Kalimuddin Shams (13 February 1939 – 4 March 2013) was an Indian politician, belonging to the

All India Forward Bloc The All India Forward Bloc ( AIFB) is a left-wing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. The party re-established as an independent political party a ...

. He served as Minister for Agriculture Marketing/Food and Supply 1991–2005 in the

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

state government.''Towards Socialism''.
Com. KALIMUDDIN SHAMS PASSED AWAY
'' Shams was born in Gaya. A lawyer by profession, he became involved in organising local struggles of residents of

Kidderpore Khidirpur or Kidderpore is a neighborhood of metropolitan Kolkata (Calcutta), in Kolkata district, West Bengal, India. Etymology Most plausibly, the name is a corruption of ''Khidrpur'' or ''Khizarpur'', Khizr/Khidr being the guardian sai ...

outside

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. He was elected to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation in 1965, standing as an

independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

. In the following year he became a member of the All India Forward Bloc. Shams stood as a Forward Bloc candidate in the Kabitirtha seat in the 1967 legislative assembly election, but was not elected. In 1969 he again contested municipal elections and was re-elected. He served as Mayor in Council for Water Department. In the 1972 election he again ran for legislative assembly from Kabitirtha, but was not elected. Shams was elected to the West Bengal legislative assembly in the 1977 elections, representing Kabitirtha. He was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the assembly. He would be re-elected in 1982, 1987, 1992, 1996 and 2001 (albeit in the two last elections he represented the Nalhati constituency. In 1980 the Urdu Academy of West Bengal was founded, with Shams as its chairman. He also served as president of the Mohammedan Sports Club several years, being appointed in 1992. Shams was a member of the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

of the All India Forward Bloc for 15 years. He resigned from his ministerial post in 2005 due to ill health. An excellent orator, Shams was popular in India as a Muslim leader, who didn't hesitate to speak his mind and they were instances when he didn't even toe his party line when the issue concerned his community. Kalimuddin Shams is linked to brutal killing of IPS Vinod Kumar Mehta, DCP (Port) on March 18, 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shams, Kalimuddin 1939 births 2013 deaths All India Forward Bloc politicians State cabinet ministers of West Bengal Deputy Speakers of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly West Bengal MLAs 1969–1971 West Bengal MLAs 1977–1982 West Bengal MLAs 1982–1987 West Bengal MLAs 1991–1996