Rafi Ahmed Kidwai

Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
Born	18 February 1894 Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India
Died	24 October 1954
Organization	Indian National Congress
Movement	Indian Independence movement

Rafi Ahmed Kidwai (Hindi: रफ़ी अहमद क़िदवई رفیع احمد قدوائی Urdu ), (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.

Rafi Ahmed was born in the village of Masauli, in Barabanki district (now in Uttar Pradesh), the eldest son of Imtiaz Ali Kidwai and his wife, Rashid ul-Nisa. Imtiaz Ali was an affluent Zamindar (land-owner) who had added to his position in society by entering government service. His wife, Rashid-un-Nisa, dies when Rafi was still a child.

Rafi 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 with a BA in 1918. He began work towards the degree of LLB, but never completed it. This was because he got swept up by the khilafat and non-cooperation movements of 1920–21 (the first of Mahatma Gandhi’s major all-India movements) and was jailed for his participation.

In 1919, Rafi was married to Majid-un-Nisa, a girl of his own community and similar background and hailing from the same province. The match, which was arranged by their families in the usual Indian way, was harmonious and lasted to the end of their lives. The couple were blessed with only one child, a son who died of an unexplained fever at seven years of age.

Rafi had four younger brothers, namely Shafi Ahmed, Mehfooz Ahmad, Ali Kamil and Hussain Kamil Kidwai. His brother Shafi was married to the communist activist and writer Anis Kidwai, a Rajya Sabha member. They were the grandparents of Ayesha Kidwai, a communist and feminist ideologue active in politics at JNU, and of Seema Mustafa, a journalist. Mehfooz Ahmad's son Fareed Kidwai is a member of the Samajwadi Party and a Minister of State in the Uttar Pradesh government. Rafi's other nephews include Rishad Kamil Kidwai (s/o Mehfooz Ahmed Kidwai), Mumtaz Kamil Kidwai (s/o Ali Kamil Kidwai) and Hasan Javed Kidwai (s/o Husain Kamil Kidwai).

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