Chaudhry Rehmat Ali (16 November 1897 - 3 February 1951) was a sincere politician who proposed the name of Pakistan. He is called the first Pakistani in the world.
Early life:
Chaudhry Rehmat Ali was born on November 16, 1897 in the village of Moharan in Hoshiarpur district of East Punjab to Haji Shah Gujjar, a moderate landowner. He received his early education from a school run by a cleric. Matriculated from Anglo-Sanskrit High School, Jalandhar. He came to Lahore in 1914 for further studies. He entered Islamia College, Lahore. FA in 1915 and BA in 1918.
Academic life:
He founded Bazm Shibli in Islamia College in 1915 as he was very much influenced by Maulana Shibli and then from his platform introduced the idea of partition of India in 1915. After completing his BA in 1918, Chaudhry Rehmat Ali started career from an Assistant Editor in the Kashmir Gazette of Mr. Muhammad Din Fauq. In 1928, Aitchison College also appointed a mentor. Shortly afterwards he moved to England, where in January 1931 he entered the Emmanuel College, Cambridge, to study law. He holds advanced degrees in law and politics from Cambridge and Dublin universities.
The theory of partition of India:
He was also the editor of Islamia College's magazine "The Crescent" and was an official of many other student related magazines. He founded Bazm Shibli in Islamia College, at the meeting of which, at the age of 18, he presented the revolutionary idea of partition of the country. He said while presenting this theory "The northern region of India is an Islamic region. We will turn it into an Islamic state, but it can only happen when the people of that region separate themselves from the rest of India. The good for Islam and for us is that we get rid of Indianness as soon as possible”.
Practical life:
He started his career as an Assistant Editor in Kashmir Gazette. He also wrote pamphlets on "Pakistan the Fatherland of Pak Nation", "Muslimism" and "Indusism". Chaudhry Rehmat Ali became a lecturer in Aitchison College, Lahore and also worked at Jeffs College. He also got a job in some newspapers.
In 1933, Chaudhry Rehmat Ali founded the Pakistan National Movement in London. On January 28, 1933, while he was studying at Cambridge University, he published a four-page pamphlet entitled "Now or Never". Which proved to be the iron wall of the fort of Tehreek-e-Pakistan. And the Muslims and other nations of the subcontinent became familiar with the word "Pakistan". According to him, he got this name from Punjab (P), Afghanistan (a) Kashmir (c) Sindh (S) and Balochistan (Tan) where Muslims have been living for 1200 years. In 1935 he started a weekly newspaper "Pakistan" from Cambridge. He traveled to Germany and France to get his voice heard, and promised Hitler of Germany's support against the British. He also traveled to the United States and Japan.
At a time when Hindu and Muslim leaders were contemplating a federal constitution during roundtable conferences in London, on August 1, 1933, the Joint Parliamentary Select Committee took note of Chaudhry Rehmat Ali's demand for Pakistan. Asked questions In response, Sir Zafarullah, Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Khalifa Shuja-ud-Din, among others, said that these were just the activities of a few students, not a demand of any serious person to be noticed. In 1938, he also advocated for the independence of Bengal, Assam and Hyderabad Deccan and introduced the concept of "sub-continent of the continent of religion".
These included Pakistan, Saifistan, Mobilistan, Bangladesh, Hyderabad, Farooqistan, Osmanistan etc. In which the geographical location was determined and regular maps were given. And while addressing the Supreme Council of the Pakistan National Movement in Karachi on March 8, 1940, he again outlined an independent Islamic state for the Hyderabad Deccan under the name "Osmanistan".
He could not attend the historic meeting of the Muslim League in Lahore on March 23, 1940. Due to the clash between the Khaksar movement and the police, the Punjab government banned him from entering the Punjab. According to some quarters, the reason for not attending the meeting was the use of the word "All India" along with "Muslim League". Because you were strongly opposed to it and used to refer to this region as subcontinent or religion. He considered the Muslims as the real heirs of the subcontinent because the British had snatched the government from the Muslims and it was the Muslims who united the whole subcontinent into one state. Although the name "Pakistan" suggested by him was not included in the meeting, the Hindu press of the subcontinent started sarcastically calling it "Pakistan Resolution" and eventually the satire turned out to be true.
After the establishment of Pakistan, he visited Pakistan twice, but due to unfavorable circumstances and attitudes, he returned to the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, his interview was published in Pakistan Times on May 20, 1948.
Feedback:
Historian Dr. Rajendra Prasad writes in his book India Divided:
"As far as I know, Chaudhry Rehmat Ali is the founding president of the Pakistan National Movement. He is the only person who opposes recognizing the unity of India and considers it tantamount to oppressing Muslims."
A chapter of the famous book Inside India by the famous Turkish writer Khaleda Khanum contains an interview with Chaudhry Rehmat Ali which was published in Paris in 1937. She writes in her book:
"The plan of Pakistan National Movement is different from sectarianism. According to the movement, India is not a single country at present. It is a subcontinent consisting of two countries, India and Pakistan. The founder of the movement is Chaudhry Rehmat Ali. He is the most capable legislator but he gave up advocacy and founded the Pakistan National Movement. The main purpose of his life at the moment is the future of the Muslims of India. I have noticed during the meeting that I was born into a youth with a bigoted and anti-Islamic mentality of Hindus. Their ideology did not affect Pakistan at all and they do not base this movement on Hindu animosity. "
The word “Pakistan” and the map of Pakistan:
Thus in 1933 he formed an organization of students from the subcontinent called Pakistan National Liberation Movement. In the same year, Chaudhry Rehmat Ali published his famous booklet Now or Never on the occasion of the Second Round Table Conference. Now or never... Published in which the word Pakistan was used for the first time. He also presented a map of three countries named Pakistan, Bangladesh and Osmanistan. Pakistan included Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, NWFP, Balochistan and Sindh. While Bengal had areas of Bengal, Bihar and Assam, the state of Hyderabad Deccan was renamed as Ottoman Empire. In 1935, he started a weekly newspaper in Cambridge called Pakistan. Chaudhry Rehmat Ali wanted to attend the 34th Annual Meeting of the All India Muslim League in Lahore on March 23, 1940, but a few days ago due to the firing of Khaksars, the then Chief Minister of Punjab Mr. Sikandar Hayat banned Chaudhry Rehmat Ali from entering Punjab. Imposed He went to the United Nations in 1947 and stated his position on Kashmir.
After the establishment of Pakistan:
Although Chaudhry Rehmat Ali was a big name in the concept of Pakistan, he spent most of his life in the UK after puberty. After the formation of Pakistan in 1947, he returned to Lahore on April 6, 1948. After his arrival in Lahore, he continued to express his dissatisfaction with the establishment of Pakistan. He used to condemn Quaid-e-Azam for accepting small Pakistan. In this condemnation he went so far as to call Quaid-e-Azam "Quisling-e-Azam". Rehmat Ali wanted to stay in Pakistan but was deported by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. Their belongings were confiscated. In October 1948 he had to go to Britain empty handed.
Illness and death:
His last address was 114 Harry Hutton Road and he was a tenant of Mr. MC Crane. According to Mr Crane's widow, Chaudhry Rehmat Ali did not have a clear idea. One night during the bitter cold of January, he went out without the necessary clothes and fell ill on his return. On January 29, he was admitted to Evelyn Nursing Home in a critical condition with pneumonia but could not recover and died there on Saturday morning, February 3, 1951.
According to Emmanuel College, Cambridge City Cemetery and Cambridge Birth and Death Records, on the morning of Saturday, February 3, 1951, this great benefactor passed away in a state of contempt in Britain.
Burial:
After 17 days in cold storage waiting for compatriots, faiths and religions, finally on February 20, 1951, two Egyptian students brought the body of this poor patriot to the grave number B-8330 in the cemetery of Cambridge, England. Trustworthy burial as heir (Cambridge Cemetery, Market Road - Cambridge - UK).
Ministries, allotments, claims, lust for power did not even know that the front line mujahid of his country's movement has carried a debt of 200 pounds on his shoulders for his burial. But even after seven decades, it is still buried faithfully among a few anonymous tombs abroad.
Honors:
The government of Pakistan had also issued commemorative stamps in his memory in the Heroes of Pakistan series.
