Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan Chhatari
Lieutenant Colonel Saeed ul-Mulk Nawab Sir Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan, Nawab of Chhatari GBE KCSI KCIE[2][3] also generally referred to as Nawab of Chhatari (12 December 1888[4][5] – 1982) was Governor of the United Provinces,[6][7] Chief Minister[8] of United Provinces, President of the Executive Council of the Nizam of Hyderabad (i.e. Prime Minister of Hyderabad)[9] and Chief Scout of India.
Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan | |
|---|---|
Khan in 1930 | |
| Cabinet Minister of the United Provinces | |
| In office 17 May 1923 – 11 January 1926 | |
| Preceded by | NA |
| Succeeded by | NA |
| Acting Governor of the United Provinces | |
| In office 7 April 1933 – 26 November 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Alexander Phillips Muddiman |
| Succeeded by | Sir William Malcolm Hailey |
| 1st Chief Minister of United Provinces | |
| In office 3 April 1937 – 16 July 1937 | |
| Preceded by | Office Established |
| Succeeded by | Govind Ballabh Pant |
| Member of National Defence Council | |
| In office July 1941 – September 1941 | |
| Preceded by | New creation |
| Succeeded by | Vacated |
| President of the Executive Council of the Nizam of Hyderabad (i.e. Prime Minister of Hyderabad) (two terms) | |
| In office September 1941 – August 1946 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Akbar Hydari |
| Succeeded by | Mirza Ismail |
| In office May 1947 – 1 November 1947 | |
| Preceded by | Mirza Ismail |
| Succeeded by | Sir Mehdi Yar Jung |
| Chief Scout of India | |
| In office 1955–1982 | |
| Preceded by | New creation |
| Succeeded by | Justice M. Hidayatullah |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 December 1888 Chhatari, North-Western Provinces, British India |
| Died | 1982 (aged 93-94) Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Political party | Muslim League (National Agriculturist Parties)[1] |
Early life and family
He was born in a Lalkhani family to Nawab Mohammad Abdul Ali Khan,[10] the Nawab of Chhatari on 12 December 1888[4] in Chhatari, United Province of British India. He did his education from Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College of Aligarh.[4] He was married to daughter of his own uncle Nawab Abdul Samad Khan Bahadur, the Nawab of Talibnagar.[4] He had two sons, Rahat Saeed Khan and Farhat Sayeed Khan. The younger son, Farhat Sayeed Khan, was noted for his interest in Hindustani classical music and he studied music at the Sangeet Research Academy, Kolkata.[11] The family moved to Pakistan shortly after the Partition of India, and the elder son (Rahat Saeed Chattari) became a Senator of the Pakistan National Senate.
Council to Government
From 17 May 1923 to 11 January 1926 the Nawab was a Minister in the Cabinet of the United Provinces,[12] then in 1931 he returned as Minister of Agriculture there.[13] Like other great Muslim zamindars, including the Raja of Salempur, was a trusted ally of the British administration of the United Provinces[14] and was appointed acting Governor for some seven months, from April to November 1933. The Government of India Act 1935, formulated after a series of round table conferences, came into effect on 1 April 1937, and the Nawab of Chhatari, as leader of the National Agriculturist Parties, was invited to form a Cabinet, and was briefly chief minister during 1937.[15] He soon stepped down to become Minister of Home Affairs in the United Provinces Government, with a salary of Rs. 2,500.[16]
Nawab Chhatari attended the first Round Table Conference, held in St. James's Palace in London on 12 November 1930.[17] The Muslim Delegation was led by the Aga Khan and others, including Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Sir Mohammad Shafi, Maulana Muhammad Ali, Dr Shafat Ali, Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, the Nawab of Chhatari, and Fazlul Huq.[18]
The Nawab of Chhatari was a member of India's National Defence Council from July to August 1941. He resigned from this to accept the post of President of the Hyderabad Executive Council, effectively Prime Minister of the important princely state of Hyderabad.[19][20]
Disquiet with Jinnah
The Nawab of Chhatari attended the third open session of the All-India Muslim League, held in the Pandal at Lalbagh, Lucknow, on Sunday, 17 October 1936, with Jinnah presiding. The meeting was also attended by Maulana Shaukat Ali, Moulana Hasrat Mohani, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Dr Syed Husain, Raja Gazanfar Ali Khan, Khan Bahadur Kuli Khan, Fazlul Huq, Nawab Jamshed Ali Khan, and others.[21][22]
Prime Minister of Hyderabad
Nawab of Chhatari was appointed President of the Executive Council of the Nizam of Hyderabad (i.e. Prime Minister of Hyderabad) in August 1941.[23] He served on this post from September 1941 to 1 November 1947.[24]
On 6 September 1941, Nizam of Hyderabad, praised Nawab of Chhatari as able administrator. In 1944 Nawab of Chhatari was granted the title of Saeed-ul-Mulk by H.E.H. The Nizam of Hyderabad.[25] On 25 November 1945, Nawab of Chhatari laid the foundation stone of the Institution of Engineers (India), A.P. State Center (Visvesvarayya Bhavan).[26]
In 1946 the Nizam of Hyderabad suggested to the Viceroy of India that the Nawab of Chhatari should be appointed Governor of the Central Provinces and Berar.[27]
Chhatari delegation
On 11 July 1947, after the Nizam had seen the pending Indian Independence Bill, which did not offer the possibility of Dominion status to any of the princely states, an option he had pressed for, he decided to send a delegation to Delhi headed by the Nawab of Chhatari to meet the Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten of Burma.[28][29] On 17 August 1947 the Nawab wrote to Mountbatten expressing the wish to enter into negotiations on the future of Hyderabad.[30]
In August 1947 Sir Walter Monckton, a Constitutional advisor to the Nizam and the Nawab of Chhatari, tendered his resignation to the Nizam, prompted by an attack by Razakars and Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen, but the resignation was not accepted.[31]
On 27 October 1947 Razakars and Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen staged a demonstration at the houses of the members of delegation, Monckton, the Nawab, and Sir Sultan Ahmed, making it impossible for them to leave for Delhi as intended.[32] The discussions that followed bore no fruit, and on 1 November the Nawab of Chhatari, finding his position intolerable, resigned as President of the Executive Council.[33] Monckton also insisted on resigning.
On 21 December 1947 Gandhi held talks with the Nawab of Chhatari, H. S. Suhrawardy, Brijlal Nehru, Rameshwari Nehru, Sheikh Abdullah, Begum Abdullah, Dr. Saifuddin Kitchlew, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the Prince of Kutch, the Maharaja of Bhavnagar, Anantrai Pattani and others.[34]
In a radio speech on 23 September 1948, the Nizam said "In November last, a small group which had organized a quasi-military organization surrounded the homes of my Prime Minister, the Nawab of Chhatari, in whose wisdom I had complete confidence, and of Sir Walter Monkton, my constitutional Adviser, by duress compelled the Nawab and other trusted ministers to resign, and forced the Laik Ali Ministry on me. This group headed by Kasim Razvi had no stake in the country or any record of service behind it. By methods reminiscent of Hitlerite Germany it took possession of the State, spread terror ... and rendered me completely helpless."[35]
Public life
He served as Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University from December 1965 to 6 January 1982 and as Chief Scout of the All India Boy Scouts Association from 1955 to 1982.[36]
Time line
Autobiography
- Yad-e-Ayyam (1949) is the autobiography of Nawab of Chhatari Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan. In this book, the writer has given glimpses of his life and experiences in a direct and artless manner.[37]
See also
References
- ^ "The Sunday Tribune – Spectrum – Books". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
- ^ [1] Separatism Among Indian Muslims: The Politics of the United Provinces By Francis Robinson
- ^ [2] 11 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d Who's who in India, Burma & Ceylon. Who's who Publishers India. 1936. p. 307.
- ^ "National Portrait Gallery - Person - Nawab Sir Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan Chhatari". Npg.org.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
- ^ Kashmir Information website 5 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Constructing Post-Colonial India: National Character and the Doon School By Sanjay Srivastava by Sanjay Srivastava – 2005
- ^ . Uplegisassembly.gov.in. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
- ^ Ibid. 5 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Celebrities: a comprehensive biographical thesaurus of important men and women in India-by Jagdish Bhatia – 1952 Page 27.
- ^ The Lost World of Hindustani Music by Kumāraprasāda Mukhopādhyāẏa – 2006 -- Page 216
- ^ United Provinces Assembly website 10 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Journey to Forever.org
- ^ Nawab of Chhatari (Google cache version)
- ^ Tribune India website
- ^ Hansard
- ^ "Round Table Conferences". Story of Pakistan. June 2003. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
- ^ Muslim Delegation at 1930 Round Table Conference
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Muslim League meeting 17 October 1936 (Google cache version)
- ^ www.chowk.com 7 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Nawab of Chhatari appointed President of the Executive Council of the Nizam of Hyderabad
- ^ www.atlaswords.com
- ^ File 34(3)-G/1944 IOR/R/1/4/327 1944–1945 UK National Archives website
- ^ IEIAPSC.org 19 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ UK National Archives
- ^ www.telangana.com
- ^ www.telangana.com
- ^ #11 Letter to Mountbatten (Google cache version)
- ^ #11 Resignation of Sir Walter Monckton to Nizam (Google cache version)
- ^ #12 Razakar/Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen demonstrations
- ^ 2&sig=ACfU3U1A4K9J88XwEETL3JjOGn6nmEagEQ&q=chhatari#PPA12,M1 #12,13 Resignation of the Nawab of Chhatari from the Presidency of the Executive Council of the Nizam of Hyderabad (Google cache version)
- ^ s:Chronology of Mahatma Gandhi's life/India 1947
- ^ Autocracy to Integration, Lucien D Benichou, Orient Longman (2000), p. 237
- ^ Boy Scouts of India website
- ^ Yad-e-Ayyam (Google cache version)
External links
- Karwaan-e-Aligarh : Nawab Chattari