Abu Barkat Ataur Ghani Khan Choudhury (1 November 1927 – 14 April 2006), known asBarkatda to his supporters,[2] was anIndian politician who served as the 1stMinister of Coal from 1980 to 1982. He is fromWest Bengal, India. Choudhury was a senior leader ofIndian National Congress.
Ghani Khan Choudhury was first elected as anMLA to theWest Bengal state legislative assembly in 1957, winning the seat in 1962, 1967, 1971 and 1972. He served as a StateCabinet Minister in theGovernment of West Bengal from 1972 to 1977. First elected to the7th Lok Sabha in1980 fromMalda, Choudhury would go on to represent the constituency for eight straight terms,[2] winning again in1984,1989,1991,1996,1998,1999 and2004. From 1982 to 1984, Choudhury served as theMinister of Railways inIndira Gandhi's andRajiv Gandhi's governments.[3] He took active part in introducing theKolkata Metro Railway andCircular Railways in the city ofKolkata, and towards establishing theMalda Town railway station as one of the most important stations of the region
. For his contributions, Choudhury is often respected as the architect of modern Malda.[2]
Ghani Khan was the son of Abu Hyat Khan Chowdhury and Saleha Khatoon.
Choudhury had claimed to be a barrister-at-law, called to the Bar from one of London's Inns of Court, while providing biographical information to the Indian Parliament.[4] However, the claim was found to be false by an election tribunal, and Choudhury was criticised by opposition politicians, such asJyoti Basu (himself a barrister from London, who had also threatened to bring a motion against Choudhury),George Fernandes andIndrajit Gupta.[5] Choudhury attributed the incorrect information to an "oversight".[5]
Ghani Khan Choudhury was married to Esther who left India in 1963 and settled in Switzerland. They had three children.[6] Choudhury's siblings, all politicians, areAbu Nasar Khan Choudhury,Abu Hasem Khan Choudhury andRubi Noor.
Ghani Khan Choudhury Institute of Engineering & Technology (GKCIET), Malda, West Bengal was established in 2010 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India under the mentorship of the National Institute of Technology, Durgapur and in the memory of Choudhury.[7][8]
