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.
King faisal,
With all due respect the only hyperbole here is what you have written. Zafrullah Khan was not a Muslim Leaguer or a career politician… he was a judge. Hence he could not hold office…
However, Jinnah papers are full of references to Sir Zafrullah Khan’s high calibre and it was for this reason that Jinnah forced Nawab of Bhopal to release Zafrullah Khan from his services and give him to Pakistan… And most important of all, Jinnah chose Zafrullah Khan as the lawyer to appear before the Radcliffe Commission. Why- may I ask- did Jinnah not appoint Liaqat Ali Khan to do the needful.
Jamaat Ahmaddiya’s contributions to Pakistan Movement were much greater than any Mullahs that you seem to praise and any Mullahs who have the nerve to abuse Quaid-e-Azam today… it was the orders of the top leadership that made Ahmadis vote enmasse for the League… even though, they must have known the fate that awaited them at the hands of the intolerant bigots that we turned out to be… so accept that other than the communists, the only other body in India to actually support Muslim League as an organisation was the Jamat Ahmaddiya. 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.
Here are some links you might want to read to expand the narrow annals of your mind:
“Spate started his paper with a revelation: “I was employed as a technical advisor by a Muslim group, the Ahmadiyya community of Qadian in Gurdaspur District; to them I owe an invaluable professional experience and much personal kindness. It is a sign of their efficiency and intelligence that, of those connected with the affair, they alone showed any appreciation of the fact that a geographer might have something of value to say. I found myself acting in effect as an unofficial adviser to the Muslim League and considered myself…perhaps on an inadequate ground…as an expert witness…once given Pakistan (an important qualification), the Muslim case seemed to me entirely legitimate”
Lecture to Royal Geographical society
1. http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/archive/030309/dma g1.htm
2. http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/archive/030316/dma g2.htm
3. http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/archive/030323/dma g21.htm
Read and weep…
From Vali Khan’s book; http://www.anp.org.pk/factsAreSacredchapter5.htm
[quote]
Writes the Viceroy:
“I may do what I like it, including sending a copy to you; thirdly, the copies have been passed to Jinnah and I think to Hydari (Sir Akbar Hydari, then Prime Minister of the Nizam of Hyderabad), and, fourthly, while he, Zafrullah, cannot of course admit its authorship, his document has been prepared for adoption by the Muslim League with a view to be given the fullest publicity.”
The Viceroy explains that although the scheme had been drawn up at his instance, since Zafrullah was Qadiani, the Muslims’ knowing that it was his handiwork would make it suspect in their eyes from the very start. Consider the dates. This letter was written on April 12, 1940. The plan had been sent earlier. A copy of it had also gone to Mr. Jinnah, and also to Sir Hydari (for the financing of it). Obviously it was much the same scheme that was adopted as the Pakistan Resolution just at that time, on March 23, 1940.
[/quote]
this article is filled with hyperbole and makes a completely untenable claim that zafarullah khan made greater contribution to pakistan movement than liaquat ali khan did. jinnah himself appointed liaquat to two key positions which were higher than any position held by zafarullah khan. before independence, liaquat was chosen by jinnah as the secretary general of muslim league and after independence, jinnah appointed liaquat as the first prime miniter of pakistan. moreover zafarullah khan did not have the sort of standing in the awam that liaquat did.
also zafarullah khan’s sectarian background has nothing to do with contribution of ahmedis to the pakistan movement. leaders at the forefront of the movement were not acting on behalf of sectarian groups and even today leaders are supported based on their perceived contribution to pakistan rather on the basis of sectarian identification. people trying to spread sectarian or for that matter ethnic hatred are playing a very dangerous game and are deserving of complete contempt.
MU that is Begum Maulana Muhammad Ali…
Moiz, there is plenty of information available on the internet both for- and against, just search on the appropriate words. Danger of starting this on this forum is that instead of looking at everything from the point of view of benefit for Pakistan and its people (of course remaining fair to everyone at the same time) we will be dragged into sectarian discussions…ATP is doing a great job at trying to remain focused on Pakistaniat, I would hate to loose that.
On a slightly separate note, in the header picture, I was told that the woman in burqa was also an Ahmadi. Can someone please confirm or deny that? Thanks.
YLH
This is a great post. Unfortunatley, the spread of bigotry in Pakistan has deluded our national sense of history and tainted our ability to recognize the services of people like Sir Zafrullah. Dr Salam is the only scientist from the Islamic world (as I write these lines I am cognizant of the blaspehmy laws, not sure if calling him a Muslim would merit my arrest warrant) and look how we treated him. That was the worst metaphor for our respect for learning, innovation and achievement. Little wonder, the good muslims here in the Universities keep on plagirizing in the name of research and their students hellbent on editing Shakespeare to eliminate ‘fahaashi”
We have to recognize that faith is an individual matter between man and God. This is what Mr Jinnah, our great leader stated quite emphatically in his August 11, 1947 address (there is a good ATP post from August 2006 on this subject). Thus a Pakistani citizen’s citizenship precedes his or her faith/sect/caste/background. Unfortunately we are light years away from the goal set by the Quaid; and the increasing talibanisation of Pakistan’s north-west and particularistic “Islamization” of its middle classes courtesy Al-Huda type movements are confounding our future development path. We are all Muslims but we do not want another Saudi or Taliban golden rule imposed here.
At the same time, the state-written curricula and the official ideology continues to breed half-truths and distortion/destruction of history.
Good that YLH and ATP are keeping these issues alive in the relatively freer web-space!
The Ahmadi faith - as far as I can tell- is the exact mirror of Hanafi Sunni Islam with one major difference… they believe that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was the greatest of all prophets and the last prophet with a shariat… however, lesser prophets can continue to after Prophet Muhammad… one of which is the founder of the Ahmadiyya sect, the famed Islamic Preacher, Mirza Ghulam Ahmed of Qadian.