Sir Razik Fareed,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

JP, UM In Sri Lanka, a Justice of the Peace and Unofficial magistrate (also known as Acting magistrate) is a judicial appointment made by the Minister of Justice to a particular jurisdiction under the ''Judicature Act No 02 of 1978''. An Unofficial magist ...

(29 December 1893 – 23 August 1984), also known as A. R. A. Razik, was a Ceylonese (

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

n) landed proprietor, politician and philanthropist. He was the former Cabinet Minister of Trade, Senator, member of parliament and the state council. He had also served as Ceylon's High Commissioner to

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# ...

Early life and education

Born Abdul Rahman Abdul Razik at the Layards Broadway,

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

to Wapchi Marikar Abdul Rahuman and Hajara Umma, his mother died when he was three years old. His grandfather was Arasi Marikar Wappichi Marikar, a leading building contractor. His father

Wapchie Marikar Abdul Rahman Wapchie Marikar Abdul Rahman (1868–1933) was a Ceylonese landed proprietor and politician. He was the Unofficial member for the Moor community in the Legislative Council of Ceylon from 1900 to 1915. Born in Colombo on 26 March 1868, he was edu ...

was appointed as the Moore member of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of represe ...

in 1900 and served till 1915. Razik was educated at Bernadet School, Bambalapitiya; Madrasathul Zahira, Maradana and at the

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo also known as; Royal Colombo, Colombo Royal College or Colombo Royal) is a Single-sex education, boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started by Joseph Marsh (priest), Joseph Mar ...

. Following his schooling he became a

landed proprietor In real estate, a landed property or landed estate is a property that generates income for the owner (typically a member of the gentry) without the owner having to do the actual work of the estate. In medieval Western Europe, there were two compe ...

. In 1915, he joined the Moorish Section of the

Colombo Town Guard Colombo Town Guard was a regiment attached to the Ceylon Defence Force which was the predecessor to the Sri Lanka Army prior to 1949 when the Ceylon Army was formed. It was a volunteer (Military reserve force, reserve) regiment was based in Colo ...

as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

and was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1916, having served during the 1915 Riots.

Political career

Entering politics in 1930, A. R. A. Razik was elected to the

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, and elected 119 municipal councilors. The council was f ...

as a Municipal Councillor from the New Bazaar Ward. He was appointed to the

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It ...

on 12 March 1936 representing the Moors (Muslims). In the State Council, he served in the Local Administration Committee, chaired by

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (8 January 1899 – 26 September 1959), also known as "The Silver Bell of Asia" (ආසියාවේ රිදී සීනුව), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as the fourth Prime Minister of ...

from 1936 to 1942 and in 1942 he was appointed to the Education Committee, chaired by C.W.W. Kannangara. In 1947, with Ceylon gaining self rule, A. R. A. Razik became a founding member of the

United National Party The United National Party (UNP; , ) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1946, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties for several decades. The UNP has served as the country's ruling party ...

. He was denied nominations from the Colombo Central electorate from the United National Party and instead contested from the Pottuvil electorate for the

House of Representatives of Ceylon The House of Representatives was the lower chamber of the parliament of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Constitution. The House was housed in the old State Council building in Galle Face Green, Colombo and met for the ...

which replaced the State Council in the 1947 general election, where he lost to Mudaliar M. M. Ebrahim. He was then elected to the

Senate of Ceylon The Senate was the upper chamber of the Parliament of Ceylon, parliament of Dominion of Ceylon, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1947 by the Soulbury Commission. The Senate was appointed and indirectly elected rather than directly elected. It ...

by the House of Representatives by the United National Party. Resigning from the Senate in 1952, he contested the 1952 general elections and was elected to the House of Representatives from the Colombo Central electorate and was re-elected in the 1956 general elections. He served as Cabinet Minister of Trade in the caretaker government of Prime Minister W. Dahanayake in 1959. He lost his seat in the March 1960 general elections, but regained it in the July 1960 general elections having contested form the

Sri Lanka Freedom Party The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP; ; ) is a centre-left political party in Sri Lanka. Founded by S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in 1951, the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties from the 1950s to the 2010s, serving as the main rival of the c ...

. He was one of thirteen SLFP parliamentarians who crossed over to the opposition with C. P. de Silva on 3 December 1964 resulting in the defeat of the SLFP government under Prime Minister

Sirima Bandaranaike Sirima Nicole Wiratunga (14 February 1964 – 7 December 1989), known simply by her first name Sirima, was a singer who sang in English and French. She was primarily known for her duet " Là-bas", recorded in 1987 with Jean-Jacques Goldman, which ...

. In 1965, he was appointed to the House of Representatives to represent the Moor community as one of six members appointed by the Governor General. From May 1967 to September 1967 he served as

Deputy Chairman of Committees The Deputy Chairperson of Committees is a position in the Parliament of Sri Lanka. List of office holders ;Parties See also Parliament of Sri Lanka Cabinet of Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka, the Cabinet of Ministers is the council ...

and from September 1967 to February 1968, he was the Deputy Speaker and Chairman of Committees of the Parliament. Retiring from parliament in 1968, he was appointed Ceylon's High Commissioner to

and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Iraq and Iran. He served till 1970.

Philanthropy

Razik is remembered for his work with T. B. Jayah to increase the education standards among the Muslim community, he established the Muslim Ladies College with his own land. He initiated the teacher training colleges in Aluthgama and Addalachchenai to train Tamil language teachers. He founded the All Ceylon Moors Association and the Moors Islamic Cultural Home and served as its president.

Honors

He was appointed a Justice of Peace and Unofficial Magistrate in 1932. He was made an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the 1948 New Year Honours and was knighted in the

1951 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1951 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those count ...

. Bristol Street in Colombo was renamed as Sir Razik Fareed Mawatha and the Sir Razik Fareed Muslim Maha Vidiyalaya in Benthara has been named after him. Sri Lanka commomrated him with a postage stamp on 22 May 1988.

References

External links

Great national leader
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fareed, Razik 1893 births 1984 deaths Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of Zahira College, Colombo Ceylonese Knights Bachelor Ceylonese military personnel Colombo municipal councillors High commissioners of Sri Lanka to Pakistan Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Iran Ambassadors of Sri Lanka to Iraq Members of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon Members of the Senate of Ceylon Members of the 2nd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 3rd Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 5th Parliament of Ceylon Members of the 6th Parliament of Ceylon Ceylonese Officers of the Order of the British Empire Sri Lankan justices of the peace and unofficial magistrates Sri Lankan Moors Sri Lankan businesspeople Sri Lankan Muslims Ceylonese military personnel of World War I Trade ministers of Sri Lanka Deputy speakers and chairmen of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka Deputy chairmen of committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka