Qazi Ataullah Khan
Encyclopedia
Qazi Ataullah Khan was born in 1895 in the house of Qazi Nasrullah Khan in Landi Arbab village of Peshawar
. He was the second son of Qazi Nasrullah Khan who was a religious scholar of his area and a teacher
. Being natives to Landi Arbab, this family is Khalil momand by caste
and Qazi is the title given to Qazi Ataullah Khans great grand father Qazi (Haji) Talibuddin Rohani.
Qazi Ataullah Khan received his initial education in a local religious madrassa of his village. He was then admitted to Mission School Peshawar where his father Qazi Nasrullah Khan used to teach. Qazi Ataullah completed his 14 years of formal education in Peshawar and then went to Ali Garh to pursue further studies in the field of Law
. He completed his Law degree in 1918 and then came back to his homeland to practice law and work for the rights of his fellow beings. His first exposure to a public gathering fighting for the rights of Pukhtoons was in 1919 when he attended a rally of Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan) in Charsadda
. After this he became a close aide and a confidante of Ghaffar Khan in all matters related to the well being and the rights of the Pukhtoons.
Qazi sb got married to the daughter of a Khan of prang in 1923. His wife was the niece of the then Sahib e Haq. He started practicing law in Peshawar for a few years and then settled in Mardan
in 1925 where he was involved with Ghaffar Khan in Anjuman e Islah Afghania and also practiced his law. Qazi Ataullah Khan proposed the name of the KHUDAI KHIDMATGARS (as narrated by Ajmal Khattak) that was formed in 1929 after the Qissa Khwani bazaar massacre
. In 1930 he was imprisoned for 5 years under the British rule for fighting for the rights of Pukhtoons.
When congress won the elections of 1937, Qazi Ataullah Khan became a member of the legislative assembly
and was the ‘Minister of Revenue’ under the government of Dr. Khan Sahib
.
In 1946 congress again won the elections in the subcontinent and then Qazi Ataullah Khan became the ‘Minister of Education’ again in the government of Dr. Khan Sahib. It was then that the first ever education policy of Pukhtoonkhwa was announced. In 1947, when Muslim League called for a referendum in Pukhtoonkhwa, the option that was given was to either opt for Pakistan
or for India. Congress opposed the notion saying that the people had already given their opinion in the form of the 1946 election by opting for congress and not the Muslim League and that the referendum was not constitutional. When this cry fell upon deaf ears then the Pukhtoonkhwa chapter of congress headed by Dr. Khan Sahib gave another option on 23 June 1947 that was to either opt for Pakistan or for Pukhtoonistan. This was the first time that the Pukhtoonistan chapter had been put up formally in an assembly session and that was done by Qazi Ataullah Khan. These efforts also ended in vain and thus, congress boycotted the referendum
.
Pakistan came into being on the 14th of August 1947 and a month later Abdul Ghaffar Khan along with Qazi Ataullah Khan and other Khudai Khidmatgar
leaders were put behind bars and their properties were confiscated by the then government of Muslim League under the cruel and brutal leadership of Qayyum Khan. Qazi Ataullah Khan was first sent to DI Khan jail and then to Hyderabad jail. It was then when he completed his 4 volume ‘History of the Pukhtoons’ written in Pushto thus making him the first Pukhtoon scholar to write about the history of the Pukhtoons.
His health kept on deteriorating and then he was sent to Mach jail in Balochistan where Wali Khan, Abdul Aziz Khan, Arbab Abdul Ghafoor Khan and Amir Muhammad Khan were also imprisoned. Qazi sb used to complain of ill health but was not given much attention by the authorities (as narrated by Wali Khan). He had also asked the government to either give him good medical care or let him arrange it himself in England where his brother Qazi Matiullah was based. All these requests were declined by Qayyum Khans government and later on Qazi Ataullah Khan was diagnosed with blood cancer. In February 1952 he was finally sent to Mayo Hospital
in Lahore
when his condition had become critical.
Qazi Ataullah Khan died in Mayo Hospital in Lahore on the 17th of February 1952 and was then handed over to his family for burial in his home in Mardan. Since then he is not known as Qazi Ataullah Khan among the Khudai Khidmatgars but as GHAZI QAZI due to his unrelenting struggle for the rights of Pukhtoons till his last breath and the way the Muslim League government under the leadership of Qayyum Khan had declined him all medical facilities in prison.
According to Wali Khan,
In his last days, a famous journalist, Sorash Kashmiri went to meet Qazi Ataullah Khan where according to him Qazi sb said his last words. These were
“Working for the well being of Pakistan is our foremost priority and is our firm belief. We are the sons of this soil and we have given our lives for this land, then why is our soil and land still in turmoil. I am not upset because my life is about to end but it pains me when I think that I will not be able to serve my people anymore and that my lifelong struggle for the people will end halfway.”
Ay shaheeda! ay ashiqa! Ay bachia da Mansoor
Pa khanda janaan la laaray doob daryab ke shway da noor
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
. He was the second son of Qazi Nasrullah Khan who was a religious scholar of his area and a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
. Being natives to Landi Arbab, this family is Khalil momand by caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
and Qazi is the title given to Qazi Ataullah Khans great grand father Qazi (Haji) Talibuddin Rohani.
Qazi Ataullah Khan received his initial education in a local religious madrassa of his village. He was then admitted to Mission School Peshawar where his father Qazi Nasrullah Khan used to teach. Qazi Ataullah completed his 14 years of formal education in Peshawar and then went to Ali Garh to pursue further studies in the field of Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. He completed his Law degree in 1918 and then came back to his homeland to practice law and work for the rights of his fellow beings. His first exposure to a public gathering fighting for the rights of Pukhtoons was in 1919 when he attended a rally of Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan) in Charsadda
Charsadda
Charsadda is a town and headquarters of Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 34°8'43N 71°43'51E with an altitude of 276 metres and lies 29 kilometres from the provincial capital - Peshawar....
. After this he became a close aide and a confidante of Ghaffar Khan in all matters related to the well being and the rights of the Pukhtoons.
Qazi sb got married to the daughter of a Khan of prang in 1923. His wife was the niece of the then Sahib e Haq. He started practicing law in Peshawar for a few years and then settled in Mardan
Mardan
Mardan , known as The city of hospitality, is a city and headquarters of Mardan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It is the de facto headquarters of the Yousafzai tribe and the second most populous city in the province, located at 34°12'0N 72°1'60E and an altitude of in the south...
in 1925 where he was involved with Ghaffar Khan in Anjuman e Islah Afghania and also practiced his law. Qazi Ataullah Khan proposed the name of the KHUDAI KHIDMATGARS (as narrated by Ajmal Khattak) that was formed in 1929 after the Qissa Khwani bazaar massacre
Qissa Khwani bazaar massacre
The massacre at the Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar, British India on 23 April 1930 was a defining moment in the non-violent struggle to drive the British out of India...
. In 1930 he was imprisoned for 5 years under the British rule for fighting for the rights of Pukhtoons.
When congress won the elections of 1937, Qazi Ataullah Khan became a member of the legislative assembly
Legislative Assembly
Legislative Assembly is the name given in some countries to either a legislature, or to one of its branch.The name is used by a number of member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations, as well as a number of Latin American countries....
and was the ‘Minister of Revenue’ under the government of Dr. Khan Sahib
Khan Sahib
Khan Sahib - a compound of khan and sahib - was a formal title of respect and honour, which was conferred exclusively on Muslim, Parsi and Jewish subjects of the British Indian Empire...
.
In 1946 congress again won the elections in the subcontinent and then Qazi Ataullah Khan became the ‘Minister of Education’ again in the government of Dr. Khan Sahib. It was then that the first ever education policy of Pukhtoonkhwa was announced. In 1947, when Muslim League called for a referendum in Pukhtoonkhwa, the option that was given was to either opt for Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
or for India. Congress opposed the notion saying that the people had already given their opinion in the form of the 1946 election by opting for congress and not the Muslim League and that the referendum was not constitutional. When this cry fell upon deaf ears then the Pukhtoonkhwa chapter of congress headed by Dr. Khan Sahib gave another option on 23 June 1947 that was to either opt for Pakistan or for Pukhtoonistan. This was the first time that the Pukhtoonistan chapter had been put up formally in an assembly session and that was done by Qazi Ataullah Khan. These efforts also ended in vain and thus, congress boycotted the referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
.
Pakistan came into being on the 14th of August 1947 and a month later Abdul Ghaffar Khan along with Qazi Ataullah Khan and other Khudai Khidmatgar
Khudai Khidmatgar
Khudai Khidmatgar literally translates as the servants of God, represented a non-violent freedom struggle against the British Empire by the Pashtuns of the North-West Frontier Province....
leaders were put behind bars and their properties were confiscated by the then government of Muslim League under the cruel and brutal leadership of Qayyum Khan. Qazi Ataullah Khan was first sent to DI Khan jail and then to Hyderabad jail. It was then when he completed his 4 volume ‘History of the Pukhtoons’ written in Pushto thus making him the first Pukhtoon scholar to write about the history of the Pukhtoons.
His health kept on deteriorating and then he was sent to Mach jail in Balochistan where Wali Khan, Abdul Aziz Khan, Arbab Abdul Ghafoor Khan and Amir Muhammad Khan were also imprisoned. Qazi sb used to complain of ill health but was not given much attention by the authorities (as narrated by Wali Khan). He had also asked the government to either give him good medical care or let him arrange it himself in England where his brother Qazi Matiullah was based. All these requests were declined by Qayyum Khans government and later on Qazi Ataullah Khan was diagnosed with blood cancer. In February 1952 he was finally sent to Mayo Hospital
Mayo Hospital
Mayo Hospital is one of the oldest and biggest hospital in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. King Edward Medical University is the attached university which is Pakistan's most prestigious and South Asia's second oldest institution.-History:...
in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
when his condition had become critical.
Qazi Ataullah Khan died in Mayo Hospital in Lahore on the 17th of February 1952 and was then handed over to his family for burial in his home in Mardan. Since then he is not known as Qazi Ataullah Khan among the Khudai Khidmatgars but as GHAZI QAZI due to his unrelenting struggle for the rights of Pukhtoons till his last breath and the way the Muslim League government under the leadership of Qayyum Khan had declined him all medical facilities in prison.
According to Wali Khan,
In his last days, a famous journalist, Sorash Kashmiri went to meet Qazi Ataullah Khan where according to him Qazi sb said his last words. These were
“Working for the well being of Pakistan is our foremost priority and is our firm belief. We are the sons of this soil and we have given our lives for this land, then why is our soil and land still in turmoil. I am not upset because my life is about to end but it pains me when I think that I will not be able to serve my people anymore and that my lifelong struggle for the people will end halfway.”
Ay shaheeda! ay ashiqa! Ay bachia da Mansoor
Pa khanda janaan la laaray doob daryab ke shway da noor