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Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad
Ali Jinnah
Pakistan,
one of the largest Muslim states in the world,
is a living and exemplary monument of Quaid-i-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah. With his untiring efforts,
indomitable will, and dauntless courage, he
united the Indian Muslims under the banner of
the Muslim League and carved out a homeland
for them, despite stiff opposition from the
Hindu Congress and the British Government. |
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Muhammad Ali Jinnah was born in Karachi on
December 25, 1876. His father Jinnah Poonja was an Ismaili
Khoja of Kathiawar, a prosperous business community.
Muhammad Ali received his early education at the Sindh
Madrasa and later at the Mission School, Karachi. He
went to England for further studies in 1892 at the age
of 16. In 1896, Jinnah qualified for the Bar and was
called to the Bar in 1897.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah started his political career in
1906 when he attended the Calcutta session of the All
India National Congress in the capacity of Private Secretary
to the President of the Congress. In 1910, he was elected
to the Imperial Legislative Council. He sponsored the
Waqf Validating Bill, which brought him in touch with
other Muslim leaders. In March 1913, Jinnah joined the
All India Muslim League.
As a member of the Muslim League, Jinnah began to work
for Hindu-Muslim unity. In 1917, the annual sessions
of both the Congress and the League were held at Lucknow.
The League session was presided over by Muhammad Ali
Jinnah. It marked the culmination of his efforts towards
Hindu-Muslim unity. Here, both the League and the Congress
adopted a scheme of reforms known as the Lucknow Pact.
On April 19, 1918, Jinnah married Rutanbai. Their daughter,
Dina was born a year later. In 1919, Jinnah resigned
from his membership of the Imperial Legislative Council
as protest against the "Rowlatt Act".
Until the publication of Nehru Report, Jinnah continued
his efforts for Hindu-Muslim unity. The Nehru Report,
published in 1928, was severely criticized by all sections
of the Muslim community. In December 1928, the National
Convention was called to consider the Report. Jinnah
proposed some amendments, but they were all rejected.
He finally parted ways with the Congress.
In
1929, Jinnah presented his famous Fourteen Points in
response to the Nehru Report. When he returned from
England, he reorganized the Muslim League. In 1934,
he was elected as its permanent president.
The Provincial Assembly elections of 1937 swept the
Congress to power in eight provinces. After almost two
years of oppressive rule, Muslims under the leadership
of Jinnah, celebrated the Day of Deliverance at the
end of Congress rule.
The Muslim League held its annual session at Lahore
in March 1940. This was presided over by Quaid-i-Azam.
The demand for Pakistan was formally put forward here.
This goal was realized on August 14, 1947. Quaid-i-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah was appointed as its first Governor
General.
The establishment of Pakistan brought even greater responsibilities
for Jinnah. The refugee problem, the withholding of
Pakistani assets by India, and the Kashmir problem were
a real test for the Quaid. However, his indomitable
will prevailed. He worked out a sound economic policy,
established an independent currency and the State Bank
for Pakistan. He chose Karachi as the federal capital.
However, he did not live long to witness the progress
of the state that he had founded. On September 11, 1948,
he died after a protracted illness at Karachi. He was
buried in Karachi that witnessed the entire nation mourning
over an irreparable loss.
Allama
Muhammad Iqbal
Allama
Iqbal, great poet-philosopher and active political
leader, was born at Sialkot, Punjab, in 1877.
He descended from a family of Kashmiri Brahmins,
who had embraced Islam about 300 years earlier.
Iqbal received his early education in the traditional
maktab. Later he joined the Sialkot Mission
School, from where he passed his matriculation
examination. |
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In 1897, he obtained his Bachelor of Arts
Degree from Government College, Lahore. Two years
later, he secured his Masters Degree and was appointed
in the Oriental College, Lahore, as a lecturer of
history, philosophy and English. He later proceeded
to Europe for higher studies. Having obtained a degree
at Cambridge, he secured his doctorate at Munich and
finally qualified as a barrister.
He returned to India in 1908. Besides teaching and
practicing law, Iqbal continued to write poetry. He
resigned from government service in 1911 and took
up the task of propagating individual thinking among
the Muslims through his poetry.
By 1928, his reputation as a great Muslim philosopher
was solidly established and he was invited to deliver
lectures at Hyderabad, Aligarh and Madras. These series
of lectures were later published as a book "The
Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam".
In 1930, Iqbal was invited to preside over the open
session of the Muslim League at Allahabad. In his
historic Allahabad Address, Iqbal visualized an independent
and sovereign state for the Muslims of North-Western
India. In 1932, Iqbal came to England as a Muslim
delegate to the Third Round Table Conference.
In later years, when the Quaid had left India and
was residing in England, Allama Iqbal wrote to him
conveying to him his personal views on political problems
and state of affairs of the Indian Muslims, and also
persuading him to come back. These letters are dated
from June 1936 to November 1937. This series of correspondence
is now a part of important historic documents concerning
Pakistan's struggle for freedom.
On April 21, 1938, the great Muslim poet-philosopher
and champion of the Muslim cause, passed away. He
lies buried next to the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore.
Sir
Syed Ahmad Khan
The
greatest Muslim reformer and statesman
of the 19th Century, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan was
born in Delhi on October 17, 1817. His family
on the maternal and paternal side had close
contacts with the Mughal court. His maternal
grandfather, Khwajah Farid was a Wazir in the
court of Akbar Shah II. His paternal grandfather
Syed Hadi held a mansab and the title of Jawwad
Ali Khan in the court of Alamgir II. His father,
Mir Muttaqi, had been close to Akbar Shah since
the days of his prince-hood. Syed Ahmad's mother,
Aziz-un-Nisa, took a great deal of interest
in the education and upbringing of her son.
She imposed a rigid discipline on him and Sir
Syed himself admitted that her supervision counted
for much in the formation of his character.
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The
early years of Sir Syed's life were spent in the atmosphere
of the family of a Mughal noble. There was nothing
in young Syed's habits or behavior to suggest that
he was different from other boys, though he was distinguished
on account of his extraordinary physique. As a boy
he learnt swimming and archery, which were favorite
sports of the well-to-do class in those days.
Sir
Syed received his education under the old system.
He learnt to read the Quran under a female teacher
at his home. After this, he was put in the charge
of Maulvi Hamid-ud-Din, the first of his private tutors.
Having completed a course in Persian and Arabic, he
took to the study of mathematics, which was a favorite
subject of the maternal side of his family. He later
became interested in medicine and studied some well-known
books on the subject. However, he soon gave it up
without completing the full course. At the age of
18 or 19 his formal education came to an end but he
continued his studies privately. He started taking
a keen interest in the literary gatherings and cultural
activities of the city.
The
death of his father in 1838 left the family in difficulties.
Thus young Syed was compelled at the early age of
21 to look for a career. He decided to enter the service
of the East India Company. He started his career as
Sarishtedar in a court of law. He became Naib Munshi
in 1839 and Munshi in 1841. In 1858 he was promoted
and appointed as Sadar-us-Sadur at Muradabad. In 1867
he was promoted and posted as the judge of the Small
Causes Court. He retired in 1876. He spent the rest
of his life for Aligarh College and the Muslims of
South Asia.
Sir
Syed's greatest achievement was his Aligarh Movement,
which was primarily an educational venture. He established
Gulshan School at Muradabad in 1859, Victoria School
at Ghazipur in 1863, and a scientific society in 1864.
When Sir Syed was posted at Aligarh in 1867, he started
the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental School in the city.
Sir Syed got the opportunity to visit England in 1869-70.
During his stay, he studied the British educational
system and appreciated it. On his return home he decided
to make M. A. O. High School on the pattern of British
boarding schools. The School later became a college
in 1875. The status of University was given to the
college after the death of Sir Syed in 1920. M. A.
O. High School, College and University played a big
role in the awareness of the Muslims of South Asia.
Unlike
other Muslim leaders of his time, Sir Syed was of
the view that Muslims should have friendship with
the British if they want to take their due rights.
To achieve this he did a lot to convince the British
that Muslims were not against them. On the other hand,
he tried his best to convince the Muslims that if
they did not befriend the British, they could not
achieve their goals. Sir Syed wrote many books and
journals to remove the misunderstandings between Muslims
and the British. The most significant of his literary
works were his pamphlets "Loyal Muhammadans of
India" and "Cause of Indian Revolt".
He also wrote a commentary on the Bible, in which
he attempted to prove that Islam is the closest religion
to Christianity.
Sir
Syed asked the Muslims of his time not to participate
in politics unless and until they got modern education.
He was of the view that Muslims could not succeed
in the field of western politics without knowing the
system. He was invited to attend the first session
of the Indian National Congress and to join the organization
but he refused to accept the offer. He also asked
the Muslims to keep themselves away from the Congress
and predicted that the party would prove to be a pure
Hindu party in the times to come. By establishing
the Muhammadan Educational Conference, he provided
Muslims with a platform on which he could discuss
their political problems. Sir Syed is known as the
founder of Two-Nation Theory in the modern era.
In
the beginning of 1898 he started keeping abnormally
quiet. For hours he would not utter a word to friends
who visited him. Medical aid proved ineffective. His
condition became critical on 24th of March. On the
morning of March 27, a severe headache further worsened
it. He expired the same evening in the house of Haji
Ismail Khan, where he had been shifted 10 or 12 days
earlier. He was buried the following afternoon in
the compound of the Mosque of Aligarh College. He
was mourned by a large number of friends and admirers
both within and outside South Asia.
Liaquat Ali Khan
The
second son of Nawab Rustam Ali Khan, was born
on October 1, 1896, in a Madal Pathan (Nausherwan)
family. He graduated in 1918 from M. A. O. College,
Aligarh. He married his cousin, Jehangira Begum
in 1918. After his marriage, he went to London
for higher education. In 1921, he obtained a
degree in Law from Oxford and was called to
Bar at Inner Temple in 1922.
On his return from England in 1923, Liaquat
Ali Khan decided to enter politics with the
objective of liberating his homeland from the
foreign yoke |
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Right from the very beginning, he was determined
to eradicate the injustices and ill treatment meted
out to the Indian Muslims by the British.
Liaquat Ali started his parliamentary career from
the U. P. Legislative Assembly in 1926 as an independent
candidate. Later he formed his own party, The Democratic
Party, within the Legislative Assembly and was elected
as its leader. He remained the member of the U. P.
Legislative Council till 1940 when he was elected
to the Central Legislative Assembly.
Liaquat Ali's second marriage took place in 1933.
His wife Begum Ra'ana was a distinguished economist
and an educationist who stood by her husband during
the ups and downs of his political career.
When Quaid-i-Azam returned to India, he started reorganizing
the Muslim League. Liaquat was elected as the Honorary
Sectary of the party on April 26, 1936. He held the
office till the establishment of Pakistan in 1947.
In 1940,
Liaquat
Ali Khan won the Central Legislature election in 1945-46
from the Meerut Constituency in U. P. He was also
elected Chairman of the League's Central Parliamentary
Board.
After
independence, Quaid-i-Azam and Muslim League appointed
Liaquat to be the head of the Pakistan Government.
Being the first Prime Minister of the country, He
had to deal with a number of difficulties facing Pakistan
in its early days. Liaquat Ali Khan helped Quaid-i-Azam
in solving the riot and refugee problem and setting
up an effective administrative system for the country.
After the death of Quaid-i-Azam, Liaquat tried to
fill the vacuum created by the departure of the Father
of the Nation. Under his premiership, Pakistan took
its first steps in the field of constitution making,
as well as foreign policy. He presented the Objectives
Resolution in the Legislative Assembly. The house
passed this on March 12, 1949. Under his leadership
a team also drafted the first report of the Basic
Principle Committee. His efforts in signing the Liaquat-Nehru
pact pertaining to the minority issue in 1950 reduced
tensions between India and Pakistan. In May 1951,
he visited the United States and set the course of
Pakistan's foreign policy towards closer ties with
the West.
On October 16, 1951, Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated.
He had been scheduled to make an important announcement
in a public meeting at Municipal Park, Rawalpindi.
Chaudhry
Rahmat Ali
Chaudhry
Rahmat Ali, founder of the Pakistan National
Movement, was born in 1895. From his early childhood,
Rahmat Ali showed signs of great promise as
a student. After completing his schooling, he
joined the Islamia College of Lahore in order
to get his Bachelor of Arts degree. Rahmat Ali
finished education in England, obtaining MA
and LLB with honors from the universities of
Cambridge and Dublin. |
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It was during the years 1930 through 1933, that he
seemed to have established the Pakistan National Movement,
with its headquarter at Cambridge. On January 28,
1933, he issued his first memorable pamphlet "Now
or Never; Are we to live or perish forever?"
He coined the word "Pakistan" for 30 million
Muslims who live in the five northern units of India;
Punjab, North West Frontier (Afghan) Province, Kashmir,
Sindh and Baluchistan. The pamphlet also gave reasons
for the establishment of Pakistan as a separate nation.
He spoke of an independent homeland for Muslims, Pakistan,
in the northern units of India, "Bang-i-Islam"
for Muslims in Bengal, and "Usmanistan"
for the Muslims in Hyderabad-Deccan.
Chaudhry
Rahmat Ali propagated the Scheme of Pakistan with
a missionary zeal since its inception in 1933. In
August 1947, Pakistan came to be established and in
1948 Chaudhry Rahmat Ali visited Pakistan. Later he
proceeded to England to champion the cause of Kashmir
through the United Nations.
Sick
and weak, he died on February 12, 1951.
Miss
Fatima Jinnah
Miss
Fatima Jinnah, younger sister of Quaid-i-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was born in 1893. Of his
seven brothers and sisters, she was the closest
to the Quaid. Jinnah became her guardian upon
the death of their father in 1901. Due to her
brother's keen interest, and despite strident
family opposition, Miss Fatima received excellent
early education. She joined the Bandra Convent
in 1902. In 1919 she got admitted to the highly
competitive University of Calcutta where she
attended the Dr. Ahmad Dental College. |
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After she qualified, Jinnah went along with her idea
of opening a dental clinic in Bombay and helped her
set it up in 1923.
Miss Fatima Jinnah initially lived with her brother
for about eight years till 1918, when he got married
to Rutanbai. Upon Rutanbai's death in February 1929,
Miss Jinnah wound up her clinic, moved into Jinnah's
bungalow, and took charge of his house; thus beginning
the life-long companionship that lasted till Jinnah's
death on September 11, 1948.
In all, Miss Jinnah lived with her brother for about
28 years, including the last 19 tiring years of his
life. The Quaid would discuss various problems with
her, mostly at the breakfast and dinner table. Paying
tribute to her sister, the Quaid once said, "My
sister was like a bright ray of light and hope whenever
I came back home and met her. Anxieties would have
been much greater and my health much worse, but for
the restraint imposed by her".
Miss Jinnah not only lived with her brother but also
accompanied him on his numerous tours. In 1932, she
joined him in London when he remained there after
the Second Round Table Conference.
When
the All India Muslim League was being organized, Miss
Fatima Jinnah was taken on as a member of the Working
Committee of the Bombay Provincial Muslim League,
and worked in that capacity until 1947.
In
March 1940, she attended the Lahore session of the
MuslimLeague. Fatima was convinced that the Hindus
intended to subjugate and dominate the Muslims completely.
It was primarily due to her initiative that the All
India Muslim Women Students Federation was organized
in February 1941 at Delhi.
During
the transfer of power in 1947, she was an inspiration
to Muslim women. She formed the Women's Relief Committee,
which later formed the nucleus for the All Pakistan
Women's Association. She also played a significant
role in the settlement of refugees in the new state
of Pakistan.
Despite her old age, she continued to help social
and educational associations. During the Quaid's illness,
she remained passionately attached to him. After his
death, she often issued important statements on important
occasions, as a reminder to the nation of the ideals
on which Pakistan had been established.
In 1965, Miss Fatima Jinnah ran for President as a
candidate of the Combined Opposition Party. Even a
conservative party like the Jamaat-i-Islami accepted
her as a woman presidential candidate. Miss Jinnah's
greatest advantage was that she was sister of the
Founder of Pakistan and had been detached from the
political conflicts that had plagued Pakistan after
the Founder's death. The sight of this dynamic lady
moving in the streets of big cities, and even in the
rural areas of a Muslim country, was both moving and
unique. She proclaimed her opponent presidential candidate,
Ayub Khan, a dictator. Miss Jinnah's line of attack
was that by coming to terms with India on the Indus
Water dispute, Ayub had surrendered control of the
rivers over to India. Her campaign generated such
tremendous public enthusiasm that most of the press
agreed that if the contest were by direct election,
she would have won against Ayub.
It seems that the thought of doing a biography of
her illustrious brother came to Miss Jinnah about
the time when Hector Bolitho's "Jinnah Creator
of Pakistan" was first published in 1954. It
was felt that Bolitho had failed to bring out the
political aspects of Jinnah's life in his book. Miss
Jinnah started looking for a Pakistani author to do
a biography of the Quaid. G. Allana was her choice.
G. Allana assisted Miss Jinnah on the assignment but
they parted company due to reasons undisclosed. Later
both carried on their independent works on Jinnah.
Her book "My Brother" was published by the
Quaid-i-Azam Academy in 1987.
The people of Pakistan hold Miss Fatima in high esteem.
Due to her selfless work for Pakistan, the nation
conferred upon her the title of Madar-i-Millat, or
"Mother of the Nation". She died in Karachi
on July 8, 1967. Some historians indicate that the
date of her death was actually July 2, 1967.
Khawaja
Nazimuddin
Khawaja
Nazimuddin was born on July 19, 1894, at Dhaka.
He was educated at M. A. O. College, Aligarh,
and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He remained as
Chairman of Dhaka Municipality from 1922 to
1929. After becoming the Provincial Education
Minister in 1929, he piloted the Bengal Rural
Primary Education Bill in 1930, which was strongly
opposed by the Hindu members. |
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He continued as Education Minister till 1934 and then
became an Executive Councilor. In that capacity two
important Bills were passed to improve the lot of
Bengal peasantry that showed his steady levelheaded
outlook.
In 1937, he was appointed as the Home Minister. He
remained an active member of Coalition Cabinet of
the Chief Minister, Fazl-ul-Haq, during 1937-1941.
After Fazl-ul-Haq's resignation, Khawaja Nazimuddin,
who had been the Leader of Opposition from 1941 to
1943, became Chief Minister on April 24, 1943. In
August 1947, he was elected as the leader of the Muslim
League Party of East Bengal.
When
Muhammad Ali Jinnah passed away on September 11, 1948,
Khawaja Nazimuddin was designated as the Governor
General of Pakistan. After the assassination of Liaquat
Ali, Khawaja Nazimuddin was asked to step in as the
Prime Minister as there was no other person found
suitable for the post, while Malik Ghulam Muhammad
was elevated to the post of Governor General.
Khawaja
Nazimuddin died in 1964.
Maulana Muhammad Ali
Maulana
Muhammad Ali was born in Rampur state in 1878,
in a wealthy and enlightened family of Pathans.
His father died when he was two years old. He
and his family suffered financial problems after
the death of his father. Due to the efforts,
determination and sacrifice by his mother, he
and his brothers were able to get good education.
He did his graduation from Aligarh University
with honors and then went to Lincoln College
Oxford, England, in 1898 to study modern history.
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On his return he was appointed Director of Education
in Rampur State, and later joined the Baroda Civil Service
and served there for seven years. Maulana Muhammad Ali
was a brilliant and impressive writer, an orator of
the first magnitude and a farsighted political leader.
He wrote articles in various newspapers like "The
Times", "The Observer" and "The
Manchester Guardian". Maulana Muhammad Ali wrote
both in English and Urdu. He launched his famous English
weekly "Comrade" from Calcutta in 1911. After
shifting to Delhi in 1913, he, in addition to his English
weekly, also launched his Urdu weekly, "Hamdard".
The "Comrade" became an internationally famous
journal and secured many subscribers in numerous foreign
countries. He also worked hard towards making M. O.
A. College a Muslim University. He assisted in setting
up Jami'ah Milliyah Islamia, which was later transferred
to Delhi. For four years after 1911, he remained involved
in the Kanpur Mosque affair. Maulana Muhammad Ali Jouhar
was one of the cofounders of All India Muslim League.
He attended the first session of All India Muslim League
at Dhaka in 1906, and was later elected as its President
in 1918. He remained active in the affairs of the All
India Muslim League till 1928.
The
famous English weekly "Comrade" was launched
from Calcutta in 1911
During the Khilafat Movement, Maulana Muhammad Ali Jouhar
led a delegation to England in 1919, in order to present
the view of the Muslims. Although the delegation was
not successful in its aim, he still kept on working
for the Muslims. He also wholeheartedly joined the non-cooperation
movement organized by Gandhi. In 1921, after the British
refused to honor their promises in regard to Turkey,
he toured the whole of India in order to gather support
for the success of the non-cooperation movement. At
the end of the movement he was arrested and jailed for
two years.
In
1924, he renewed the publication of "Hamdard".
In 1928, he left the Indian National Congress, opposed
the Nehru Report tooth and nail, and supported the
Fourteen Points of Quaid-i-Azam. Despite his ill health,
he attended the First Round Table Conference in 1930,
where he effectively argued the case of the Indian
Muslims. He delivered a memorable, fiery speech against
the domination of India and in favor of immediate
independence. Soon after the first session was over,
he collapsed and died in London on January 4, 1931,
and was buried in Jerusalem according to his own wish
Malik
Ghulam Muhammad
Malik
Ghulam Muhammad was the first leader to be installed
in Pakistan's hall of shame. He was chosen by
the Quaid as the fledgling state's first finance
minister, one of the few Muslim who had some
experience of audit and accounts, as well as
dash and drive. That his skills in financial
management had been recognised by the topmost
non-Muslim industrialist was an additional qualification.
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What
was not noted was his outsized personal ambition and
exposure to intrigues common in princely durbars.
A rapid advance in career had sharpened his arrogance
and the applause he received from the ignorant for
balancing the first state budget and for scoring a
point over India by not devaluing the currency when
the latter did so, eroded whatever capacity he had
for being a responsible team player.He might have
secretly envied fellow professionals (Mumtaz Husain,
Zahid Husain, Mohammad Ali, et al) but he had little
respect for fellow ministers, or even the head of
the Cobinet. Few noticed that, like his colleagues
in p power, he did not understand the political and
social needs of the new state's population, nor the
effects of the peculiar demographic and economic disparities
between its two separate parts. No one perhaps found
the colonial model of state wanting in any respect.
He had little to do with Islam or socialism but did
not hesutate to offer their mixture as a popular ideal.
Ghulam Muhammad will be remembered for founding the
tradition of authoritarianism in Pakistan. As the
leading actor in three major sequences -- the dismissal
of prime Minister Nazimuddin, the dissolution of the
Constituent assembly, and the imposition of the non-unit
sceme -- he was primarily responsible for launching
East Bangal on the path of alienation from Pakistan,
for bringing the armed forces into politics, for confirming
the country's subservience to Cold War operation,
for creating bad blood between Punjab and the other
federating units, and for devaluing democratic norms.
Taken together his actions created crises that got
aggravated year after year and which have dogged the
state to this day with enormous costs to the people.
Muhammad Ayub Khan
Muhammad
Ayub Khan was born on May 14, 1907, in the village
of Rehana near Haripur, in Hazara District.
For his basic education, he was enrolled in
a school in Sarai Saleh, which was about 4 miles
from his village. He used to go to school on
a mule's back. Later he was shifted to a school
in Haripur, After passing his Matriculation
Exams Ayub was sent to Aligarh University where
he spent four years. However, before appearing
in his B. A. exams, he was selected for the
Royal Military College at Sandhurst. He sailed
for England in 1926. |
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Ayub's
performance in Sandhurst was exemplary and he won
several scholarships. After the completion of training,
he got commissioned in the Indian Army in 1928. He
fought at different fronts during World War II, first
as a Major and then Colonel. During the communal riots
of 1947, he was assigned to assist General Pete Rees
in the Punjab Boundary Force. At the time of Independence,
Ayub Khan opted to join the Pakistan Army, where as
a Brigadier, he was the senior-most Muslim officer.
In 1951, he was raised to the status of a four-star
General and was appointed as the first local Commander-in-Chief
of the Pakistan Army.
The first time military was directly involved in politics
of the country was when Ayub Khan, a serving Commander-in-Chief,
was inducted into Muhammad Ali Bogra's Federal Cabinet
in 1954, and was given the portfolio of Defense. Ayub
Khan was designated as the Chief Martial Law Administrator.
On October 7, 1958, Iskander Mirza enforced the first
Martial Law in Pakistan with the help of Ayub Khan.
Ayub Khan was designated as the Chief Martial Law
Administrator. However, the two leaders couldn't work
together for long. Ayub Khan snatched away Mirzas'
powers and assumed charge as the President of Pakistan,
in addition to his role as Chief Martial Law Administrator.
Later on he gave himself the rank of Field Marshal.
On
June 8, 1962, Martial Law was lifted from Pakistan
and the new Constitution was introduced. According
to this new Constitution, Presidential form of government
and the principle of Basic Democracy were introduced.
The imposition of the Constitution made no change
in the powers of Ayub Khan and he remained President
even under the new setup. Presidential elections were
held in 1965. The Combined Opposition Party nominated
Fatima Jinnah as their candidate in the election but
Ayub Khan managed to sweep the polls.
Ayub Khan's era is known for the industrialization
in the country. He created an environment where the
private sector was encouraged to establish medium
and small-scale industries in Pakistan. This opened
up avenues for new job opportunities and thus the
economic graph of the country started rising.He planned
a new city and moved the capital from Karachi to Islamabad
in 1962.
Every thing was moving in the right direction for
Ayub Khan till the start of the Indo-Pakistan War
of 1965. The performance of the Pakistani army was
good but the war caused a rapid decline of the country's
economy. He is also criticized his role at the Tashkent
Declaration. . The rest of the political parties formed
an alliance, the Democratic Action Committee, with
a one-point agenda, i.e. the removal of Ayub Khan's
government.
In
addition, Ayub's policies of concentrating political
power in his own hands, his control over the press
and media, imposing state of emergency in the country,
and his interference in religion were also responsible
for his downfall. Adding insult to injury, Ayub Khan
decided to celebrate a decade of his rule in 1968
and made exaggerated claims about the development
in the country.
By the end of 1968, the public resentment against
the Ayub's regime touched a boiling point and an anti-Ayub
movement was launched by the urban-middle class; including
students, teachers, lawyers, doctors, and engineers.
The Joint Labor Council called for a labor strike.
Demonstrations and agitation swept the whole country.
Law and order broke down and Ayub was left with no
other option but to step down.
On
March 25, 1969, he resigned and handed over the power
to the Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army, General
Muhammad Yahya Khan.
Mian Mohammad Iftikharuddin
Mian Mohammad Iftikharuddin is a unique character in
Pakistan's political history. He consistently served
his people without any opportunity of rulling over them.
Thus he belongs to that category who help shape their
society by the ideas they foster and the causes they
uphold, as distinguishable from those whose actions
in authority determine the nature and functioning of
the collective. Gifted with a board vision of life,
derived from the ideals of democracy, pease, secularism
and egalitarianism, he occupies a prominent place in
a small group of eminent Pakistais who offered an alternative
to objectives and practices that militated against the
spirit of the age, because of which, among other things,
dictators and philistines have never gone completely
unchallenged. Iftikharuddin raised his voice of sanity
whenever the state took a wrong turn. His brave attempt
to find a settlement between the Muslim Leauge and the
Congress on the eve of partition is well known, as is
his role in triggering off the Muslim Leauge civil disobedience
movement early in 1947. He called for land reforms not
only the grounds of economic and social necessity but
also to ensure a rational stellement of the refugees
and painless national integation. Struggles for civil
liberties, a federation or confederation based on the
rights of nationalities, and independence foreign policy
were permanent features of the creed. When martial law
was enforced in Lahore in 1953 he warned that the way
was being prepared for military rule; he warned Ghulam
Mohammad against relying on the army to dissolve the
Constituent Assembly; he denounced the one-unit as being
against provincial rights; and the rejected the 1956
Constitution as being against both national interest
and Islam. This record established him as one of the
most perceptive politicians Pakistan has had. There
is very little in his debit column -- his failure to
respond seriously to the Objectives Resolation, his
election and business tricks, and his inability to convince
his radical supporters that his lifestyle did not compromise
his convictions. Perhaps his most durable contribution
came in the from of Progressive Papers which not only
set standards in conscious and responsible journalism
but also served as a nursery for a whole generation
of journalista and defined the framework for a few press
that has been one of the nation's saving graces.
Bacha
Khan
The
real name of this great leader was Abdul-Ghaffar
Khan. The title of Bacha Khan was given by the
nation. Bacha in Pushtu/Afghani means "The
King". In afghan society this title is
awarded to someone who is willing to sacrifice
every thing for a cause. Indeed Bacha Khan Baba
was one such man. |
 |
Origon
Bacha Khan was born in the land of Afghans/Pukhtuns.
This land is known as Greater Afghanistan or Pukhtunistan.(For
more information go to www.pukhtunistan.4t.com). Khan
Abdul Ghaffar Khan was born in 1890 in Charsadda.
He got his early education at his home and near by
mosque and Islamic Madrassa (school). After comming
to his age,he was shocked by the illiteracy of Pathans/Pukhtuns.
He started a movement for the education of Pathan.
The other problem of pathan was unity among them.
So he opened a school in charsadda to educate the
poor Pukhtuns. This school was later demolished by
explosions by the provincial govt. of Qayyum Khan.
His movement became very popular among the Pukhtuns.
In 1920s he joined Congress Party of India. Due to
him Congress party became very popular in NWFP(North
West Frontier Province, now known as Pukhtunkhua).
He was made member of the central executive committee
of Congress party. During British Govt. he was sent
several time to prison. He spent 52 years of his 99
years of life in jail of exile. Congress party was
always winning election in NWFP till creation of Pakistan.
During referendom in NWFP for Joining India or Pakistan
Congress Party byocotted the referendom so most of
the people did not vote in the referendom. At that
time Congress party was the ruling party in NWFP.
Muhammad
Ali Bogra
Muhammad
Ali was born in Bogra in an aristocratic Nawab
family. Officialy he was carring the family
name Bogra. He studied at the Calcutta University
and in 1937 he was elected to the Bengal legislative
assembly.
In 1943, Muhammad Ali became parliamentary secretary
to Khawaja Nazimuddin, the then Chief Minister
of Bengal. Later in 1946, he became Finance
and Health Minister of the province. |
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After the formation of Pakistan, he was appointed Ambassador
to Burma in 1948 High Commissioner to Canada in 1949
and finally Ambassador to USA in 1952. Muhammad Ali
Bogra was appointed Prime Minister on April 17, 1953
by the Governor General.
Muhammad Ali Bogra was very renowned diplomat but almost
unknown as a politician. His appointment as Prime Minister
came as a surprise to political observers and public
alike, and it was widely suspected that his transfer
from Washington to Karachi, elevation to the office
was a prelude to closer relations between the US and
Pakistan.
Only three days after the new premier's nomination,
the US President Eisenhower asked Congress for authority
to ship hundreds and thousands of tons of wheat to Pakistan.
The US was at that time conducting a vigorous anti-Communist
policy and looking for friends in Asia. Pakistan entered
into defense pacts with it.
After the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in
1954 by the governor-general, Muhammad Ali was again
invited to form a new cabinet call "ministry of
all talents."
Muhammad Ali Bogra was replaced by Chaudhary Muhammad
Ali in August 1955 after the second constituent Assembly
was elected. Muhammad Ali again resumed his assignment
as ambassador to the USA. He died in the year 1969
Iskander
Mirza
Iskander
Mirza was born on November 15, 1899, in a feudal
family of Bengal,Being the senior-most Muslim
Civil Servant in the Indian Ministry of Defense,
Iskander Mirza was appointed as the first Defense
Secretary of Pakistan at the time of Independence.
He served at this position for about seven years.
With the dismissal of the United Front's Ministry
in East Pakistan, Governor General Ghulam Muhammad
decided to enforce Governor's Rule in the province
and appointed Iskander Mirza as Governor in
May 1954. |
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From
October 1954 to August 1955, Iskander Mirza served
as the Interior Minister, and then as the Minister
of States and Frontier Regions in the Cabinet of Prime
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