Rafi Ahmed Kidwai | |
|---|---|
 Kidwai on a 1969 stamp of India | |
| Union Minister of Food and Agriculture | |
| In office 13 May 1952 – 24 October 1954 | |
| Prime Minister | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Preceded by | Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi |
| Succeeded by | Panjabrao Deshmukh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1894-02-18)18 February 1894 |
| Died | 24 October 1954(1954-10-24) (aged 60) |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Education | Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, now calledAligarh Muslim University |
| Khilafat Movement (1919-1922) | |
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai (18 February 1894 – 24 October 1954) was a politician, anIndian independence activist and a socialist. Kidwai served as a Minister of Communications in the first Cabinet of Independent India (First Nehru Ministry).[1]
He hailed fromBarabanki District ofUttar Pradesh, in north India.[2]
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai was born on 18 February 1894 in a middle class family in the village of Masauli, inBarabanki district (now inUttar Pradesh).[2][3] As a young man, after graduating from theMuhammadan Anglo-Oriental College atAligarh, he became politically active and was a regular member ofKhilafat Movement in 1920.[2] He also vigorously supported theNon-cooperation movement (1919-1922) in theBarabanki district. In 1946, he became the Home Minister ofUttar Pradesh.[2]
After the 1951-52 general elections in India,Jawaharlal Nehru made Rafi the minister of food and agriculture. At that time, there was food rationing all over India due to man-made food scarcity. Rafi worked very hard as a minister to solve that problem. He is said to have boldness and an imaginative approach in solving problems.[2] Rafi also was a man of action and provided vigorous support to Nehru in theIndian National Congress national government.[2]
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai died in Delhi on 24 October 1954. He hadheart failure after experiencing an attack ofasthma while delivering a speech.[2] His burial site, at his home village, was later covered by a Mughal-style mausoleum. According to historianPaul Brass, "A formidable fund-raiser for Congress movements and elections, he distributed his largesse to all and sundry, but died in debt, leaving behind only a decaying house in his home village."[3]
TheRafi Ahmed Kidwai Award was created in 1956 by theIndian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to recognize Indian researchers in the agricultural field. Awards are distributed every second year, and take the form of medals, citations, and cash prizes.[4]In his famousautobiography, Jawaharlal Nehru mentioned that Rafi Ahmad Kidwai was part of District Congress Committee and had signed a book containing recommendations to solve agrarian problem inUnited Provinces of British India in 1931.
According toParliament of India orRajya Sabha website, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai profile says:
"An eminent patriot, valiant freedom fighter and brilliant administrator, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai was a man of drive, quick decisions and firm action".[1]
India Post issued a commemorative postage stamp On 1 April 1969 to acknowledge his services to India.[5]
In November 2011, the Postal Staff College in Ghaziabad was named as the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai National Postal Academy.[6]
There is also a street named after him inKolkata.
There is a road named after him in Wadala Mumbai.
TheParliament of India has a portrait of Kidwai in a Committee Room.[1]
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai also played a major role in donating 20 acres of the campus land and Rs. 100,000 for the radiotherapy machine for the establishment of cancer care hospital in Bangalore Karnataka state, India which is named after him -Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology.[7]
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