Muslim League leaders after a dinner party, 1940 (Photo 429-6)

This is a list of the activists of

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...

. The following is a list of people who played a prominent role in making of Pakistan as political leaders, religious scholars,

freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...

s and revolutionaries.

Background

The ''Founding Fathers of Pakistan'' (), were the political leaders and statespersons who participated in the success of the

political movement A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

, following the signing of the

Pakistan Resolution The Lahore Resolution ( ur, , ''Qarardad-e-Lahore''; Bengali: লাহোর প্রস্তাব, ''Lahor Prostab''), also called Pakistan resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlu ...

, that led the establishment and creation of the independent

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

on August 1947. Within this large group, a further and extended subset signed the Objective Resolution that was

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

to the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's opposition parties, it was approved by ...

in 1950. The term was first used by the

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingu ...

and

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes ...

Dr.

Ahmad Hasan Dani Ahmad Hassan Dani (Urdu: احمد حسن دانی) FRAS, SI, HI (20 June 1920 – 26 January 2009) was a Pakistani archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology ...

's book, the ''Founding Fathers of Pakistan'' (1998), which popularized the term in literary activities of the country. The

was led by a large group of activists and statesmen who played crucial role in the politics of the

British Indian Empire The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himse ...

in 1930s and 1940s. More recently, the term was used by the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

officially in explaining the

foreign policy A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...

text. Authors and historians of Pakistan more broadly define the term "Founding Fathers" to mean a larger group which also includes all those who, whether as politicians, jurists, statesperson, soldiers, diplomats, academicians, or ordinary citizens, took part in winning the independence of four provinces in the north-west region of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

from the control of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and also from the influence of the

Indian Congress The Indian Congress occurred from August 4 to October 31, 1898 in Omaha, Nebraska, in conjunction with the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition. Occurring within a decade of the end of the Indian Wars, the Indian Congress was the largest ...

; this creating

All India Muslim League, 26th Session at Patna, December 1938 (Photo 429-5)

In 1905, the

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

presidency's partition was decided by the

English government There has not been a government of England since 1707 when the Kingdom of England ceased to exist as a sovereign state, as it merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. The success of the

Swadeshi movement The Swadeshi movement was a self-sufficiency movement that was part of the Indian independence movement and contributed to the development of Indian nationalism. Before the BML Government's decision for the partition of Bengal was made public in ...

led by Indian activists led the reintegrating the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by ...

and it was a catalyst in making the Muslims reformers of India realize the need for a separate homeland. During the same year, the political efforts and initiations led by Sir

Syed Ahmad Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, h ...

led the establishment of the historic

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcont ...

(AIML) to protect the interests and rights of the Muslim regions in the subcontinent.Abdul Rashid Kahn, "All India Muhammadan Educational Conference and the Foundation of the All India Muslim League," Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society (2007) Vol. 55 Issue 1/2, pp 65–83. Mutual distrust among the Hindu leaders and Muslim reformers further grew. A conference held as well as chaired by

Indian Viceroy The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

, Early Minto, the Hindu-Muslim conflict was raised to the constitutional plane. In 1906, an annual meeting of Muhammadan Educational Conference was held in Dhaka led by Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullh Banhadur, Nawab Vikar-ul-Mulk, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III and 3,000 other delegates attended the session making it the largest-ever representative gathering of Muslim India. Muslim cleric Ali Johar wrote

's first agenda and

Syed Ameer Ali Syed Ameer Ali Order of the Star of India (1849–1928) was an Indian/British Indian jurist hailing from the state of Oudh from where his father moved and settled down at Bengal Presidency. He was a prominent political leader, and author of a n ...

established its European branch in the

. For some quiet time, the

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. **Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...

worked on its reputation and credibility against the much influential

. It was not until when

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theoris ...

and his companion Shrene Pant convinced

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

and among others to join the

in 1930s. The philosophical idea, ''Pakistan'' (

Iqbal Iqbal, Eqbal, Ikbal, or Eghbal may refer to: Geography Iran * ''Eqbal, Iran'', a village in West Azerbaijan Province *''Eqbaliyeh'', rural district in Iran * ''Eqbal-e Gharbi Rural District'', western provincial district in Qazvin, Iran * ''Eqbal- ...

, 1930); the

14 points file:President Woodrow Wilson (1913).jpg, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. The principles were outlined in a January 8, ...

(

Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

, 1929); the ''Now or Never'' ( Ali, 1933); the

Two-nation theory The two-nation theory is an ideology of religious nationalism that influenced the decolonisation of the British Raj in South Asia. According to this ideology, Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus are two separate nations, with their own customs, ...

which was subsequently contributed and worked by many activists and leaders played a crucial role in gaining the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

Ashraf Ali Thanwi Ashraf Ali Thanwi (often referred as Hakim al-Ummat and Mujaddid e Millet; 19 September 1863 – 20 July 1943) was a late-nineteenth and twentieth-century Sunni scholar, jurist, thinker, reformist and the revival of classical sufi thought from ...

's disciples Shabbir Ahmad Usmani and Zafar Ahmad Usmani were key players in religious support for the creation of Pakistan. The newly founded country of

had to create a government and legislature to replace the British India government and the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

. The founding fathers of Pakistan first established the partial

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

(which was replaced with

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

), and adopted the

Objectives Resolution The Objectives Resolution ( ur, ) was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on March 12, 1949. Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, had presented it in the assembly on March 7, 1949. Out of 75 members of the assembly, 21 voted for opposi ...

was

to the

List of Founders of Pakistan

Notable activists

The activities and constant public gathering of founding fathers of Pakistan attracted the people of North-West India to be politically active in the movement. Many of the activists would later becoming the future leader of the country.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakistan Movement activists Lists of Pakistani people Pakistan history-related lists Leaders of the Pakistan Movement Lists of activists

Background

List of Founders of Pakistan

Notable activists

See also

References