Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin (19 July 1894 – 22 October 1964), also spelled Khwaja Nazimuddin, was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the second

Governor-General of Pakistan The governor-general of Pakistan () was the Political representation, representative of the Monarchy of Pakistan, Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was ...

from 1948 to 1951, and later as the second

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet, desp ...

from 1951 to 1953. Born into an aristocratic

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

family in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

in 1894, he was educated at the

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

before pursuing his post-graduation studies at the

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. Upon returning, he embarked on his journey as a politician on the platform of the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslims, Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim L ...

. Initially, his political career revolved around advocating for educational reforms and development in Bengal. Later on, he started supporting the cause for a separate Muslim homeland, rising to become the party's principal Bengali leader and a close associate of

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 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 inception of Pa ...

. He served as

Prime Minister of Bengal The prime minister of Bengal was the head of government of Bengal Presidency, Bengal Province and the Leader of the House in the Bengal Legislative Assembly (1937—1947), Bengal Legislative Assembly in British India. The position was dissolved u ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

from 1943 to 1945, and later as the 1st

Chief Minister of East Bengal The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...

in independent Pakistan. Nazimuddin ascended to Governor-General in 1948 after the death of Jinnah, before becoming Prime Minister in 1951 following the assassination of his predecessor,

Liaquat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan (1 October 189516 October 1951) was a Pakistani lawyer, politician and statesman who served as the first prime minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan (, Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the he ...

. His term was marked by constant power struggles with his own successor as Governor-General, Ghulam Muhammad, as law and order deteriorated amid the rise of the Bengali language movement and protests in his native Dhaka in 1952, and religious riots in Lahore a year later. The latter crisis saw the first instance of

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

, limited to the city, and led to Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad dismissing Nazimuddin on 17 April 1953. Nazimuddin's ministry was the first federal government to be dismissed in Pakistan's history, though his former ministers, Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, Abdul Sattar Pirzada, and

Mahmud Husain Mahmud Husain Khan (15 July 1907 – 10 April 1975) was a Pakistani historian, educationist, and politician, known for his role in the Pakistan Movement, and for pioneering the study of social sciences. He served as Minister for Kashmir Af ...

refused to take the

oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Suc ...

in the new cabinet. He retired from national politics, dying after a brief illness in 1964. He is buried at the Mausoleum of Three Leaders in Dhaka. He was one of the leading

founding fathers of Pakistan The Founders and activists of the Pakistan Movement, also known as Founding Fathers of Pakistan (Urdu:بانیانِ پاکستان; Roman Urdu, ''Romanization lit''.:''bəŋɨaɪaɪ-e-Pəkɨstəŋ''), were the political leaders and statespersons ...

and the first Bengali to have governed Pakistan.

Biography

Family background, early life and education

Khawaja Nazimuddin was born into a wealthy

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

family of the

Nawabs Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kings of Saxony to the Ge ...

of Dhaka on 19 July 1894, then under

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

rule. His father was Khwaja Nizamuddin and his paternal grandfather was Khwaja Fakhruddin. His family hailed from Kashmir and was long settled in Dhaka. He was the maternal grandson of Nawab Bahadur Sir

Khwaja Ahsanullah Nawab Bahadur Sir Khwaja Ahsanullah KCIE (22 August 1846 – 16 December 1901) was the third Nawab of Dhaka. He was notable for his philanthropic works in Bengal, most notably his donations to the present Bangladesh University of Engineering an ...

and his mother, Nawabzadi Bilqis Banu, notable for her own statue. Nazimuddin had a younger brother,

Khwaja Shahabuddin Khawaja Shahabuddin (31 May 1898 – 9 February 1977), sometimes spelled Khwaja Shahabuddin, was a politician of Kashmiri-Bengali descent from East Pakistan who was a minister in the Government of Pakistan and member of the Dhaka Nawab family. ...

, who would later play a vital role in Pakistani politics. They were the first cousin of Nawab Khwaja Habibullah, son of Nawab Sir

Khwaja Salimullah Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur (7 June 1871 – 16 January 1915) was the fourth Nawab of Dhaka and one of the leading Muslim politicians during the British rule in India. On 30 December 1906, the All-India Muslim League was officially ...

Bahadur, who helped lay the foundation of the

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties British India *All-India Muslim League, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan ** Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organization above **Unionist Muslim L ...

in 1906. He grew up speaking Urdu. He was educated at the

Dunstable Grammar School Dunstable Grammar School was a grammar school in the market town of Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England. Opened in 1888, it was closed in 1971. The site is now home to residential flats and apartments. Foundation Dunstable Grammar School was est ...

in England, but returned to British India following his matriculation, where he enrolled to attend the MAO College of the

(AMU) in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India. Nazimuddin secured his graduation with a bachelor's degree in sociology from AMU and returned to England to pursue higher education. After AMU, Nazimuddin went to England. He attended Trinity Hall in the University of Cambridge, and earned a Master of Arts. His training in England enabled him to practice law and become a

Barrister-at-Law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the law and giv ...

in England. He was knighted in 1934. In 1947–49, Nazimuddin was granted the degree of

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

s by the vice-chancellor of

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

, Mahmud Hasan.

Politics

Public service and independence movement

Nazimuddin returned to India to join his brother Khwaja Shahbuddin from England, taking an interest in civil and public affairs that led him to join the Bengali politics. Both brothers joined the

, and Nazimuddin successfully ran for the municipality election and was elected as

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of Dhaka Municipality from 1922 until 1929. During this time, he was appointed as

education minister An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

of Bengal. He remained minister of Education till 1934. That year he was appointed to the

Viceroy's Executive Council The Viceroy's Executive Council, formerly known as Council of Four and officially known as the Council of the Governor-General of India (since 1858), was an advisory body and cabinet of the Governor-General of India, also known as Viceroy. It exis ...

, which he served until 1937. In his former capacity, he successfully piloted the Compulsory Primary Education Bill. He piloted the Bengal Agriculture Debtors' Bill and the Bengal Rural Development Bill in 1935–1936. He participated in regional elections held in 1937 on a Muslim League's platform but conceded his defeat in favour of

Fazlul Haq Fazlul Haq () is a male Muslim given name, meaning ''bounty of the Truth'', referring to ''Al-Haqq'', one of the Names of God in Islam. Both parts of the name are subject to varying transliteration, as the first part may be written ''Fazl'' or ''Fad ...

Krishak Praja Party The Krishak Sramik Party (, ''Farmer Labourer Party'') was a major anti-feudal political party in the British Indian province of Bengal and later in the Dominion of Pakistan's East Bengal and East Pakistan provinces. It was founded in 1929 as th ...

(KPP) who was appointed as

, while assuming his personal role as member of the legislative assembly.

Home and Prime Minister of Bengal and Chief Minister of East Bengal

Upon the formation of the

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

in an agreement facilitated between the Muslim League and the Krishak Praja Party, Nazimuddin was appointed as the

home minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

under Haq's premiership., which he continued until 1941. Due to his conservative elite position, he became close associate of

, then-president of the Muslim League, who appointed him as a member of the executive committee to successfully promote the Muslim League's party agenda and program that gained popularity in East Bengal. In 1941, Nazimuddin broke away from the coalition led by Premier Fazlul Haq and decided to become a leader of the opposition, leading campaign against Haq's premiership and primarily focused on Bengali nationalism issues. In 1943, Nazimuddin took over the government from Premier Haq when the latter was dismissed by the Governor, John Herbert, amid controversies surrounding in his political campaigns. During this time, Nazimuddin played a crucial political role for the

cause Causality is an influence by which one event, process, state, or object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the cause is at least partly responsible for the effect, ...

for the separate Muslim homeland,

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. His premiership lasted until 1945, when his ministry's appropriation for agriculture was defeated in the assembly by 106 to 97 votes. The next day, 29 March, Speaker of the Assembly

Syed Nausher Ali Syed Nausher Ali (1891 – 6 April 1972) was an Indian left-leaning politician in West and East Bengal (now India and Bangladesh) during British rule. He was a cabinet member in the first A. K. Fazlul Huq ministry and later the Speaker of the Le ...

, an Indian nationalist Muslim and a prominent member of the

Congress Party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement t ...

, ruled that the vote was effectively one of

no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...

. On 31 March, the administration was taken over by Governor of Bengal Richard Casey under section 93 of the

Government of India Act 1935 The Government of India Act 1935 (25 & 26 Geo. 5. c. 42) was an Act of Parliament (UK), act passed by the British Parliament that originally received royal assent in August 1935. It was the longest act that the British Parliament ever enact ...

. From 1945 to 1947, Nazimuddin continued to serve as the chairman of the Muslim League in Bengal, ardently supporting the political cause for Pakistan against the Congress Party. This despite Nazimuddin and other Muslim League leaders not having thought through the consequences of the

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...

. As late as February 1947, Governor of Punjab Sir Evan Jenkins reported that Nazimuddin said "he did not know what Pakistan means and that nobody in the Muslim League knew." During this time, Nazimuddin had been in conflict with Premier Suhrawardy and strongly opposed the United Bengal Movement as in United Bengal capital would have remained in Hindu dominated Kolkata and not Dhaka in Muslim majority

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

. In addition, the conflict between the two men exposed deep division in the society as Suhrawardy represented the middle class, while Nazimuddin was representing the aristocracy. In 1947, he again contested the party elections in the Muslim League against Suhrawardy's platform and securing his nomination as the party chairman for the Muslim League's East Bengal chapter. His success in the party election eventually led him to be appointed as the first Chief Minister of East Bengal after the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947 and effectively gained control of the Muslim League in the province. As the Chief Minister, he led the motion of confidence that ultimately voted in favour of joining the Federation of Pakistan and reorganized the

Government of East Bengal The Government of East Pakistan or formerly Government of East Bengal governed the province East Bengal (later East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) and was centered in its provincial capital Dhaka. The head of the province was the Governor, who was nom ...

by delegating conservative members in his administration. On April 6, 1948, the East Bengal Assembly passed a resolution, led by the Sir Khwaja Nazimuddin-led Muslim League government, making Bengali an official language of the province.

Governor-General of Pakistan (1948–51)

14 August Events Pre-1600 *74 BC – A group of officials, led by the Western Han minister Huo Guang, present articles of impeachment against the new emperor, Liu He, to the imperial regent, Empress Dowager Shangguan. *29 BC – Octavian hold ...

of 1947, Governor-General

relinquished the party presidency of the

Pakistan Muslim League The Pakistan Muslim League (; known as PML), is the name of several different Pakistani political parties that have dominated the centre-right platform in the country. The ''Muslim League'' (the original successor of the All-India Muslim ...

(PML) to Sir Khwaja Nazimuddin who took over the party of the President of Pakistan Muslim League (PML), due to his party electoral performance. After the death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Nazimuddin was appointed acting governor-general. At the urging of Prime Minister

, on 14 September 1948. His oath of office was supervised by Chief Justice Sir Abdul Rashid of the Federal Court of Pakistan, with Liaquat Ali Khan in attendance. As Governor-General, Nazimuddin set a precedent of neutrality and non-interference in the government, and provided his political support to Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan's government, which was seen as essential to the working of the

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

at that time. In 1949, Governor-General Nazimuddin established the parliamentary committee, the Basic Principles Committee, on the advice of Prime Minister Ali Khan to underlying basic principles that would lay the foundation of the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ; ISO 15919, ISO: '' Āīn-ē-Pākistān''), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. The document guides Pakistan's law, political culture, and system. It sets out the state's outlin ...

.It was during his tenure as Governor-General

East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 The East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 was a law passed by the newly formed democratic Government of East Bengal in the Dominion of Pakistan (present day Bangladesh). The bill was drafted on 31 March 1948 during the early yea ...

was passed in

. This law abolished the Zamindari system in the region, after which the lands of the state were under the federal government. It was seen as a democratic move to a people's state rather than a feudal class system.

Prime Ministership (1951–53)

Khwaja Nazimuddin was named as the second Governor-General of Pakistan

After the assassination of Liaqat Ali Khan in 1951, the

leaders asked Governor-General Nazimuddin to take over the prime ministership as well as the party's presidency, as there was no other person found suitable for the post. He appointed Finance Minister Sir Malik Ghulam to the Governor-General's post. Nazimuddin's government focused on promoting the political programs aimed at conservative ideas. During his time in office, a framework was begun for a constitution that would allow Pakistan to become a

republic within the Commonwealth The republics in the Commonwealth of Nations are the sovereign states in the organisation with a republican form of government. , 36 out of the 56 member states were republics. While Charles III is the titular Head of the Commonwealth, the King ...

, and end its British Dominion status under the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

. Nazimuddin's administration took place during a poor economy and the rise of provincial nationalism in four provinces and

, which made him unable to run the country's affairs effectively. In 1951, Prime Minister Nazimuddin's government conducted the country's first nationwide

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, where it was noted that 57% of the population of

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

were refugees from India, which further complicated the situation in the country. In January 1952, Prime Minister Nazimuddin announced publicly in

Dacca Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

that Jinnah had been right: for the sake of Pakistan's national unity,

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

must be the

official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

of Pakistan–

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

. On 21 February 1952, a demonstration in the

Bengali Language Movement The Bengali language movement was a political movement in East Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh) in 1952, advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government ...

demanding equal and official status to the

Bengali language Bengali, also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Bangla (, , ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. ...

turned bloody, with many fatalities caused by police firings. This demonstration was held when he declared Urdu the National Language of Pakistan, following the previous statement of Muhammad Ali Jinnah that Urdu shall be the 'one and only' language of Pakistan. In 1953, a violent religious movement led by far-right

Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author and theorist Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is considered one of the most influential Isla ...

began to agitate for the removal of the

Ahmadi Ahmadiyya, officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ), is an Islamic messianic movement originating in British India in the late 19th century. It was founded by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835–1908), who said he had been divinely appointed a ...

religious minority from power positions, and demanded a declaration of this minority as non-

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. Nazimuddin was held morally responsible for riots being spread and resisted such pressures; but mass rioting broke out in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

against both the government and followers of this

religious minority A minority religion is a religion held by a minority of the population of state or which is otherwise politically marginalized. Minority religions may be subject to stigma or discrimination. An example of a stigma is using the term cult with its ...

. To quell the unrest, Nazimuddin declared

in Punjab. Major General Azam Khan was made Chief Martial Law Administrator and brought Lahore under control within a couple of days. Nazimuddin forced out the Chief Minister of Punjab,

Mumtaz Daultana Mian Mumtaz Daulatana (), (20 February 1916 – 30 January 1995) was a Pakistani politician and a leader the of Pakistan Movement in British India. After independence, he served as the second Chief Minister of West Punjab in Pakistan. Early l ...

, and replaced him with

Feroz Khan Noon Sir Malik Feroz Khan Noon (7 May 18939 December 1970) , best known as Feroze Khan, was a Pakistani politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Pakistan from 16 December 1957, until being removed when the President Iskandar ...

Dismissal

The agitations and violence spread through the successful

Bengali language movement The Bengali language movement was a political movement in East Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh) in 1952, advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government ...

and the riots in Lahore proved the inability of Nazimuddin's government, as he was widely seen as weak in running the government administration. In an attempt to improve the

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

and

internal security Internal security is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other Self-governance, self-governing territories, generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats. This task and rol ...

, Malik Ghulam asked Prime Minister Nazimuddin to step down in the wider interest of the country. Nazimuddin refused to oblige, and Malik Ghulam used

reserve power In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power, also known as discretionary power, is a power that may be exercised by the head of state (or their representative) without the approval of another branch or part of th ...

s granted in the

, dismissed Nazimuddin. Nazimuddin then requested the

Federal Court of Pakistan The Federal Court of India was a judicial body, established in India in 1937 under the provisions of the ''Government of India Act 1935'', with original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction. It functioned until the Supreme Court of India was esta ...

's intervention against this action, but the Chief Justice,

Muhammad Munir Muhammad Munir (; 1895–1979) was the second Chief Justice of Pakistan serving from 1954 to 1960. Background Munir was born into a Kakkyzai Pashtun family and obtained his degree of master's in English Literature from Government College Univer ...

did not rule on the legality of the dismissal, but instead forced new elections to be held in 1954. Malik Ghulam appointed another Bengali politician,

Muhammad Ali Bogra Syed Mohammad Ali Chowdhury Bogra (19 October 1909 – 23 January 1963) was an East Pakistani politician, statesman, and a diplomat who served as third prime minister of Pakistan from 1953 to 1955. He was appointed in this capacity in 1953 u ...

who was then serving as the

Pakistan Ambassador to the United States The Pakistan Ambassador to the United States is in charge of the embassy of Pakistan in Washington, D.C., Pakistan Embassy, Washington, D.C., and Pakistan's diplomatic mission to the United States. The official title is Ambassador of the Islami ...

, as the new prime minister until the new elections to be held in 1954.

Death and legacy

Later life and death

After his dismissal, he and his family remained active in parliamentary politics; his nephew, Khwaja Wasiuddin, was an army general serving as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, GOC-in-C II Corps (Pakistan), II Corps and later repatriated to Provisional Government of Bangladesh, Bangladesh in 1974. His younger brother, Khwaja Shahabuddin, Shahabuddin, remained active in politics and became Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage (Pakistan), Information minister in President Ayub Khan (general), Ayub Khan's administration. Sir Khwaja died in 1964, aged 70. He was buried in the Mausoleum of three leaders in his hometown of Dhaka.

Wealth and honours

Nazimuddin and his brother, Shahabuddin, belonged to an aristocratic family who were known for their wealth. In a thesis written by Joya Chatterji, Nazimuddin was described for unquestionable loyalty to the Viceroy of India, British administration in British Rule of India, India: By 1934, the family had estates that covered almost 200,000 acres and was well spread over different districts of East Bengal, Eastern Bengal, together with properties in Shillong, Assam and Kolkata, had a yearly rent of British pound, £120,000 (United States Dollar, $2,736,497.94 in 2017). By the 1960s, the majority of estate was relocated from East Pakistan to the different areas of Pakistan, leaving very little of his estate in East. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in 1926, and was Knight of the Order of the Star of India, knighted in the 1934 King's Birthday Honours by the King-Emperor, George V of the United Kingdom, George V, when he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE). In 1958, he was awarded the highest civilian award titled Nishan-e-Pakistan. Later by the Government of Pakistan, Nazimuddin has been honoured from time to time after his death. In

, the residential areas, Nazimabad and North Nazimabad in suburbs of Karachi, had been named after him. In Islamabad, there is a road intersection, Nazimuddin Road, named for him.

Commemorative postage stamp

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

Notes

References

* ''Current Events Biography'', 1949

External links

Chronicles Of Pakistan

Story of Pakistan
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nazimuddin, Khawaja 1894 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Bengalis Nawabs of Dhaka People educated at Dunstable Grammar School Aligarh Muslim University alumni Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Politicians from Kolkata Pakistan Movement activists from Bengal Leaders of the Pakistan Movement Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Bengali knights Indian knights Pakistani knights Politicians from East Pakistan Governors-general of Pakistan Pakistani barristers Pakistani people of Bengali descent Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Pakistan Muslim League politicians Prime ministers of Pakistan Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954 Pakistani Muslims Members of the Pakistan Philosophical Congress Chief ministers of East Pakistan 20th-century Indian lawyers Bengal MLAs 1937–1945 Education ministers of Bengal Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Burials in Dhaka