Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan Khokhar (16 August 1895 – 17 April 1963) was an Indian politician and monarch. He was born in Pind Dadan Khan, a town in

Jhelum district Jhelum District (Urdu and pnb, ), is partially in Pothohar Plateau, and partially in Punjab Plain of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Jhelum is one of the oldest districts of Punjab. It was established on 23 March 1849. According to the 1998 ...

, British India. He was a leading member of 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 ...

and a trusted lieutenant of

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 ...

, serving in the Interim Government of India of 1946 as a Member of the Central Legislative Assembly of India. After independence of Pakistan in 1947, he became the minister of Food, Agriculture and Health in the Government of Pakistan and finally a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

for Pakistan in many countries from 1948 to 1957.

Early life and career

Ghazanfar Ali Khan's father's name was Saif Ali Khan. A Khokhar Rajput from Pind Dadan Khan in Jhelum district, Ghazanfar Ali was an uncle of Pir Syed Fazal Shah of Jalalpur Sharif, another powerful and influential figure in the region during the Pakistan Movement. Ghazanfar completed his high school education at Jhelum and then went on to Government College, Lahore. Ghazanfar Ali Khan joined the Unionist Party in 1923 because he had political ambitions and was a prominent figure in Muslim politics by 1927, when he attended a conference, comprising 30 significant Muslim leaders, that resulted in the "Delhi Muslim Proposals" which attempted to address constitutional development but were ultimately thwarted by the recommendations of the 1928 Nehru Report. He persuaded his nephew to support his career in politics and this brought with it support from those who favoured his nephew Pir Fazal Shah himself. He was appointed a Revenue Minister of Alwar State in 1933 and remained on the position till 1937. He stood in the 1937 provincial elections to the Punjab Legislative Assembly as a candidate of the All-India Muslim League and won this election to become a member of Punjab Legislative Assembly from 1937 to 1945.http://www.findpk.com/pof/raja_ghazanfar_ali_khan.html, Profile and commemorative postage stamp image of Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan on findpk.com website, Retrieved 9 February 2017 But then deserted the Muslim League in favour of the Unionist Party after being offered a position as a parliamentary secretary by Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana. He supported the pact arranged at Lucknow between

Sikandar Hayat Khan '' Khan Bahadur'' Captain Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, (5 June 1892 – 26 December 1942), also written Sikandar Hyat-Khan or Sikandar Hyat Khan, was an Indian politician and statesman from the Punjab who served as the Premier of the Punjab, amon ...

and Muhammad Ali Jinnah in October 1937, believing that the

nationalist movement The Nationalist Movement is a Mississippi-founded white nationalist organization with headquarters in Georgia that advocates what it calls a "pro-majority" position. It has been called white supremacist by the Associated Press and Anti-Defamati ...

had suffered greatly from internal divisions and that a political party that united the aspirant Hindu and Muslim nationalist communities might prove more effective. In 1944, he returned to the League fold after the split between Khizar Hayat Tiwana and Jinnah, realising that the League was likely to get the upper hand. His uncle and local supporters followed him through these various manoeuvres. In the February 1946 provincial elections, Khan was a candidate for the League in the Pind Dadan Khan constituency 77 and won the election for Muslim League. In October of that year, he was among the five men nominated by Jinnah on behalf of the League to join the interim Government of India, in which he subsequently took the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Health portfolio. The other four nominated by the League were Liaquat Ali Khan, I. I. Chundrigar, Abdur Rab Nishtar and Jogendra Nath Mandal. He said of the League's involvement that "We are going into the interim government to get a foothold to fight for our cherished goal of Pakistan". After the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, Khan became Pakistan's Minister for Food, Agriculture and Health. He was minister for refugees and rehabilitation in 1948, during a period when there was much controversy regarding the movement of Muslim people between the now-divided India and Pakistan. In 1948, he became the first president of the newly formed

Pakistan Hockey Federation The Pakistan Hockey Federation ( ur, ) is the governing body for the sport of field hockey in Pakistan. It is affiliated with the International Hockey Federation (FIH). Management positions The current Patron-in-Chief is Prime Minister Mian M ...

and served for 2 years in that position (1948–1950). From 1948 to 1957, he took to a new career as a diplomat. He was successively

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to Iran (1948-1952), Ambassador to Turkey (1952-1953), High Commissioner to India (1954-1956) and finally Ambassador to Italy (1956-1957).

Death and legacy

Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan died on 17 April 1963. * In honour of his contribution to Pakistan, a major road called 'Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan Road' near Bohri Bazaar in Saddar, Karachi was named after him.https://nearbypk.com/location/24.856731/67.030579/raja-ghazanfar-ali-rd-lucky-star-saddar-town-karachi-sindh-74400-pakistan, Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan Road shown on map, Retrieved 10 February 2017 *

Pakistan Postal Services Pakistan Post ( ur, ) is a state enterprise which functions as Pakistan's primary and largest postal operator. 49,502 employees through a vehicle fleet of 5,000 operate traditional "to the door" service from more than 13,419 post offices acro ...

issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honor in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Ghazanfar Ali 1895 births 1963 deaths First Pakistani Cabinet All India Muslim League members Leaders of the Pakistan Movement People from Jhelum Ambassadors of Pakistan to Iran Ambassadors of Pakistan to Turkey Ambassadors of Pakistan to Italy High Commissioners of Pakistan to India Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India People from Pind Dadan Khan Members of the Council of the Governor General of India