Mirza Mohammad Afzal Beg (1908–1982) was a

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

i politician belonging to the

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Founded as the ''All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference'' by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam A ...

. He served as a minister in the pre-independence period in the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

of Jammu and Kashmir, and as the revenue minister in the post-independence government headed by

Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982) was an Indian politician who played a central role in the politics of Jammu and Kashmir Abdullah was the founding leader of the All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (later rena ...

. In this post he led the land reforms in Jammu and Kashmir, recognised as the most successful land reforms in India. After the dismissal of Sheikh Abdullah government in 1953, Beg was incarcerated along with Abdullah and charged in the

Kashmir Conspiracy Case Kashmir Conspiracy Case was the legal case filed by Government of Kashmir and Investigations Department of the Government of India, by which Sheikh Abdullah and others were arrested and jailed. Abdullah along with Mirza Afzal Beg and 22 others, w ...

. Beg founded a new party called the

Plebiscite Front The All Jammu and Kashmir Plebiscite Front, or Plebiscite Front, was a political party in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir that called for a " popular plebiscite" to decide if the state should remain part of India, join Pakistan or become ...

, demanding that Kashmir's accession to India should be decided by a plebiscite. In 1974, he paved the way for Abdullah's rehabilitation by negotiating with the Indian government, leading to the

1974 Indira-Sheikh accord Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. Plebiscite Front was then transformed into the present day National Conference. Beg served as the Deputy Chief Minister in the next government headed by Sheikh Abdullah. In 1978, Abdullah expelled him from the National Conference, alleging him of causing defections.

Early life

Afzal Beg hailed from

Anantnag Anantnag (/ə'nʌntna:g/ or /-nɑːg/ ), also called Islamabad, is the administrative headquarters of the Anantnag district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of ...

and was the son of mirza Nizamudin Beg, brother of Mirza Ghulam Qadir Beg and nephew of the landlord, Mirza Ghulam Mohammad Beg, of Anantnag. He graduated from

Sri Pratap College Sri Pratap College, commonly known as SP College, is an academic and professional college in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The college has been accredited by NAAC with an 'A' Grade. It is the oldest institute of higher education in the ...

, Sri Nagar and studied law at

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

Career

Princely state

Beg joined Sheikh Abdullah's Muslim Conference from its inception. In 1934 elections, he was elected to the

Praja Sabha The Sree Moolam Popular Assembly in the erstwhile state of Travancore was the first popularly elected legislature in the history of India. Its predecessor legislative council was formed in Travancore in 1888 with eight appointed members. Sri Mu ...

and served as the deputy leader of the parliamentary party. In 1937–38, after Gopalaswami Ayyangar became the prime minister of the state, Afzal Beg and Girdhari Lal Dogra were appointed as cabinet ministers. Soon after the 1938 election, Sheikh Abdullah, along with other members, launched an initiative to transform the Muslim Conference into an inclusive nationalist party, to be called the National Conference. The Muslim nationalist members, including Choudhry Ghulam Abbas, opposed the move. Afzal Beg is said to have counselled caution, fearing a vertical division of the party. Despite the apprehensions, the special session of the party convened in June 1939, overwhelmingly passed a resolution transforming itself into National Conference. In 1944, Beg was appointed as a cabinet minister again and given the charge of Public Works and Municipalities. In March 1946, after Pandit

Ram Chandra Kak Ram Chandra Kak (5 June 1893 – 10 February 1983) was the prime minister of Jammu and Kashmir during 1945–1947. One of the very few Kashmiri Pandits to ever hold that post, Kak had the intractable job of navigating the troubled wate ...

was appointed as the prime minister, the National Conference pulled out of the government and launched its

Quit Kashmir The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Founded as the ''All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference'' by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam A ...

movement. Beg stepped down from his ministerial post for this development. He was arrested for taking part in the movement.

Indian state

He was part of the

Constituent Assembly of India The Constituent Assembly of India was elected to frame the Constitution of India. It was elected by the 'Provincial Assembly'. Following India's independence from the British rule in 1947, its members served as the nation's first Parliament as ...

and Jammu and Kashmir.

Plebisite Front

Return to government

In 1978, Beg was expelled from the National Conference party by Sheikh Abdullah, on allegations of causing party defections. Abdullah then groomed his own son

Farooq Abdullah Farooq Abdullah (born 21 October 1937) is an Indian politician who was Ex. President of Jammu & Kashmir National Conference. He has served as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir on several occasions since 1982, and as the union minister fo ...

as his successor.Deputy CM of J&K Mirza Afzal Beg resigns from state council of ministers
India Today, 15 October 1978.

Death

Mirza Afzal Beg died on 11 June 1982. He is survived by three sons and three daughters. His son Mirza Mehboob Beg is also a politician in the state.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beg, Mirza Mohammad Afzal Kashmiri people Deputy chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir 1982 deaths Jammu & Kashmir National Conference politicians People from Anantnag district 1908 births Prisoners and detainees of India