Ghazanfar Ali Khan

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan
Rao Sahib
Lala Ramlal Anand
Personal details
Born(1895-08-16)16 August 1895
Punjab, British India Now in Punjab, Pakistan.
Died17 April 1963(1963-04-17) (aged 67)[1][2]

All India Muslim League and a trusted lieutenant of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, serving in the Interim Government of India of 1946 as a member of the Central Legislative Assembly of India.[3]

After independence of Pakistan in 1947, he became the minister of Food, Agriculture and Health in the Government of Pakistan and finally a diplomat for Pakistan in many countries from 1948 to 1957.[1][2]

Early life and career

Ghazanfar Ali Khan's father's was Saif Ali Khan.

Government College, Lahore.[1]

Ghazanfar Ali Khan joined the Unionist Party in 1923 because he had political ambitions and was a prominent figure in Muslim politics by 1927, when he attended a conference, comprising 30 significant Muslim leaders, that resulted in the "Delhi Muslim Proposals" which attempted to address constitutional development but were ultimately thwarted by the recommendations of the 1928 Nehru Report.[6][1] He persuaded his nephew to support his career in politics and this brought with it support from those who favoured his nephew Pir Fazal Shah himself.

He was appointed a Revenue Minister of Alwar State in 1933 and remained on the position till 1937.

He stood in the

Sikandar Hayat Khan and Muhammad Ali Jinnah in October 1937, believing that the nationalist movement had suffered greatly from internal divisions and that a political party that united the aspirant Hindu and Muslim nationalist communities might prove more effective.[8] In 1944, he returned to the League fold after the split between Khizar Hayat Tiwana and Jinnah, realising that the League was likely to get the upper hand. His uncle and local supporters followed him through these various manoeuvres.[7]

In the February 1946 provincial elections, Khan was a candidate for the League in the Pind Dadan Khan constituency 77 and won the election for Muslim League.[1][5] In October of that year, he was among the five men nominated by Jinnah on behalf of the League to join the interim Government of India, in which he subsequently took the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Health portfolio. The other four nominated by the League were Liaquat Ali Khan, I. I. Chundrigar, Abdur Rab Nishtar and Jogendra Nath Mandal.[9] He said of the League's involvement that "We are going into the interim government to get a foothold to fight for our cherished goal of Pakistan".[10]

After the Partition of India, Khan became Pakistan's Minister for Food, Agriculture and Health.[2] He was minister for refugees and rehabilitation in 1948, during a period when there was much controversy regarding the movement of Muslim people between the now-divided India and Pakistan.[11]

In 1948, he became the first president of the newly formed Pakistan Hockey Federation and served for 2 years in that position (1948–1950).[12]

From 1948 to 1957, he took to a new career as a diplomat. He was successively

High Commissioner to India (1954-1956) and finally Ambassador to Italy (1956-1957).[2]

Death and legacy

Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan died on 17 April 1963.[1][2]

  • In honour of his contribution to Pakistan, a major road called 'Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan Road' near Bohri Bazaar in Saddar, Karachi was named after him.[13]
  • Pakistan Postal Services issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honor in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series in 1990.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h http://storyofpakistan.com/raja-ghazanfar-ali-khan Khokhar, Profile of Ghazanfar Ali Khan Khokhar on storyofpakistan.com website, Published 4 January 2008, Retrieved 9 February 2017
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h http://www.findpk.com/pof/raja_ghazanfar_ali_khan.html, Profile and commemorative postage stamp image of Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan on findpk.com website, Retrieved 9 February 2017
  3. . Retrieved 12 March 2014.Page 257 & 344
  4. . Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  5. ^ . Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  6. .
  7. ^ .
  8. .
  9. .
  10. .
  11. .
  12. ^ http://www.pakistanhockeyfederation.com/history Archived 2016-10-19 at the Wayback Machine, Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan served as President, Pakistan Hockey Federation (1948–1950), Retrieved 10 February 2017
  13. ^ https://nearbypk.com/location/24.856731/67.030579/raja-ghazanfar-ali-rd-lucky-star-saddar-town-karachi-sindh-74400-pakistan Archived 11 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan Road shown on map, Retrieved 10 February 2017