For smooth Ad free experience
Famously known as an Islamic activist and diligent politician, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai was the unsung devotee of Panditji. Many were his achievements in the field of governance, which are still held in high regard to this day.
Born on 18th Feb 1894
Perhaps one of the most regarded political dissidents, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai was a man in his own league. Carrying his praiseworthy efforts from the pre-independence era to post, Kidwai always put his best foot forward no matter what the consequences. Armed with executive critical thinking and excellent strategic skills, he shone in his post as the minister of Food and Agriculture.
Unlike his comrades, he got busier after coming into office by releasing well-planned initiatives and schemes for the betterment of the public. Unsurprisingly, his name has been engraved in the roads, statues and organisations all over the country.
Born on the 18th of February, 1894 in Barabanki District, present-day Uttar Pradesh state, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai was one of four siblings in a middle-class zamindar family. Receiving his graduation in Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, Aligarh, in 1918, it was natural for Kidwai to step into the world of politics through the gateway of the Khilafat Movement, two years later. But this wasn’t his first stint with politics, Kidwai had his first taste during the historic Congress-Muslim league session in the December of 1916.
In his honour, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, instituted the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award in 1956, to felicitate budding Indian researchers in agriculture.
The world of politics suited him. Being an extremely avid follower of Pandit Motilal Nehru, he worked as his private secretary in 1922 after his release from jail for being one of the core activists behind the Non-Cooperation Movement.
He was chosen for the Focal Administrative Get together and filled in as the Central whip for the Swaraj Party, the constituent arm of the Congress, from 1926-1929. Kidwai’s political sharpness maintained solidarity in Swaraj gatherings on questionable issues.
You might be interested in reading more from
