Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar | |
|---|---|
ابراہیم اسماعیل چندریگر | |
 | |
| 6th Prime Minister of Pakistan | |
| In office 17 October 1957 – 11 December 1957 | |
| President | Iskander Mirza |
| Preceded by | Huseyn Suhrawardy |
| Succeeded by | Feroze Khan |
| Minister of Law and Justice | |
| In office 12 August 1955 – 9 August 1957 | |
| Prime Minister | H. S. Suhrawardy (1956–57) Muhammad Ali (1955–56) |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 16 December 1957 – 23 March 1956[citation needed] | |
| Preceded by | Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy |
| Succeeded by | Sardar Bahadur Khan |
| Governor of West Punjab | |
| In office 24 November 1951 – 2 May 1953 | |
| Chief Minister | M. Daultana |
| Preceded by | Abdur Rab Nishtar |
| Succeeded by | M. Aminuddin |
| Governor of North-West Frontier Province | |
| In office 17 February 1950 – 23 November 1951 | |
| Chief Minister | A. Q. Khan |
| Preceded by | Mohammad Khurshid |
| Succeeded by | Khwaja Shahabuddin |
| Pakistani Ambassador to Afghanistan | |
| In office 1 May 1948 – 17 February 1950 | |
| Prime Minister | Liaquat Ali Khan |
| Minister of Commerce and Trade | |
| In office 15 August 1947 – 1 May 1948 | |
| Prime Minister | Liaquat Ali Khan |
| Minister of Commerce and Industry | |
| In office 2 September 1946 – 15 August 1947 | |
| President | List
|
| Vice President | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| Preceded by | Post created |
| Succeeded by | Syama Prasad Mukherjee |
| Member of theBombay Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 1937 – 1 September 1946 | |
| Governor | List
|
| Parliamentary group | Muslim League (Nationalist Group) |
| Constituency | Muhammadan Urban |
| Majority | Muslim League |
| President of Pakistan Muslim League | |
| In office 17 October 1957 – 11 December 1957 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Ali |
| Succeeded by | Nurul Amin (Took presidency in 1967) |
| President of theSupreme Court Bar Association | |
| In office 1958–1960 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar (1897-09-15)15 September 1897[1] |
| Died | 26 September 1960(1960-09-26) (aged 63) |
| Cause of death | Haemorrhage |
| Resting place | Karachi,Sindh,Pakistan |
| Citizenship | British India (1897–47) Pakistan (1947–60) |
| Political party | Muslim League (1936-1960) |
| Children | 3 sons, includingAbdullah,[2]Abu Bakr,[2] and Iqbal. |
| Alma mater | University of Bombay (BA inPhil. andLLB) |
| Profession | Lawyer, diplomat |
| Website | I. I. Chundrigar Official website |
Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar[a] (15 September 1897 – 26 September 1960) was a Pakistani politician who served as the sixthprime minister of Pakistan, appointed in this capacity on 17 October 1957. He resigned due to avote of no confidence on 11 December 1957, against him.[1]
He was trained inconstitutional law at theUniversity of Bombay and was one of theFounding Fathers of theDominion of Pakistan. Having served for just 55 days, Chundrigar's tenure is the third shortest served in theparliamentary history ofPakistan, after those ofShujaat Hussain andNurul Amin, who served as prime minister for 54 and 13 days, respectively.[3][4]
Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar, aMuhajir, was born inGodhra, Gujarat, inIndia on 15 September 1897.[1][5][disputed –discuss] He was an only child.[6]
Chundrigar moved toBombay for his higher studies. He attended theUniversity of Bombay where he earned aBA degree, and later theLLB degree in 1920.[7][8] From 1929 till 1932, Chundrigar was a lawyer for theAhmedabad Municipal Corporation.[9]
From 1932 until 1937, Chundrigar practicedcivil law, and moved to practice and read law at theBombay High Court in 1937, where he established his reputation.[8] During this time, he became acquainted withMuhammad Ali Jinnah, sharing similar ideology and political views.[6]
In 1935, Chundrigar was chosen by theMuslim League to give a response to theGovernment of India Act 1935 introduced by theBritish government inIndia. Notably, concerning the role of the Governor-General as head of state, Chundrigar denied that the Governor-General enjoyed the powers supposedly granted by the Act.[10]
From 1937 till 1946, Chundrigar practiced in the Bombay High Court.[9]
Chundrigar stood for theBombay Legislative Assembly as a Muslim League candidate in the1937 provincial elections, and was elected from the Ahmedabad district rural constituency. From 1940 to 1945, he was president of the Bombay provincial Muslim League.[1][11]
In 1946, he was elected to the assembly from a Muslim urban constituency in Ahmedabad.[12] He was appointedCommerce Minister under thepresidential administrations of theViceroys of India,Archibald Wavell (1946) andLouis Mountbatten (1946-47).[7] Peter Lyon, areader emeritus in international relations, described Chundrigar as a "close supporter" of Mohammad Ali Jinnah in thePakistan Movement.[13]
After thepartition of India by theact of theBritish Empire thatestablished Pakistan, Chundrigar endorsedLiaquat Ali Khan's bid for thepremiership[citation needed] and was retained as thecommerce minister in the administration of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan on 15 August 1947.[14]
In May 1948, Chundrigar left theCommerce Ministry and was appointedPakistan's Ambassador to Afghanistan.[15][16] Although his appointment was favorably received in Afghanistan, Chundrigar was at odds with theAfghan government (supported by India as early as 1949) overthe issue of Pakistan'snorth-west border with Afghanistan.[17]
Chundrigar's tenure as ambassador was short. He was recalled to Pakistan by theForeign Office, which viewed his inability to understand thePashtun culture as a possible factor in fracturingAfghan-Pakistan relations.[18] In 1950, Chundrigar was appointedgovernor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, a position he held until 1951.[7] ACabinet reshuffle in 1951 allowed him to be appointed thegovernor of Punjab but he resigned in 1953 due to differences with Governor-GeneralM.G. Muhammad when he enforcedmartial law at the request of Prime MinisterK. Nazimuddin to controlviolent religious riots that occurred in Lahore, Pakistan.[3]
In 1955, Chundrigar was invited to join thecentral government of a three-party coalition: theAwami League, theMuslim League, and theRepublican Party.[3] He was appointedminister of law and justice.[19] During this time, he also acted as aleader of the opposition.[20]
At theNational Assembly, he established his reputation as more of a constitutional lawyer than a politician, and gained a lot of prominence in public for his arguments in favour ofparliamentarianism when he pleaded the case of"Maulvi Tamizuddin vs. Federation of Pakistan".[7]
After the resignation ofPrime Minister Suhrawardy in 1957, Chundrigar was nominated as thePrime Minister and was supported by the Awami League, theKrishak Sramik Party, theNizem-i-Islam Party, and the Republican Party.[21] However, this coalition of mixed parties weakened Chundrigar's authority to run thecentral government, and divisions within the coalition would soon hamper his efforts to amend theElectoral College.[7] On 18 October 1957, Chundrigar became thePrime Minister of Pakistan, receiving hisoath of office fromChief JusticeM. Munir.[21]
At the first session of theNational Assembly, Chundrigar presented his plan to reform theElectoral College which was met with great parliamentary opposition by even his Cabinet ministers from the Republican Party and the Awami League.[22][21] With the Republican Party leaders—party presidentFeroz Khan andPresident of PakistanIskander Mirza—exploiting and manipulating the opponents of theMuslim League, a successful vote of no-confidence in the National Assembly led by the Republicans and the Awami Party effectively ended Chundrigar's term. He resigned on 11 December 1957.[22][21]
Chundrigar served the third-shortest term of any Prime Minister in Pakistan: 17 October 1957 – 11 December 1957, 55 days into his term.[4][3]
In 1958, Chundrigar was appointed president of theSupreme Court Bar Association, a position he held until his death.[2] In 1960, Chundrigar traveled toHamburg where he addressed the International Law Conference and suffered ahemorrhage while visiting inLondon.[2] For treatment, he was taken to theRoyal Northern Hospital and suddenly died.[2] His body was brought back toKarachi inPakistan, where he was buried in alocal cemetery.[2]
In his honour, thegovernment of Pakistan renamedMcLeod Road inKarachi after him.[23]
Chundrigar ... hailed from Godhra in Gujarat
The only child of his parents ... in total consonance with Mr. Jinnah's vision
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| Preceded by | Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 1950–1951 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of Punjab 1951–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Pakistan 1957 | Succeeded by |
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