Sikandar Hayat Khan: Difference between revisions

| honorific-prefix = ''[[Khan Bahadur]]'' CaptainMajor Sir

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=small|sep=,|KBE|MBE}}

| office4 = 2nd [[Presidents of the Board of Control for Cricket in India|President of BCCI]]

| term_start4 = 1933

| term_end4 = 1935

| predecessor4 = [[R. E. Grant Govan]]

| successor4 = [[Hamidullah Khan]]

| rank = [[CaptainMajor (British Army and Royal Marinesrank)|CaptainMajor]]

| battles = [[World War I]] <br />[[Third Anglo-Afghan War]]

''[[Khan Bahadur]]'' Captain SirMajor '''Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=small|sep=,100%|KBE|MBE}} (5 June 1892 – 26 December 1942), also written '''Sikandar Hyat-Khan''' or '''Sikandar Hyat Khan''', was an Indian politician and statesman from the [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]] who served as the [[Prime Minister of the Punjab|Premier of the Punjab]], among other positions.<ref name="SOP>{{cite web|url=http://storyofpakistan.com/sir-sikandar-hayat-khan|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 October 2018|website=Story Of Pakistan website|title=Profile of Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan|access-date=16 January 2023|date=1 January 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022072944/http://storyofpakistan.com/sir-sikandar-hayat-khan}}</ref><ref name=TFT">{{Cite news |lastauthor=JeanneM. ZainoTauqir Alam |date=629 JanuaryMarch 20182023 |title=The fiveResolution rivers'Of famousMarch son23, (Sikandar1940: HayatOne Khan)Document Two Nations |worknewspaper=The Friday Times (newspaper) |url=https://www.thefridaytimes.com/29-Mar-2023/the-fiveresolution-riversof-famousmarch-son23-1940-one-document-two-nations|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 February 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221201212/https://thefridaytimes.com/29-Mar-2023/the-resolution-of-march-23-1940-one-document-two-nations |access-date=721 JulyFebruary 20202024}}</ref>

HeSikandar Hayat Khan was born in [[Multan]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British IndiaRaj]] in a Punjabi [[Rajput]] family.<ref>[[Charles Allen (writer)|Charles Allen]], ''Soldier-Sahibs'', London, 2000, p. 166</ref><ref>See Sir Sikander Hyat Khan: The Soldier-Statesman of the Punjab, A Special Memorial Volume, Lahore: Government of the Punjab, 1943, pp. 10–12.</ref><ref name=SOP/> His father was [[Nawab]] [[Muhammad Hayat Khan]], a civil servant and close associate of [[Sir Syed Ahmed Khan]], and his grandfather was Sardar Karam Khan, who died in battle fighting for the [[British Empire|British]] against the [[Sikh Empire|Sikhs]] in the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Talbot |first=Ian |title=Punjab and the Raj, 1849–1947 |date=1988 |publisher=Riverdale Company |isbn=0913215287}}</ref>

He was educated at schoolOriental Collegiate High School in [[Aligarh]] and later at [[Aligarh Muslim University]], and was sent to study medicine at [[King's College London]] in the [[United Kingdom]] but was recalled home by his family circa 1915.<ref>See ''Sir Sikander Hyat Khan: The Soldier-Statesman of the Punjab'', A Special Memorial Volume, Lahore: Government of the Punjab, 1943, pp. 10–12.</ref><ref name=SOP/>

During the [[First World War]], he initially worked as a War Recruitment Officer in his native [[Attock districtDistrict]]<ref>''Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan: The Soldier-Statesman of the Punjab'', p. 31.</ref> and later served as one of the first Indian officers to receive the King's Commission, with the [[67th Punjabis|2/67th Punjabis]] (later the [[2nd Punjab Regiment|1/2nd Punjab Regiment]]) where he was sent to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] in [[France]].<ref>See Field-Marshal Sir [[Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell|Archibald Percival Wavell]], later Lord Wavell, in ''Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan: The Soldier-Statesman of the Punjab'', pp. 33–34.</ref><ref>During World War 2, when serving as the Premier of the Punjab, Khan was given an honorary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel but this only temporary and in no way indicated actual military rank. See Wavell, above, p 34</ref> As a result of his distinguished services in the Great War and later, the [[Third Afghan War]], he was appointed a Member of the [[Order of the British Empire]], Military Division (MBE, Mil.) by the Government of [[British India]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=32001 |supp=y|page=8051|date=30 July 1920}}</ref><ref>See 'The Handbook of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire', 1921 ed</ref>

After 1920, Khan turned his talents to business and by dint of his financial acumen and managerial skills, soon became a director or managing director of several companies, including the Wah Tea Estate, The [[Amritsar]]-[[Kasur]] Railway Company, The People's Bank of Northern India, The [[Sialkot]]-[[Narowal]] Railway, The ACC Wah Portland Cement Company, the Wah Stone and Lime Company, Messrs. Owen Roberts, the Punjab Sugar Corporation Ltd, Messrs. Walter Locke & Co, The Lahore Electricity Supply Co and many others.<ref>Dr. Iftikhar H. Malik, "Sir Sikandar Hayat: A Political Biography", Islamabad: NIHCR, 1985, p. 12.</ref><ref name=SOP/> He also entered grassroots politics at this time, and remained an [[Magistrate|honorary magistrate]] and Chairman of the Attock [[District Board]].

Later, for a brief while he also remained the acting deputy-governor of the newly established [[Reserve Bank of India]] in 1935,<ref>He was also a member of its first Central board of directors, when the RBI was established in April 1935 on the recommendations of the Hilton-Young Commission of 1925–26. See the History section of the Official Website of the RBI http://www.rbi.org.in {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219113959/http://www.rbi.org.in/ |date=19 December 2010 }}</ref> prior to returning to take on party leadership in the [[Punjab]] in 1936.

In 1921, Khan was elected to the [[Punjab Legislative Assembly (British India)|Punjab Legislative Council]] and his effective political role now began, as he became one of the main leaders of the Punjab [[Unionist Party (Punjab)|Unionist Party]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mittal |first=S. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RKTigrrP1cC&q=Sikander+Hayat+Khan+led+the+Unionist+Party&pg=PA133 |title=Haryana: A historical perspective |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors |year=1986 |isbn=81-7156-083-0 |pages=133}}</ref>(later known as the [[Unionist Party (Punjab)|Unionist Party]]), an all-Punjab political party formed to represent the interests of the landed gentry and landlords of Punjab which included [[Muslims]], [[Sikhs]] and [[Hindus]].<ref name=SOP/>

After an outstanding period of political enterprise between 1924 and 1934,<ref>During which time he was also the first Indian native to have the unique distinction of being twice appointed as acting governor of the Punjab, in 1932 and then again in 1933–34.</ref><ref>Dr. Iftikhar H. Malik, pp. 41–46 for details</ref> he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Civil Division (KBE) in the [[1933 New Year Honours]] list.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33898 |supp=y|page=11|date=30 December 1932}}</ref><ref>also see Prof. Lajpat Nair, ''Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan: Politics'', Paper, Proceedings of the Institute for Current Affairs, Lahore, October 1943.</ref> he in due course took over leadership of the Unionist Party from Sir [[Fazli Husein]]. Khan led his party to victory in the 1937 elections, held under the [[Government of India Act 1935]] and then governed the Punjab as premier in coalition with the [[Sikh]] [[Akali Dal]] and the [[Indian National Congress]]. When Khan was the Unionist Premier, he extended the offer of Parliamentary Secretaryship to Ghazanfar Ali Khan, who became a strong backer of the Unionist Party in the assembly.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gilmartin |first=David |date=1 January 1979 |title=Religious Leadership and the Pakistan Movement in the Punjab |journal=Modern Asian Studies |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=485–517 |doi=10.1017/s0026749x00007228 |jstor=312311|s2cid=144573384 }}</ref> This government carried out many reforms for the better of the [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] ''Zamindar'' or [[agrarian community]]. When Indian farmers faced a crash of agricultural prices and economic distress in the late 1930s, Khan took further measures to alleviate their misery in the Punjab <ref>Inspired by the earlier example of his late father Nawab Muhammad Hayat Khan, who had played an instrumental role in helping the Punjab peasantry out of debt during the 1890s; see IH Malik, ''Sir Sikandar: A Political Biography'' aa</ref> – similar steps were also taken by A K Fazlul Huq, the premier of Bengal, in working to relieve the Bengali peasantry from crippling debts to private sources, using both legal and administrative measures.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bandyopadhyay |first=D. |date=1 January 2004 |title=Preventable Deaths |journal=Economic and Political Weekly |volume=39 |issue=30 |pages=3347–3348 |jstor=4415309}}</ref><ref name=SOP/>

Khan opposed the [[Quit India Movement]] of 1942,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ahmad |first=Syed Nesar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wzm36rEol3sC&q=Origins%20of%20Muslim%20consciousness%20in%20India&pg=PP1 |title=Origins of Muslim Consciousness in India: a world-system perspective |publisher=Greenwood Press |year=1991 |isbn=0-313-27331-6 |pages=179}}</ref> and supported the Allied powers during [[World War II]]. Khan believed in politically co-operating politically with the British for the independence of India and the unity of Punjab.<ref>Ahmad, aa</ref>

In 1937, soon after winning the general elections, confronted by internal pressure from many of his Muslim parliamentary colleagues and conscious of the need to maintain a balanced, equitable stance in a volatile and much-divided Punjabi political milieu,<ref> According to the first-hand account of Sir [[Penderel Moon]], who was then serving under Khan as a British ICS[[Indian Civil Service]] officer, in discussions in 1937 and 1938, Khan explained to him the vital need for (a) maintaining the unity and integrity of the Punjab as a whole, and (b) at the same time striking a 'fine balance' in ensuring the rights of all Punjabi communities and communal factions; and he opined that rather than let things slide into anarchy and chaos, he would try his level best to do his 'utmost' to keep talking and making necessary concessions to all sides. While well-intentioned, this was probably attempting too much in circumstances that were inevitably headed towards divisiveness and beyond his control. See Moon, ''Divide and Quit'', London: Chatto & Windus, 1962, pp. 19–20.</ref> Khan decided to also negotiate with the Muslim elements under the leadership of [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]].<ref>See Syed Amjad Ali, Memoirs, Lahore, 1985, p 278: the author said that 'Thanks to the agreement reached between Jinnah and Sir Sikandar in Lucknow, the dream of Pakistan became real. All Pakistanis today should be thankful to these two great Muslim leaders and their wisdom', 192 ; and Wolpert 1999, aa, where Wolpert states that 'The Punjab was more than just a bare Muslim majority [like Bengal] ; the Punjab meant Pakistan, made Pakistan possible', pp 150–51</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Heeger |first=Gerald A. |date=1 January 1972 |title=The Growth of the Congress Movement in Punjab, 1920–1940 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=39–51 |doi=10.2307/2053177 |jstor=2053177}}</ref> Khan and [[Jinnah]] signed the Jinnah-Sikandar Pact at [[Lucknow]] in October 1937, merging the [[Muslim]] elements of his powerful Unionist force with the [[All India Muslim League]], as a move towards reconciling the various Muslim elements in the Punjab and elsewhere in India, towards a common, united front for safeguarding their community rights and interests.<ref>Stanley Wolpert, ''Jinnah of Pakistan'', Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 150–151. {{ISBN|0-19-577389-6}}</ref> Within the agreement, Khan announced he was "advising all the Muslim members of the Unionist Party in Punjab to join the League."<ref>{{Cite journal |lasts2cid=Heeger154447365 |first=Gerald A. |date=1 January 1972 |title=The Growth of the Congress Movement in Punjab, 1920–1940 |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=39–51 |doi=10.2307/2053177 |jstor=2053177}}</ref> He was also later one of the chief supporters and architects of the [[Lahore Resolution]], March 1940, calling for an autonomous or semi-independent Muslim majority region within the larger Indian confederation.<ref>Syed Amjad Ali, aa; and IH Malik, aa</ref> Sikandar Hayat Khan, however, [[Opposition to the partition of India|opposed the partition of India]] and condemned "any reference to the 'Lahore Resolution' as the 'Pakistan Resolution'."<ref name="Mansingh2006">{{Cite book |last=Mansingh |first=Surjit |title=Historical Dictionary of India |date=2006 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=9780810865020 |language=en |quote=Both Sikandar Hayat Khan and his successor, Khizr Hayat Khan Tiwana, vehemently opposed the idea Partition when it was mooted in the early 1940s, partly because as Punjabi Muslims they did not agree with Jinnah on the need for a Pakistan and largely because the thought of partitioning Punjab, as an inevitable consequence, was so painful.}}</ref><ref name="Malik1985">{{Cite book |last=Malik |first=Iftikhar Haider |title=Sikandar Hayat Khan (1892–1942): a political biography |date=1985 |publisher=National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research |page=17 |language=en}}</ref> To Khan, the "partition meant disrupting the Punjab and the Unionist Party, and he was not prepared to accept this".<ref name="Malik1985" />

Khan died on the night between 25/26 December 1942, of a sudden heart failure, at his home.<ref name=SOP/> He is buried at the footsteps of the [[Badshahi Masjid]] in [[Lahore]].<ref>Dr Iftikhar H. Malik, ''Sir Sikandar Hayat: A Political Biography'', p. 97. Also see Omer Tarin, 'Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan and the Restoration of the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore', PHS digest, 1995, Vol2, pp 21–29</ref><ref>[https://www.dawn.com/news/591207/sir-sikandar-hayat-s-grave-victim-of-neglect Sir Sikandar Hayat's grave victim of neglect] Dawn (newspaper), Published 14 December 2010, Retrieved 7 July 2020</ref><ref name=SOP/>

*[[Shaukat Hayat Khan]], senior Muslim League leader and political figure. Remained MNA in the 1970s Assembly and as a opposition MNA played an important role for the drafting and approval of 1973s Pakistan constitution.

*[[Ghairat Hayat Khan]] administrator, philanthropist and Member of Majlis e Shura, {{citation needed|date=March 2022}}Pakistan

Among his grandchildren are [[Tariq Ali]], the British-Pakistani socialist writer and [[Yawar Hayat Khan]], former senior director/producer of PTV (Pakistan Television);. amongAnother grandson Sardar Sikandar Hayat, eldest son of Sardar [[Shaukat Hayat Khan]] participated actively in constituent politics and remained MPA twice from Fatehjang (Attock) and also served as provincial minister.

Among his great-grandchildren is the noted Pakistani poet and scholar Omer Tarin.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ilyas Khan |date=November 2011 |title=Interview of poet Omer Tarin |url=https://ilyask2.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/interview-with-poet-omer-tarin-2011/ |access-date=7 July 2020

[[Category:Indian Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]

[[Category:HistoryPoliticians offrom Punjab, Pakistan]]