Khuwaja Nazimuddin, second prime minister of Pakistan

Khuwaja Nazimuddin 1894–1964 (خواجه ناظم الدين) was a Bengali politician and one of the leading founding fathers of Pakistan. Khuwaja Nazimuddin was famous for being the first Bengali leader to serve as the Governor General as well as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He was considered the most important figure when Quaid-e-Azam died in 1948 and Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in 1951. Ironically, he was also called "Quaid-e-Killat" and "Khuwaja Hazimuddin." However, his unconditional services for Pakistan were ignored when he was unconstitutionally and undemocratically removed from the prime ministership by the Governor General Ghulam Muhammad. Not surprisingly, when Khuwaja Nazimuddin was excluded from the prime minister's house, he couldn't afford even a rent for the house.

Khuwaja Nazimuddin (1964-8194) 

Life Before Politics 

Khawaja Nazimuddin was born in Dhaka on July 19, 1894. He belonged to the feudalistic family of the Nawabs of Dhaka. The family of Khuwaja Nazimuddin hailed from Kashmir and settled in Dhaka. He was a rich landlord. His parents were Khwaja Nizamuddin and Nawabzadi Bilkees Bano. He married Shah Bano and had a younger brother, namely Khuwaja Shahsbuddin, who later played an important role in politics. Being a Kashmiri-Bengali, his family spoke both languages, Urdu and Bengali.

Khuwaja Nazimuddin got his early education from Dunstable Grammar School in England and then enrolled in M. A. O. College, Aligarh, and graduated with a BA degree in sociology. For higher education, he travelled to Trinity Hall, Cambridge.

Khuwaja Nazimuddin's Entry Into Politics

Having completed his education, Khuwaja Nazimuddin got involved in politics in Bengal. Therefore, he joined the Muslim League as president after Quaid-e-Azam relinquished the presidency of the Muslim League. He served as a chairman of the Dhaka Municipality from 1922 until 1929. Then, he decided to contest the 1937 provincial election. But he lost the elections to A. K. Fazlul Huq, the KPP leader, in East Pakistan. The defeat so affected him that, later, he kept himself away from contesting elections. Still, he became the Provincial Education Minister of United Bengal from 1929 until 1934 and also the Minister for Agriculture.

A very close friend of Quaid-e-Azam and an important political leader, Khuwaja Nazimuddin, decided to quit the Muslim League and sit in opposition under Prime Minister AK Fazlul Huq in 1940–1941.

The second Governor General of Pakistan
In the early formative phase of a newly established country, he played an important role in the government. When Quaid e-Azam, the first Governor General, passed away on September 11, 1948, Khuwaja Nazimuddin succeeded him as the second Governor General of Pakistan. He was sworn in by the chief justice of the supreme court of Pakistan, justice sir Abdur Rashid, in the presence of Liaquat Ali Khan. He remained governor general until 1951. As governor general, he showed total neutrality and supported the government of Liaquat Ali Khan.

Khuwaja Nazimuddin had formed a "Basic Principles Committee" in 1949 on the advice of Nawab Liaquat Ali Khan. The committee was designed to formulate the future constitution of Pakistan. Dejected from politics, Khuwaja Nazimuddin resigned from the seat of President of the Muslim League in June 1953. However, due to his services for the country, he was awarded the title of Nishan-i-Pakistan in 1985.

The Second Prime Minister 1951–53

Again, when the first prime minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali, was assassinated in 1951, Khuwaja Nazimuddin was requested by the Muslim League leaders to step in as the second Prime Minister of Pakistan, while Malik Ghulam Muhammad, the finance minister, was made Governor General of Pakistan.

When Khuwaja Nazimuddin was the prime minister of Pakistan, he changed the prime minister's house from the one located at 10 Victoria Road, Karachi, to the Governor House, Karachi. It was also during his reign that the first nationwide census of Pakistan was carried out in 1951.
These were the two occasions when Khuwaja Nazimuddin was called upon to serve the nation. First, during the early death of the father of the nation, Quaid e-Azam, in 1948, he was the only man considered suitable for Governor General after Quaid e-Azam, and the second, when Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in 1951, the cabinet of Liaquat Ali requested Khwaja Nizamuddin to take over as Prime Minister.

The dismissal of Khuwaja Nazimuddin as Prime Minister

In the beginning, Khwaja Nazimuddin was strongly in favour of the Bangali language as the official language of Pakistan. When Quaid e Azam said that Urdu would be made the official and national language of Pakistan while delivering a speech at Dhaka University, Khuwaja Nazimuddin, the chief minister of Bengal, strongly opposed Quaid-e-Azam. Besides, he promised the Bengalis that Bengali should be made an official language of Pakistan. But when Nazimuddin became prime minister, he, due to some political reasons, backed out of his promises and announced that Quaid-e-Azam was right that Urdu should be the one and only official language of east Pakistan and west Pakistan.

That step by Khuwaja Nazimuddin stirred up protests and agitations on February 21, 1952, in East Pakistan, especially among students who violently took to the streets. The Bengali Language Movement, which demanded equal and official status for Bengali, turned bloody. To disperse the agitators, the government killed many demonstrators and students.

While, in 1953, a violent religious movement called Tahreek Khatam-e-Nabwat took birth across the country. It was for the removal of the Ahamadi religious minority from the power position and demanded a declaration of the minority as non-Muslim. The agitation and violence that spread through Bengal and Lahore proved too much for Khuwaja Nazimuddin to control.

In order to improve the internal situation in Pakistan, GG Malik Ghulam Muhammad asked Khuwaja Nazimuddin to step down in the wider interest of the country. But Khuwaja Nazimuddin refused to oblige Ghulam Muhammad. On this, Malik Ghulam Muhammad, using the reserve power granted to him in the Government of India Act 1935, dismissed the prime minister. Muhammad Ali Bogra, an American based ambassador, was made prime minister. He was the first technocrat and imported prime minister who had neither political experience nor been a member of Parliament. 

In addition, Governor General Ghulam Muhammad wanted to have cordial relations with the US. But Khuwaja Nazimuddin had spoiled the relations between the two by refusing taking  wheat from America. To improve relations with the US, Khuwaja Nazimuddin was a big stumbling block. Therefore, an artificial wheat crisis was created. The wheat crisis was getting so intense that Khuwaja Nazimuddin was being called "Quaid-e-Killat" instead of "Quaid-e-Millat." Finally, Governor General Ghulam Muhammad dismissed the second Prime Minister of Pakistan on the pretext of insecurity, instability, the wheat crisis, and such.

The unconstitutional and undemocratic dismissal of Khuwaja Nazimuddin as the second Prime Minister of Pakistan proved a serious blow to the process of democracy in Pakistan. The dismissal of Khuwaja Nazimuddin caused political instability and chaos, which ultimately led to the imposition of the first Martial Law by Ayub Khan. However, Khuwaja Nazimuddin is believed to be an unworthy successor of Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan because of his oversimplicity and lack of political charisma. 

Khuwaja Nazimuddin was not only the prime minister but also the president of the Muslim League. But over his undemocratic and unconstitutional removal, no agitations were carried out. He is said to have contacted the Queen of the UK, but nothing happened. Later, he requested the Supreme Court of Pakistan to intervene against this action, but the justice, Muhammad Munir, did not rule out the legality of this dismissal.

When Khwaja Nizamuddin was excluded from the prime minister's house, he couldn't afford a house on rent. Abdul Waheed Adamjee of Karachi offered him a temporary accommodation. Then, he moved to the Pakistani cooperative housing society, but it was hard to survive. Finally, we travelled to Dhaka in abject poverty. 

Death of Khuwaja Nazimuddin

Khawaja Nazimuddin, after a long illness, died on October 22, 1964, at the age of 70. He was given a state funeral. His grave is next to the graves of Fazlul Haq and Suhrawardi on the grounds of the Dhaka High Court.
These three graves are known as "the Mazar of Three National Leaders."

Grave of Khuwaja Nazimuddin 

Sincere and straightforward man made great contributions to the formation of Pakistan. Being a Bengali, he was free from partiality. Moreover, during the Pakistan Movement, when Hindu press made problems for the Muslims, Khuwaja Nazimuddin issued an English newspaper, namely The Star, by selling his personal property.

The Nazimabad and the North Nazimabad of Karachi and Nazimuddin Roads in Dhaka and Islamabad have been named after Khawaja Nazimuddin. Besides, the Pakistan Post issued a commemorative stamp in his honour.

He was so fond of eating that sometimes he was called "Khuwaja Hazimuddin" ,instead of Nazimuddin. In addition, he used to raise hens. He had a high quality of around 400 hens. Once, Khuwaja Nazimuddin imported a cock from Britain and impatiently waited for its arrival. When the cock arrived, Khuwaja Nazimuddin himself went to the airport to welcome it.

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