Aslam Chowdhary Mohammad
Shri Chowdhary Mohammad Aslam (1944 in village Lassana in Surankote – 15 June 2014) is a politician from the Indian National Congress party and a Member of the Parliament of India representing Jammu and Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament, with term ending on 29 November 2008. Born in 1944, Ch Aslam belonged to village Lassana in Surankote. He did his matriculation from Government High School, Poonch before going to Aligarh Muslim University to study further. The deceased congressman was the son of a prominent Gujjar leader, Ghulam Hussain. His father had formed  Gujjar Jat Conference for the welfare of Gujjar community and common people. After partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, family of Ch Aslam crossed over to Pakistan administered Kashmir (PaK) but returned to Poonch in 1951. Following the footsteps of his father after returning from Aligarh, he joined politics. He fought elections in 1966 from Surankote defeating Syed Jamat Ali Shah, who had won elections unopposed for 13 years from the seat. Ch Aslam joined Congress in 1966 and contested eight elections from Surankote. He was also member of Rajya Sabha. He remained Speaker in the State Assembly for  eight years. Various political parties and social organizations condoled his demise by expressing solidarity with the bereaved family. Offering his condolence to the bereaved family, NC Party President Dr Farooq Abdullah has said that late Aslam's work and contributions towards his community would be remembered with appreciation for a long time to come. NC Working President and J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah also condoled the demise of Ch Aslam by saying that late Aslam was one of the most accomplished Congress leaders in the state and had dedicated his life to the service of the nomadic Gujjar community. During  his political career of over 48 years, Ch Aslam held important posts including Finance Minister of State, Education Minister, Speaker of Legislative Assembly, Member Parliament in Rajya Sabha, and vice chairman of Gujjar Bakkerwal Advisory Board. He remained J&K Pradesh Congress Committee chief for 17 years.