Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
Encyclopedia
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai (18 February 1894 - 24 October 1954) was an Indian independence activist
and a socialist, sometimes described as an Islamic socialist
. He came from Barabanki
District
of United Provinces, now Uttar Pradesh
, in north India
.
, United Provinces
, India
, the eldest of four sons of Imtiaz Ali Kidwai, a middle-class zamindar
(or landowner) and government servant, and his wife, Rashid ul-Nisa, who died during his early childhood. He received his early education from a tutor at the home of his uncle, Wilayat Ali, a politically active lawyer, and in the village school. He attended the Government High School, Barabanki, until 1913. He then attended the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College, Aligarh, where he graduated BA in 1918. He began work towards the degree of LLB, but, swept up by the khilafat and non-co-operation movements in 1920–21 (the first of Mahatma Gandhi's major all-India satyagraha, or non-violent civil resistance, movements) and jailed for his participation, he never completed it. He married Majid ul-Nisa in 1919. They had one child, a son, who died at seven years of age.
in Aligarh, Kidwai entered politics through the Khilafat movement.
After his release from jail in 1922 Kidwai moved to Allahabad, where he became attached to the Nehru family, as private secretary first to Motilal Nehru, then to Jawaharlal, to whom he remained devoted thereafter. Kidwai, a virtuoso politician, took the leading organizational role in numerous ventures: in the election campaign of the Swaraj Party
(an electoral offshoot of the Congress) in 1926, during which he himself was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly
of British India; as chief whip of the Congress in the central legislative assembly from 1926 to 1929; in the satyagraha and agrarian no-tax movement in the United Provinces in 1930–31; as general secretary of the United Provinces Congress committee in 1931, then president, from which position he led the organization of the campaign for the provincial assembly elections of 1937; in his subsequent organization of the 1946 elections; and in many other roles.
After the passage of the Government of India Act 1935
, he held an office for the Indian National Congress
.
From 1930–31 until the independence of India in 1947 Kidwai was, alongside Govind Ballabh Pant, the leading figure in Congress politics in the United Provinces and in the governments formed in that province under the terms of the Government of India Act of 1935 in 1937 and 1946. As revenue minister in the first government he was responsible for piloting the United Provinces Tenancy Act, which modified some of the burdens of the tenantry, presaging the post-independence abolition of the zamindari land system. In the 1946 government he was second to Pant as home minister. Kidwai had been Pant's political manager.
In 1937, Kidwai became a minister for Revenue and Prisons in Govind Ballabh Pant
's cabinet in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh
(UP) under the Provincial Autonomy Scheme. Under his stewardship, UP became the first province to curtail the zamindar
i system. In April 1946, he became the Home Minister of UP.
Kidwai was a major ally of Jawaharlal Nehru
, the first Prime Minister of India
. After India gained independence from the British Raj in 1947, Kidwai became India's first Minister for Communications. (Kidwai and Abul Kalam Azad were the two Muslims in Nehru's central cabinet.)
After the first general elections in 1952, Nehru entrusted Kidwai with the portfolio of Food and Agriculture at a time when there was food rationing in the country.
In Delhi Kidwai, ever the political operative, soon became embroiled in the national struggle for power between Nehru and the supporters of Sardar Patel. He was one of the principal founders of the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party, which broke away from the Congress to contest the elections of 1952 on its own. However, Kidwai vacillated, resigned briefly from the Congress, then returned to it to contest and win a parliamentary seat, after which he rejoined Nehru in the central government on 13 May 1952 as minister for food and agriculture. In this role he was credited with implementing several measures that prevented a major food crisis. He also played a critical role in the Kashmir imbroglio in 1953, involving the displacement of Sheikh Abdullah from the prime ministership of the state.
Kidwai was the only prominent Congress Muslim politician in the thoroughly communalized political atmosphere of his home province. All his followers were secular-minded Hindus from many different castes, whose political views ranged from conservative to socialist. Kidwai himself held to no ideology other than his devotion to the cause of Indian emancipation from British rule, though, like his mentor, Jawaharlal Nehru, he was loosely associated with those on the putative left of the Indian spectrum. While generous to all who sought his help, he was also a clever, manipulative, and conspiratorial political opponent in factional conflicts within the Congress organization, who at times engaged in legally dubious tactical moves against his rivals. A devoted band of followers in the United Provinces remained loyal to him throughout his life. In a humorous play on English, they proclaimed themselves ‘Rafians’, though after his departure to the central government they were reduced to a small minority in the provincial party organization and dispersed in factions within and parties outside the Congress.
is given by ICAR
once every two years to a scientist who has made outstanding research contributions in the field of agriculture, animal husbandry and allied sciences(i.e. fisheries, aquatic sciences, and public health microbiology). The award consists of a Gold medal, a citation, and a cash prize of 300,000 Indian rupees.
In Kolkata
, a major street has been named after him to glorify this hero of the Indian independence movement.
Indian independence activists
This is a listing of people who campaigned against or are considered to have campaigned against foreign domination and cultural imposition on the Indian sub-continent...
and a socialist, sometimes described as an Islamic socialist
Islamic socialism
Islamic socialism is a term coined by various Muslim leaders to describe a more spiritual form of socialism. Muslim socialists believe that the teachings of the Qur'an and Muhammad are compatible with principles of equality and the redistribution of wealth....
. He came from Barabanki
Barabanki District
The Barabanki district is one of four districts of Faizabad division, lies at the very heart of Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and forms as it were a centre from which no less than seven other districts radiate...
District
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
of United Provinces, now Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, in north India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Early life
He was born on 18 February 1894 in the village of Masauli, in Barabanki districtBarabanki District
The Barabanki district is one of four districts of Faizabad division, lies at the very heart of Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and forms as it were a centre from which no less than seven other districts radiate...
, United Provinces
United Provinces of Agra and Oudh
The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1947; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces, by which the province had been commonly known, and by which name it was also a province of...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the eldest of four sons of Imtiaz Ali Kidwai, a middle-class zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
(or landowner) and government servant, and his wife, Rashid ul-Nisa, who died during his early childhood. He received his early education from a tutor at the home of his uncle, Wilayat Ali, a politically active lawyer, and in the village school. He attended the Government High School, Barabanki, until 1913. He then attended the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College, Aligarh, where he graduated BA in 1918. He began work towards the degree of LLB, but, swept up by the khilafat and non-co-operation movements in 1920–21 (the first of Mahatma Gandhi's major all-India satyagraha, or non-violent civil resistance, movements) and jailed for his participation, he never completed it. He married Majid ul-Nisa in 1919. They had one child, a son, who died at seven years of age.
Politics(pre independence)
After attending Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental CollegeMAO College
MAO College was founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, the leader of Muslim renaissance in Indian subcontinent, in 1875 at Aligarh. This later became Aligarh Muslim University in 1920....
in Aligarh, Kidwai entered politics through the Khilafat movement.
After his release from jail in 1922 Kidwai moved to Allahabad, where he became attached to the Nehru family, as private secretary first to Motilal Nehru, then to Jawaharlal, to whom he remained devoted thereafter. Kidwai, a virtuoso politician, took the leading organizational role in numerous ventures: in the election campaign of the Swaraj Party
Swaraj Party
The Swaraj Party, Swarajaya Party or Swarajya Party, established as the Congress-Khilafat Swarajaya Party, was a political party formed in India in 1922 that sought greater self-government and political freedoms for the Indian people from the British Raj. It was inspired by the concept of Swaraj...
(an electoral offshoot of the Congress) in 1926, during which he himself was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly
Central Legislative Assembly
The Central Legislative Assembly was a legislature for India created by the Government of India Act 1919 from the former Imperial Legislative Council, implementing the Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms...
of British India; as chief whip of the Congress in the central legislative assembly from 1926 to 1929; in the satyagraha and agrarian no-tax movement in the United Provinces in 1930–31; as general secretary of the United Provinces Congress committee in 1931, then president, from which position he led the organization of the campaign for the provincial assembly elections of 1937; in his subsequent organization of the 1946 elections; and in many other roles.
After the passage of the Government of India Act 1935
Government of India Act 1935
The Government of India Act 1935 was originally passed in August 1935 , and is said to have been the longest Act of Parliament ever enacted by that time. Because of its length, the Act was retroactively split by the Government of India Act 1935 into two separate Acts:# The Government of India...
, he held an office for the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
.
From 1930–31 until the independence of India in 1947 Kidwai was, alongside Govind Ballabh Pant, the leading figure in Congress politics in the United Provinces and in the governments formed in that province under the terms of the Government of India Act of 1935 in 1937 and 1946. As revenue minister in the first government he was responsible for piloting the United Provinces Tenancy Act, which modified some of the burdens of the tenantry, presaging the post-independence abolition of the zamindari land system. In the 1946 government he was second to Pant as home minister. Kidwai had been Pant's political manager.
In 1937, Kidwai became a minister for Revenue and Prisons in Govind Ballabh Pant
Govind Ballabh Pant
Bharat Ratna Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant was a statesman of India, an Indian independence activist, and one of the foremost political leaders from Uttarakhand and of the movement to establish Hindi as the official language of India.-Early life:Govind Ballabh Pant was born on September 10, 1887 in...
's cabinet in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh
United Provinces of Agra and Oudh
The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1947; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces, by which the province had been commonly known, and by which name it was also a province of...
(UP) under the Provincial Autonomy Scheme. Under his stewardship, UP became the first province to curtail the zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
i system. In April 1946, he became the Home Minister of UP.
Politics (post independence)
Nehru called Kidwai to join him in the central government as minister for communications on 15 August 1947.Kidwai was a major ally of Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
, the first Prime Minister of India
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
. After India gained independence from the British Raj in 1947, Kidwai became India's first Minister for Communications. (Kidwai and Abul Kalam Azad were the two Muslims in Nehru's central cabinet.)
After the first general elections in 1952, Nehru entrusted Kidwai with the portfolio of Food and Agriculture at a time when there was food rationing in the country.
In Delhi Kidwai, ever the political operative, soon became embroiled in the national struggle for power between Nehru and the supporters of Sardar Patel. He was one of the principal founders of the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party, which broke away from the Congress to contest the elections of 1952 on its own. However, Kidwai vacillated, resigned briefly from the Congress, then returned to it to contest and win a parliamentary seat, after which he rejoined Nehru in the central government on 13 May 1952 as minister for food and agriculture. In this role he was credited with implementing several measures that prevented a major food crisis. He also played a critical role in the Kashmir imbroglio in 1953, involving the displacement of Sheikh Abdullah from the prime ministership of the state.
Kidwai was the only prominent Congress Muslim politician in the thoroughly communalized political atmosphere of his home province. All his followers were secular-minded Hindus from many different castes, whose political views ranged from conservative to socialist. Kidwai himself held to no ideology other than his devotion to the cause of Indian emancipation from British rule, though, like his mentor, Jawaharlal Nehru, he was loosely associated with those on the putative left of the Indian spectrum. While generous to all who sought his help, he was also a clever, manipulative, and conspiratorial political opponent in factional conflicts within the Congress organization, who at times engaged in legally dubious tactical moves against his rivals. A devoted band of followers in the United Provinces remained loyal to him throughout his life. In a humorous play on English, they proclaimed themselves ‘Rafians’, though after his departure to the central government they were reduced to a small minority in the provincial party organization and dispersed in factions within and parties outside the Congress.
Death
Kidwai suffered heart failure, precipitated by an attack of asthma, in the midst of a speech at a public meeting in Delhi and died shortly thereafter, on 24 October 1954. He was buried in his home village, Masauli, where a Mughal-style mausoleum was built over his grave. 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.Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award
Since 1956 Rafi Ahmed Kidwai AwardRafi Ahmed Kidwai Award
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award was instituted by ICAR in 1956 to provide incentives to research workers in India and to recognize their outstanding research work...
is given by ICAR
Indian Council of Agricultural Research
Indian Council of Agricultural Research , New Delhi, India is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India...
once every two years to a scientist who has made outstanding research contributions in the field of agriculture, animal husbandry and allied sciences(i.e. fisheries, aquatic sciences, and public health microbiology). The award consists of a Gold medal, a citation, and a cash prize of 300,000 Indian rupees.
In Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, a major street has been named after him to glorify this hero of the Indian independence movement.