Qazi Ataullah Khan (1895-1952) was a

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

lawyer, writer, activist, and politician.

Early life and education

Qazi Ataullah Khan was born in 1895 in the Landi Yarghajo village of

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

, then a city of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He was the second son of Qazi Nasrullah Khan, a teacher and religious scholar. Being natives to Landi Yarghajo, his family is Khalil and

Mohmand The Mohmand ( ps, مومند) or Mohmand is a prominent tribe of Pashtun people. They are based primarily in the Mohmand territory, which is located in Nangarhar, Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency, Pakistan. Most people of the Mohmand tribe sp ...

by caste. Qazi was the title given to Qazi Ataullah's great-grandfather, Qazi (Haji) Talibuddin Rohani. Qazi Ataullah received his initial education in a local religious

madrassa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

of his village before attending the Mission School Peshawar where his father previously taught. He pursued a degree in law from Aligarh Muslim University and graduated in 1918. He then returned to Peshawar.

Career and activism

In 1919, Qazi Ataullah attended a

rights rally held by

Abdul Ghaffar Khan Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtun, independence activist, and founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar ...

Charsadda Chārsadda ( ps, چارسده; ; ur, ; ) is a town and headquarters of Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

. By 1921, he was Ghaffar Khan's aid and close associate. In 1925, after practicing law in Peshawar for several years, Qazi Ataullah settled in

Mardan Mardān (Pashto and ; Urdu ; Pashto: ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). It is a fast-growing ...

. He continued to practice law while also working with Ghaffar Khan in the non-violent Society for the Reformation of Afghans/Pashtoons (Anjuman-e-Islah-e Afghania). According to Ajmal Khattak, Qazi Ataullah proposed renaming the organization Khudai Khidmatgar upon its formation in 1929 following the Qissa Khwani massacre. In 1930, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

arrested him for his work in the Pashun rights group; he was imprisoned for five years. When the political party the Frontier National Congress (an offshoot of the

Indian National Congress 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 ...

) in 1937, Qazi Ataullah became a member of the legislative assembly as well as the Minister of Revenue under

Dr. Khan Sahib Dr. Khan Sahib ( ps, ډاکټر خان صیب ) (born 1883, Utmanzai, Charsadda – 9 May 1958, Lahore), mistakenly named as Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan (), was a pioneer in the Indian Independence Movement and a Pakistani politician. He was the eld ...

. In 1946, the Congress was again victorious and Qazi Ataullah became the Minister of Education. He was in office when the first education policy in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

was passed. The following year, 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 ...

called for a referendum for residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to opt for either Pakistan or India. The Congress opposed them, saying that the 1946 election results showed their preference for a united India, and that the referendum was illegal. When they were ignored, When they were ignored, the Pukhtoonkhwa chapter of congress headed by Dr. Khan Sahib gave another option on 23 June 1947 that was to either opt for Pakistan or for Pukhtoonistan. This was the first time that the Pukhtoonistan chapter had been put up formally in an assembly session and that was done by Qazi Ataullah Khan. These efforts also ended in vain and thus, congress boycotted the

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. Pakistan declared its independence on 14 August 1947. In June 1948, Qazi Ataullah, along with Ghaffar Khan and other Khudai Khidmatgar leaders were put in jail and their property was confiscated In July 1948, the Khudai Khidmat movement was made illegal. by the Muslim League, whose government was under the region's

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Abdul Qayyum Khan Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan Kashmiri ( ur, عبدالقیوم خان کشمیری) (16 July 1901 – 23 October 1981) was a major figure in British Indian and later Pakistan politics, in particular in the North-West Frontier Province, where served a ...

. Qazi Ataullah was first in D. I. Khan Prison before being transferred to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. While in prison, he wrote the four volume history book "History of the Pukhtoons", written in

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

and making him the first Pashtun writer to write about Pashtun history. He was later sent to Macch Prison, where

Khan Abdul Wali Khan Khan Abdul Wali Khan ( ps, خان عبدالولي خان; 11 January 1917 – 26 January 2006) was a Pakistani secular democratic socialist and Pashtun leader, and served as president of Awami National Party. Son of the prominent Pashtun nat ...

, Abdul Aziz Khan, Arbab Abdul Ghafoor Khan, and Amir Muhammad Khan were imprisoned.

Illness and death

Qazi Ataullah's health began deteriorating but he was denied medical care by the government. He was later diagnosed with blood cancer. When his condition became critical in February 1952, he was sent to

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. ...

Mayo Hospital Mayo Hospital is one of the oldest and biggest hospitals in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. King Edward Medical University, one of the oldest and most prestigious medical institutions in South Asia, is attached to Mayo Hospital. Mayo Hospital is locat ...

. He died not long after, on 17 February 1952. He was buried in Mardan. Following his death, he was known among Pashtun activists as Ghazi Qazi "due to his unrelenting struggle for the rights of Pukhtoons til his last breath and the way the Muslim League government under the leadership of Qayyum Khan had declined him all medical facilities in prison." According to journalist Sorash Kashmiri, Qazi Ataullah's final words were: "Working for the well being of Pukhtoons is our foremost priority and is our firm belief. We are the sons of this soil and we have given our lives for this land, then why is our soil and land still in turmoil. I am not upset because my life is about to end but it pains me when I think that I will not be able to serve my people anymore and that my lifelong struggle for the people will end halfway."

Personal life

Qazi Ataullah married the daughter of the Khans of Prang lineage in 1923. She was the niece of the then-Sahib e Haq. The couple had 3 sons and 5 daughters, one of whom was Anwar Sadullah. One of Qazi Ataullah's brothers, Matiullah, lived in England. Activist Shandana Humayun Khan is his great-granddaughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Qazi Ataullah 1895 births 1952 deaths Pakistani politicians Pashtun people Pashto-language writers Pashtun writers Pashtun rights activists 20th-century Pakistani people 20th-century Pakistani lawyers 20th-century Pakistani writers 20th-century Pakistani male writers Pakistani activists Pakistani human rights activists People from Peshawar Qazi family People from Khyber District Aligarh Muslim University alumni Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University alumni People from Mardan District People from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Politicians from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa politicians Pashtun nationalists