A. R. Antulay Explained

Abdul Rahman Antulay
Birth Date:1929 2, df=y
Birth Place:Raigad, Bombay Presidency, British India
Death Place:Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Office:1st Union Minister of Minority Affairs
Primeminister:Manmohan Singh
President:
Term Start:29 January 2006
Term End:19 January 2009
Predecessor:Position established
Successor:Salman Khurshid
Office1:26th Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare
Primeminister1:P. V. Narasimha Rao
President1:
Term Start1:11 June 1995
Term End1:16 May 1996
Predecessor1:P. V. Narasimha Rao
Successor1:Sartaj Singh
Office2:Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation
President2:
Primeminister2:P. V. Narasimha Rao
Term Start2:17 January 1995
Term End2:16 May 1996
Predecessor2:Vidya Charan Shukla
Successor2:Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Order3:8th
Office3:Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Term Start3:09 June 1980
Term End3:12 January 1982
Governor3:
1Blankname3:Ministry and Department
1Namedata3:
Predecessor3:President's rule
Successor3:Babasaheb Bhosale
Office4:Leader of the House
Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
Governor4:
1Blankname4:Speaker of the House
1Namedata4:
2Blankname4:Deputy Leader
2Namedata4:Jawaharlal Darda
Term Start4:09 June 1980
Term End4:12 January 1982
Predecessor4:Sharad Pawar
Successor4:Babasaheb Bhosale
Office5:Leader of The House
Maharashtra Legislative Council
Term Start5:21 February 1975
Term End5:16 May 1977
1Blankname5:Chief Minister
1Namedata5:Shankarrao Chavan
2Blankname5:Chairman of the House
2Namedata5:Vitthal Sakharam Page
3Blankname5:Deputy Leader
3Namedata5:Sundarrao Solanke
Predecessor5:Pratibha Patil
Successor5:Vasantdada Patil
Office6:Cabinet Minister Government of Maharashtra
1Blankname6:Chief Minister
1Namedata6:Vasantrao Naik
Governor6:
Term Start6:05 December 1963
Term End6:01 March 1967
2Blankname6:Ministry and Departments
2Namedata6:
1Blankname7:Chief Minister
1Namedata7:Vasantrao Naik
Governor7:
Term Start7:01 March 1967
Term End7:13 March 1972
2Blankname7:Ministry and Departments
2Namedata7:
1Blankname8:Chief Minister
1Namedata8:Vasantrao Naik
Governor8:Ali Yavar Jung
Term Start8:13 March 1972
Term End8:20 February 1975
2Blankname8:Ministry and Departments
2Namedata8:
1Blankname9:Chief Minister
1Namedata9:Shankarrao Chavan
Governor9:Ali Yavar Jung
Term Start9:21 February 1975
Term End9:16 April 1977
2Blankname9:Ministry and Departments
2Namedata9:
Office10:Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Constituency10:Kolaba
Term Start10:1989
Term End10:1998
Predecessor10:Dinkar Patil
Successor10:Ramsheth Thakur
Term Start11:2004
Term End11:2009
Constituency11:Kolaba
Predecessor11:Ramsheth Thakur
Successor11:Raigad Lok Sabha constituency
Office12:Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
Term Start12:1962
Term End12:1972
Predecessor12:New Constituency
Successor12:A. Shakur A. Karim Ukaye
Constituency12:Shrivardhan
Term Start13:1980
Term End13:1985
Predecessor13:Ravindra Raut
Successor13:Ravindra Raut
Constituency13:Shrivardhan
Party:Indian National Congress
Alma Mater:Bombay University (BA)

Abdul Rahman Antulay (9 February 1929 – 2 December 2014) was an Indian politician. Antulay was a union minister for Minority Affairs and a Member of Parliament in the 14th Lok Sabha of India. Earlier he had been the Chief Minister of the state of Maharashtra, but was forced to resign after being convicted by the Bombay High Court on charges that he had extorted money for a trust fund he managed. Later, the Supreme Court of India gave him clean chit in that case.

Antulay belonged to the Congress party. In the 2009 Indian general elections, he lost to Anant Geete from the Raigad Lok Sabha constituency of Maharashtra. He is the first Muslim chief minister of Maharashtra.[1]

Life

He was born in Konkani Muslim Family to father Shri Hafiz Abdul Gafoor and mother Zohrabi in the village Ambet village, near Mahad Raigad, Maharashtra, India. He was married to Nargis Antulay and the couple have one son and three daughters. After appearing for B.A. examination, he studied Barrister-At -Law, educated at Bombay University and Lincoln's Inn, London.

Antulay was a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly from 1962[2] to 1976, during which time he served in the Maharashtra state government as Minister of State for Law and Judiciary, Ports and Fisheries and then as Minister of Law & Judiciary, Building, Communication and Housing from October 1969 to February 1976. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1976 to 1980; in 1980, he was again elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and served as Chief Minister of Maharashtra from June 1980 to January 1982. He was forced to resign his post after allegations of corruption and a conviction in an extortion case.[3] [4] He again got elected in 1985 election to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly[5] and remained until 1989, when he was elected to the 9th Lok Sabha. He was re-elected to the 10th Lok Sabha in 1991. From June 1995 to May 1996, he was Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, and from February to May 1996 he was additionally in charge of Water Resources. In 1996 he was re-elected to the 11th Lok Sabha, and in 2004 he was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha. He was Union Minister for Ministry of Minority Affairs (India) under Manmohan Singh's government.[6]

He started his career as active social worker in 1945. As a social worker his notable achievements include construction of (i) a jetty on the bank of Savitri River, Bankot (Khadi) Creek through local people offering free labor (shramdan in Marathi) to complete the task. He also worked with his own hands along with the villagers of Ambet; (ii) road between the village Ambet and Lonere Goregaon (then in Kolaba, now in Raigad district) to connect his village to NH-17. He had a keen interest in the uplifting of the weaker sections of the society and as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra had launched Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana (a monthly financial aid scheme for poor and destitute), pension and housing facilities for legislators and media persons, and many more initiatives.[7] He had also announced that he would get back the Bhawani sword — the sword used by iconic Maratha king Shivaji which now lies in the British Museum in London.[8]

He had to resign from the post of Chief Minister of Maharashtra due to allegations of his involvement in corruption. However, the Supreme Court cleared him of all allegations years later. The charges were seen as political ploy to malign him and arrest his political growth. When cleared by the Supreme Court, he said "I had done nothing wrong. I was targeted by political rivals but they failed. I suffered some setbacks, but they could not destroy me."

Antulay died from chronic Kidney failure on 2 December 2014 while being treated at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai.[9]

Upon Antulay's demise, noted criminal lawyer J.P. Mishra, who represented Bharatiya Janata Party leader Ramdas Nayak in the corruption cases he had filed against Antulay, paid rich tributes to his old adversary. He acknowledged Antulay as "an administrator par excellence", whose heart always beat for the poor and downtrodden. "He was a truly great human being. He set up the trusts for the benefit of the poorest people in society, but they became his undoing. Even during the trial, he was always amiable and soft-spoken, never harbouring animosity or ill-will against anybody," said Mishra, who is now the BJP North Mumbai unit president of the BJP.

Literary works

He has also published several books:

Controversies

He resigned as Chief Minister of Maharashtra after the Bombay High Court convicted him of extortion on 13 January 1982. The court ruled that Antulay had illegally required Bombay area builders to make donations to Indira Gandhi Pratibha Pratishthan trust, one of several trust funds he had established and controlled, in exchange for receiving more cement than the quota allotted to them by the Government.[3] [10] He was later granted bail by the court.[11] However, the Supreme Court later cleared him of the allegations.[12]

Again after November 2008 Mumbai attacks he has raised a controversy by saying that the end of Hemant Karkare, of the Anti-Terrorism Squad of Maharashtra, killed in the attacks, may be related to his investigation of the 2006 Malegaon blasts, leading to questions about the Mumbai attacks. Later he changed his stand and told Parliament he had not talked about who killed the police officers but about who "sent them in the wrong direction".[13] His party, Congress, distanced itself from his statements. The then US ambassador, in some of the US embassy cables, accused that this early dismissal, then followed by tacit promotion, indicates that "the Congress Party will readily stoop to the old caste/religious-based politics if it feels it is in its interest."[14]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2014-12-02. AR Antulay, Maharashtra's first Muslim chief minister, passes away at 85 . 2021-03-29. Firstpost.
  2. Web site: Statistical Report on General Election, 1962 to the Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra . 27 January 2010 . 17 April 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180417164907/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1962/StatRep_Maharastra_1962.pdf . dead .
  3. https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/13/world/around-the-world-a-top-official-in-india-i-s-convicted-of-extortion.html "AROUND THE WORLD; A Top Official in India Is Convicted of Extortion"
  4. News: Ananth . Venkat . A brief history of Maharashtra's chief ministers . 22 September 2020 . Mint . 28 October 2014 . en.
  5. http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/electionanalysis/AE/S13/partycomp13.htm State Elections 2004 - Partywise Comparison for 13 - Shriwardhan Constituency of Maharashtra
  6. http://164.100.24.209/newls/Biography.aspx?mpsno=3236 Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
  7. News: Barrister Antulay: The enfant terrible of Maharashtra politics. 3 December 2014. Firstpost. 4 October 2015.
  8. News: The rise and fall of former Maharashtra chief minister AR Antulay. 4 October 2015. Daily News & Analysis. 2 December 2014.
  9. News: Former Union minister AR Antulay passes away. 2 December 2014. Zee News India. 2 December 2014.
  10. News: Jethmalani . Mahesh . A.R. Antulay case: Halfway off the hook . 11 December 2019 . India Today . 15 June 1985 . en.
  11. News: Kapoor . Coomi . A.R. Antulay's bail not be cancelled, rules Bombay High Court . 11 December 2019 . India Today . 15 September 1984 . en.
  12. News: Former Maharashtra CM AR Antulay was known as fast decision-maker . 11 December 2019 . The Economic Times . Press Trust of India . 2 December 2014.
  13. https://web.archive.org/web/20081218073349/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/antulay-clarifies-but-govt-embarrassed-still--watch/80787-3.html Antulay clarifies, but Govt embarrassed still Watch - India News - IBNLive
  14. Copy of diplomatic cable dated 23 December 2008 (10 December 2010). "US Embassy Cables: Mumbai Conspiracy Allegations 'Outrageous'  - US Ambassador". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 December 2010.