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Khawaja Nazimuddin (Bangla:খাজা নাজিমুদ্দীন)(July 19, 1894 - 1964) was the second Governor-General of Pakistan, and later the second Prime Minister of Pakistan as well.
He was born in Dhaka, Bengal (now in Bangladesh) into the family of the Nawabs of Dhaka. He received his education from Aligarh Muslim University, and later Trinity Hall, Cambridge until the mid-1930s.
After returning to the subcontinent, he became involved in politics in his native Bengal. Nazimuddin was initially the Education Minister, but climbed the ranks to become the Chief Minister of the province prior to partition. Nazimuddin also became the head of the Muslim League in Eastern India.
Upon the formation of Pakistan, he became an important part of the early government. After the early death of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Nazimuddin succeeded him as the Governor General of Pakistan. At this point in time, the position was largely ceremonial, and executive power rested with the Prime Minister. The first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in 1951, and Nazimuddin stepped in to replace him.
During Nazimuddin's time as Prime Minister, Pakistan saw a growing rift within the Muslim League, especially between Punjabi and Bengali groups, as those were the two largest ethnic groups of Pakistan, but were separated by India. On 21 February, 1952, a demonstration in the Language movement demanding equal and official status to Bangla language turned bloody, with many fatalities caused by police firings. During his reign, a framework was begun for a constitution that would allow Pakistan to become a republic, and end its Dominion status. Progress was made, but Nazimuddin's time as Prime Minister would be cut short in 1953.
In 1953, a religious movement began to agitate for the removal of the Ahmadi religious minority from power positions, and demanded a declaration of this minority as non-Muslims. Nazimuddin resisted such pressures; but riots broke out in The Punjab against both the government and followers of this religious minority. Nazimuddin responded by changing the governor of that province to Feroz Khan Noon, but the desicion came late.
Ghulam Muhammad, the Governor-General, asked the Prime Minister to step down. Khawaja Nazimuddin refused, but Ghulam Muhammad got his way by invoking a reserve power that allowed him to dismiss the Prime Minister. The Chief Justice,Muhammad Munir, of the "Federal Court of Pakistan" (now named as the Supreme Court of Pakistan), did not rule on the legality of the dismissal, but instead forced new elections. The new prime-minister was another Bengali born statesman, Muhammad Ali Bogra.
The dismissal of Nazimuddin, the Prime Minister, by the Governor-General, Muhammad, signaled a troubling trend in Pakistani political history.
| Preceded byMohammad Ali Jinnah | Governor-General of Pakistan 1948–1951 |
Succeeded byGhulam Muhammad |
| Preceded byLiaquat Ali Khan | Prime Minister of Pakistan 1951–1953 |
Succeeded byMuhammad Ali Bogra |
See also