Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
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Categories: Indian politician stubs | First Indian Cabinet | Indian politicians | Indian Muslims | Indian independence activists | Aligarh Muslim University alumni | Indian socialists | People from Barabanki
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai (Hindi: रफ़ी अहमद क़िदवई), (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. After attending M.A.O. College in Aligarh, Kidwai entered politics through the Khilafat movement, and after the passage of Government of India Act 1935, he held an office for the Indian National Congress. In 1937, Kidwai became a minister for Revenue and Prisons in Govind Ballabh Pant's cabinet in United Provinces (UP) under the Provincial Autonomy Scheme. Under his stewardship, UP became the first province to curtail the zamindari 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, and was close, among others, to Anugrah Narayan Sinha, who was a prominent leader of the time. 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.
Rafi Ahmed Kidwai AwardA Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award is given once every two years to a scientist who has made outstanding research contributions in the field of 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. External sourceBiography from the Government of India's Ministry of Information
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