Amin ul-Hasanat (1 February 1922 – 5 January 1960), better known as the Pir of Manki Sharif, was the son of Pir Abdul Rauf and an Islamic religious leader in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of

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 ...

(now

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# ...

). After joining 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 ...

in 1945, he was noted for his campaign in the provincial referendum held in early part of 1947, that saw the NWFP become part of Pakistan rather than

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He was popularly known as ''''Fateh-e-Referendum''''.

Muslim League

Amin ul-Hasanat was highly influenced and inspired by the Pakistan Resolution of March 1940 passed by the All-India Muslim League at

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. Soon after joining the

in 1945, Hasanat toured the NWFP to win support for the Muslim League. On October 1, 1945, Hasanat organized a historic meeting of the

Ulema In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

and Mashaikh at

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

, which passed resolutions expressing full loyalty with the Muslim League and also expressed complete confidence in Jinnah's leadership. Then he invited the Muslim League leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah to tour the Province which Jinnah did on 24 November 1945. Jinnah's visit boosted the morale of the Pir and his devoted followers. The Pir's vigorous campaign for 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 ...

in the NWFP area contributed significantly to the Muslim League's success in the NWFP referendum held in early part of 1947.Pir of Manki Sharif (Amin ul-Hasanat), profile on storyofpakistan.com website
Updated 1 January 2007, Retrieved 5 October 2019 The success of the Muslim League in the referendum was the basis for the

British government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

to allocate NWFP to Pakistan. In one of Jinnah's letters to the Pir, Jinnah promised that the

sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

would be applied to the affairs of the Muslim community after the formation of Pakistan.

Opposition

After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, however, the Pir of Manki Sharif was disappointed by some of the decisions made by the party. He cut-off his relations with the Muslim League due to his ideological differences with Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan, who emerged as the first Muslim League premier in NWFP. The Pir decided to launch his own Awami Muslim League party that started to play the role of opposition in the NWFP Provincial Assembly. His view was that opposition was the spirit of democratic set up and that it was critical to attain the previously stated objectives of the Muslim League. After he saw new local leadership emerge in the province, he felt that those ideals were being overlooked by the changed Muslim League leadership. Disillusioned, he retired from active politics in 1955 and went back to religious activities.

Commemorative postage stamp

Pakistan Post Office issued a commemorative postage stamp to honor him in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series in 1990.Commemorative postage stamp issued in 1990 by Pakistan Post Office to honor Pir of Manki Sharif (Amin ul-Hasanat)
Retrieved 7 October 2019

Death

He died on 28 January 1960, at age 37, a few weeks after a car accident on 5 January 1960 near Fateh Jang,

Attock District Attock District ( Punjabi/Urdu), known as Campbellpur District during British Raj, is a district, located on the Pothohar Plateau, in north western Punjab, Pakistan; created in April 1904. According to 2023 Pakistani census population of Att ...

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (, ) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the Demographics of Pakistan, most populous province in Pakistan and the List of first-level administrative divisions by popu ...

. He was buried at his hometown Manki Sharif, Nowshera District, NWFP, Pakistan.

Muslim League

Opposition

Commemorative postage stamp

Death

Notes

See also

References

Further reading