Choudhary Rahmat Ali
| Chaudhry Rahmat Ali Gujjar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 November 1895 Balachaur, Hoshiarpur District Punjab, British India |
| Died | 3 February 1951 (aged 55) Cambridge, England, United Kingdom |
| Other names | Naqash-e-Pakistan, Creator "Pakistan" word |
| Religion | Islam |
| Movement | Pakistan National Movement |
| Notable work(s) | Now or Never |
Chaudhry Rehmat Ali (In Punjabi and Urdu: چودھری رحمت علی) (16 November 1895 – 3 February 1951) was a Pakistani Punjabi Muslim nationalist who was one of the earliest proponents of the creation of the state of Pakistan. He is credited with creating the name "Pakistan" for a separate Muslim homeland in South Asia and is generally known as the founder of the movement for its creation. He is best known as the author of a famous 1933 pamphlet titled "Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever", also known as the Pakistan Declaration. The pamphlet started with a famous statement:
"At this solemn hour in the history of India, when British and Indian statesmen are laying the foundations of a Federal Constitution for that land, we address this appeal to you, in the name of our common heritage, on behalf of our thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKSTAN – by which we mean the five Northern units of India, Viz: Punjab, North-West Frontier Province (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sindh and Baluchistan."
Ali was born into a Punjabi Gujjar family with Gorsi clan in the town of Balachaur in Hoshiarpur District of Punjab India. After graduating from Islamia Madrassa Lahore in 1918, he taught at Aitchison College Lahore before joining Punjab University to study law. In 1930 he moved to England to join Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1931. In 1933, he published a pamphlet, , coining the word Pakistan for the first time. In 1933, he founded Pakistan National Movement in England. Subsequently, he obtained a BA degree in 1933 and MA in 1940 from the University of Cambridge. In 1943, he was called to the Bar, from Middle Temple, London. Until 1947, he continued publishing various booklets about his vision for South Asia. The final Partition of India disillusioned him due to the mass killings and mass migrations it ended up producing. He was also dissatisfied with the distribution of areas among the two countries and considered it a major reason for the disturbances.
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