Shah Nawaz Bhutto (, , ), 8 March 1888 – 19 November 1957, was a

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and a member of the

Bhutto family The Bhutto family is a Pakistani political family of Sindhi background, belonging to the Bhutto clan. The Bhuttos have played a prominent role in Pakistani politics and government. The family has held the leadership of the Pakistan People' ...

hailing from

Larkana Larkana (; ) is a city located in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the 15th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is home to the Indus Valley civilization site Mohenjo-daro. The historic Indus River flows in east and south of the ci ...

in the

Sind Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind or Scinde) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest provin ...

region of the Bombay Presidency 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 ...

, which is now

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, Pakistan.

Early life and education

Shah Nawaz Bhutto was born on 8 March 1888 in

Garhi Khuda Bakhsh Garhi Khuda Bakhsh (, ) is a village in Ratodero Taluka near Naudero, in Larkana District of Sindh province, Pakistan. It contains the family graveyard of the Bhutto family and is the burial place of Zulfiqar, Murtaza, and Benazir Bhutto, in ...

in Ratodero Taleka in the

Larkana District Larkana District ( Sindhi: لاڙڪاڻو ضلعو; ) is a district of the Sindh province of Pakistan. Its largest city is Larkana, which sits on the banks of the Indus River. It is the home district of the politically influential Bhutto famil ...

of the

region, within the Bombay Presidency of

(now in

, Pakistan) into a

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

family of the Bhutto clan of

Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi Muslim agricultural community with a strong political identity and level of organisation. At the beginning of the last century, they numbered around 1 million and were mainly rural cultivator ...

to father Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto. He was also the youngest brother of

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 ...

Nabi Bux Khan Bhutto Nawab Nabi Bux Khan Bhutto (2 January 1887 – 6 December 1965) was the Pakistani lawyer and political leader who was the member of legislative assembly before Partition of India till 14 August 1947. He was also the brother of Shah Nawaz Bhut ...

. The Bhutto family owned 250,000 acres of land spread across

, in

Sukkur Sukkur is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the List of cities in Sindh by population, third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and H ...

and

Jacobabad Jacobabad, also known as Khanger, is a city in Sindh, Pakistan, serving as both the capital city of Jacobabad District and the administrative centre of Jacobabad Taluka, an administrative subdivision of the district. The city itself is subd ...

. Shah Nawaz got his early education and later at St. Patrick's High School in

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 ...

, and then at Sindh Madressa, also in Karachi.

Career and dewan of Junagadh

Bhutto entered the Legislative Council of the Bombay Province, of which Sindh was a part, in 1921 at the age of 33. He continued till 1936. During this time, he received the honours of CIE followed by knighthood. In 1934, he became a minister in the Bombay government. Bhutto attended the Round Table Conference in 1931 as a leader of Sindhi Muslims demanding separation of Sind from the Bombay province. This was eventually granted in 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 ...

, with Sind becoming a separate province on 1 April 1936. Bhutto was appointed as a chief advisor to the Governor of Sind. In preparation for the provincial elections in 1937, the

Sind United Party The Sind United Party or Sind Ittehad Party ( Sindhi: سنڌ اتحاد پارٽي) was a political party in Sind, British India. The party was founded in June 1936, the same year that the Sind province had been created. The party was modelled ...

was formed by Haji Abdullah Haroon and Bhutto joined it as the vice-chairman of the party. It was modeled after the Punjab Unionist Party and claimed to represent all Sindhis irrespective of religion. Nevertheless, Bhutto brought leading ''pirs'' (Sufi saints) to influence the voters 'religiously' to cast their votes in his favour.Ansari, Sarah F. D.
Sufi Saints and State Power: The Pirs of Sind, 1843-1947
'. Cambridge South Asian studies, 50. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. pp. 115-116 The Sind United Party emerged as the largest party in the elections, winning 21 out of 60 seats. However, both Harron and Bhutto failed to get elected. The

seat, which Bhutto had contested, was won by Sheikh Abdul Majid Sindhi. The Governor invited

Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah Khan Bahadur Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah KCSI (; January 1879 – 4 October 1948) was a colonial Indian and Pakistani politician from Sindh. He held several offices in Sindh including 1st Chief Minister (1937–1938) and being re-elected ...

, the leader of the Sind Muslim Party and a political rival of Bhutto in Sind, to form a government. Large scale defections took place in the Assembly, Bhutto resigned from the party and Haroon eventually merged his party into 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 ...

.Afzal, Nasreen.
Role of Sir Abdullah Haroon in Politics of Sindh (1872-1942)
'' Bhutto returned to Bombay to become the Chairman of the Bombay-Sind Public Service Commission. Early in 1947, Bhutto joined the council of ministers of

Muhammad Mahabat Khan III Sir Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III Rasul Khanji, (2 August 1898 – 17 November 1959) was the last ruling Nawab of Junagadh of the princely state of Junagadh in India from 1911 to 1948. He was the father of Muhammad Dilawar Khanji – former Go ...

the

Junagadh Junagadh () is the city and headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. It i ...

in the modern-day province of

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

, becoming its

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...

, or prime minister in May. At the time of the

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

in 1947, the princely states were asked by the British to decide whether to join the newly independent states of

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 ...

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# ...

or to remain autonomous and outside them. The Constitutional Advisor to the Nawab, Nabi Baksh, indicated to

Lord Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was ...

that he was recommending that the State should join India. However, the Nawab did not make a decision. Early in 1947, Bhutto was invited to join the Council of Ministers of the Nawab. In May, when the Dewan Abdul Khadir Muhammad Hussain went abroad for medical treatment, Bhutto was appointed as the Dewan. On 15 August 1947, the State announced that it had acceded to Pakistan. On 13 September 1947, the Government of Pakistan accepted the accession. However, the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

citizens of the State revolted, leading to several events and also a

plebiscite A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or adv ...

, resulting in the integration of Junagadh into India. Nawab

of Junagadh (erstwhile Babi Nawab dynasty of Junagadh) fled to

, Pakistan. As Dewan of Junagarh; it was Shah Nawaz Bhutto who wrote and signed the letter addressed to Indian Government to come and take over the administration of the Junagadh state. Shah Nawaz Bhutto moved to

, where his land-ownership made him among the wealthiest and most influential people in Sindh. Bhutto was a good friend of

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

(later President)

Iskander Mirza Iskander Ali Mirza (13 November 189913 November 1969) was a Bengali politician, statesman and military general who served as the Dominion of Pakistan's fourth and last governor-general of Pakistan from 1955 to 1956, and then as the Islamic Repub ...

, who was a regular guest for the annual hunt in Larkana, staying at the Bhutto family home called ''Al-Murtaza''. In the winter of 1955-1956, Mirza brought General

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

with him to Larkana for the hunt.Burki, Shahid Javed, Historical Dictionary of Pakistan, Scarecrow Press, 1991,

Personal life

Bhutto was a first cousin once removed of Wahid Baksh Bhutto, who in 1924 was made a

sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...

and in 1926 was elected to the

Imperial Legislative Assembly The Central Legislative Assembly was the lower house of the Indian Legislature, the legislature of British India. It was created by the Government of India Act 1919, implementing the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms. It was also sometimes called t ...

from

, a constituency of the Bombay Presidency, becoming the first member of the Bhutto family to be elected to public office. Shah Nawaz Bhutto was married to Khursheed Begum (born as Lakhi Bai), who was of a modest

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

or Kutchi

family in

. She converted from

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

before her marriage. Their children included their first son, Sikandar, who died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at the age of seven in 1914, their second child, Imdad Ali, died of

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...

at the age of thirty-nine in 1953. Their third son,

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

, was born in his parents' residence near

, and later became the

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 ...

. Their fourth child, a daughter, Mumtaz Sahiba Bhutto, was married to

Brigadier Brigadier ( ) is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

Muhammad Mustafa Khan Bahadur of the Sidi clan.

Honours and legacy

The British imperial government awarded Bhutto the title of ''

Khan Sahib Khan Sahib - a compound of Khan "Leader" and Sahib "Master" - was a formal title of respect and honour, which was conferred mainly on Muslim, and also on Parsi, Irani, and Jewish subjects of the British Indian Empire. It was a title one deg ...

'', subsequently raising it to ''

Khan Bahadur Khan Bahadur – a compound of ''Khan'' "Leader" and ''Bahadur'' "Brave" – was an honorary title in British India conferred on Indian subjects who were adherents of Islam or Zoroastrianism. The equivalent title for Hindus, Buddhists and India ...

''. Bhutto was appointed 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 ...

, Civil Division (OBE) in the

1920 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1920 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 1 January 1920 and 30 March 1920 (referred to as the 1920 civi ...

list, with a further appointment as a

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander ( GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) Appoint ...

(CIE) in the

1925 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1925 were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by members of the British Empire. They were published on 30 December 1924. The recipients of honours are displayed her ...

list. In the

1930 New Year Honours The 1930 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were a ...

, Bhutto was knighted, and was invested with his knighthood on 27 February 1930 at Viceroy's House in New Delhi by the Viceroy of India, the

Lord Irwin Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as the Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and the Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a British Conservative politician of the 1930s. He h ...

.Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto
/ref> * He was a Delegate to the

Round Table Conference The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences, organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in De ...

in London in 1930-31 as a leader of Sindhi Muslims demanding separation of Sindh from the Bombay Province *

Pakistan Postal Services Pakistan Post () is a state enterprise which functions as Pakistan's primary and largest postal operator. 49,502 employees through a vehicle fleet of 5,000 operate traditional "to the door" service from more than 13,419 post offices across the ...

issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honor in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series.

References

; Sources * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhutto, Shah Nawaz 1888 births 1957 deaths Pakistani politicians Sindhi politicians Shah Nawaz Khan Bahadurs Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire Indian knights Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India Indian Knights Bachelor Lawyers awarded knighthoods Prime Ministers of Junagadh State Indian Officers of the Order of the British Empire

Early life and education

Career and dewan of Junagadh

Personal life

Honours and legacy

See also

References