Mahmud Husain Khan (5 July 1907 – 12 April 1975) was a Pakistani historian, educationist, and politician, known for his role in the

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 per ...

, and for pioneering the study of

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

. He served as Minister for Kashmir Affairs from 1951 to 1953 and Minister for Education in 1953. As a member of the country's first

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

, Husain served on Muhammad Ali Jinnah's parliamentary committee for fundamental rights and minorities. He was appointed Deputy Minister for Defence, Finance, and Foreign Affairs in 1949 and

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

for States and Frontier Regions in 1950 by Prime Minister

Liaquat 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 ...

. After becoming federal minister under Prime Minister

Khawaja Nazimuddin Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin ( bn, খাজা নাজিমুদ্দীন; ur, ; 19 July 1894 – 22 October 1964) was a Pakistani politician and one of the leading founding fathers of Pakistan. He is noted as being the first Bengali to ha ...

, he refused to rejoin the cabinet when Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad dismissed the Nazimuddin ministry. He quit politics when the Constituent Assembly was dissolved in 1954. Returning to academia, Husain served as

vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

of Dhaka University and later

Karachi University The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh ...

until his death in 1975. He founded Jamia Milia Islamia,

Malir Malir Town ( sd, ملير ٽائون, ur, ) lies in the northern part of the city that was named after the Malir River. History Administrative status 2000 The federal government under introduced local government reforms in the year 2 ...

, modelled on the university of the same name founded by his brother,

Zakir Husain Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the third president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969. Born in Hyderabad in a Afridi Pashtun family, Husain ...

. A proponent of greater rights for

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the 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 Myanmar, wi ...

, now

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

, Husain emerged a vocal but unsuccessful critic of Pakistan's military action in 1971. Karachi University renamed its library in his memory in 1976.

Early life and family

Mahmud Husain was born in

Qaimganj Kaimganj is a town in Farrukhabad district in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. Kaimganj Railway Station is a major station between Farrukhabad and Kasganj on Rajputana railway link of North Eastern Railway. Description Kaimganj is just 10&n ...

, United Provinces,

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 ...

to Fida Husain Khan, a lawyer, and Naznin Begum.Zia-ul-Hasan Faruqi (1999
''Dr. Zakir Hussain: Quest for Truth''
APH Publishing, India, GoogleBooks website The youngest of seven sons, he was the brother of Dr

, the third

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Mur ...

, and scholar and historian

Yusuf Husain Yusuf Husain Khan (1902–1979), born in Hyderabad, Hyderabad State, British India, was a historian, scholar, educationist, critic and author. He mastered the languages of Arabic, English, French, Urdu, Hindi and Persian. Early life and educa ...

. He was also the father of television compere Anwar Husain, uncle of academic

Masud Husain Khan Masud Husain Khan (28 January 1919 – 16 October 2010) was an Indian linguist, the first Professor Emeritus in Social Sciences at Aligarh Muslim University and the fifth Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia, a Central University in New Del ...

, and the father-in-law of General

Rahimuddin Khan Rahimuddin Khan (21 July 1926 – 22 August 2022) was a general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 4th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1984 to 1987, after serving as the 7th governor of Balochistan from 1978 to 1984. He als ...

, the

Governor of Balochistan The Governor of Balochistan is the head of the province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The post was established on 1 July 1970, after the dissolution of West Pakistan province and the end of One Unit. Under Pakistan's current parliamentary system, the ...

. Mahmud Husain's family were ethnic

Kheshgi The Kheshgi, Khaishgi, Kheshagi, Khweshgi, or Kheshki is a prominent Sarbani Pashtun tribe and Imperial dynasty in South Asia. Administration The Kheshgi Tribe is divided into the following sub-tribes: * Batakzi * Umerzai * Hussainzai * Azizi ...

and

Afridi The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...

Pashtuns 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 r ...

whose roots were in

Tirah The Tirah also spelled Terah ( ps, تیراہ) also called the Tirah Valley (), is a mountainous tract located in the Khyber district, lying between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley in Pakistan. Society Lying close to the Pak-Afghan borde ...

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, ...

. His ancestor Husain Khan migrated from

Kohat Kohat ( ps, کوهاټ; ur, ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th centur ...

to Qaimganj in 1715. Husain attended Islamia High School,

Etawah Etawah also known as Ishtikapuri is a city on the banks of Yamuna River in the state of Western Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Etawah District. Etawah's population of 256,838 (as per 2011 population census) m ...

and Aligarh Government High School. He was part of the first batch of students to be admitted into the newly established

Jamia Milia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia () is a central university located in New Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British Raj in 1920, it moved to its current location in Okhla in ...

, where he was heavily influenced by the ideas of

Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar Muhammad Ali Jauhar (10 December 1878 – 4 January 1931), was an Indian Muslim activist, prominent member of the All-India Muslim League, journalist and a poet, a leading figure of the Khilafat Movement and one of the founders of Jamia Millia I ...

. He received his PhD from the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

in Germany in 1932. Mahmud Husain started his career in

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

as a reader of modern history at the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

in 1933, where he became provost,

Fazlul Haq Fazlul Haq ( ar, فضل الحق) is a male Muslim given name, meaning ''bounty of the Truth'', referring to ''Al-Haqq'', one of the Names of God in Islam. Both parts of the name are subject to varying transliteration, as the first part may be writ ...

Hall in 1944 and professor of

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

in 1948.

Political career

Pakistan Movement

Unlike his brother Zakir Husain, Mahmud Husain had been a strong proponent of the

, and catalysed support for Pakistan among students in

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

and at Dhaka University. On

Direct Action Day Direct Action Day (16 August 1946), also known as the 1946 Calcutta Killings, was a day of nationwide communal riots. It led to large-scale violence between Muslims and Hinduism in India, Hindus in the city of Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) ...

in 1946, Husain was charged with leading the pro-Pakistan rally in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

Member of the Constituent Assembly

He was elected Member of the first

Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan ( bn, পাকিস্তান গণপরিষদ, Pākistān Goṇoporishod; ur, , Aāin Sāz Asimblī) was established in August 1947 to frame a constitution for Pakistan. It also served as its first ...

from East Bengal on the platform of

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 ...

, and also elected Secretary of the Muslim League's Parliamentary Group. He was included by Prime Minister

in the

Basic Principles Committee The Basic Principles Committee (BPC) was a specialized committee set up in March 1949 by Khawaja Nazimuddin on the advice of prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan. The committee's sole purpose was to determine the basic underlying principles that would ...

, the main parliamentary group charged with drafting the underlying principles of the Constitution of Pakistan. He also served on the committee of minorities and fundamental rights.

Liaquat ministry

Husain was appointed both Deputy Minister for Defense and Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Liaquat in 1949, before becoming State Minister for State and Frontier Regions a year later. Following the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan,

assumed the post of prime minister.

Nazimuddin ministry

In the Nazimuddin ministry, Husain served as Minister for Kashmir Affairs from 26 November 1951 to 117 April 953, when he was appointed Minister for Education. Following anti-Ahmadiyya riots in 1953,

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 ...

was imposed in

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 ...

, and Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad dismissed Nazimuddin's government soon after. Husain along with

Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar (13 June 1899 – 14 February 1958) was a Pakistani Muslim League politician from North-West Frontier Province.Abdul Sattar Pirzada Abdul Sattar Pirzada was a Pakistani politician and administrator who served as the Chief Minister of Sindh between May 1953 and November 1954. He also served as the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) between September 1951 and July 19 ...

refused to join the new cabinet constituted by Ghulam Muhammad. He formally retired from politics in protest when the Constituent Assembly was dissolved in 1954.

Academia

After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Husain, inspired by the old Jamia Millia Islamia,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, India, played a key role in establishing an educational society Majlis-i-Taleem-i-Milli Pakistan in 1948 which served as the parent body of the Jamia Millia Educational Complex located in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, Pakistan. Later in the early 1950s, over a 27 acres of land, many educational institutions were built at this Malir educational complex. Husain returned to academia in 1953, after the dismissal of National Assembly of Pakistan. He joined

as its first professor of international relations and history. He also began the faculties of journalism and

library science Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, an ...

, the first in Pakistan. Husain also laid the foundation of the Library Association in 1957 and served as its president for fifteen years. He instituted the greater induction of

into the national curriculum. Husain was a known supporter of greater rights for

and was appointed vice-chancellor of the

University of Dacca The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently it ...

in 1960. During his tenure until 1963, Husain refused government requests to intervene in mass student protests against President Ayub Khan and martial law. During and after his tenure, he became a vocal critic of the government's handling of East Pakistan, and urged integration. He also taught as visiting professor at his alma mater Heidelberg University (1963–64), Columbia University (1964–65) and University of Pennsylvania (1965–66). In 1966, Husain went back to the University of Karachi as professor of history and worked there as the dean of its Faculty of Arts until 1971. He served as vice-chancellor of the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (wh ...

from 1971 to 1975. He strongly opposed the army operation in East Pakistan in 1971 but to no avail. He died while serving as vice-chancellor on 12 April 1975.

Works

Husain was fluent in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, writing primarily in the Urdu language. His Urdu translations are ''Mahida-i-Imrani'' (1935) from

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

's '' Social Contract'', and ''Badshah'' (1947), a translation of Machiavelli's ''

The Prince ''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...

''. His other books include ''The Quest for an Empire'' (1937), and ''Fatah-i-Mujahideen'' (1950), an Urdu translation of Zainul Abideen Shustri's Persian treatise on

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...

. He was also editor of the ''A History of the Freedom Movement'' His best-known work is his English translation of Tipu's diaries from the original Persian, ''The Dreams of Tipu Sultan''.

Eponyms

* Dr. Mahmud Husain Road,

Jamshed Town Jamshed Town ( sd, جمشيد ٽائون , ur, ) lies in the central part of Karachi, Pakistan. To the northwest is Liaquatabad Town across the Lyari River, while to the east is Gulshan Town and to the southeast is Korangi Town across the Ma ...

, Karachi * Mahmud Husain Library: On 12 April 1976, a year after his death, the Karachi University Syndicate renamed the Karachi University Library as the Dr. Mahmud Husain Library by unanimous resolution.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Husain, Mahmud 1907 births 1975 deaths English–Urdu translators Jamia Millia Islamia alumni Pashtun people Pakistani educational theorists 20th-century Pakistani historians Leaders of the Pakistan Movement People from Farrukhabad Heidelberg University alumni University of Karachi faculty Urdu-language writers Vice-Chancellors of the University of Karachi Politicians from Karachi Writers from Karachi 20th-century translators Vice-Chancellors of the University of Dhaka Pakistan Movement activists from the United Provinces University of Dhaka faculty University of Dhaka people Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954 First Pakistani Cabinet Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan