Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan was one of the most influential politicians of the sub-continent. He played a key role in movements against the British Raj. Khan was the first Bengali to be the president of Pakistan's Constituent Assembly and the National Assembly of Pakistan. He also served as the acting President of Pakistan. We remember this great son of our soil on his 51st death anniversary.

Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan

Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan was born in 1889 in Faridpur district of Bangladesh (then East Bengal).
He graduated from Presidency College in English and then studied Law at Rippon College
During his student life he protested against the partition of Bengal and participated in boycotting the British product movement

Khan joined Faridpur bar and the Indian National Congress as he wanted to be a spokesman of rural Bengal
During the Khilfat movement in 1921 he took part in boycotting the British Courts and went to the extent of getting his brother out of a British school
Maulvi Tamizuddin was arrested for his political activities and sent to Faridpur jail and then shifted to Central Jail, Dhaka
After his release, when the British government wanted to give him the title of 'Khan Bahadur', he simply refused to accept it

Being banned from practicing in court, he migrated to Calcutta and spent some days as a cloth merchant
In 1926 Khan left Congress as he thought that the party was biased towards the Hindus
In the 1937 election, he contested on a Muslim League ticket and convincingly defeated the Congress candidate
Between 1937 and 1947, Khan served as the Minister of Health, Agriculture, Industries, and Education in Bengal

After the partition, he was elected as the Vice President of the Constituent Assembly of the Pakistan and later became the President of the assembly
Khan challenged the governor general's decision to dissolve the assembly but he was denied justice
His defeat in the court turned out to be the precedent of subsequent undemocratic takeover in Pakistan
All along his life Maulvi Tamizuddin never compromised with his principles
This great leader passed away on August 19, 1963 in Dhaka