Explanation:

Veteran Gujjar leader and Padma Bhushan awardee Mian Bashir Ahmed, a resident of Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir, passed away recently, after a prolonged illness. He was 98.

Ahmed was the son of top Gujjar leader and saint Mian Nizam Din Larvi and father of former Minister and National Conference (NC) leader Mian Altaf Ahmad.

Born in November 1923, Mian Bashir Ahmed was a minister in Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah's cabinet.

Later, he left politics and started working for Islamic Sufi tradition and to help downtrodden people.

In 2008, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan award for his extraordinary service for the Gujjar-Bakarwal community and other downtrodden groups.

The tribal Gujjars and Bakarwals (Goat herds) took pride in saying that the Baba Sahib belonged to their community while Kashmiris and Dogras of the Jammu division said he was the eldest of their communities as well whose love transcended communities and religions.