Abdul Rehman Antulay (1929–2014) was an Indian politician from Maharashtra and a member of the Indian National Congress. He served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from June 1980 to January 1982, becoming the first and so far only Muslim to hold the office. He later served as a member of the Lok Sabha and as a Union Cabinet Minister in the Government of India.
| Full name | Abdul Rehman Antulay |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 February 1929, Ambet, Raigad district, Bombay Presidency, British India |
| Died | 2 December 2014 |
| Political party | Indian National Congress |
| Office | Chief Minister of Maharashtra (1980–1982); Union Minister for Minority Affairs (2006–2009) |
| Constituencies | Maharashtra Legislative Assembly; Lok Sabha from Kulaba/Raigad |
| Religion | Islam |
Antulay was born in the village of Ambet in the Raigad (then Kolaba) district of coastal Maharashtra, in the Konkan region. He was educated in law and practised as an advocate before entering active politics through the Congress party in Maharashtra. He rose through state-level Congress organisations, building a base in the Konkan belt.
Antulay was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on multiple occasions and held ministerial positions in the state government during the 1970s. He was considered a close associate of Indira Gandhi, and following the Congress(I) victory in the state in 1980 he was chosen to lead the government.
Antulay assumed office as Chief Minister of Maharashtra on 9 June 1980. His tenure was marked by an emphasis on welfare schemes and the centralisation of decision-making within the Chief Minister's Office.
He resigned in January 1982 following a judgement of the Bombay High Court in proceedings related to public trusts associated with him, including the Indira Gandhi Pratibha Pratishthan. The matter went through prolonged litigation in the higher judiciary over subsequent years.
After his resignation, Antulay continued in public life and was elected to the Lok Sabha from Maharashtra, including from the Kulaba (later Raigad) constituency. He served as the Union Minister for Minority Affairs in the United Progressive Alliance government led by Manmohan Singh from 2006 to 2009, when the ministry was created as a separate department.
Antulay's tenure as Chief Minister is historically significant as the only instance to date of a Muslim leading the Government of Maharashtra. His career also reflects the prominence of the Konkan region within Maharashtra Congress politics and the role of regional leaders in shaping minority-related policy at the Union level. The legal proceedings during and after his chief ministership contributed to subsequent jurisprudence in India on public trusts and political accountability.