Shahi Imam Abdullah Bukhari dead

Syed Abdullah Bukhari, who was Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid for decades and was one of India's most outspoken Muslim leaders, died here on Wednesday, an aide said. He was 87.

Although Abdullah Bukhari had made his son Syed Ahmed Bukhari the Shahi Imam in 2000, he retained the title of Shahi Imam of the 17th-century mosque built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan.

Jama Masjid spokesperson Amanullah Khan said that the ailing Bukhari passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where he had been admitted several weeks ago.

Born in Rajasthan and educated in Delhi, Abdullah Bukhari became the Naib Shahi Imam in 1946, a year before India became independent.

He came into national prominence in the 1977 Lok Sabha election when he campaigned against the Congress party to protest against the forced sterilisation drive in parts of Old Delhi by the Congress government.

Since then politicians used to make a beeline to him to seek his support in elections, giving him a clout he did not command even as the cleric of the country's best known mosque.

The senior Bukhari also played an active role in support of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya but his appeal started to wane after the mosque razing in 1992.