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.
Farrukh
Well said.
Zeshan
Quite clearly you are not very clear on what the issue. The issue is not whether you consider Ahmadis Kafir or whether Ahmadis consider you Kafir…
The issue is whether a majority has the right to dictate to the minority what the minority should call itself. It is your right to call yourself Muslim and it is the right of Ahmadis to call themselves Muslims… kapeesh? So you may go on considering Ahmadis Kafir and Ahmadis may go on considering you kafir but neither you nor Ahmadis should have the right to legislate in a state structure that the other is a Non-muslim.
Old timer,
I am surprised that you add me to that list. All I have said is that the injustice against Ahmadis- the denial of their religious freedoms, their human rights etc- is WRONG.
Is that really that upsetting? I ask not as a Muslim or as anything else… but simply as a Pakistani who believes in Jinnah’s Pakistan.
I’m sure you can read, can’t you? Where, oh tell me me, WHERE did I discriminate against Ahmadis? On the contrary, I talked about how much I respect other religions, even.
It is YOU people who have been trying to glorify historical figues in the most insane and discriminatory way! Couldn’t you have just said that one fails to understand why Zafarullah Khan is not remembered the way other people of the past are? But NOOOO, you just had to bring out the sympathy card of Ahmadiat so that people go Awww, poor misunderstood little things!
The very sad SAD part is that none, yes I repeat, NONE of you Ahmadis know anything about your faith, hence you end up contradicting your words again and again almost as much as your spiritual leaders!
“It is our duty, not to take non-Ahmadis as Muslims, nor should we say prayers with them, because they deny one of the God’s Apostles”
(Anwaar e Khilafat P. 99)
YOU people call US non-Muslims, but when WE do, you scream!
“All those Muslims who haven’t taken the oath of allegiance to the Promised Christ (Mirza Qadiyani), even though they have never heard of Mirza Qadiyani, are infidels & have nothing to do with Islam.”
(Ainae Sadaqat: P: 35. By Mirza Mehmood)
YOU keep on saying that WE don’t have the right to call you Kafir. What gives YOU that right then?
“Our observation is that the Promised Christ (Mirza Qadiyani) treated the non-Ahmadis as the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallaho Alaihe Wassallam) treated the Christians. He made our prayers separate from those of non-Ahmadis. He prohibited us from having marital relations with them & participating in their funerals. So, in all respects we have broken our ties with them. There are two types of relations: religious & worldly or temporal. The greater source of religious relation is the common rituals of worship, while the greater source of worldly relation is the matrimonial alliance. And we have been prohibited from having both types of relations.”
(Kalmatul Fasal: P: 169. By Mirza Basher Ahmed)
I tried my BEST to avoid these kinds of discussions but since you people can never rest in piece without poking other bad where it hurts them, don’t forget, what goes around comes around. If this is the way you want to talk, based on PURE facts WITH refences, then SURE, I’m all ready. HAVE FUN!
RAI.T.U.KHAN
[quote comment=”34017″]For your kind information the word khuda is not mention in holy QURAN,this word came from another laguage,not from QURAN laguage.[/quote]
You are right this word is not Arab but Persian and it is not used in he Holy Book. So, do you mean that this word is alien to Islam because it is not used by Allaah in His Book?
For your kind information the word jamhooriyat (democracy) is of Arabic origin and Allaah has never pronounced this word in His Book. Thus, in your personal religious interpretation, is jamhooriyat (democracy) alien to Islam? I will be obliged if you do not add me in the list of your brothers.
Ahsan
“dun u ppl think it hurts when sumone call himself “Prophetâ€
Zeeshan,
It is true that I wrote this article because Sir Zafrullah Khan was an Ahmadi… the reason being to underscore the grave injustice against the Ahmadi community.
From a simple principle of ethics, what has happened to Ahmadis is nothing but a breach of contract by the Pakistani state… Ahmadis voted for Pakistan out of love for their Muslim brethren and because they were assured that they would not be discriminated against.
We have breached the promise to them and we have let down Quaid-e-Azam. There is nothing more important in Islam than Eifai-e-Ahad or the importance of keeping your promise… much more than the petty anti-Ahmadi rhetoric that emerges from the majority today. It is rather sad that I am being accused of having ulterior motives or trying to divide Muslims and Pakistanis along religious lines… I was not even born in 1974 when Mullahs and erstwhile enemies of Pakistan forced the then parliament to turn out an entire community from the pale of Islam. It is they who divided Muslims… it is they who divided Pakistanis.
Ahmadi issue is a very serious one. It is a travesty of justice… the reason why this issue must be visited again and again is because the anti-Ahmadi activities are actually anti-Pakistaniat activities.