Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national chairman and Kerala State president Sayed Hyderali Shihab Thangal, 74, passed away on March 6. He died after fighting cancer for over a year. He was declared dead around 12.30 pm at Little Flower Hospital, Angamaly. Thangal’s condition had deteriorated the previous day and he was put on a ventilator. However, his younger brother Sayed Sadikali Shihab Thangal and IUML national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty had said that there was nothing to worry.
Thangal, who is also key leader in the Congress-led United Democratic Front, had been serving as the vice-president of the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulema, an influential body of Muslim scholars in Kerala. He is the senior-most member of the Malappuram-based Panakkad Thangal family, which traditionally has the final say in IUML politics. He became the president of IUML in 2009, following the death of his elder brother Sayed Mohhammedali Shihab Thangal.