Dr. Golam Yazdani (1917–2009) was a controversial Bengali politician, six-time MLA, three-time MP and cabinet minister in West Bengal. He was in jail for around three years and went underground for twenty months.

Early years

Dr. Golam Yazdani, son of Moulvi Raisuddin Ahmed, was born at Barogachi in Malda district in January 1917. He qualified as a doctor, passing M.B.B.S., DTM & H, and D.G.O. from

Calcutta Medical College Calcutta Medical College, officially Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, is a public medical school and hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It is the oldest existing hospital in Asia. The institute was established on 28 January 1835 by L ...

, Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine and Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, all at Kolkata. He married Maleka Begum in 1980 and had two sons.

Political career

He won the

Kharba Kharba is a village in Chanchal I CD Block in Chanchal subdivision of Malda district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The town is located on the western banks of the Mahananda River. Geography Location Kharba is located at . It has an aver ...

seat as an independent candidate in 1957, 1962, 1967 and 1969, and as a CPI(M) candidate in 1971. He did not contest as a candidate in 1972 and won it back as an independent candidate in 1977. At that time Kharba assembly segment was part of

Raiganj Raiganj () is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Uttar Dinajpur district. The police station was set up 125 years ago and railway connectivity reached the place 115 years ago. The city h ...

. Dr. Golam Yazdani successfully contested the Raiganj parliamentary seat as a

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

candidate in 1980, 1984 and 1989. He was a cabinet minister for civil defence and passport in West Bengal from 1969 to 1970. He was in emergency medical service during World War II, from 1943 to 1947. He was imprisoned for political reasons from 1971 to 1974, and went underground during the emergency for 20 months. He contributed substantially for the establishment of Chanchal College in 1969. Dr. Golam Yazdani's popularity was because of his being a doctor and his social work.

Death

Dr. Golam Yazdani died at his Chanchal residence on 14 May 2009. He was 93. He was survived by two sons. His elder son Alberuni was active in politics in the Congress party. Alberuni later contested in 2011 Assembly elections as an independent candidate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yazdani, Golam West Bengal MLAs 1957–1962 West Bengal MLAs 1962–1967 West Bengal MLAs 1967–1969 West Bengal MLAs 1969–1971 West Bengal MLAs 1977–1982 Indian National Congress politicians People from Malda district Lok Sabha members from West Bengal State cabinet ministers of West Bengal 1917 births 2009 deaths India MPs 1980–1984 India MPs 1984–1989 India MPs 1989–1991 People from Uttar Dinajpur district 20th-century Bengalis 21st-century Bengalis