The Founders and activists of the Pakistan Movement, also known as the Founding Fathers of Pakistan, were the political leaders and statespersons who participated in the success of the political movement, following the signing of the Pakistan Resolution, that led to the creation of Pakistan in August 1947. Within this large group, a further and extended subset signed the Objectives Resolution that was annexed to the Constitution of Pakistan in 1950.

The term was first used by the linguist and archeologist Dr. Ahmad Hasan Dani in his book, the Founding Fathers of Pakistan (1998). The Pakistan Movement was led by a large group of activists and statesmen who played crucial role in the politics of the British Raj in the 1930s and 1940s. More recently, the term was used by the government officially in explaining the foreign policy text. Authors and historians of Pakistan more broadly define the term "Founding Fathers" to mean a larger group which also includes all those who, whether as politicians, jurists, statespersons, soldiers, diplomats, academics, or ordinary citizens, took part in winning the independence of four provinces and East Pakistan in the north-west and eastern region of British India from the control of the United Kingdom and also from the influence of the Indian Congress; thus creating Pakistan.

The following is a list of people who played a prominent role in the making of Pakistan as independence activists, leaders, freedom fighters and revolutionaries.

Historical background

In 1905, the Bengal presidency's partition, decided by the English government which separated the largely Muslim eastern areas from the largely Hindu western areas, was supported by the Muslims communities. The success of the Swadeshi movement led by Indian activists led to the reintegration of the presidency and it was a catalyst in making the Muslim reformers of India realize the need for a separate homeland.

During the same year, the political efforts and initiations led by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan led to the establishment of the historic All-India Muslim League (AIML) to protect the interests and rights of the Muslims of the subcontinent.Abdul Rashid Kahn, "All India Muhammadan Educational Conference and the Foundation of the All India Muslim League," Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society (2007) Vol. 55 Issue 1/2, pp 65–83. Mutual distrust among the Hindu leaders and Muslim reformers further grew. A conference chaired by Indian Viceroy, Earl Minto, the Hindu-Muslim conflict was raised to the constitutional plane. In 1906, the annual meeting of the Muhammadan Educational Conference was held in Dhaka led by Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah, Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk, the Aga Khan III and 3,000 other delegates attended the session making it the largest-ever representative gathering of Muslim India. Mohammad Ali Johar wrote the All-India Muslim League's first agenda and Syed Ameer Ali established its European branch in the United Kingdom.

For quite sometime, the Muslim League worked on its reputation and credibility against the much influential Indian Congress. That was not achieved until Liaquat Ali Khan and his companion Begum Rana Liaquat Ali convinced Muhammad Ali Jinnah, among others, to join the Muslim League in the 1930s. The philosophical idea, Pakistan (Iqbal, 1930); the 14 points (Jinnah, 1929); the Now or Never (Ali, 1933); the Two-nation theory, to which subsequently many activists and leaders contributed, played a crucial role in realizing the creation of Pakistan in 1947. Ashraf Ali Thanwi's disciples Shabbir Ahmad Usmani and Zafar Ahmad Usmani were key players in religious support for the creation of Pakistan.

The newly founded country of Pakistan had to create a government and legislature to replace the British India government and the British Parliament. The founding fathers of Pakistan first established the partial Constituent Assembly (which was replaced with Parliament), and adopted the Objectives Resolution, which was annexed to the Constitution of Pakistan.

Occupations and Finances

The founders and activists of Pakistan had different occupations and came from different social strata, and many pursued more than one career simultaneously. Many founding fathers such as Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Muhammad Zafarullah KhanMuhammad Zafarullah Khan Liaquat Ali Khan and Qazi Muhammad Isa were barristers and lawyers. Notable activist Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed, was a mathematician who helped in forming the first educational policy of the country. Begum Rana Liaquat Ali Khan was an economist; and Abu Bakr Ahmad Haleem was a political scientist; M. M. Sharif was a philosopher and Shaukat Hayat Khan was an officer in the British Army. The following are a few notable personalities who played an integral role in the success of the Pakistan Movement.

List of Founders of Pakistan

+ Listed Founders of Pakistan Name(Birth and date) Portrait Place of representation and origin Pre-independence and Post-independence notabilityMuhammad Ali Jinnah(1876–1948) Karachi, Sindh Founder of PakistanFirst Governor-General of PakistanFirst President-Speaker of the Constituent AssemblyPresiding figure of the Muslim LeagueAllama Muhammad Iqbal(1877–1939)Sialkot, PunjabRegarded as the spiritual father of PakistanConceived and presented the idea of PakistanFormalized the Two-Nation TheoryPhilosopher and poet of Urdu and Persian languagesMuhammad Zafarullah Khan(1893–1985)Wazirabad, PunjabPakistani diplomat and jurist who served as the first foreign minister of PakistanAshraf Ali Thanwi(1863–1943)Thana Bhawan, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar PradeshLeader of the Ulama who supported the Pakistan Movement. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Shabbir Ahmad Usmani(1887–1949)Bijnor, Uttar PradeshKey player in nurturing religious support for the creation of Pakistan, Founder of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, raised the flag of Pakistan for the first time in Karachi. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Zafar Ahmad Usmani(1892–1974)Deoband, Uttar PradeshAnother key player in religious support for the creation of Pakistan, second leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, raised the flag of Pakistan for the first time in Dhaka. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Aga Khan III(1877–1957)Karachi, SindhKey presiding figure of the Muslim LeagueLed the Ismailism movement in support of Pakistan movement. Liaquat Ali Khan(1895–1951) Karnal, PunjabFirst Prime Minister of Pakistan Author of Objectives ResolutionFatima Jinnah (1893–1967) Karachi, Sindh Regarded as Māder-e-PakistanWoman activistYounger sister of Muhammad Ali JinnahLeader of the Opposition during 1965 electionsQazi Muhammad Isa(1914–1976)Pishin, BalochistanOrganizer of Muslim League in Balochistan and NWFPYoungest member of Muslim League's working committeeFazlul Huq(1873–1962) Barisal, BengalAscended as Interior Minister of PakistanGovernor of East PakistanKhawaja Nazimuddin(1894–1964)Dhaka, BengalFirst Bengali leader of PakistanSecond Prime Minister of PakistanSecond Governor-General of PakistanNaseer Ahmad Malhi(1911–1991)Sialkot, PunjabFirst Minister of Education of PakistanRahmat Ali(1897–1951) Balachaur, Punjab Coined and created "Pakstan"Author of Now or NeverRaja Ghazanfar Ali Khan (1895–1963)Jhelum, PunjabLeader of Pakistan Movement, close companion of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, minister and diplomatMuhammad Arif Khan Rajbana Sial (1913–2010)Jhang, PunjabKey presiding figure of the Muslim League. Member All-India Constituent Assembly.

Chief Party Whip. G. M. Syed(1904–1995) Sann, Sindh Key presiding figure of the Muslim LeagueRallied Sindh's support for Pakistan movementAbdur Rab Nishtar(1899–1958) Peshawar, Khyber-PakhtunkhwaGovernor of PunjabFirst Minister of communicationsHuseyn Suhrawardy(1892–1963)Dhaka, BengalFifth Prime Minister of PakistanEnforcer of One UnitMohammad Ali Jouhar(1878–1931) Rampur, Uttar PradeshMuslim cleric and leader of Khilafat MovementKey presiding figure of the Muslim LeagueShaukat Ali(1873–1939) Rampur, Uttar PradeshMuslim cleric and leader of Khilafat MovementKey presiding figure of the Muslim LeagueJalal-ud-din Jalal Baba(1901–1981)Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Founder of Hazara Muslim League Senior Muslim Leaguer and winner of referendum in NWFPZafar Ali Khan(1873–1956)Wazirabad, Punjaband Poet of Urdu languageRa'ana Ali Khan (1905–1990)Almora, UttarakhandAlso known as Madar-e-Pakistan First Lady of PakistanGovernor of SindhInitiated Women military corpsJogendra Nath Mandal(1904–1968)Barisal, BengalFirst Law Minister of PakistanSyed Amir-uddin Kedwaii(1901–1973)Barabanki, Uttar PradeshDesigned the Pakistani FlagKhaliq-uz-Zaman(1889–1963)Rampur, Uttar PradeshPresiding figure of the Muslim LeagueJahanara Shahnawaz(1896–1979)Lahore, PunjabCrucial role in women legislature after the independence.

Notable activists The activities and constant public gathering of founding fathers of Pakistan attracted the people of North-West India to be politically active in the movement. Many of the activists would later becoming the future leader of the country.

+ Listed activists of Pakistan Name(Birth and date) Portrait Place of representation and origin Pre-independence and Post-independence notabilityMuhammad Asad(1900–1992) Lemberg, Austria-HungaryHonorary figure in PakistanSartaj Aziz(1929–2024) Mardan, Khyber-PakhtunkhwaNational Security Adviser (2013–Present)Played key role in the political events in Pakistan, including that of nuclear tests in 1998Professor of Economics at various universities of Pakistan.Rafiq Tarar (1929-2021)Gujranwala, Punjab9th President of Pakistan(1997–2001) Mir Hazar Khoso (1929-2022) Jaffarabad, BalochistanActing Prime Minister of Pakistan(25 March 2013 – 4 June 2013) Nurul Amin(1893–1974) Shahbazpur, BengalPrime Minister of Pakistan(7–20 December 1971) Only Vice-president of PakistanShahzada Rehmatullah Khan Durrani(1919-1992)Quetta, BalochistanPoliticianAlvin Robert Cornelius(1903–1991) Agra, Uttar PradeshChief Justice of Pakistan(1960–1968) Pir Gohar(1931–2013) Mardan, Khyber PakhtunkhwaPoet and critic(19xx–2013) Sheikh Mujibur Rahman(1920–1975) then Faridpur, BengalThe leader of Pakistan's majority party in the 1970 elections and later the founder and president of Bangladesh.

Notes

See also Pakistan Dominion of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah Indian independence activists List of presidents of the All-India Muslim League

References