Choudhary Rahmat Ali (1897-1951)

Choudhry Rahmat Ali was one of the earliest people who played a crucial part in the creation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Rehmat Ali was a profound Pakistani Muslim nationalist. He is generally known as the creator of the name “Pakistan”, which is a separate homeland for Muslims of South Asia. Choudhry Rehmat founded the Pakistan National Movement which later led to the creation of the Islamic state for Muslims. He was born on 16th November 1897 in a District named Garhshankar which is located in Indian Punjab (at that time Punjab was a province under British Rule). During his early childhood, Ali showed signs of good and promised student, both in academics and co-curricular activities. After completing his school education, he joined “Islamia College of Lahore”, after which he completed his graduation, and later on in the year1918, he started teaching at Aitcheson College Lahore. After few years, he joined Punjab University to study and practice law. However, in 1930 he went to England and joined “Emmanuel College Cambridge”. He completed his BA degree in 1933 and MA degree in the year 1940 from the “University of Cambridge”. Rehmat Ali completed his education in England, got MA and LLB with honors from the universities of Cambridge and Dublin.

Choudhry Rehmat Ali participated in different political movements during his stay in India. He spent most of his young age in the UK. He supported Pakistan Movement in several ways. He was well known for his abilities and capabilities. His Ideas were appreciated throughout the party (All India Muslim League). The mode of communication he used to convey the message to people was his articles and his booklets. In 1915 at Islamia College, he established the base of an organization named Bazm e Shibli. Using this platform he published the idea of a divided India (a separate and independent homeland for Muslims). In 1918 after completing his MA, he started his carrier as an Assistant Editor in a magazine named Kashmir Gazette. This was a great platform that made it very easy for him to communicate with a massive audience. The most important incident that gave fame to Choudhry Rehmat Ali was his Pamphlet whose title was “NOW OR NEVER”. This pamphlet was published in 1933 at Cambridge University, England wet its idea and concept were greatly accepted in India by the Muslim Majority. Ali played a curtail role here in England, convincing the British, in the creation of Pakistan. Similarly, in 1933 he established the Pakistan National Liberation Movement, which later played a major role in the creation of Pakistan. His Famous Pamphlets are ‘Muslimism’ and ‘Hinduism’.

After the creation of Pakistan, Choudhry Rehmat Ali came back to Pakistan. He was not happy with the partition, geographically. He believed that many states were given to Hindus illegally and Quid e Azam should not have accepted this partition. In 1948, Pakistani PM Liaquat Ali sent him to England where he spends the rest of his life. He died on 3rd Feb 1951 at the age of 53 and was buried in Cambridge graveyard as an orphan still waiting to be buried in his own soil.
Written by SHAHZAIB IKRAM