Khwaja Nazimuddin

Khwaja Nazimuddin was born into a wealthy Muslim family of the Nawabs of Dhaka on 19 July 1894, then under British Raj rule. His father was Khwaja Nizamuddin and his paternal grandfather was Khwaja Fakhruddin. His family hailed from Kashmir and was long settled in Dhaka. He was the maternal grandson of Nawab Bahadur Sir Khwaja Ahsanullah and his mother, Nawabzadi Bilqis Banu, notable for her own statue. Nazimuddin had a younger brother, Khwaja Shahabuddin, who would later play a vital role in Pakistani politics. He grew up speaking Urdu. He was educated at the Dunstable Grammar School in England, but returned to British India following his matriculation, where he enrolled to attend the MAO College of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh, India. Nazimuddin secured his graduation with a bachelor's degree in sociology from AMU and returned to England to pursue higher education. After AMU, Nazimuddin went to England. He attended Trinity Hall in the University of Cambridge, and earned a Master of Arts. His training in England enabled him to practice law and become a Barrister-at-Law in England. In 1947–49, Nazimuddin was granted the degree of Doctor of Laws by the vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, Mahmud Hasan. == Political career in British India ==

Public service and independence movement Nazimuddin returned to India to join his brother Khwaja Shahbuddin from England, taking an interest in civil and public affairs that led him to join the Bengali politics. Both brothers joined the Muslim League, and Nazimuddin successfully ran for the municipality election and was elected as chairman of Dhaka Municipality from 1922 until 1929. During this time, he was appointed as education minister of Bengal. He remained minister of Education till 1934. That year he was appointed to the Viceroy's Executive Council and served until 1937. In his former capacity, he successfully piloted the Compulsory Primary Education Bill. He piloted the Bengal Agriculture Debtors' Bill and the Bengal Rural Development Bill in 1935–1936. He participated in regional elections held in 1937 on a Muslim League's platform but conceded his defeat in favour of Fazlul Haq of the Krishak Praja Party (KPP) who was appointed as Prime Minister of Bengal, while assuming his personal role as member of the legislative assembly. Bengal politics , 1937 Upon the formation of the coalition government in an agreement facilitated between the Muslim League and the Krishak Praja Party, Nazimuddin was appointed as the home minister under Haq's premiership., which he continued until 1941. in Faridpur, Bengal, 1946 Due to his conservative elite position, he became close associate of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, then-president of the Muslim League, who appointed him as a member of the executive committee to successfully promote the Muslim League's party agenda and program that gained popularity in East Bengal. In 1941, Nazimuddin broke away from the coalition led by Premier Fazlul Haq and decided to become a leader of the opposition, leading campaign against Haq's premiership and his coalition government formed with Hindu Mahasabha on Bengali nationalism instead of pan Muslim nationalism as promoted by Muslim League. During this time, Nazimuddin played a crucial political role for the cause for the separate Muslim homeland: Pakistan. From 1945 to 1947, Nazimuddin continued to serve as the chairman of the Muslim League in Bengal, ardently supporting the political cause for Pakistan against the Congress Party. During this time, Nazimuddin had been in conflict with Premier Suhrawardy and strongly opposed the United Bengal Movement as in United Bengal capital would have remained in Hindu dominated Kolkata and not Dhaka in Muslim majority East Bengal. In addition, the conflict between the two men exposed deep division in the society as Suhrawardy represented the middle class, while Nazimuddin was representing the aristocracy. == Chief Minister of East Bengal (1947–1948) ==

during the latter's visit to Pakistan, 1950 In 1947, he again contested the party elections in the Muslim League against Suhrawardy's platform and securing his nomination as the party chairman for the Muslim League's East Bengal chapter. His success in the party election eventually led him to be appointed as the first Chief Minister of East Bengal after the Partition of India in 1947 and effectively gained control of the Muslim League in the province. As the Chief Minister, he led the motion of confidence that ultimately voted in favour of joining the Federation of Pakistan and reorganized the Government of East Bengal by delegating conservative members in his administration. On April 6, 1948, the East Bengal Assembly passed a resolution, led by the Sir Khwaja Nazimuddin-led Muslim League government, making Bengali an official language of the province. == Governor-General of Pakistan (1948–51) ==

On 14 August of 1947, Governor-General Muhammad Ali Jinnah relinquished the party presidency of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) to Sir Khwaja Nazimuddin who took over the party of the president of Pakistan Muslim League (PML), due to his party electoral performance. His oath of office was supervised by Chief Justice Sir Abdul Rashid of the Federal Court of Pakistan, with Liaquat Ali Khan in attendance. prior to their 1952–53 tour of India As governor-general, Nazimuddin set a precedent of neutrality and non-interference in government, and provided political support to Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan's government, which was seen as essential to the working of the responsible government at that time. In 1949, Nazimuddin established the parliamentary committee, the Basic Principles Committee, on the advice of Prime Minister Ali Khan to underlying basic principles that would lay the foundation of the Constitution of Pakistan. It was during his tenure as Governor-General East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 was passed in East Bengal. This law abolished the Zamindari system in the region, after which the lands of the state were under the federal government. It was seen as a democratic move to a people's state rather than a feudal class system. == Premiership (1951–1953) ==

in the early 1950s After the assassination of Liaqat Ali Khan in 1951, the Muslim League leaders asked Governor-General Nazimuddin to take over the prime ministership as well as the party's presidency, as there was no other person found suitable for the post. He appointed Finance Minister Sir Malik Ghulam to the Governor-General's post. Nazimuddin's government focused on promoting the political programs aimed at conservative ideas. During his time in office, a framework was begun for a constitution that would allow Pakistan to become a republic within the Commonwealth, and end its British Dominion status under the Crown. Nazimuddin's administration took place during a poor economy and the rise of provincial nationalism in four provinces and East Bengal, which made him unable to run the country's affairs effectively. of the United Kingdom and other leaders of the Commonwealth of Nations at the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Economic Conference, December 1952 In 1951, Prime Minister Nazimuddin's government conducted the country's first nationwide census, where it was noted that 57% of the population of Karachi were refugees from India, which further complicated the situation in the country. In January 1952, Prime Minister Nazimuddin announced publicly in Dacca that Jinnah had been right: for the sake of Pakistan's national unity, Urdu must be the official language of Pakistan–East and West. On 21 February 1952, a demonstration in the Bengali language movement demanding equal and official status to the Bengali language turned bloody, with many fatalities caused by police firings. This demonstration was held when he declared Urdu the National Language of Pakistan, following the previous statement of Muhammad Ali Jinnah that Urdu shall be the 'one and only' language of Pakistan. In 1953, a violent religious movement led by far-right Jamaat-e-Islami began to agitate for the removal of the Ahmadi religious minority from power positions, and demanded a declaration of this minority as non-Muslims. Nazimuddin was held morally responsible for riots being spread and resisted such pressures; Major General Azam Khan was made Chief Martial Law Administrator and brought Lahore under control within a couple of days. Nazimuddin forced out the Chief Minister of Punjab, Mumtaz Daultana, and replaced him with Feroz Khan Noon. Dismissal The agitations and violence spread through the successful Bengali language movement and the riots in Lahore proved the inability of Nazimuddin's government, as he was widely seen as weak in running the government administration. In an attempt to improve the economy and internal security, Malik Ghulam asked Prime Minister Nazimuddin to step down in the wider interest of the country. Malik Ghulam appointed another Bengali politician, Muhammad Ali Bogra who was then serving as the Pakistan Ambassador to the United States, as the new prime minister until the new elections to be held in 1954. == Death and legacy ==

Later life and death After his dismissal, he and his family remained active in parliamentary politics; his nephew, Khwaja Wasiuddin, was an army general serving as GOC-in-C II Corps and later repatriated to Bangladesh in 1974. His younger brother, Shahabuddin, remained active in politics and became Information minister in President Ayub Khan's administration. Sir Khwaja died in 1964, aged 70. He was buried in the Mausoleum of three leaders in his hometown of Dhaka. Wealth and honours Nazimuddin and his brother, Shahabuddin, belonged to an aristocratic family who were known for their wealth. In a thesis written by Joya Chatterji, Nazimuddin was described for unquestionable loyalty to the British administration in India: By 1934, the family had estates that covered almost 200,000 acres and was well spread over different districts of Eastern Bengal, together with properties in Shillong, Assam and Kolkata, had a yearly rent of £120,000 ($2,736,497.94 in 2017). In 1958, he was awarded the highest civilian award titled Nishan-e-Pakistan. Later by the Government of Pakistan, Nazimuddin has been honoured from time to time after his death. In Karachi, the residential areas, Nazimabad and North Nazimabad in suburbs of Karachi, had been named after him. In Islamabad, there is a road intersection, Nazimuddin Road, named for him. ==Commemorative postage stamp==

In his honour, the Pakistan Post issued a commemorative stamp in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series in 1990. == See also ==