As a student in England he had befriended Jawaharlal Nehru whose progressive ideas had influenced him, and who became his close friend and mentor. - Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed

After a term in the national Parliament, he returned to Assam politics until Prime Minister Indira Gandhi included him in her first cabinet in January 1966. He held a variety of portfolios—irrigation and power, education, industrial development, and agriculture. Ahmed became India’s fifth president in 1974.

As President, he put signature to the order on promulgation of Emergence on 25 June 1975 – the most notable decision of the presidential term. This move was widely criticized by the opposition leaders who considered it a servile act, driven more by considerations of being seen as loyal to the Nehru-Gandhi family, rather than of genuine concern for the safety of the government.

He was rudely woken up at midnight on 25 June 1975 and asked to sign the emergency proclamation which he faithfully did. Its effect was telling in six hours, with Newspapers without news and the entire opposition in jail.