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Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan Chhatari

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Lieutenant Colonel
Saeed ul-Mulk
Nawab, Sir
Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan
GBE KCSI KCIE
Khan in 1930
Cabinet Minister of the United Provinces
In office
17 May 1923 – 11 January 1926
Preceded byNA
Succeeded byNA
Acting Governor of the United Provinces
In office
7 April 1933 – 26 November 1933
Preceded bySir Alexander Phillips Muddiman
Succeeded bySir William Malcolm Hailey
1st Chief Minister of United Provinces
In office
3 April 1937 – 16 July 1937
Preceded byOffice Established
Succeeded byGovind Ballabh Pant
Member of National Defence Council
In office
July 1941 – September 1941
Preceded byNew creation
Succeeded byVacated
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 bySir Akbar Hydari
Succeeded byMirza Ismail
In office
May 1947 – 1 November 1947
Preceded byMirza Ismail
Succeeded bySir Mehdi Yar Jung
Chief Scout of India
In office
1955–1982
Preceded byNew creation
Succeeded byJustice M. Hidayatullah
Personal details
Born(1888-12-12)12 December 1888
Chhatari, North-Western Provinces, British India
Died6 January 1982(1982-01-06) (aged 93)[1]
Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Political partyMuslim League (National Agriculturist Parties)[2]

Lieutenant Colonel Saeed ul-Mulk Nawab Sir Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan, Nawab of Chhatari GBE KCSI KCIE[3][4] also generally referred to as Nawab of Chhatari (12 December 1888[5][6] – 6 January 1982[1]) was Governor of the United Provinces,[7][8] Chief Minister[9] of United Provinces, President of the Executive Council of the Nizam of Hyderabad (i.e. Prime Minister of Hyderabad)[10] and Chief Scout of India.

Early life and family

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He was born in a Muslim Rajput Lalkhani family to Nawab Mohammad Abdul Ali Khan,[11] the Nawab of Chhatari on 12 December 1888[5] in Chhatari, United Province of British India. He was educated at Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College of Aligarh.[5] He was married to a daughter of his uncle Nawab Abdul Samad Khan Bahadur, the Nawab of Talibnagar.[5] 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 at Calcutta.[12] The family moved to Pakistan shortly after the Partition of India, and the elder son (Rahat Saeed Chattari) became a senator in the Senate of Pakistan, the upper house of the nation's bicameral parliament.

Council to Government

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From 17 May 1923 to 11 January 1926, the Nawab was a Minister in the Cabinet of the United Provinces,[13] then in 1931 he returned as Minister of Agriculture there.[14] Like other great Muslim zamindars, including the Raja of Salempur, he was a trusted ally of the British administration of the United Provinces[15] 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 in 1937.[16] He soon stepped down to become Minister of Home Affairs in the United Provinces Government, with a salary of Rs. 2,500.[17]

Nawab Chhatari attended the first Round Table Conference, held at St. James's Palace in London on 12 November 1930.[18] 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 A. K. Fazlul Huq.[19]

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.[20][21]

Disquiet with Jinnah

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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.[22][23]

Prime Minister of Hyderabad

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Nawab of Chhatari was appointed President of the Executive Council of the Nizam of Hyderabad (i.e. Prime Minister of Hyderabad) in August 1941.[24] He served on this post from September 1941 to 1 November 1947.[25]

On 6 September 1941, the Nizam of Hyderabad, praised Nawab of Chhatari as an able administrator.

On 25 November 1945, the 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

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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 State.[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 attempted resignation was not accepted.[31]

On 27 October 1947, Razakars and Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen staged a demonstration at the houses of the members of the 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, Mahatma 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]

Recognition

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As a personal distinction, Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan was created "Nawab of Chhatari" in the 1915 Birthday Honours list for India.[36] He was further honoured as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1918 Birthday Honours,[37] and as a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in the 1921 Birthday Honours.[38] He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE) in the 1928 Birthday Honours,[39] awarded a second knighthood as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI) in the 1933 New Year Honours and received a final knighthood in the 1946 Birthday Honours as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE).[40][41] In 1944, he was granted the title of Saeed-ul-Mulk by the Nizam of Hyderabad.[42]

Public life

[edit]

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.[43]

Time line

[edit]
Government offices
Preceded by
NA
 Cabinet Minister of the United Provinces
17 May 1923 – 11 January 1926 		Succeeded by
NA
Preceded by Acting Governor of the United Provinces
7 April 1933 – 26 November 1933 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
New creation
 Chief Minister of United Provinces
3 April 1937 – 16 July 1937 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by
New creation
 Member of the National Defence Council
July 1941 – September 1941 		Succeeded by
vacated
Preceded by President of the Executive Council
of the
Nizam of Hyderabad
(i.e. Prime Minister of Hyderabad)
(first time)
September 1941 – August 1946 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Executive Council
of the
Nizam of Hyderabad
(i.e. Prime Minister of Hyderabad)
(second time)
May 1947 – November 1947 		Succeeded by
Scouting
Preceded by
New creation
 Chief Scout of India
1955–1982 		Succeeded by

Autobiography

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  • 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.[44]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Ahmad, Said Khan (1889–1982)". Dictionary of Indian Biography. Varanasi: Indian Bibliographic Centre. 2000. pp. 8–9. ISBN 81-85131-15-5.
  2. ^ "The Sunday Tribune – Spectrum – Books". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  3. ^ [1] Separatism Among Indian Muslims: The Politics of the United Provinces By Francis Robinson
  4. ^ [2] Archived 11 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b c d Who's who in India, Burma & Ceylon. Who's who Publishers India. 1936. p. 307.
  6. ^ "National Portrait Gallery - Person - Nawab Sir Muhammad Ahmad Said Khan Chhatari". Npg.org.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  7. ^ Kashmir Information website Archived 5 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Constructing Post-Colonial India: National Character and the Doon School By Sanjay Srivastava by Sanjay Srivastava – 2005
  9. ^ "Chief Minister". Uplegisassembly.gov.in. Archived from the original on 12 August 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  10. ^ Ibid. Archived 5 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Celebrities: a comprehensive biographical thesaurus of important men and women in India-by Jagdish Bhatia – 1952 Page 27.
  12. ^ The Lost World of Hindustani Music by Kumāraprasāda Mukhopādhyāẏa – 2006 -- Page 216
  13. ^ United Provinces Assembly website Archived 10 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Journey to Forever.org
  15. ^ Nawab of Chhatari (Google cache version)
  16. ^ Tribune India website
  17. ^ "Hansard". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 19 April 1937. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  18. ^ "Round Table Conferences". Story of Pakistan. June 2003. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  19. ^ Muslim Delegation at 1930 Round Table Conference
  20. ^ "Ibid". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 11 September 1941. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  21. ^ "Ibid". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 22 July 1941. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  22. ^ Muslim League meeting 17 October 1936 (Google cache version)
  23. ^ www.chowk.com Archived 7 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ Nawab of Chhatari appointed President of the Executive Council of the Nizam of Hyderabad
  25. ^ www.atlaswords.com
  26. ^ IEIAPSC.org Archived 19 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ UK National Archives
  28. ^ "www.telangana.com". Archived from the original on 16 July 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  29. ^ www.telangana.com
  30. ^ #11 Letter to Mountbatten (Google cache version)
  31. ^ #11 Resignation of Sir Walter Monckton to Nizam (Google cache version)
  32. ^ #12 Razakar/Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen demonstrations
  33. ^ 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)
  34. ^ s:Chronology of Mahatma Gandhi's life/India 1947
  35. ^ Autocracy to Integration, Lucien D Benichou, Orient Longman (2000), p. 237
  36. ^ "Foreign and Political Department: Notifications". The Gazette of India: Extraordinary. 3 June 1915. p. 2.
  37. ^ "No. 30730". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1918. p. 6748.
  38. ^ "No. 32346". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1921. p. 4534.
  39. ^ "No. 33390". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1928. p. 3850.
  40. ^ "No. 33898". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1932. p. 5.
  41. ^ "No. 37598". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1946. p. 2789.
  42. ^ File 34(3)-G/1944 IOR/R/1/4/327 1944–1945 UK National Archives website
  43. ^ "Boy Scouts of India website". Archived from the original on 22 October 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
  44. ^ Yad-e-Ayyam (Google cache version)
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