Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman ( ur, چودھری خلیق الزمان) (25 December 1889 — 18 May 1973) was a Pakistani

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and Muslim figurehead during

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 ...

. He was one of the top leaders of the All India Muslim League.

Early life and career

He was born in

Chunar Chunar is a city located in Mirzapur district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is nearby Mirzapur city. The railway tracks passing through Chunar Junction railway station leads to major destinations of India, including Howrah, Delhi, T ...

, an ancient town in UP's Mirzapur district in the United Provinces (now

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

). At the time, his father, Chaudhry Muhammad Zaman, was a revenue officer. His younger brother,

Salimuzzaman Siddiqui Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, ( ur, ; 19 October 1897 – 14 April 1994) was a Pakistani Muhajir organic chemist specialising in natural products, and a professor of chemistry at the University of Karachi. Siddiqui studied philosophy at Aligarh Mus ...

(1897 – 1994) was a scientist and researcher in both

and later in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman was not only a Muslim League leader, he was also one of the founding fathers of Pakistan. At the time of independence of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, he was still serving as the Muslim League member of the ''Constituent Assembly of India'' and stayed behind to address that Indian Assembly. He was one of the four individuals who addressed the

Constituent Assembly of India The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...

in the central hall of Parliament during the moment of Indian independence at midnight of August 14, 1947. The other three were

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 20t ...

, Dr.

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...

and Dr.

Radhakrishnan Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (; 5 September 1888 – 17 April 1975), natively Radhakrishnayya, was an Indian philosopher and statesman. He served as the 2nd President of India from 1962 to 1967. He also 1st Vice President of India from 1952 ...

. He migrated to newly-created Pakistan in November 1947, when Jinnah expressed his displeasure over his policy. He did not agree with the government of Pakistan that the Indian government was behind Muslims' killings. He was appointed the chief organizer of Muslim League (Pakistan). Later he served as the first president of the Muslim League (Pakistan).

Career positions in Pakistan

* President of Muslim League (Pakistan) (1948 – 1950) * Governor of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

(April 1953 – May 1954) * Ambassador of Pakistan to Indonesia and the Philippines (1954) In 1961, he published his memoirs entitled ''Pathway to Pakistan''. The Urdu version of the autobiography came out in 1967. It is entitled ''Shahrahay Pakistan''. This book is considered by many as a rare 'treasure house' of information on the

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 ...

. In this book, he wrote: "The two-nation theory, which we had used in the fight for Pakistan had created not only bad blood against the Muslims of the minority provinces, but also an ideological wedge between them and the Hindus of India." He further wrote: “Mr Jinnah himself realized the grave dangers to Muslims who after the partition were to be left in India. I remember that on 1 August 1947, a few days before his final departure for Karachi, Mr Jinnah called the Muslim members of the Constituent Assembly of India to his house at 10 Aurangzeb Road to bid farewell to them. "Mr. Rizwanullah put some awkward questions concerning the position of Muslims, who would be left over in India, their status and their future. I had never before found Mr. Jinnah so disconcerted as on that occasion, probably because he was realizing then quite vividly what was immediately in store for the Muslims. Finding the situation awkward, I asked my friends and colleagues to the end the discussion. I believe as a result of our farewell meeting, Mr. Jinnah took the earliest opportunity to bid goodbye to his two-nation theory in his speech on 11 August 1947 as the governor general-designate and President of the constituent assembly of Pakistan." "He (

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy ( bn, হোসেন শহীদ সোহ্‌রাওয়ার্দী; ur, ; 8 September 18925 December 1963) was a Bengali barrister and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 t ...

) doubted the utility of the two-nation theory, which to my mind also had never paid any dividends to us. But after the partition, it proved positively injurious to the Muslims of India, and on a long-view basis for Muslims everywhere." According to him,

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 ...

bade farewell to it in his famous speech of August 11, 1947. He was one of the most active leaders of Pakistan movement. He seconded the

Lahore 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. Fazlul ...

, which was presented by Sher-i-Bengal Fazlul Haq in March 1940 to create Pakistan.

Commemorative postage stamp

In 1990, Pakistan Post office issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honour in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman 1889 births 1973 deaths Leaders of the Pakistan Movement Pakistani Sunni Muslims Muhajir people All India Muslim League members Governors of East Pakistan Indian people of World War II Pakistan Movement activists from the United Provinces Ambassadors of Pakistan to Indonesia Ambassadors of Pakistan to the Philippines