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Mian Iftikharuddin (
Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
, ur, میاں افتخارالدیں; 8 April 1907 – 6 June 1962) was a Pakistani politician, activist of the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British ...
, who later joined the
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 subconti ...
and worked for the cause of Pakistan under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.


Early life

Mian Muhammad Iftikharuddin was born on 8 April 1907 in
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 ...
(in modern-day
Baghbanpura Baghbanpura ( ur, ) is a town and Union Council of Shalimar tehsil, Lahore District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is located along the Grand Trunk Road some 5 kilometres northeast of the main Lahore city. The site for Baghbanpura was granted by Mughal ...
, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan) to the wealthy
Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi agricultural tribe with strong political identity and organisation, found mainly in the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Sindh with a small population in parts of Indian Punjab, Uttar Pradesh a ...
Mian family, the custodians of the
Shalimar Gardens, Lahore The Shalimar Gardens ( ur, , translit=Shālāmār Bāgh) are a Mughal garden complex located in Lahore, Pakistan. The gardens date from the period when the Mughal Empire was at its artistic and aesthetic zenith, and are now one of Pakistan's mos ...
. His relations included Sir Mian Muhammad Shafi and Sir Mian Abdul Rashid. Mian Iftikharuddin was educated at
Aitchison College Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...
and the University of Oxford.


Political career


Indian National Congress

Mian Iftikharuddin joined the
Congress Party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
in 1936. He was elected to the Punjab Provincial Assembly in 1937 and became the President of the Punjab Provincial Congress in 1940, serving in that position until 1945. He was a member of the
All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...
from the 1930s to the mid 1940s. Iftikharuddin was very close to
Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 2 ...
. In 1937, he was instrumental in introducing the Kashmir leader Sheikh Abdullah to Nehru. Iftikharuddin opposed the Muslim League's Lahore Resolution and declared that "any attempt at disrupting the unity of ndia'sspirit is a betrayal of the history of a thousand years.” However, by 1942, he was supporting
C. Rajagopalachari Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...
's formula for granting the Pakistan demand, which was rejected by
Congress Working Committee The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is the executive committee of the Indian National Congress. It was formed in December 1920 at Nagpur session of INC which was headed by C. Vijayaraghavachariar. It typically consists of fifteen members elect ...
. In 1945, Iftikharuddin resigned from the Congress Party and joined the Muslim League. According to scholar Asdar Ali, he was persuaded to join the Muslim League by his colleagues in the
Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...
, which had by then decided to work for "Muslim self-determination".


Muslim League

Iftikharuddin joined the
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 subconti ...
in September 1945. His palatial ancestral home in Baghbanpura was used for training
Muslim League National Guard The Muslim League National Guard, also called Muslim National Guard, was a quasi-military organization, associated All-India Muslim League that took part in the Pakistan Movement. It actively took part in the violence that ensued during the Parti ...
s. He was elected to the Punjab Provincial Assembly in 1946 as a Muslim League member, and led the civil disobedience movement against the Unionist government of
Khizar Hayat Tiwana Sir Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana KCSI, OBE ( pa, ; 7 August 1900 – 20 January 1975) was an Indian statesman, landowner, army officer, politician belonging to the Punjab Unionist Party. He served as the prime minister of the Punjab Province of ...
. After the 3 June plan for
partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...
was announced, Jinnah looked increasingly towards young men like Iftikharuddin to help Pakistan stand on its own feet. Iftikharuddin was elected the first president of the Punjab Provincial Muslim League after the Independence of Pakistan in 1947. He was also appointed the Minister for rehabilitation of refugees in the Government of Punjab.


Pakistan Times

Iftikharuddin was the founder-owner of the '' Pakistan Times'', a newspaper started by the leftists in the Muslim League to create a balance to the centrist Muslim League mouthpiece ''
Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...
'' newspaper as well as the Hindu press in pre-1947
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 ...
.Remembering Mian Iftikharuddin
Dawn (newspaper), Published 8 December 2012, Retrieved 25 July 2017


Kashmir conflict

In 1947, Iftikharuddin played a key role in the development of the Kashmir conflict. The
Muslim Conference Muslim Conference may refer to: *All India Azad Muslim Conference, a coalition of political parties in British India *All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference The All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference ( ur, آل جموں و کشمیر مسلم ...
leader
Sardar Ibrahim Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim Khan (22 April 1915 – 31 July 2003) was the key instigator of the 1947 Poonch Rebellion in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in British India and the later establishment of Azad Kashmir under Pakistani admini ...
narrated that he went to Lahore on 28 August 1947 seeking Pakistan's help for the rebellion in Poonch. After a week's efforts, Ibrahim finally met Iftikharuddin, who lent a sympathetic ear. Then Iftikharuddin went to Srinagar to make his own enquiries. Sardar Ibrahim says that he came back convinced on all the points made by him. According to General Akbar Khan's narrative, Iftikharuddin was asked to go to Srinagar to assess Pakistan's prospects in acquiring Kashmir's accession. On his way, he met General Akbar Khan vacationing in Murree and asked him to prepare a plan to help Kashmiri Muslims to take action against possible accession of Kashmir to India. He then speent a week in Srinagar, and came back convinced that the Maharaja was intending to accede to India and Pakistan needed to help the Muslims of Kashmir to fight for freedom. Meanwhile, Akbar Khan created a plan titled "''Armed Revolt inside Kashmir''", which was then passed on to the Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and other senior officials. A meeting was called under the leadership of the Prime Minister on 12 September 1947, where this plan as well as another plan prepared by Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan for organising a tribal invasion of Kashmir were discussed and approved. After Sheikh Abdullah was released from prison, at the beginning of October 1947, Iftikharuddin went to Srinagar again in order to persuade Abdullah regarding accession to Pakistan. Abdullah agreed to meet Pakistani leaders and accompanied him to Lahore. However, the Governor General Muhammad Ali Jinnah refused to meet Abdullah and the mission failed. Iftikharuddin was dejected and concluded, 'Kashmir is lost to us'. Soon afterwards the tribal invasion was launched and Iftikharuddin played no more role in the Kashmir conflict.


Government of West Punjab

Iftikharuddin briefly served as ''Minister for Rehabiilitation of Refugees'' in the provincial government of Punjab in 1947. In 1949, as a minister, he proposed radical
land reform Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultural ...
s in the Punjab, however this led to a backlash from the land-owning feudal leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League under the leadership of Nawab
Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Khan of Mamdot (31 December 1906 – 16 October 1969) was a Pakistani politician and a key supporter of the Pakistan Movement in British India. After Pakistan's Independence, He served as the 1st Chief Minister of West Pu ...
, a big landowner himself. In frustration, Iftikharuddin resigned from his Ministry in 1949 and was formally expelled from the Muslim League in 1951. Iftikharuddin was the only Muslim member in the parliament house who opposed the 'objectives resolution' as he felt that the resolution was vague. He further suggested that such a resolution should be the decision of the 70 million people of Pakistan. This resolution was also disapproved by minorities’ leaders Prem Hari, Chandra Mandal and Kumar Dutta. However, he chose to vote in favour of the resolution, because he was assured that minorities will have all the rights and privileges in an Islamic state.Profile of Mian Iftikharuddin
''The Express Tribune'', 15 May 2016


Political activism

Later he jumped off 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 orga ...
ship, and formed his own ‘ Azad Pakistan Party’ committed to
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and ...
secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...
in the country. Though big names like '' Dr. Khan Sahib'' and the
Khudai Khidmatgar Khudai Khidmatgar ( ps, خداۍ خدمتګار; literally "servants of God") was a predominantly Pashtun nonviolent resistance movement known for its activism against the British Raj in colonial India; it was based in the country's North-Wes ...
s were attracted to it, Azad Pakistan Party soon faded away in history. He was also considered a leading light of the National Awami Party as well. His Pakistan Times newspaper continued to promote social justice and agrarian reforms in Pakistan, it attracted many well known leftists including its first editor
Faiz Ahmad Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...
. However, in 1959, following the military takeover by
Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced ...
, the newspaper was taken over by the government and despite a legal challenge, he failed to obtain either compensation or the return of ownership of his newspaper. Since he was an advocate of an independent foreign policy, free from demented generals and Pakistan's exit from The
Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, or Manila Pact, signed in September 1954 in Manila, the Philipp ...
(SEATO), the
Baghdad Pact The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turk ...
also called
CENTO The Middle East Treaty Organization (METO), also known as the Baghdad Pact and subsequently known as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), was a military alliance of the Cold War. It was formed in 24 February 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turk ...
and other defense treaties, it was expected from his opponents to label him as 'a stranger in the house'.


Life

Mian Iftikharuddin was married to Begum Ismat Iftikharuddin. According to Azad Kashmir civil servant and writer Abdul Haq Suharwardy, Begum Ismat and General Akbar Khan's wife, Nasim Shah Nawaz (later Nasim Jahan), were cousins. The couple lived in a mansion at 21 Aikman Road, which they bought from the Raja of Mandi. They had three children: Sohail Iftikhar, Arif Iftikhar and Seema Iftikhar. Iftikharuddin died at the age of 54, after suffering a heart attack on 6 June 1962. Pakistan's famous poet
Faiz Ahmed Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...
, Iftikharuddin's friend and ally, paid a tribute to him through his poetry: "Jo rukey tu koh-e-garan thay hum, jo chalay tu jaan say guzar gaye, Raah-e-yaar hum ne qadam qadam, tujhay yaadgaar banaa diya." Translation: "I was a mountain when I stopped And when I moved I sacrificed my being O path to my beloved, I have, step by step Turned you into a memorial"


See also

*
List of Pakistani journalists This is a list of Pakistani journalists from print and electronic media. A * Amin Hafeez * Ansar Abbasi *Ayaz Amir * Abdul Hameed Chapra * Asma Chaudhry *Ardeshir Cowasjee *Altaf Husain *Arshad Sharif * Aasma Sherazi * Abid Qaiyum Suleri * ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * *


External links

* Irfan Haidar
Mian Iftikharuddin: The stranger in the house
The Express Tribune blog, 15 May 2016. {{DEFAULTSORT:Iftikharuddin, Mian 1907 births 1962 deaths Punjab, Pakistan MLAs 1947–1949 Pakistani male journalists Pakistani newspaper chain founders People from Lahore Pakistan Movement activists from Punjab People of the 1947 Kashmir conflict Mian family Punjabi people