Rafi Ahmed Kidwai

The stamp on the FDC depicts a portrait of late Shri Rafi Ahmed Kidwai at the right of the stamp. At the left top corner aeroplane is shown flying to indicate the Night Air Mail service, which was introduced by late Shri Rafi Ahmed Kidwai during the year 1948.The design of the First Day Cover has been prepared by Shri Pakrashi, an artist of New Delhi.

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. Post-Independence he held the post of Minister of Posts and Telegraphs.

In Nov 2011, Government of India decided to rename the Postal Staff College, Ghaziabad after him as Rafi Ahmed Kidwai National Postal Academy. The National Academy is entrusted with the task of imparting training to the officers of Indian Postal Service selected through Civil Services Examination conducted by the UPSC. The Academy is in the same league as its counterpart Administrative and Police academies named after stalwarts like Lal Bahadur Shastri and Sardar Patel.

In Kolkata, a major street has been named after him to glorify this hero of the Indian independence movement. His Statue is also located in Indira Nagar,Lucknow and Krishi Bhawan, NEW DELHI to honour his service towards the nation.

In his honour,Veteran educationist Sri Asad Ali Farooqui established RAFI AHMAD QIDWAI INTER COLLEGE in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh.The college was started in 1958 as a junior high school and later became an inter college.Recently Rafi Ahmad Qidwai Inter College completed 50 years of its establishment.Sri Asad Ali Farooqui became the Founder and the first principal of the college and after retiring in 1992, now serves as the president of the college commiittee.

Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology is named after him.He played a major role in donating 20 acres of the Campus land and Rs. 100,000 for the Radiotherapy machine.