Shahnawaz Choudhary

Mohammad Shahnawaz Choudhary is an Indian political activist. Till 2014 he was President of J&K Pradesh Youth Congress^[1][2][3] and later General Secretary of the Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee.^[4][5] Currently he is a DDC member of Surankote A constituency. He defeated Choudhary Mohd Akram (ex MLA Surankote) by 2675 votes. He raised his voice at different platforms for the welfare of Poonch district people. He was the first elected President of the J&K Pradesh Youth Congress.^[6] He joined course B.A L.L.B at The Law School, University of Jammu.

Shahnawaz Choudhary
State General Secretary of the Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office May 2015
State President (J&K) of the Indian Youth Congress
In office May 2012 – May 2015
National Secretary of the Indian Youth Congress
In office 2010–2012
General Secretary of the National Students Union of India
In office 2009–2010
State Vice President (J&K) of the National Students Union of India
In office 2008–2009
State General Secretary (J&K) of the National Students Union of India
In office 2007–2008
State Secretary (J&K) of the National Students Union of India
In office 2006–2007
Personal details
Born	(1984-03-03) 3 March 1984 (age 41) Vill. Hari, Teh. Surankote, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Political party	Indian National Congress
Parent(s)	Haq Nawaz (Retd. SP, J&K Police)
Residence(s)	Surankote, District Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Alma mater	University of Jammu JNV Surankote
Profession	Politician

Political activity

In 2009, Choudhary was appointed All India General Secretary of the National Students Union of India and oversaw its activities in Delhi and North Eastern States. He was selected for this position through a national talent hunt in which the best leaders amongst the students of India were selected.^[7] He also led the protest against the attacks on Indian students in Australia and gheraoed the Embassy of Australia in New Delhi.^[2][8] In August, 2010, he was appointed as National Secretary All India Youth Congress.^[5][9] He remained in charge of various states in India as the National Secretary of Youth Congress.^[1]

Choudhary led a Statewide protest against Jammu & Kashmir National Conference led State Government for non-implementation of the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution of India for the empowerment of Pachayats in J&K.^{[10][11][12][13]} During his tenure as National General Secretary NSUI, he led a mass rally in Delhi University against Ragging. He also started a helpline for the students who are victims of ragging, "Our helpline will provide moral support to the victims of ragging. And their complaints will be tackled with utmost immediacy, since as of now, it takes time," said Mohd Shahnawaz, NSUI's National General Secretary while leading the campaign ^{[clarification needed][14]} Choudhary also started his rural connect campaign "Jan Chetna Yatra", soon after taking charge as the first elected state president of youth congress, and visited almost every village in the state of J&K. During his campaign he made the farmers and other stake holders aware about the policies and programs of the government and also criticised the anti-people acts of the state government.^[15][16][17]

During his presidency, he established public durbars and open forums to connect the government with its citizens. He positioned himself as a conduit through which people could both take advantage of government programs and voice criticism of any wrongdoing.^[18]

In 2014, he visited flood-damaged areas in Surankote^[19] and distributed relief supplies.^[20] He was later appointed as the Convener of the campaign committee of Indian National Congress for the Jammu & Kashmir Pradesh Assembly elections that year.^[21]

In March 2015, he led a protest against the release from prison of separatist leader Masarat Alam.^[22] Later that year, in Srinagar, representing the Congress, he addressed a crowd at a protest against evacuations of forest residents in the area.^[23]

Choudhary has a significant fan following due to his charismatic youth leadership in India and receives welcomes and receptions throughout the state.^[24]

In the recent Bihar state assembly elections,^[when?] he was appointed as the coordinator for AICC (All India Congress Committee) and worth to mention that INC secured the best results in the elections.^[25] He was appointed as Coordinator for Demonetization campaign in Chhattisgarh. He also worked as Incharge secretary, IYC in Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.

He is also the Founder President of Society For Justice, Awareness and Deliverance (NGO),^[26] State President of All J&K Gujjar & Bakerwal students, Co-ordinator of YAKJAH (J&K), and General Secretary of National Progressive Youth Organization (NGO).^{[citation needed]} He was Elected General Secretary of Students Advocates Council of The Law School, JU and Elected Cultural Secretary of Jammu University.^{[citation needed]}