SQR Ilyas – Political activist who serves as president of Welfare Party of India

SQR Ilyas is a political activist from Delhi, who currently serves as president of Welfare Party of India. He has formerly served as convener of Babri Masjid Coordination Committee. He is actively involved with many religious organizations of Islam and a very influential figure in Delhi as well. His son Umar Khalid is a Left Wing political Activist, known for student activism while he was studying PhD in Jawaharlal Nehru University. Umar was also arrested for the infamous 2016 JNU Sedition row, which brought him to limelight.

SQR Ilyas’s full name is Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas. He was born in Amaravati, Maharashtra in 1953. Later his family moved to Delhi, where he got settled and got active in religious and political activism in the capital city. Currently he serves as the president of Welfare Party of India, launched in 2011. SQR got involved with student politics as a member of Students Islamic Movement of India, and he rose to prominence and also elected as the national president of this student’s union. Since 1980s he is fully involved with Islamic activities related to politics. He left SIMI in 1985, long before the outfit was banned in 2001. Yet his involvement with the Islamic organization was dragged into discussions following his son’s involvement with JNU Sedition row.

SQR Ilyas – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. His son Umar Khalid is a former students’ leader of Jawaharlal Nehru University, associated with leftist ideologies.

2. He is a member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board.

3. He serves as the general secretary of All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat.

4. In 2019 general elections he unsuccessfully contested from Jangipur constituency in West Bengal representing Welfare Party of India. He even lost his security deposit in Lok Sabha poll as he could gain only 1.63% of total votes polled in the constituency.