Rafi Ahmed Kidwai (18 February 1894 – 24 October 1954) was a politician, an Indian independence activist and a socialist, sometimes described as an Islamic socialist He hailed from Barabanki District of United Provinces, now Uttar Pradesh, in north India.
Early life
Rafi Ahmed was born in the village of Masauli, in Barabanki district (now in Uttar Pradesh).
Death
Kidwai died in Delhi on 24 October 1954. He had heart failure after experiencing an attack of asthma while delivering a speech. His burial site, at his home village, was covered by a Mughal-style mausoleum. According to historian Paul 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.”
Legacy
The Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award was created in 1956 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) in 1956 to recognize Indian researchers in the agricultural field. Awards are distributed every second year, and take the form of medals, citations, and cash prizes.
In November 2011, the Postal Staff College in Ghaziabad was named as the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai National Postal Academy. There is also a street named after him in Kolkata.
There is a street named after him in Wadala Mumbai.
The Parliament of India has a portrait of Kidwai in a Committee Room.