B. Pocker (1890 – 29 July 1965), Badekkandy, also spelled Poker, title Sahib Bahadur, as an Indian politician and lawyer from

Tellicherry Thalassery (), formerly Tellicherry, is a municipality, Commercial City on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district, in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahé (Pondicherry), Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kasaragod and Kodagu (Karna ...

, north Kerala,

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

. He served as a member of the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

of India and as the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

from Manjeri Parliamentary Constituency between 1952 and 1962. Pocker was the first

(1952) from

Indian Union Muslim League The Indian Union Muslim League (abbreviated as the I. U. M. L. or the League) is an Indian political party primarily based in the Indian state of Kerala. It is recognised as a State Party in Kerala by the Election Commission of India. The first ...

in independent India.

Career

Pocker was born to Chalakkandy Peedikayil Kuttivatha Sahib and Badekkandy Mariyumma in 1890 at

Malabar District Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...

. He carried his mother's 'house name' as his initials as the tradition among the

Cannanore Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

Mappilas.

Early career

Pocker studied at Tellicherry Brennen College and

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institu ...

. He graduated from

Madras Law College Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, commonly known by its former name Madras Law College, is a law school, located in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. It is also referred to as Government Law College or GLC, Chennai. It was established in ...

in 1915 and started practising as an advocate in

Madras High Court The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...

in 1917. He was one of earliest university graduates from the Mappila Muslims of Malabar District. Pocker, by then a senior advocate in the High Court, entered politics in the late 1910s by arguing for special Muslim constituencies in Malabar District. He famously submitted a memorandum during the introduction of the Montagu-Chelmsford reforms (passed as

Government of India Act, 1919 The Government of India Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5 c. 101) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed to expand participation of Indians in the government of India. The Act embodied the reforms recommended in the report of ...

). Pocker was a leader of the Caliphate Movement in Malabar District (he supported

Shaukat Ali Shaukat Ali, also known as Shaukat Ali Khan, (3 May 1944 – 2 April 2021) was a Pakistani folk singer. Early life and career Born on 3 May 1944, into a family of artists in Malakwal, a town in District Gujrat (now falls in new District Mandi ...

at Madras by representing the Malabar District). He later led the relief activities for Mappilas, who were affected by the Mappila Uprising (1921–22). He formed the "Mappila Amelioration Committee" at Madras, which collected and distributed more than Rs. 200,000 among the Mappilas. Pocker founded the "South India Muslim Education Society" and "Kerala Muslim Education Association". He served as the Parliament Party Secretary of the United Nationalist Party in the Madras Assembly from 1930 to 1936.

With the Muslim League

B. Pocker was one of earliest leaders of the

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. **Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...

(along with K. M. Seethi Saheb, K. Uppi Saheb and M. Mohammed Ismail). He contested from the

Kurumbranad Kurumbranad (Kurumbuzhai Nadu or Kurumbiathiri Swaroopam) was a kingdom, located in present-day Kerala state, South India, on the Malabar Coast. Once a powerful kingdom, it had important commercial centres such as Mapayil, Puthuppanam and Vatakar ...

Kozhikkode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

Constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

(Muslim League). Though he lost the election to the candidate supported by Bafaqy Thangal, the election campaign led by K. M. Seethi Sahib strengthened the Muslim League in Malabar. Eventually, Bafaqy Thangal also joined the party, which spread the acceptance of Muslim League among Mappilas.

In the Constituent Assembly

Pocker was elected from the Madras Assembly to the

of India in 1946 (Malabar - Urban Muslim). Following the partition of India (1947), the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontin ...

was virtually disbanded. It was succeeded by the

in the Dominion of India. Even after partition, Pocker and his south Indian League colleagues remained with the League. Within a month, the

voted to abolish separate electorates for Muslims. Pocker and K. T. M. Ahmed Ibrahim moved an amendment to retain the separate electorates. This motion was defeated in the Constituent Assembly.

In independent India

As a Member of Parliament

Pocker was elected from Malappuram Parliamentary Constituency to the Lower House (Lok Sabha) in 1952 with the

. He was re-elected in 1957 as independent (

) candidate from Manjeri Constituency. His efforts helped to win Indian Muslims exemptions from the Special Marriage Act, 1954. He also served as National Executive Member,

and Vice President,

Kerala State Committee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pocker, B. 1890 births 1965 deaths 20th-century Indian lawyers 20th-century Indian politicians Indian Muslims Indian Union Muslim League politicians India MPs 1957–1962