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'{{for|Azad Kashmir politician|Sikandar Hayat Khan (Azad Kashmir politician)}} {{short description|Indian politician and statesman (1892–1942)}} {{Use Pakistani English|date=July 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific-prefix = ''[[Khan Bahadur]]'' Captain | name = Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan | honorific-suffix = [[Order of the British Empire|KBE]], [[Order of the British Empire|MBE (Mil.)]] | image = File:Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan.png | image_size = | image_upright = | smallimage = <!--If this is specified, "image" should not be.--> | alt = | caption = | order = | office = [[Prime Minister of the Punjab|Premier of the Punjab]] | term_start = 5 April 1937 | term_end = 26 December 1942 | monarch = | president = | governor_general = | governor = | majority = | predecessor = Office established | successor = [[Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana]] | office2 = [[List of governors of Punjab (British India)|Governor of the Punjab]]<br><small>(Acting)</small> | term_start2 = 19 July 1932 | term_end2 = 19 October 1932 | term_start3 = 15 February 1934 | term_end3 = 9 June 1934 | monarch2 = | president2 = | governor_general2 = | governor2 = | majority2 = | predecessor2 = Sir [[Geoffrey Fitzhervey de Montmorency]] | successor2 = Sir Geoffrey Fitzhervey de Montmorency | predecessor3 = Sir [[Herbert William Emerson|Herbert Emerson]] | successor3 = Sir Herbert Emerson |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]] | birth_date = {{Birth date|1892|06|05|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Multan]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1942|12|26|1892|06|05|df=yes}} | death_place = [[Lahore]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]] | party = [[Unionist Party (Punjab)|Unionist Party]] | relatives = | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | alma_mater = [[University of the Punjab|Punjab University]] | allegiance = {{flag|British India}} | branch = [[British Indian Army]] | unit = [[67th Punjabis]] | serviceyears = 1916–1920 | rank = [[Captain (United Kingdom)|Captain]] | battles = [[World War I]] <br />[[Third Anglo-Afghan War]] }} ''[[Khan Bahadur]]'' Captain Sir '''Sikandar Hayat Khan''', [[Order of the British Empire|KBE]], [[Order of the British Empire|MBE (Mil.)]] (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="TFT">{{Cite news |last=Jeanne Zaino |date=6 January 2018 |title=The five rivers' famous son (Sikandar Hayat Khan) |work=The Friday Times (newspaper) |url=https://www.thefridaytimes.com/the-five-rivers-famous-son/ |access-date=7 July 2020}}</ref> ==Early life== He was born in [[Multan]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]] into the jat family' of cheema.<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> 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 against the 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 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> During the [[First World War]], he initially worked as a War Recruitment Officer in his native Attock district<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]]).<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> 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</ref> prior to returning to take on party leadership in the [[Punjab]] in 1936. ==Later life and career== 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]]. 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}}</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> 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 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 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 |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> 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" /> Trying to yoke together an impossible 'political mosaic'<ref>Letter, [[Lord Linlithgow]] to Sir [[Leo Amery]], 28 December 1942, British Library/IOR, Accession No. L/1/1/1427</ref> took a drastic toll on Khan's health, probably resulting in his early fatality. In a letter from [[Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow|Viceroy Linlithgow]] to Sir [[Leo Amery]] dated two days after Khan's death, the Viceroy offered a lengthy personal evaluation of Khan: {{quote|The real tragedy of the last couple days has been the sudden death of Sikandar. He had his faults, as you and I well know. He was a rather difficult person to rely on in a really tight corner, and on more than one occasion he had caused me serious embarrassment. But he had a really remarkable record of achievement, and his services both to the Punjab and to India were very great indeed... I always felt... that he had an extremely difficult hand to play in the Punjab and that was the most probable explanation of his apparent weakness. He has with great skill for a number of years kept together a delicate political mosaic and I am by no means [untroubled] as I write at the thought of what may happen, for Sikandar was well-known to be very non-communal in temper and outlook, and he had conciliated a far greater degree of general support in that most important Province than anyone whom I can think of as a possible successor is likely to manage to do.<ref>Letter, [[Lord Linlithgow]] to Sir [[Leo Amery]], 28 December 1942.Mansergh and Lumby (eds), ''Transfer of Power Documents'', London, 1971, Vol. III, p. 431.</ref>}} Khan died on the night between 25/26 December 1942, of a sudden heart failure, at his home. 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> <!--[[File:Sikandar Hyat Khan Burial Site.JPG|frame300px|Right|thumb|Burial Site of Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, Lahore]] PICT0033.jpg--> ==See also== * List of office bearers/presidents (1933–35) * [[World War II]] ==References== {{Reflist|2}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sikandar Hayat}}'