Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, the second son of Nawab Rustam Ali Khan, was born on October 1, 1896, in a Madal Pathan (Nausherwan) family. He graduated in 1918 from MAO College, Aligarh. After his graduation, he was offered a job in the Indian Civil Services, but he rejected the offer on the plea that he wanted to serve his nation. He married his cousin, Jehangira Begum in 1918. After his marriage, he went to London for higher education. In 1921, he obtained a degree in Law from Oxford and was called to Bar at Inner Temple in 1922.
On his return from England in 1923, Liaquat Ali Khan decided to enter politics with the objective of liberating his homeland from the foreign yoke. Right from the very beginning, he was determined to eradicate the injustices and ill treatment meted out to the Indian Muslims by the British. In his early life, Liaquat Ali, like most of the Muslim leaders of his time, believed in Indian Nationalism. But his views gradually changed. The Congress leaders invited him to join their party, but he refused and joined the Muslim League in 1923. Under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam, the Muslim League held its annual session in May 1924 in Lahore. The aim of this session was to revive the League. Liaquat Ali Khan attended this conference along many other young Muslims.
After independence, Quaid-i-Azam and Muslim League appointed Liaquat to be the head of the Pakistan government. Being the first Prime Minister of the country, He had to deal with a number of difficulties facing Pakistan in its early days. Liaquat Ali Khan helped Quaid-i-Azam in solving the riot and refugee problem and setting up an effective administrative system for the country. After the death of Quaid-i-Azam, Liaquat tried to fill the vacuum created by the departure of the Father of the Nation. Under his premiership, Pakistan took its first steps in the field of constitution making, as well as foreign policy. He presented the Objectives Resolution in the Legislative Assembly. The house passed this on March 12, 1949. Under his leadership a team also drafted the first report of the Basic Principle Committee. His efforts in signing the Liaquat-Nehru pact pertaining to the minority issue in 1950 reduced tensions between India and Pakistan. In May 1951, he visited the United States and set the course of Pakistan’s foreign policy towards closer ties with the West.
On October 16, 1951, Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated. He had been scheduled to make an important announcement in a public meeting at Municipal Park, Rawalpindi. The security forces immediately shot the assassin, who was later identified as Saad Akbar. Killing the assassin erased all clues to the identity of the real culprit behind the murder. Liaquat Ali Khan was officially given the title of Shaheed-i-Millat, but the question of who was behind his murder is yet to be answered.
Liaquat Ali Khan’s bungalow discovered in Muzaffarnagar
The bungalow ‘Kehkashan’ (galaxy) is located in the Company Bagh area of Muzaffarnagar in UP, according to a report by India Today
Kehkashan’, a white bungalow with manicured lawns, rows of trees and iron grills located in the Company Bagh area of Muzaffarnagar, is no ordinary bungalow.
The British- era structure was once owned by Pakistan’s first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan – who was to Mohammad Ali Jinnah what Jawahar Lal Nehru was to Mahatma Gandhi – whose extended family lived in Jansath tehsil of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.
Keeping in view its historical importance and relevance, senior Samajwadi Party leader and cabinet minister Azam Khan, in a recent meeting with district officials, suggested that the government take over the bungalow and develop it as a tourist destination.
The bungalow is presently in the custody of a family from the Pur Qazi area of Muzaffarnagar, who claim their forefathers bought it from the family of Liaquat Ali Khan.
The building is out of bounds of common people and visitors.
In one part of the building, the family runs Shardein School, a CBSE- affiliated institution. This part is accessible to, well, only the students and sometimes to their parents. The family members refused to talk to MAIL TODAY and even the security guards objected to clicking pictures of the historical building.
Before 1947, before the Partition, visiting Nawabs, hosted by the family of Liaquat Ali Khan, lived in the magnificent edifice. Elderly citizens of Muzaffarnagar claim Ali Khan along with his family lived in another house a few hundred metres from the bungalow. That house has presently been transformed into a government office and residential quarters.
“The bungalow in Company Bagh was mainly a recreational centre of the family as Nawabs and visitors who called on them for most part of the year stayed there,” said Muhammad Salim, 80, a resident of Muzaffarnagar town.
Ali Khan’s connection with Muzaffarnagar dates back to 1926, when he campaigned for elections from this rural constituency for the provisional legislative council. He won the elections by a huge margin with no opponent to challenge him.
In 1932, he was unanimously elected the Deputy President of the United Province Legislative Council. Ali Khan remained an elected member of the UP Legislative Council until 1940, when he was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly.
“He belonged to an influential family that had strong ties with senior British government officers, who frequently visited his big mansion,” Salim said.
SP leader Azam Khan has suggested that the govt take over the bungalow and develop it as a tourist destination.
KHAN’S UP CONNECT
‘Kehkashan’ was once owned by Pakistan’s first PM Liaquat Ali Khan whose extended family lived in Jansath tehsil of Muzaffarnagar in UP Khan’s connection with Muzaffarnagar dates back to 1926, when he campaigned for elections to the provisional legislative council from this rural constituency ‘ Kehkashan’ is presently in custody of a family from the Pur Qazi area of Muzaffarnagar and they claim that their forefathers bought it from Khan’s family Senior residents of Muzaffarnagar say, Khan and his family lived in another house near the bungalow.
