By Yasser Latif Hamdani
Last week (February 6) marked the 114th Birthday of one of Pakistan’s greatest unsung heroes. Once again, there was no mention of commemoration of his remarkable like. No sense of gratitude from a nation for which he did so much. He has been wiped out of our memory because he was an Ahmadi, despite his glorious contributions to Pakistan and its cause (see related post on Dr. Abdul Salam).
Sir Zafrullah Khan’s services rendered to Muslims of India, Pakistan and the Third World are second only to that of Quaid-e-Azam Mahomed Ali Jinnah. As a jurist, a diplomat and a patriot he stood head and shoulders above the lesser men who have made a mockery of our republic.
Born in 1893 in Sialkot in what was to become one of the earliest Ahmaddiya households, this small town boy rose to be one of the shrewdest legal minds of his time. His early education was in Sialkot, after which he proceeded to Lahore for his bachelors degree, under the tutelage of none other than the great Iqbal himself. He got his law degree from King’s College London in 1914, where he stood top of his class and was the first person from the Indian subcontinent to do so. He was, like most great figures of that time, called to bar at Lincoln’s Inn.
As a practicing lawyer, he soon proved his mettle and had many reported cases to his name. The first major politician to recognize Zafrullah’s talents was Sir Fazli Hussain, the founder of Unionist Party of Punjab. Starting his career in his early 30s as a member of the Punjab legislative Council, he rose to prominence as an indefatigable crusader for Muslims of Punjab. Later he represented the Muslims at round table conference and crossed swords with figures like Jinnah and Gandhi. In 1931, he became the Muslim League president and at the roundtable conference, he cornered no less a person than Churchill in a committee hearing who was forced to accept Zafrullah’s point of view.
Later he was offered a seat on Viceroy’s permanent Council, which he took to further his cause. He also served at varying times as the minister of Railways, Public works, labour and law under the Viceroy. For a brief period, he also became British India’s representative to the League of Nations, just before it was dissolved.
However his greatest contribution came when he drafted the famous Lahore Resolution, which till this day is the rallying point of Pakistan and Pakistani nationalism. He had been tasked with finding a common point between the popular demand for “Pakistan” and Muslim League’s all India requirements. The Lahore resolution was a broad based solution which left the door virtually open for several solutions and negotiation on the issue of partition. In essence it envisaged 2 or 3 great republics for the Muslim peoples and it was this document which forms the basis not just of Pakistan but also of Bangladesh. For this he got a lot of slack. No less a person than Khan Abdul Wali Khan highlighted Zafrullah’s religious belief to play on the popular conspiracy theory that holds Ahmadis to be British touts.
Later from 1942 onwards, he served as a federal judge (equivalent of an Supreme court C judge) of India and finally took leave on the eve of Pakistan to serve the cause of Pakistan before the Radcliffe Commission, on Jinnah’s personal request. On 25th December 1947, Jinnah appointed him the Foreign Minister of Pakistan. At the UN, Sir Zafrullah emerged as the most eloquent advocate of all third world and Islamic issues. It was Zafrullah whose efforts materialized into the UN Resolutions on Kashmir, which are the basis of the Pakistani case and grievance. Later he became the first Asian president of the International Court of Justice, a singular and unique honor for any Pakistani. He also served, briefly, as the President of the UN General Assembly. He passed away in September of 1983 in Lahore.
A prolific author on the history of Pakistan and Islam, his most famous book was titled “Agony of Pakistan” in which he makes plain the great betrayal which wrested the country from the hands of its patriots into the hands of those who were its greatest enemies. Ironically, today Jinnah’s most trusted lieutenant is not even remembered by the state which owes him so much, including its own founding document. It is the memory of people like Zafrullah Khan that will keep alive the original idea of Pakistan and there is no doubt that one day the posterity will reclaim its true destiny as a progressive and modern republic.
Yasser Latif Hamdani is a lawyer in Lahore and a researcher of the history of the Pakistan Movement.
We must focus on what the person achieved and did in the cause of the nation. I am not sure if there is a road here named after Sir Zafarullah Khan but there is one in Tunis. Three other Pakistanis are also remembered in the same way there (I am not sure who). That shows what vision our founders had and what sphere of influence they wanted to create. It is not common knowledge that Tunisian leaders used to travel on Pakistani passports when struggling for their independence, hence the honout to Sif Zafarullah and others. We helped them get independence and then forgot; most Tunisans have forgotten too but their elders and officials still remember that and acknowledge it.
Thanks Yasser — though since my post has been censored it doesnt make sense what you have written - I think this is the last time I interact here because in the name of freedom of speech the owner of this site allows people like adnan siddiqi too much leeway tho people who call him the troll that he is get their posts deleted
adios
YLH,
Great post. I learnt several things about Zafarullah Khan that I didn’t know before. like, he was born in Sialkot and that he wrote the Lahore Resolution. Incidentally, What is it about Sialkot that makes it produce so many bright people? Iqbal, Faiz, Zafarullah and, I am sure, there must be many more.
Reading all these comments i think it is really sad that we are unable to just appreciate a person for what he achieved. we are more bogged down by what religion he followed or whether he attended the funeral of the Quaid or notetc… Just goes to show how far we are from being a nation.It is sad…why is it so difficult to accept that yes perhaps among all the people who struggled to create Pakistan he was also one of them. No one is trying to usurp anybody else’s position or image. Just appreciate good where you see good.
Ahsan, I agree that this post which should have been uplifting has degenerated into yet another mud slinging match that has no bearing on either the original post or on any substance but seems to be some petty rivalry. Unfortunately, some people here (including in this case the author) seem to have too confrontational a style and cannot disagree politely. Maybe its a larger Pakistani issue.
To me, however, pointing out that Sir Zafarullah is forgotten because he is of Ahmedi faith is very relevant. But the point of that is that no one should be condemned or forgotten simply because of their faith. How this turned into whether Ahmedis are Muslims or not is what I cannot understand. Some people here who seem to believe they are not also seem to be suggesting that because they are not Muslims therefore they are also not good enough Pakistanis. THAT IS THE PROBLEM. I do not know whether they are or not. I leave that decsision to Allah. I do not think that any website nor any parliament has the right to decide things that only Allah can know. So, let us leave aside discussions of who si and is not a good Muslim. The real question is that should someone who has obviously contributed so much to the country be smeared in innuendo and lies simply because of whatever his beliefs are. To me, the clear answer is NO. I wish we had focussed just on that aspect rather than trying to decide things that only Allah should rightly decide on.
While talking of “A”, a person or a group of perons, we talk of “B”, any subject matter, only if there is some sort of necessary connection, between the two, for the discussion. Here we are talking of a forgotten personality Sir Zafrullah Khan. His personal achievements and his servises in the creation and after defending Pakistan are brought to light. All this, he did as an individual and his religion has nothing to do with his status of one of the heros of the freedom movement or with the confidence that Mr. Jinnah had in him. The discussion has taken a wrong toute.
I think that the seed of confrontation was cleverly planted in:
“He has been wiped out of our memory because he was an Ahmadi”
There are many others (perhaps at a lesser degree!) involved in the Pakistan Movement that the nation of Pakistan does not remember.
There is no doubt that Sir Zafrullah Khan was a brillian lawyer and orator but to make him a Second Jinnah is simply a Hero Worship attitude of the writer of the post.
This hero worship is clearly stated in his statement:
[quote comment=”33784″] These are undeniable facts of history… you may try again and again, but educated people will need only to go through the 5 volumes of Jinnah Papers from that era to see the truth.[/quote]
Any statement by any person may be true or false according the reasoning and logic. Why any statemnt of Mr. Jinnah will be only TRUE? Why the five volumes will not contain some erroneous statements? After all he was a human being. According to the Islamic Faith there is only one VOLUME which contains nothing but the TRUTH and the five volumes of Jinnah are certainly not in that catagory.
So, in my opinion the above statement in quotes is certainly wrong and I will refrain to give any back-up statement
Ahsan
[quote comment=”33922″]Please read the “hard core evidences”…
OK,, now u r clear. Hope its the Great read material[/quote]
Dear KHS, I have never followed this issue, but thanks to your messages, I did just follow up the referecnes you provided. A simplegoogle search shows that actually what you have is not references but direct plagiarised extracts from activist websites. By the standard rules of referencing, these are not substaniated references at all. Moreover, what you site is not what Zafarullah Khan said but the debate between propagandists of different sects.
Since one of your referencesis to the Zamindar, and since teh Berkely library here, I think, has a microfische of the newspaper, I will check out the original source.
For now, however, the so-called evidence you provide is not evidence at all but is libelous and rumor mongering - actually hate mongering.
Omar,
What is amazing is that this fellow calls me an extremist even though he abuses every one under the sky on this website day in day out. According to him my suggestion that all Pakistanis should have equal rights makes me an “secular extremist” apparently.
Indescribe,
I did not go overboard. You should see some of the comments here. I am still not sure where I made fun of the term “Mullah” here.
Adnan Siddiqui,
I am afraid there is no balance and moderation in what you say. If by standing for equal rights of all Pakistanis and Jinnah’s tolerant and progressive Pakistan makes me an extremist, then by opposing the same you must become a religious extremist. No point trying to play the double game. You stand against everyone and anyone who tries to argue for a just and egalitarian Pakistan because your Islam gets threatened every time one talks simple logic.