Aurangzeb Khan

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Sardar Aurangzeb Khan (1899-1965) was a politician from the Dera Ismail Khan district of NWFP, British India. He belonged to the Gandapur Pashtun tribe and belonged to a landowning family.

Sardar Aurangzeb Khan was born in 1899 at Tehsil Kulachi Dera Ismail Khan. His father Mohammad Ayaz Khan was a leading landlord in the famous Pushtoon clan Gandapur.[1]

Early education

He got his early education at Mission High School Dera Ismail Khan and later went to Peshawar for his graduation. He achieved his degree of LLB from Aligarh College where he was the president of Muslim Students Union.[2]

Political Career

He was a gifted orator and as Provincial Muslim League leader, he played a prominent role in the reorganization of Muslim League in NWFP that was at first launched in 1912 by Ghazi Ali Abbas Bukhari but did not take firm roots among the people. However, due to his tireless struggle, the League turned to be the popular political party in the Pushtoon majority province.[3]

Khan joined the All India Muslim League party in 1937 and in the same year was appointed to the NWFP Legislative Assembly. In 1940, he was one of the provincial delegates to the Lahore session of the League and was a member of the Working Committee set up there to draft what was to become the 'Lahore Resolution'. Sardar Aurangzeb Khan was also one of those leaders who seconded the resolution that was passed on 23 March 1940. He was elected to the NWFP provincial assembly in 1937.[1] Between 1943-45 he also briefly remained provincial Chief Minister before being removed.[4][2] In 1939, while Dr. Khan Sahib resigned from his ministry along with other Congress Governments, for some time thee was no popular government in the province. However on 25 May 1943, Sardar Aurangzeb Khan was able to form a ministry by the help of George Cunningham and Jinnah, with Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar as his Finance Minister. As Nishtar was in anti-British movement named as ''Akhrar'' but he was convinced by Sikandar mirza and then he joined Muslim League. He campaigned door-to-door to convey message of the League and worked hard during NWFP referendum.[3][4]

After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, he served for some time as the new country's ambassador to Burma from 1949 to 1953.

References[change | change source]

  1. "Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah. Ethnicity, Islam and Nationalism: Muslim Politics in the North-West Frontier Province 1937–1947. New York: Oxford University Press. 1999. Pp. liv, 311. $32.00". The American Historical Review. June 2002. doi:10.1086/ahr/107.3.868. ISSN 1937-5239.
  2. "Nazimuddin, (Sir) Al-Haj Khwaja, (19 July 1894–22 Oct. 1964), President of All Pakistan Muslim League", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, 2007-12-01, retrieved 2023-06-15
  3. "The First Ministry of the Muslim League in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (1943-1945): A Study of Its Formation and Performance - ProQuest". www.proquest.com. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  4. "Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah. <italic>Ethnicity, Islam and Nationalism: Muslim Politics in the North-West Frontier Province 1937–1947</italic>. New York: Oxford University Press. 1999. Pp. liv, 311. $32.00". The American Historical Review. June 2002. doi:10.1086/ahr/107.3.868. ISSN 1937-5239.