Malik Ghulam Muhammad
| CIE Sir Malik Ghulam Muhammad ملک غلام محمد | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 3rd Governor-General of Pakistan | |
|
In office 17 October 1951 – 7 August 1955 | |
| Monarch |
George VI Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister |
Khawaja Nazimuddin Muhammad Ali Bogra Chaudhry Muhammad Ali |
| Preceded by | Khawaja Nazimuddin |
| Succeeded by | Iskander Mirza |
| Minister of Finance | |
|
In office 15 August 1947 – 19 October 1951 | |
| Prime Minister | Liaquat Ali Khan |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Chaudhry Muhammad Ali |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
20 April 1895 Lahore, Punjab, British India (now in Punjab, Pakistan) |
| Died |
12 September 1956 (aged 61) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Political party | Independent |
| Alma mater | Aligarh Muslim University |
| Religion | Islam |
Malik Sir Ghulam Muhammad CIE (Urdu: ملک غلام محمد; 20 April 1895 – 12 September 1956) was a Pakistani civil servant who served as the third Governor-General of Pakistan from October 1951 until his dismissal in August 1955. He previously served as the country's first Finance Minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan.
Educated at Aligarh Muslim University,, Ghulam Muhammad worked as a chartered accountant before joining the Indian Railway Services as an auditor for India's Finance Ministry. He opted for Pakistan following independence, and was appointed the new country's first Finance Minister. He drafted Five-Year Plans for the economy in 1948, based on the Soviet model, but was unable to implement them due to lack of staff and sufficient materials. He also organized the International Islamic Economic Conference held at Karachi from November 26 to December 6,1949, and called for forming a pan-Islamic economic bloc of the Muslim countries.
Appointed Governor-General by Prime Minister Khwaja Nazimuddin in 1951, he grappled unsuccessfully with the Kashmir dispute with India and unrest in East Pakistan. Following anti-Ahmadi riots in Lahore in 1953, he declared martial law in the city under Lieutenant General Azam Khan. After the army quelled the riots, Ghulam Muhammad sacked Nazimuddin's government, helping Muhammad Ali Bogra replace him as Prime Minister. When Bogra attempted to lessen the powers of the Governor-General's office via parliament, Ghulam Muhammad dismissed the Constituent Assembly as well in 1954. Affected by paralysis, he took a leave of illness in 1955, and was himself dismissed by acting Governor-General Iskander Mirza. He died in Lahore the following year.
Ghulam Muhammad is viewed negatively by Pakistani historians, criticized for giving rise to political intrigue, undermining civilian control of the military by declaring martial law, and devaluing nascent democratic norms by sacking parliament.[1]
Family and education
Malik Ghulam Muhammad was born near Mochi Gate to a wealthy family on 20 April 1895. He belonged to the Kakazai tribe of Pashtuns,[2] and was related to another early Pakistani bureacurat Dr. Nazir Ahmed. He was raised in the walled city of Lahore, and graduated from a local high school. He was awarded a Bachelor of Accountancy from Aligarh Muslim University, where he also studied economics.
He is the maternal grandfather of Yousuf Salahuddin, and related by marriage to Allama Iqbal, Pakistan's national poet and philosopher.
Career in finance and accountancy
After graduating from Aligarh Muslim University, he co-founded Mahindra and Mohamed Steel Company in India with JC Mahindra and KC Mahindra (The Mahindra Brothers). The company later started manufacturing Willys jeeps in Mumbai under the name Mahindra & Mahindra in 1945.[3] Ghulam Muhammad helped establish the accounts and financial revenue of the company and served as its founding accountant. He went on to join the Indian Railway Accounts Service, serving first in the Indian Railway Board before working as the Controller of General Supplies and Purchase. For his services to the British government, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire (CIE) in the 1941 New Year Honours.[4]
After World War II, Ghulam Muhammad represented the Nawab of Bhawalpur at the Round Table Conferences, when he developed ties with Pakistan Movement leader Liaquat Ali Khan. He later served as advisor to the Nizam of Hyderabad, but left to join the Ministry of Finance in 1946. In the 1946 Birthday Honours, the last honours list in which Indian civil servants were honoured, he received a knighthood.[5] When Liaquat Ali Khan became first Finance Minister of India in 1946, Ghulam Muhammad assisted Khan in drafting and preparing India's first budget.
Finance Minister
On 14 August 1947, Ghulam Muhammad opted for Pakistan, settling in his native city of Lahore. He was appointed the country's first Finance Minister a day later. Initially, he drafted a highly centralised agenda for a planned economy, submitting the draft of the First Five-Year Plans in 1948. However, due to inadequate studies and staffing, the plans did not materialise and the programme collapsed soon after being launched. In 1949, Ghulam Muhammad invited leaders of the Muslim world to the International Islamic Economics Organization in Pakistan, where he emphasised the idea of a Muslim economic bloc. During the same time, he began suffering from ill health, and his condition worsened from 1949 onwards.
As Governor-General
One of Ghulam Muhammad's first duties was to represent Pakistan as Governor General at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II held in London in 1953. Ghulam Muhammad was present in Westminster Abbey alongside the other major Dominion Governors-General from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Ceylon.
In 1954, the Assembly of Pakistan tried to change the constitution to establish checks and balances on the Governor-General's powers. In response, Ghulam Muhammad dismissed the Constituent Assembly, an action that was challenged in the Sindh High Court by Maulvi Tamizuddin, the Speaker of the Assembly. The court's Justice Sir Georges Constantine ruled the Governor-General's decision illegal, but the ruling was overturned by Supreme Court of Pakistan, led by Chief Justice Muhammad Munir, in a split decision.
Historians consider this action the beginning of viceregal politics in Pakistan, in which the military and civil bureaucracy, not elected officials, would gain increasing influence over the country's policymaking.[6]
Dismissal and death
Ghulam Muhammad's health deteriorated, and he took a leave of absence in 1955. The acting Governor-General, Iskander Mirza, dismissed him, and Ghulam Muhammad died the next year in 1956.
References
- ↑ Ghulam Muhammad - Story of Pakistan, Retrieved 17 August 2015
- ↑ Ex-Governor General Ghulam Mohammad’s anniversary today, cnbcpakistan.com website, Retrieved 19 August 2015
- ↑ http://www.mahindra.com/Who-We-Are/How-We-Got-Here
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 35184. p. 3285. 6 June 1941. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 37598. p. 2757. 4 June 1946. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ↑ PAKISTAN: The New Dictatorship, TIME Magazine, 8 November 1954
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New office | Minister of Finance 1947–1951 |
Succeeded by Chaudhry Muhammad Ali |
| Preceded by Khawaja Nazimuddin |
Governor-General of Pakistan 1951–1955 |
Succeeded by Iskander Mirza |
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