Raja Amir Ahmad of Mahmudabad, who took up his father mission after his death in 1931 was a noteworthy and prosperous leader of Pakistan movement, who helped Muslim League financially in adverse circumstances. Jinnah appointed him the President of Muslim Student Federation that under his tireless and brilliant leadership played a key role for the referendum in NWFP and other general elections.
Raja Sahib provided monetary support to the leading newspaper ‘The Dawn’, which was the exclusive spokesman of League’s ideology. He also gave financial assistance to Chaudhry Khaliq-uz-Zaman’s daily ‘Tanveer-e-Lucknow’, ‘Humdum’ and Abdul Rauf Abbasi’s ‘Haq’ so as to project and popularize the League manifesto and party program among the Muslim masses. The vision of Raja Sahib about Pakistan was an Islamic welfare state to be established on the philosophy and teachings of Islam. But he was disheartened when he found that a few corrupt political leaders, landlords and bureaucrats put Pakistan on a wrong track in order to seek their personnel interests.
After the creation of Pakistan Raja Sahib accepted portfolio neither in League nor in the government of Pakistan. Subdued with love for Pakistan, he left his inherited lands yielding 40 lakhs per annum income only for Pakistan and went abroad to spend the rest of his life in adverse conditions. The one-time financial supporter of the Muslim League and his poor Muslim brethren was obliged after to make both ends meat. Therefore, he joined Islamic Center London as a director. The one-time owner of at least a dozen of servants then chose to become himself a servant but did not like to involve himself in any self-interested politics of post-partition Pakistan. President Ayub Khan wished to include him in the cabinet but he plainly refused and similarly did not accept the Presidentship of ‘Convention League’ that was offered by the Field Marshal, Muhammad Ayub Khan.
This prominently devoted Muslim leader died on October 16, 1973 at London and was buried at Mashhad Iran near the tomb of Imam Raza.
This article was last updated on Monday, Jan 01, 2007
