Abdul El-Sayed’s Historic Senate Victory Brings Celebration to Karnataka’s Bhatkal
El-Sayed’s victory against Republican Mike Rogers in the contest for Michigan’s open Senate seat makes him the first Muslim to enter the US Senate
BHATKAL: Thousands of kilometres away from Michigan, the coastal town of Bhatkal in Karnataka had a personal reason to celebrate Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed’s victory in the US Senate election. His wife, Dr Sarah Jukaku, traces her family roots to the town, where her grandfather played a significant role in public life and development.
El-Sayed’s victory against Republican Mike Rogers in the contest for Michigan’s open Senate seat makes him the first Muslim to enter the US Senate. His success has brought pride and excitement to Sarah’s extended family in Bhatkal and Bengaluru.
Sarah’s grandfather, Jukaku Shamsuddin, was an Indian politician and a former Congress MLA in Mysore State who represented Honnavar from 1957 to 1963.
A member of the Nawayath community, Shamsuddin was among the first lawyers from the community and the first to become a minister. He is credited with contributing to Bhatkal’s development through initiatives involving town planning, roads, electricity and educational institutions.
Journalist Aftab Husain Kola, who documented his life in the book JH Shamshuddin: Service Above Self, recalls him as a public figure known for his principles and integrity. The administrative building of Anjuman Hami-e-Muslimeen, a charitable trust that runs educational institutions in Bhatkal, has been named after him.
Shamsuddin died at the age of 52, leaving behind his wife, Zubeidah Begum, six daughters and four sons. His children and their families later moved to different places for education and professional opportunities.
One of his sons, Dr Jukaku S. Tayeb, Sarah’s father, studied at Bangalore Medical College, joining in 1976. He subsequently moved to the Middle East before settling in Michigan in the 1980s, where he worked as a nephrologist.
The Nawayath community, to which the Jukaku family belongs, has a long history along India's western coast. Its merchant families are believed to have migrated from parts of the Arab world and West Asia, including Yemen, Iran and Iraq, and settled in coastal towns over several centuries.
