Sole Leadership
The services rendered by Nawab M. Ismail Khan for the cause of freedom were great indeed. His wisdom, sagacity and above all his sincerity had won him a place in the All-India Muslim League and its Working Committee as second only to that of Quaid-i-Azam, (Muhammad Ali Jinnah). In the void of M. A. Jinnah's absence from the country to attend the Round Table Conference in London, the sole leadership of the Indian Muslims fell in the hands of Nawab Sahib; who was the President of the All Parties Muslim Conference. Upon M.A. Jinnah's return from London, he decided to re-organise the Muslim League. During his programmes of re-organisation, Nawab M. Ismail Khan was his closest counsellor.
It was a known fact that Nawab M. Ismail Khan was an independent opinionated leader who never hesitated to speak his mind even if it meant disagreeing with Mr. Jinnah. There was once an episode in which Mr. Jinnah took exception to Nawab M. Ismail Khan’s correspondence with Jawaharlal Nehru – Nawab Sahib's response was an immediate resignation from the Working Committee. It was something which the Quaid had not expected and was thus taken aback by. After much persuasion by Liaquat Ali Khan, Nawab M. Ismail Khan agreed to meet Mr. Jinnah; not at his personal residence but elsewhere. In fact, they rendezvoused at Gul-e-Rana, so that the Quaid could appease the Nawab. This episode would make very interesting reading for scholars of the Pakistan Movement. Many such letters addressed to Mr. Jinnah as well as those written to Nawab M. Ismail Khan reveal his true position in the All-India Muslim League and the pivotal role that he played in the creation of Pakistan.
Through this renovation the Muslim League received a new shape, a new life and a new programme which was both appealing and revolutionary — revolutionary because it now demanded drastic reforms and, more particularly, because it soon passed (March 23, 1940) the epoch-making Pakistan Resolution.
It was the Nawab Sahib who with his illustrious colleagues like Chaudhri Khaliquzzaman and Quaid-i-Millat, kept the Muslim banner aloft in the United Provinces - which was the home of such staunch Muslim Congressites as Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Maulana Hussain Ahmed Madani and Hafiz Ibrahim and of such rabid Hindus as Parshuttam Das Tandon, Madon Mohan Malaviya and Sampurananand.
Read more about this topic: Mohammad Ismail Khan (Indian Politician)
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