Sir Syed Wazir Hasan (14 May 1874 – August 1948) was an Indian
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
and Secretary and later President 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 ...
. A practitioner in the Judicial Commissioner's Court, he was the first Indian Chief Justice of the
Awadh
Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...
Chief Court (1930–1934).
[Gosh-e-Azad: Biography of Maulana Azad]
ICCR. His Presidential address at the 24th Session, of Muslim League, held on 11–12 April 1936 in
Bombay
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
, was noted for its call of Hindu-Muslim unity, before the call for separate Muslim state was raised by Jinnah the very next year.
During
Indian Independence movement
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 ...
, he was the counsel for
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...
newspaper, for the noted 'Hindustan Times Contempt Case', August–November 1941 at
Allahabad High Court
Allahabad High Court, officially known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is the high court based in the city of Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established o ...
.
Family and education
Born in 1873 to Syed Zaheer, who belonged to a family was landed gentry from the
Jaunpur district
Jaunpur district is a Districts of Uttar Pradesh, district in the Varanasi Division of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The district headquarters is the city of Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, Jaunpur which is situated on the banks of the Gomti River ...
and he was expected to look after the estate. But he saw the opportunities that an English education would bring, quarrelled with his father and left for
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 ...
to study law, and also at
Muir Central College
Muir Central College in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) in northern India was a college of higher education founded by William Muir in 1872. It had a separate existence to 1921, when as a result of the Allahabad University Act it was merged into U ...
,
Allahabad
Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...
. He had 4 brothers: Syed Jafar Hasan, Syed Shabbir Hasan, a prominent poet of his time, also known as "Qateel Lakhnawi", Syed Asghar Hasan, and Syed Kazim Hasan. He had 2 sisters (names unknown). His sons were
Sajjad Zaheer
Syed Sajjad Zaheer () (5 November 1905 – 13 September 1973) was a Pakistani-Indian Urdu political writer. He was a Marxist ideologue and a radical revolutionary who worked in both India and Pakistan. In the pre-independence era, he was a me ...
and
Syed Ali Zaheer
Syed Ali Zaheer (1896–1983) سیّد علّی ظہیر was an Indian politician and law minister in the first cabinet formed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Early and family life
He was born as one of the four sons of Sir Syed Wazir Ha ...
. Professor
Saiyid Nurul Hasan was his grandson.
Career
He had incisive intelligence and great knowledge and ability. As the Secretary of
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 ...
, his meeting with
Maulana Azad
Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin (11 November 188822 February 1958), better known as Maulana Azad and sometimes referred as Abul Kalam Azad, was an Indian politician, writer and activist of the Indian independence movement. A senior leader of t ...
proved decisive for the party as after it for the first time in its history at the April 1913 Annual Session at
Lucknow
Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
under
Jinnah as the President, it changed its motto from "the attainment of suitable Self-Government for India" instead of "loyalty to British Government and the attainment of the rights of the Muslims", and the subsequent signing of
Lucknow Pact with
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
.
[
He also had a large volume of work and was the first Indian member of the Oudh Bar Association to be elevated as Additional Judicial Commissioner in 1921. He continued as such till the Oudh Chief Court came into being in 1925, and he became a Justice of the Court. His judgments spoke volumes of his erudition and it is said that none of his judgments were ever upset by the Privy Council. He became the Chief Judge of the Chief Court in 1930 and retired in 1934. After retirement he shifted to ]Allahabad
Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...
to practice. He lived like any Taluqdar
Taluqdars or Talukdar (, Hindustani: /; '' taluq'' "estate" + '' dar '' "owner"), were aristocrats who formed the ruling class during the Delhi Sultanate, Bengal Sultanate, Mughal Empire and British Raj. They were owners of a vast amount of l ...
, and in later life dabbled in politics. He was knighted in the imperial 1932 New Year Honours
The 1932 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 29 December 1931.
The recipients of honou ...
list and invested with his knighthood by the Viceroy of India in New Delhi on 4 March of that year.
His successful career proved him right and getting a good education became the rule in the family. His daughters Fatima Zehra and Noor Zehra were among the first students to get enrolled in the newly established Muslim School for Girls, later known as Karamat Hussain College. His son Syed Ali Zaheer
Syed Ali Zaheer (1896–1983) سیّد علّی ظہیر was an Indian politician and law minister in the first cabinet formed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Early and family life
He was born as one of the four sons of Sir Syed Wazir Ha ...
was a politician and member of the First Indian Cabinet, under Jawahar Lal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a prin ...
, and Syed Sajjad Zaheer (1904–1973) was a renowned Urdu writer, Marxist thinker and revolutionary. His other children were Syed Baquar, Syed Hussain, Nur Zehra, Nur Fatima, and Syed Hasan.
Personal life
His wife Lady Wazir Hasan, gave up ''purdah
Pardah or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu , , meaning "curtain") is a religious and social practice of sex segregation prevalent among some Muslim, Zoroastrian and Hindu communities. The purdah garment is the same as a burqa, or yashmak, i.e a veil ...
'' in 1930, during the Non-co-operation movement of Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...
She gave away all her French chiffon saris and started wearing khadi
Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi as Swadeshi movement, ''swadeshi (of homeland)'' for the freedom struggle of India and the term is used throughout the Indian sub ...
and weaving on a charkha. She was from Bhopal, and was the first girl to do a 'Middle' Exam, Class VI or Middle School.
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 ...
Presidential address was delivered by Sir Wazir Hasan at the Bombay Session held on 11–12 April 1936. He died in Lucknow
Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
in August 1947 and was buried there as well.Sir Syed Wazir Hasan Profile
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Further reading
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasan, Sir Syed Wazir Hasan
1874 births
1947 deaths
Indian Knights Bachelor
People from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh
Indian Shia Muslims
Aligarh Muslim University alumni
20th-century Indian lawyers
19th-century Indian lawyers
All-India Muslim League politicians