Najma Heptulla – The face of the Minority

Najma Heptulla: BJP's Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh, Najma Heptulla is the new Minister of Minority Affairs in Narendra Modi's cabinet.  Conisdered the eldest in the Cabinet Mrs Najma Heptulla was born in Bhopal in 1940 and is the grand niece of Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad. Highly qualified she holds  a Masters' of Science Degree in Zoology, and a Ph.D. in Cardiac Anatomy from the University of Denver.

Married to Akbarali A Heptulla in 1966 they have  three daughters. Her husband, Akbarali A Heptulla, a manpower consultant, was instrumental the establishment of the Patriot newspaper in the 1960s. passed away in 2007. As a Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha she has travelled extensively to various parts of the world representing India at international conferences including those related to the Commonwealth and the international parliamentary union.Known to be one of the few candidates in the minority category to have secured a cabinet berth Mr Heptullah is the only Muslim leader in the Narendra Modi cabinet. A prominent Muslim face of the BJP over the years, articulating its viewpoint inside and outside parliament she was once a prominent Congress member in the Upper House but due to ideological differences she moved to the BJP in 2004 and despite being called a Congress traitor she has proved herself  that its not the party but the work that you do carries your name forward.