Aligarians at the Helm (Hari Shankar)

Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan (1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951) was one of the leading Founding Fathers of Pakistan, statesman, lawyer, and political theorist. He served as the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. Also, he was the first Finance Minister of India, and minister of Commonwealth and Kashmir Affairs. He was educated at the Aligarh Muslim University in India, and then the Oxford University in the United Kingdom. He was an Islamic democracy political theorist who promoted the parliamentarism in India. After being invited by Indian National Congress, he opted for the Muslim League led by influential Mohammad Ali Jinnah who was advocating and determining to eradicate the injustices and ill treatment meted out to the Indian Muslims by the British government. He is Pakistan's longest serving Prime Minister spending 1,524 days in power, a record which has stood for 63 years to the present.

Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin (19 July 1894 – 22 October 1964) was one of the notable Bengali Founding Fathers of the modern state of Pakistan. He served as the second Governor-General of Pakistan from 1948 until the assassination of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951. Afterwards, Nazimuddin took the office of Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the second prime minister and first Bengali prime minister of the country. Born in Dacca, Bengal (now Dhaka, Bangladesh) he received his education from Dunstable Grammar School in England, then Aligarh Muslim University, and later Trinity Hall, Cambridge, until the mid-1930s. He was knighted in 1934.

Malik Ghulam Muhammad (20 April 1895 – 12 September 1956) commonly known as Ghulam Muhammad, was a notable chartered accountant who served as the first Finance minister of Pakistan and later, the third Governor-General of Pakistan. As Finance minister, he is credited for drafting and formulating the Soviet-style high centralized plans for the national economy, and presented the First Five-Years Plans in 1948. Hailing from Lahore, he was educated and graduated from the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

Fazal Elahi Chaudhry (January 1, 1904 – June 2, 1982), was the fifth President of Pakistan.

After the successful promulgation of country's constitution in 1973, Chaudhry was elected as the president, succeeded Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and became the first president of country from the Punjabi class of the Punjab Province. He joined the Pakistan permanent representative's delegation to the United Nations in 1951. After receiving his education from city of Kharian, Chaudhry joined the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University in 1920, receiving his LLB in Civil law in 1924.

Habibullah Khan Marwat (14 October 1901 - 5 December 1978) was a politician and former Peshawar High Court judge. In 1937, Habibullah Khan joined the Khaksar movement and worked in the North West Frontier Province. He was Interior Minister of Pakistan during Ayub Khan's regime and later served two terms as Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's administration.Habibullah Khan graduated from Aligarh Muslim University. He then opted for a career in law and became the first District and Sessions Judge of Peshawar High Court in 1947.

Zakir Hussain (February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was the 3rd President of India. An educationist and intellectual, Hussain was the country's first Muslim president. He previously served as Governor of Bihar from 1957 to 1962 and as Vice President of India from 1962 to 1967. Zakir Hussain was also co-founder of Jamia Milia Islamia, serving as its Vice Chancellor from 1928. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest national honour, in 1963. Zakir Hussain attended Islamia High School, Etawah, and was then educated at the Anglo-Muhammadan Oriental College, now Aligarh Muslim University, where he was a prominent student leader. He received his doctorate in economics from the University of Berlin in 1926.\

Mohammad Hamid Ansari (born 1 April 1937) is the 14th and current Vice President of India, in office since 2007. After Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Hamid Ansari is the only person to get elected for the post of Vice President of India at two consecutive terms. He also presently serves as President of the Indian Institute of Public Administration and Chancellor of Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Ansari worked as an ambassador and served as Vice-Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University from 2000 to 2002. Later he was Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities from 2006 to 2007. Ansari studied at the Aligarh Muslim University.

Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a five-star general officer and statesman, serving as the second President of Pakistan. He was enrolled at Aligarh Muslim University in 1922.

Muhammad Mansur Ali (1919 – November 3, 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician who was a close confidante of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh. A senior leader of the Awami League, Mansur also served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in 1975. He would pursue a M.A.degree in economics and law from the Aligarh Muslim University.

Al Ameer Mohamed Ameen Dhoshimeynaa Kilegefaanu (July 20, 1910 - January 19, 1954), popularly known as Mohamed Ameen Didi was a Maldivian political figure. He served as the first president of the Maldives and as the head of government between January 1, 1953 and August 21, 1953. He was an alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University.

Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah (5 December 1905 – 8 September 1982). Famed as Sher-e-Kashmir (the Lion of Kashmir) he was the leader of the National Conference, Kashmir's largest political party, and one of the most important political figures in the modern history of Jammu and Kashmir. He agitated against the rule of the Maharaja Hari Singh and urged self-rule for Kashmir. He was the Prime Minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir after its controversial accession to India in 1947. In 1930, he obtained an M.Sc. in Chemistry from Aligarh Muslim University.

Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar (June 13, 1899- February 14, 1958) was a Muslim League stalwart, Pakistan movement activist and later Pakistani politician. He was second Governor of Punjab, Pakistan. A man of deep religious convictions he also had a deep interest in Islamic mysticism. Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar remained member of Indian National Congress 1927-31.

He graduated from Edwardes College but later on completed his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Punjab University. He later went to Aligarh and received an LL.B with honours from Aligarh Muslim University in 1925.

Akhter Husain (1 March 1902 - 15 July 1983) was an eminent senior statesman and civil servant of Pakistan. He was appointed Governor of West Pakistan in September 1957 succeeding Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani and then continued in office during the regime of General Muhammad Ayub Khan until April 1960. He received his early education from Hakimia High School, Burhanpur before proceeding to MAO College at Aligarh, graduating later from Allahbad University. He was selected for the prestigious Indian Civil Service in 1924 and completed his education and training at St. John's College, Cambridge, England. Mr Husain served various other positions like Governor, Chairman of the Land Reforms Commission and Provincial Administration Committee, Pakistan. In 1959 he was awarded the high civil award of Hilal-e-Pakistan. He also laid the Pakistan Day Memorial foundation stone (now known as Minar-e-Pakistan) in the then Minto Park in Lahore on the 23 March 1960.

Mohammad Ali Ashraf Fatmi (born 1 January 1956) is a veteran political figure of India. He was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Darbhanga constituency of Bihar for 12 years. He was Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development from 2004 till 2009. He is also a 4-time MP from Darbhanga Bihar.

Arif Mohammad Khan (born 1951 in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh) is a former Indian Union minister. Educated at Jamia Millia School, Delhi, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh and Shia College, Lucknow University, he was the General Secretary, Aligarh Muslim University Students' Union from 1971 to 1972 and its President from 1972 to 1973.

Fazal Elahi Chaudhry (January 1, 1904 – June 2, 1982), was the fifth President of Pakistan, serving from 1973 until 1978, and further joined the Pakistan permanent representative's delegation to the United Nations in 1951.

Fazal Elahi Chaudhry was born on January 1, 1904 in an influential Gujjar family in Marala village, near the city of Kharian, Gujrat District in Punjab Province. After receiving his education from there, Chaudhry joined the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University in 1920, receiving his LLB in Civil law in 1924.

Humayun Rasheed Choudhury (11 November 1928 – 10 July 2001) was a career diplomat and speaker of the Bangladesh National Parliament (1996–2001). He was elected president of the 41st session of the UN General Assembly in 1986. Choudhury was fluent in Bengali, English, Urdu, French and Italian, and had a working knowledge of Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Indonesian. He was President of the Pakistan Students Federation in Great Britain and Europe and in that capacity organized the first Asian Students Conference in the United Kingdom. He obtained a graduate certificate of honour from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Massachusetts, United States.

During his diplomatic career he held various assignments in Rome, Baghdad, Paris Lisbon, Jakarta and New Delhi. He served as the Chief of the Bangladesh Mission in New Delhi in 1971-1972. He was the first Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1972. He was also the first Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Mr. Choudhury was also the first Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with concurrent accreditation to Jordan and Oman. After serving as Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1981-1982 he was appointed Ambassador to the United States in June 1982.

As a member or leader of his country's delegations, he attended the United Nations General Assembly session; the Islamic Summit Conference held in Taif, Saudi Arabia (1981); the Islamic Foreign Ministers' Conference in Tripoli (1977), Dakar (1978), Fez, Morocco (1979), Islamabad (1980) and Baghdad (1981); the North-South Summit-level dialogue held in Cancun, Mexico (1981); Meetings of the Islamic Summit-level Peace Committee to resolve disputes between Iran and Iraq; the extraordinary session on Afghanistan of the Islamic Foreign Ministers in Islamabad (1980); and the extraordinary session on Jerusalem of the Islamic Foreign Ministers held in Amman (1980)

In 1984 he was awarded the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Prize by the College of William and Mary in Virginia. He was awarded the U Thant Peace award posthumously.

Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988) also known as Fakhr-e Afghān (Pride of Afghans), Baacha Khan (Baacha in Pashto means King of Chiefs), Badshah Khan, Frontier Gandhi, was an independence activist of Pashtun descent. He was a political and spiritual leader known for his nonviolent opposition to the British Rajin British India. A close friend of Mahatma Gandhi, Bacha Khan has been called the "Frontier Gandhi" by the Indians. In November 1929, Bacha Khan founded the Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of God) movement, whose success triggered a harsh crackdown by the British Empire against him and his supporters. In 1962, Bacha Khan was named the Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience of the Year. In 1987, he became the first non-Indian to be awarded Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. Bacha Khan strongly opposed the All-India Muslim League's demand for the partition of India.

Ghaffar was the second son of Bahram to attend the British run Edward's mission school since this was the only fully functioning school because it was run by missionaries. He also attended Aligarh Muslim University.

Maulana Mohammad Ali Jouhar (10 December 1878 – 4 January 1931) Born in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, he was an Indian Muslim leader, activist, scholar, journalist and poet, and was among the leading figures of the Khilafat Movement. He was the sixth Muslim to become the President of Indian National Congress (At Kakinada --1923 ) and it lasted only for few months. He was one of the founders of the All-India Muslim Leagueand he was also the former president of the All India Muslim League. Jouhar attended the Darul Uloom Deoband, Aligarh Muslim University and, in 1898, Lincoln College, Oxford University, studying modern history. Upon his return to India, he served as education director for the Rampur state, and later joined the Baroda civil service. He launched the Urdu weekly Hamdard and English The Comrade in 1911. He worked hard to expand the AMU, then known as the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College, and was one of the co-founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia in 1920 at AMU. Mohsinul Mulk Hall has one hostel named after this versatile personality.

Mohsina Kidwai (born 1 January 1932) is a leader of Indian National Congress party.Currently she is a member of Rajya Sabha, elected from Chhattisgarh. She is a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the Highest decision-making body of the Indian Congress Party as well as the All India Congress Committee (A.I.C.C.) She did her Intermediate from Women's College, Aligarh, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh. Her services to Indian polity can not be traced over here on this short piece of paper.

Rafi Ahmed Kidwai (18 February 1894 - 24 October 1954) was a politician, an Indian independence activist and a socialist, sometimes described as an Islamic socialist.

He attended the Mohammadan Anglo-Oriental College, Aligarh, where he graduated BA in 1918. After attending Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College in Aligarh, Kidwai entered politics through the Khilafat movement.After India gained independence from the British Raj in 1947, Kidwai became India's first Minister for Communications. Aligarh Muslim University has its Agriculture Sciences institute named after this great visionary. Rafi Ahmad Kidwai Institute of Agriculture Sciences has state-of-the-art campus in AMU.

Saleem Iqbal Shervani (born 22 March 1953) has been with Indian National Congress for most of his career. He represented Badaun constituency in Uttar Pradesh in the 8th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th Lok Sabhas. A close ally of Rajiv Gandhi, he was the Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare from 1996 to 1997 and the Union Minister of State for External Affairs from 1997 to 1998 in the government led by the Prime Minister Gujral.

Syeda Anwara Taimur (born 24 November 1936) was the chief minister of the Indian state of Assam from 6 December 1980 to 30 June 1981. She is a leader of the Indian National Congress party in Assam and a member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). In the history of Assam, she is the only female and Muslim Chief Minister of the state. She was an elected member of the Assam Assembly (MLA) in 1972, 1978, 1983, and 1991. In 1988 she was nominated to the Indian Parliament (Rajya Sabha). In 1991 she was appointed to the post of Minister for Agriculture in Assam.

*Author is pursuing Masters in Public Administration at Department of Political Science, AMU.