Mujahideen of Tehreek Pakistan, Mahmud Ali (1919-2006) February 18, 2020 (2020-4)

 

"We'll never compromise on Kashmir" were the last words of Mr. Mahmud Ali who died of a heart attack during a school function in Lahore on 17^th November 2006. These words encapsulate his unwavering belief in social justice and the right of all people to live with dignity, free of exploitation. It is this belief that drove him to fight for the creation of Pakistan as a homeland for Muslims and other marginalised peoples of the sub-continent; and it is this that made him support the freedom struggle of the Kashmir Muslims until his dying moment.

Born in Sylhet on September 1, 1919 to Moulvi Mujahed Ali and Musammat Mujtaba Chowdury, Mahmud Ali lost his father when he was a toddler. His uncle, Moulvi Munawwer Ali who married the young widow, raised him like his own son and mentored him.

After his basic education in Sylhet, he obtained his Honours degree in English from Shillong (now in India). His dream of becoming a lawyer like his father and uncle, both law graduates from the Aligarh Muslim University. was however, interrupted by his involvement in the Pakistan Movement.

As a young man in his 20s, Mahmud Ali was already active in local politics, becoming, by 26, the General Secretary of the Assam Provincial Muslim League. In this capacity, he courted arrest along with thousands of others, protesting against colonial policies excluding Bengali immigrants from farming beyond a specified imaginary line. This was the notorious Line System. Upon release from prison, he successfully campaigned in favour of Sylhet joining Pakistan through the Sylhet Referendum of July 1947.

In 1952, Mahmud Ali was involved in the movement demanding the right of Bangla to be the national language of Pakistan alongside Urdu. When the police opened fire killing demonstrating students in Dhaka, he resigned from the Muslim League, which was the ruling party in East Pakistan. Later, Mahmud Ali was the first Cabinet Minister in the East Pakistan Government to sign an official document in Bangla.

In 1953, he co-founded the Ganatantri Dal, the first non-communal political party in Pakistan. With Ali elected as its Secretary General, and Haji Dost Mohammed Danish as its President, the Ganatranti Dal in alliance with like- minded political parties formed the Jugto Front (United Front) managing to rout the Muslim League government in the first general elections held in East Pakistan after independence in 1947. The new government led by Sher-e-Bangla AKM Fazlul Haq was however dismissed after 57 days in office through the imposition of Governor's Rule. Mahmud Ali was among the leaders arrested and imprisoned. His wife, young children and other members of his family were also later jailed.

After his release in July 1955, Mahmud Ali was elected a Member of the Second Constituent Assembly. In November, he was re-arrested and detained in Karachi under the Security of Pakistan Act, and subsequently in Dhaka Central jail until his release in January 1956. Later, he was appointed the Revenue and Prions Minister in the Cabinet of East Pakistan's Chief Minister, Ataur Rahman Khan.

In 1957, after resigning from the United Front government, the Ganatantri Dal joined forces with other progressive parties to form the first broad based All Pakistan Party, the Pakistan National Awami Party (NAP). When General Ayub Khan imposed Martial Law in 1958 and proclaimed himself President, Mr. Ali was in the forefront of the democratisation movement. He was a signatory to the famous Nine Leaders Statement, which challenged the abrogation of the Constitution by President Ayub, and called on him to restore the sovereignty of Pakistan. In 1969, he co-founded the Pakistan Democratic Party and was elected Senior Vice-President of the party. Headed by Mr. Nurul Amin.

Following the civil war in East Pakistan in 1971, and the invasion by India, Ali remained steadfast in his allegiance to Pakistan, convinced that the rights and safety of Bengalis could only be secured in a strong and united country. He led the Pakistan Delegation to the 26th session of the UN General Assembly in New York in 1971, securing the support of 105 out of 131 UN member states who held India aggressor in the war.

Upon creation of Bangladesh, he lived in Islamabad, never to return to his beloved Bengal. In whichever position he held in and outside the Government, he left an impact. As Minister of Overseas Pakistanis, Mr. Ali successfully negotiated with the British Government to allow immigrants of Pakistani origin to hold dual Pakistani and British nationality. Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto gave him the rank and status of Federal Minister, which he retained until his demise in November 2006.

Seeing the media as a critical channel for social and political change, he and his wife, Begum Hajera Khatun, started publishing the Bengall language newspaper "Nao-Belal". This was proscribed between mid-1958 and 1969 by successive Pakistani governments.

In 1980, he founded The Concept, an ideological magazine, remaining the Chair of The Concept Publication Trust and its Chief Editor until his demise.

For Mahmud Ali, politics and social development were interwoven. Thus in 1986, he founded Tahrik-e-Takmeel-e-Pakistan, a Movement dedicated to the completion of Pakistan according to the 1940 Lahore Resolution. Through this he spread his message of self-reliance and freedom from dependency on foreign aid agencies. He remained its President until his death.

He was courageous and compassionate, often at personal risk to himself. In 1950, when Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in East Pakistan he organized a Peace Mission in Sylhet, and succeeded in bringing the riot under control in Sylhet district. Incensed, the local administration put him under detention. It took the intervention of the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaqat Ali Khan, to have him released. A devout Muslim, he defended the right of Pakistani Christians (and other minorities) to live as equal citizens and promoted inter-faith dialogue till the end of his life. His relentless struggle

for the rights of all people, won him accolades, including the Gadhafi medal for Human Rights and Peace.

On Mahmud Ali (1919-2006) under the series of Tehreek-e-Pakistan Key Mujahid" a Commemorative Postage Stamp of Rs.20/-denomination is being issued by Pakistan Post on February 18, 2020.