Data India 1977 (6)|first= |last=|publisher=Government of India|year=1977|ISBN=|subject=}}</ref> He returned to Delhi on 10 February, and the following morning at 6:00 suffered a heart attack in his bathroom at [[Rashtrapati Bhavan]], being declared dead at 8:52.<ref name="data_India"/>

==Funeral==
Ahmed's body lay in state at Rashtrapati Bhavan until 10:00 on 13 February, after which it was taken to the Mughal Gardens adjoining the presidential residence for the ''[[Salat al-Janazah]]''. After the prayer, Ahmed's body returned to Rashtrapati Bhavan until 14:15 when it was placed on a ceremonial gun carriage and taken in procession to the gravesite at the Jama Masjid.<ref name="funeral_arrangements">{{cite web|title=Arrangements for President's Funeral on Sunday: New Delhi Jama Masjid Final Resting Place|url=http://pibarchive.nic.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/RASHTRAPATI%20BHAWAN/1977-FEB-RASPATI-BHVAN/PDF/RPB-1977-02-12_042.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau of India - Archive|date=12 February 1977|accessdate=10 July 2020|archive-date=11 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711005550/http://pibarchive.nic.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/RASHTRAPATI%20BHAWAN/1977-FEB-RASPATI-BHVAN/PDF/RPB-1977-02-12_042.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The funeral procession of vehicles, including acting President [[B. D. Jatti]], Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]], military units and foreign dignitaries, moved along Rajpath, Janpath, Connaught Place and Parliament Street before reaching Patel Chowk, with large numbers of mourners watching.<ref name="data_India"/> From Patel Chowk, the procession continued along Ashoka Marg, Pt. Pant Marg and Talkatora Marg to the Parliament House complex. There, the acting President and the principal mourners left their vehicles to walk with the gun carriage past Transport Bhavan to the burial site.<ref name="funeral_arrangements"/>

Carried by military pallbearers and accompanied by the three armed service chiefs,<ref name="funeral_arrangements"/> Ahmed's body was carried to its gravesite and lowered into the grave with full state honours at around 16:30, accompanied by the ''Fatiha''.<ref name="data_India"/> The principal mourners and representatives of Islamic nations joined in throwing earth onto Ahmed's coffin as it was lowered into the grave.<ref name="funeral_arrangements"/> The funeral service concluded at 17:15, after a 21-gun salute was fired and the Last Post and Rouse were sounded.<ref name="funeral_arrangements"/><ref name="data_India"/>

==Dignitaries==
26 countries sent representatives to Ahmed's state funeral:<ref name="delegations">{{cite web|title=Arrivals of Special Delegations|url=http://pibarchive.nic.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/EXTERNAL%20AFFAIRS/1977-JAN-APRI-PART-1-EXTERNAL-AFFAIRS/EXT-1977-02-13_083.pdf|website=Press Information Bureau of India - Archive|date=13 February 1977|accessdate=10 July 2020|archive-date=13 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713062415/http://pibarchive.nic.in/archive/ArchiveSecondPhase/EXTERNAL%20AFFAIRS/1977-JAN-APRI-PART-1-EXTERNAL-AFFAIRS/EXT-1977-02-13_083.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Governmental representatives===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Country
! Dignitary
|-
| {{flag|Kingdom of Nepal|1977|name=Nepal}} || [[Tulsi Giri]] (Prime Minister)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Uzbek SSR}}/{{flag|Soviet Union}} || [[:ru:Матчанов, Назар Маткаримович|Nazar Matkarimovich Matchonov]] (Chairman of the Presidium of the [[Supreme Soviet of the Uzbek SSR]])<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Soviet Union}} || [[:ru:Георгадзе, Михаил Порфирьевич|Mikhail Porfir'yevich Georgadze]] (Secretary of the Presidium of the [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]])<ref name="delegations"/> [[Nikolay Firyubin]] (Deputy Foreign Minister)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Sri Lanka}} || [[T. B. Ilangaratne]] (Minister of Trade, Public Administration and Home Affairs)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Republic of Afghanistan|1977|name=Afghanistan}} || Muhammad Naim (Special Envoy)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Vietnam}} || Phan Hien (Deputy Foreign Minister)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|State of Bahrain|1972|name=Bahrain}} || Walid al-Dekhi Dir (Deputy Prime Minister's Office)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Bhutan}} || Princess Sonam Chhoden Wangchuck<ref name="delegations"/> Lyonpo Chhogyal (Finance Minister of Bhutan)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Pakistan}} || [[Habibullah Khan Marwat]] ([[Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan]])<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Japan|1870}} || M. Okuda (Deputy Parliamentary Minister of Foreign Affairs)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Malaysia}} || [[Mohamed Yaacob]] (Minister of Public Enterprises)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Bangladesh}} || [[M. A. Rashid]] (Minister of Public Works and Urban Development)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma|1977|name=Burma}} || U Hla Pona (Foreign Minister)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|East Germany}} || [[Horst Sindermann]] (President of the People's Chamber)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|United Kingdom}} || [[Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones]] ([[Lord Chancellor|Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain]])<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Pahlavi dynasty|1964|name=Iran}} || [[Jafar Sharif-Emami]] (President of the [[Senate of Iran]])<ref name="delegations"/> [[Abbas Ali Khalatbari]] ([[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iran)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]])<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|South Korea|1949}} || [[Pak Tongjin]] (Foreign Minister)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Yugoslavia}} || [[Cvijetin Mijatović]] (Member of the [[Presidency of Yugoslavia]])<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|People's Republic of Bulgaria|1977|name=Bulgaria}} || [[Petur Tanchev]] ([[List of First Deputy Chairmen of the State Council of Bulgaria|First Deputy Chairman of the State Council of Bulgaria]])<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|United States}} || [[Adolph Dubs]] (Deputy Assistant Secretary of State)<ref name="delegations"/> [[Charles H. Percy]] (Senator from [[Illinois]])<ref name="delegations"/> [[John Joseph Cavanaugh III]] (Congressman from the [[Nebraska's 2nd congressional district|2nd Congressional District of Nebraska]])<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Czechoslovak Socialist Republic|1977|name=Czechoslovakia}} || [[:cs:Karol Laco|Karol Laco]] (Deputy Prime Minister)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Egypt|1972}} || Aby Baker Ridwan (Deputy Prime Minister)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Hungarian People's Republic|1977|name=Hungary}} || Gabor Borbely (Member, Presidential Council)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Socialist Republic of Romania|1977|name=Romania}} || [[:ro:Ștefan Péterfi|Ștefan Péterfi]] (Vice President of the [[State Council of Romania]])<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Ba'athist Syria|1972|name=Syria}} || Jamil Shayya (Deputy Prime Minister)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Oman|1970}} || [[Qais al-Zawawi]] (Minister of State, Foreign Affairs)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|Indonesia}} || [[Adam Malik]] (Minister of Foreign Affairs)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
|}

===Personal representatives===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Flag
! Dignitary
|-
| [[File:Royal_Standard_of_Prince_Michael_of_Kent.svg|Flag of Prince Michael|60px]] || [[Prince Michael of Kent]] (representing Queen [[Elizabeth II]])<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
| {{flag|United States}} || [[Lillian Carter]] (mother of President [[Jimmy Carter]])<ref name="delegations"/> James Earl "Chip" Carter (second son of President Jimmy Carter)<ref name="delegations"/>
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Fakhruddin Ali}}
[[Category:1977 in India|Death and state funeral of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed ]]
[[Category:State funerals in India]]
[[Category:Deaths and funerals of politicians]]
[[Category:Deaths by person in India]]
[[Category:State funerals]]

Death and state funeral of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed - Revision history

HughStoate90988 at 07:48, 1 November 2025