Naseer Ahmad Malhi ( ur, ) (15 August 1911 – 12 July 1991) was a Pakistani politician, known for playing a pivotal role in the formation of the

Islamic Republic of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. Malhi is recognised as one of the nation's activists of the Pakistan Movement. Malhi was a leading member of the Muslim League and was at the forefront of the Pakistan Movement. A lifetime member of the Muslim League, he belonged to the gentry of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

and served as

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...

's Minister for Law, Education and Parliamentary Affairs in 1955.

Family background

Naseer Ahmad Malhi was born as the second son of Chaudhry Ghulam Haider Malhi, in 1911, in the town of

Baddomalhi Baddomalhi is a town located 35 miles northeast of Lahore, Pakistan in Narowal District. It is located at 31°58'60 North 74°40'0 East with an altitude of 217 metres (715 feet). The boundary of Baddomalhi post office is extended to cheenay ...

, in Sialkot district. Malhi's father was the leading land-owning farmer of the district, one of the elite of Punjab, was noted for his philanthropy, and was decorated by the British Governor for his services to the community. Malhi's great-grandfather, Chaudhry Ali Gohar Malhi, served as Governor of

during the reign of

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

who ruled Punjab from 1801 to 1839.

Education

Naseer Ahmad Malhi received his primary and secondary education at G.H. (Ghulam Haider) Muslim High School, named after his father, who was encouraged by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan to found this school in 1918, to educate aspiring students. The school was noted for offering free tuition and books to economically-disadvantaged pupils. The educational expenses of these students were personally met by Malhi's father. After his secondary education, Malhi went on to earn a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

(BA) degree in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

from Government College Lahore (GCU) and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(LLB) from the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Political career

Pre-independence

Malhi commenced his political career with 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 ...

. After attending the 1940 Lahore Conference held by 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 ...

, he recognised the immense potential that the Muslim League had for representing the Muslims of India. He joined the Muslim League's Sialkot chapter and rapidly ascended to become its president. In 1943, Malhi met

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 ...

Jinnah House Jinnah House is an unoccupied house in Malabar Hill, a premium neighbourhood of the city of Mumbai in India associated with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. It is also known as South Court and Malabar Hill mansion. It was built by M ...

Malabar Hill Malabar Hill (ISO: Malabār Hill ələbaːɾ is a hillock and upmarket residential neighbourhood in South Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Malabar Hill is the most exclusive residential area in Mumbai. It is home to several business tycoons and fil ...

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. It was on Malhi's advice that what became the historic Sialkot Convention was planned by the All-India Muslim League for Punjab. Held in Sialkot city in May 1944, this convention was attended by Jinnah, Liaquat Ali Khan, Khawaja Nazimuddin,

Muhammad Zafarullah Khan Chaudhry Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan ( ur, ‎; 6 February 1893 – 1 September 1985) was a Pakistani jurist and diplomat who served as the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan. After serving as foreign minister he continued his international ...

, Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan,

Mumtaz Daultana Mian Mumtaz Daulatana ( Punjabi, ur, ), (20 February 1916 – 30 January 1995) was a Pakistani politician and a key supporter of Pakistan Movement in British India. After independence, he served as the second Chief Minister of West Punjab i ...

Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan (M. T. Khan; March 1889 – 19 August 1963) was the Speaker of Pakistan's Constituent Assembly from 1948 to 1954 and National Assembly of Pakistan between 1962 and 1963. Early life Khan was born to a farmer with only thre ...

Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Khan of Mamdot (31 December 1906 – 16 October 1969) was a Pakistani politician and a key supporter of the Pakistan Movement in British India. After Pakistan's Independence, He served as the 1st Chief Minister of West Pun ...

and Mian Iftikharuddin among other Muslim League leaders.Chaudhry Naseer Ahmad Malhi (Marhoom)- Nawai-Waqt: 12 July 2004Tehreek Ae Pakistan kae Mumtaz Rehnama Lord Malhi ko Kharij Akeedat by Muhammad Badur Muneer – Nawai-Waqt: 12 July 2003Be-silsela Tehreek-ae Pakistan −1: Lord Malhi – Quaid-E-Azam Kae Qabel Aitmaad Rafeek Kaar by Muhammad Badur Muneer The Sialkot Convention in May 1944 was a milestone in Muslim–Hindu politics. It is widely regarded by Pakistani historians as the landmark event which brought the Muslim League into prominence in undivided Punjab. It broke the Unionist Party's hold over the Muslims of Punjab and swayed their sentiments towards the Muslim League and the Pakistan movement, paving the way for the eventual formation of Pakistan.Brief History of Sialkot (scroll down to Colonial Sialkot to read about Sialkot Convention (1944) arranged by Naseer Ahmad Malhi)
District Courts Sialkot website, Retrieved 21 January 2020 Realizing the convention's impact, Jinnah reportedly stated, "I have a feeling today, that Pakistan has come into existence". Jinnah attributed the success of this convention to Malhi. Embracing him, he reportedly commented, "Mr. Malhi, no doubt, you are Lord Malhi". Jinnah made Malhi the head of the Muslim League of Punjab, a post that Malhi maintained until 1971.

Post-independence

After the independence of Pakistan, Malhi remained a prominent legislator. He served as Pakistan's first education minister. Nevertheless, as an active member of Pakistan’s political elite, Malhi served as the Minister of Education, Law and Parliamentary Affairs. It was during his tenure that school uniforms were introduced in Pakistan. He excluded

Aitchison College Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...

from the list of schools receiving government assistance on the rationale that such elite institutions did not require federal aid. Malhi led Pakistan's delegation at the Geneva Conference in 1955. At this conference he delivered a speech defending the rights of Afro-Asian countries and was awarded a gold medal. Following this success, Malhi led Pakistan’s delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, where he addressed the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

on the political challenges facing South Asia. In his efforts to elevate Pakistan's image, Malhi hosted an historic dinner for

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

, President of the

and former

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

of the United States. With the advent of

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

in the early sixties, Malhi became a vociferous opponent of the government of

General Ayub Khan Muhammad Ayub Khan (Urdu: ; 14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974), was the second President of Pakistan. He was an army general who seized the presidency from Iskander Mirza in a coup in 1958, the first successful coup d'état in the country's h ...

. In 1965, he allied himself with and supported

Fatima Jinnah Fatima Jinnah ( ur, ; 31 July 1893 – 9 July 1967), widely known as Māder-e Millat ("Mother of the Nation"), was a Pakistani stateswoman, politician, dental surgeon and one of the leading founders of Pakistan. She was the younger sister of ...

in her bid to democratically dislodge Ayub Khan from his assumed office. Malhi was offered key ministry posts during the

Nawab of Kalabagh Malik Amir Mohammad Khan (; 20 June 1910 – 26 November 1967) was the Nawab of Kalabagh and a prominent feudal lord, politician, the chief or sardar of the Awan tribe, and of his tribal estate Kalabagh, in Mianwali District of north western P ...

's tenure as Chief Minister of

. Though they were close personal friends, Malhi declined to accept the posts because of ideological differences. He was later offered a ministry post by

General Zia General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

, but he again declined. Malhi successfully retained his seat in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

until 1971. As a result of the secession of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

and his disappointment with the corrupt politicking of later politicians, he retired from electoral politics.

Death

Naseer Ahmad Malhi died on 12 July 1991 at age 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malhi, Chaudhry Naseer Ahmad 1911 births 1991 deaths Pakistan Movement activists from Punjab People from Sialkot Punjabi people University of the Punjab alumni Government College University, Lahore alumni All India Muslim League members