Khan Jalaluddin Khan (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

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 ...

stalwart and a

Pakistan movement The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the pe ...

activist who served as the 8th

Interior Minister of Pakistan Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

under the Premiership of

Feroz Khan Noon Sir Malik Feroz Khan Noon, ( ur, ملک فیروز خان نون; 7 May 18939 December 1970), best known as Feroze Khan, was a Pakistani politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Pakistan from 1957 until being removed wh ...

Early life

Born in

Abbottabad Abbottabad (; Urdu, Punjabi language(HINDKO dialect) آباد, translit=aibṭabād, ) is the capital city of Abbottabad District in the Hazara region of eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in Pakistan and fourth ...

, Hazara, Jalaluddin started his career as a driver for the British and rose to become a leading transporter. He joined 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 ...

in 1935 and in 1939 K.B. Jalal Baba was elected as the president of the Hazara District Muslim League. He held office as an unopposed president for fourteen years and remained the President until 1953. The Muslim League gained strength of popularity in Hazara under his apt leadership. The government was highly impressed by the qualities of leadership displayed by Jalal Baba in Hazara and Sarhad Province. Hence, to win his support allegiance, the Viceroy of India conferred upon him, first the title Khan Sahib, then after some time that of Khan Bahadur. These were highly coveted titles and regarded as marks of great distinction and pride. But Jalal Baba never prided himself as being a British titleholder. When the occasion demanded, he was the first to renounce his titles. He was among the first ones to renounce his titles given by the British in 1946 and was widely regarded as the "Winner of Referendum" in 1947. The future of any other political party in Hazara besides the Muslim League remained bleak due to the influence of K.B. Jalal Baba. He was a Muslim Leaguer first and last. It is an undeniable fact, that the people of Hazara in the Sarhad Province, who were at present divided and have lost their prestige and political awareness, were united under the green flag of the Muslim League. The courageous leadership of Jalal Baba had brought people with divergent and conflicting views and representing different castes such as Dhond, Tanoli, Pathan, Syed, Awan, Swati, and Tareen, etc. together. He played a vital role in unifying these scattered groups into one. Consequently, the Hazara Muslim League was made a stone citadel and a stronghold of the All India Muslim League. His father Sheikh Ghulam Mohammad was a blacksmith who had migrated to this part of undivided India in the band of Mujahedeen under the banner of

Syed Ahmad Barelvi Syed Ahmad Barelvi or Sayyid Ahmad Shaheed (1786–1831) was an Indian Islamic revivalist, scholar and military commander from Raebareli, a part of the historical United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (now called Uttar Pradesh). He is considere ...

before the 1857 War of Independence. Khan Jalaluddin was brought up in a middle-class family of Abbottabad. Before matriculation, he left his school in 1919, and joined the 'Hijrat Movement' of

protest emigration Protest emigration (also called ''hijrat'' or ''deshatyaga'' in South Asia) is the use of emigration as an activist tactic when it is felt political change is not currently possible inside a jurisdiction. Gene Sharp in ''The Politics of Nonviolent ...

and left for

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, Afghanistan. He came back to Hazara from

Landi Kotal Lanḍī Kōtal ( ps, لنډي کوتل, ur, ) or Lwargai ( ps, لواړګی ''Lwāṛgai'') is a town in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, and the administrative capital of Khyber District. It was one of the largest towns in the form ...

after the movement was called off.

Political career

Jalal Baba had a prominent position among the Muslim League workers who offered the founder of Pakistan

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

sincere support and remained loyal to him till the end of the Pakistan movement. Jalal Baba was among the first ones to initiate the 'Direct Action' in the struggle for Pakistan by moving a resolution in the All-India Muslim League meeting in July 1946, recommending the renunciation of titles, conferred by the British Government. Again when in July 1947, the Muslim League launched the civil disobedience movement, Jalal Baba was among the first ones to court arrest from Hazara followed by others in such large numbers that the jails were filled to capacity with the political internees. He was released from jail only after the declaration of independence and the establishment of Pakistan on 14 August 1947. It was not before the late 1930s that Jalal Baba had established himself as a recognized businessman and a social worker of Hazara. Now he could afford to enter the field of politics. Jalal Baba joined the Muslim League in 1937, at Abbottabad in the first public meeting held at the Company Bagh, while

Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman ( ur, چودھری خلیق الزمان) (25 December 1889 — 18 May 1973) was a Pakistani politician and Muslim figurehead during British India. He was one of the top leaders of the All India Muslim League. Early life ...

accompanied by Saadullah Khan was presiding over the meeting. His political efforts led to his

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

'Jalal Baba' (which means an elder, wise man, or expert in the local

Hindko Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pun ...

language ) and he was elected Hazara District President in 1940. He held the office for almost 21 years.Profile of Jalal Baba on SLIDEDOCUMENTS website
Published 23 December 2017, Retrieved 12 July 2018 Jalal Baba, by now an eminent figure in the provincial political circles, raised his voice at the most crucial juncture. The reorganization of the Muslim League resulted in a big change in the political ranks of British Indians. The seeds of the Hazara branch of the Muslim League were sown by him. He further nourished it. After joining the Muslim League, he emerged as the league's leader in Hazara. He held the office as unopposed president for twenty-one years. The Hazara Muslim League acquired great strength and popularity under his leadership. He had also been the vice-president of the Provincial Muslim League and a member of the All-India Muslim League Council. When the British Government conferred titles on Jalal Baba, the Muslim League was in the initial stages of taking root in the N.W.F.P Province. In view of his personal influence in his native Abbottabad area, the Muslim League leaders assigned Jalal Baba the task of its organization there. He received support and co-operation from the middle and lower-middle-class people who then comprised the majority of the local population, as he himself had belonged to them. People gathered around him and turned his transport office into a political office. From all over Hazara, the Muslim League workers used to visit him in order to receive his directives on organizational matters.

Hazara Muslim League

From the early 1930s onwards, the people of Hazara gradually became active in the freedom movement for an independent Pakistan under the active leadership of renowned All India Muslim League leaders such as

Abdul Majid Khan Tarin Khan Abdul Majid Khan Tarin (also spelt Abdul Majeed Khan) (1877–1939), Khan-Sahib, OBE, was a prominent magistrate, MLA and philanthropist of the North West Frontier Province of former British India. Early life and education He was born ...

of Talokar (1877–1939), an early member of the (then) Frontier Legislative Assembly, and others. Even before the

, started its movement for Pakistan in 1937, after the historic Lucknow Session of October that year, the Hazara Muslim League was properly formed and convened at the residence of Noor-Ud-Din Qureshi in Abbottabad in 1936. In this meeting, the leaders of the All-India Muslim League, Nawab

Bahadur Yar Jang Nawab Bahadur Yar Jung (also Bahadur Yar Jang; 3 February 1905 – 25 June 1944) was an Indian politician and foremost Muslim leader in the princely state of Hyderabad in British India. He founded All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and the ...

Maulana Shaukat Ali Shaukat Ali (10 March 1873– 26 November 1938; Urdu: مولانا شوكت علي) was an Indian Muslim member of the Khilafat Movement. He was the elder brother of the renowned political leader Mohammad Ali Jouhar. Early life Shaukat Ali was ...

, Hamid Badayuni, and others came from India. The local people joined the movement in large numbers. In the 1939 elections for the Hazara Muslim League, Khan Jalaluddin Khan was elected as the President of the Hazara Muslim League. During the final phase of the movement for the creation of Pakistan, Captain Sardar Zain Muhammad Khan, OBI, and Khan Jalaluddin Jalal Baba defeated their Congress rivals in the elections of 1946 from their respective rural and urban Constituencies and politically routed the All India Congress from the region. In the Delhi Convention of Muslim League parliamentarians chaired by

, which finally voted for the division of India and the creation of Pakistan, Capt. Sardar Zain Muhammad Khan represented Hazara. These Muslim League Leaders were also able to mobilize the people of this area in favor of the referendum for the creation of Pakistan. Sometime before the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

in 1947, Nawab Muhammad Farid Khan Tanoli (KBE) of

Amb AMB may refer to: * Active magnetic bearing * Advanced Memory Buffer, used in Fully Buffered DIMM memory * Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, one of the armed sections of the Palestinian Fatah movement * Ambergate railway station, abbreviation used in the ...

State also developed good relations with Jinnah and Nawabzada

Liaqat Ali Khan Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theoris ...

as a politic move. His correspondence and letters to and from Jinnah are available in Pakistan's archival records

Referendum in NWFP

Jalal-ud-Din Khan's services during the Pakistan movement were too numerous to be recounted. He staked all his belongings for the achievement of Pakistan. After the Direct Action of 1946, the movement for Pakistan entered a crucial stage. In NWFP, the Red Shirt Leaders were blowing their own trumpet. They raised the "Pukhtoonistan" slogan, backed by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. NWFP was the stronghold of the

Congress Party The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

and it had also gained some influence locally after the 1946 provincial elections. So it started creating some trouble regarding the future of the Muslims of this Province. In order to decide whether NWFP should form part of the dominion of India or Pakistan, a referendum was held by the British government.Excerpt: Between Dreams And Realities
Dawn (newspaper), Published 11 October 2009, Retrieved 12 July 2018 On 18 June 1947,

set up a Commission to see that the cause of the Muslim League was upheld successfully in the upcoming Referendum. He himself was the Chairman of the commission. The other members of the commission were I.I. Chundrigar, Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan, Khan Jalaluddin Khan Jalal Baba, Raja Haider Zaman, and

Sardar Bahadur Khan Khan Sardar Bahadur Khan ( ur, سردار بہادر خان) (born 8 July 1908– 31 December 1975) was a Pakistani politician. He was the 9th Chief Minister of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (then called Northwest Frontier Province). Personal life ...

. The Referendum lasted from 6 July 1947 to 17 July 1947. Jalal Baba worked from dawn to dusk for the Referendum, provided funds, and, being a transporter and transport contractor, used his transport for this purpose. In NWFP, 90 percent of the votes cast were polled in favor of Pakistan. However, the Red Shirt Party (later named

National Awami Party The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...

) boycotted the referendum. From Hazara alone, 99% of the Muslim votes were cast in favor of Pakistan. Almost thirty percent of the total votes polled were from Hazara. Inayat-ur-Rahman Khan Abbasi quoted: "Khan Bahadur Jalal-ud-Din Khan was undoubtedly an organization in himself. Keeping in view his loyalty and services towards the country and the nation he deserved to be buried near Quaid-i-Azam’s Tomb. He was a veteran leader of the sub-continent in general and of NWFP in particular. It is not wrong to call him the Winner of the Referendum".

Jalal Baba Auditorium

, Pakistan, there is a Jalal Baba Auditorium spanning an area of 8.75 acres, built with a cost of Rs 27.5 million, in recognition of his services to Pakistan. This auditorium has a seating capacity of 500 to 700 people.

References

External links

Discussion videoclip about Jalal Baba on Geo News Khabarnak TV show - YouTubeJalal Baba's Official Page on FacebookRadio Pakistan Documentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baba, Jalal-ud-din Jalal 1901 births 1981 deaths All India Muslim League members Interior Ministers of Pakistan People from Abbottabad Hindkowan people Pakistan Movement activists from the North-West Frontier Province