Mian Tufail Mohammad

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Mian Tufail Mohammad
Mian Tufail Mohammad

Mian Tufail Mohammad (Urdu: میاں طفيل محمد) (born April 1914) is a Pakistani political leader.

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[edit] Early life and education

Mian Tufail Mohammad was born in Kapurthala, (Jalandhar, India) in an Arain family. He received his B.A. (Hons) in Physics and Mathematics from Government College, Lahore, with distinction in 1935 and completed his LL.B. (specializing in witness and land laws) in 1937 from the University Law College, Lahore, securing Second position. For his religious orientation, he owes much to Sayyid Abul A'ala Maududi and Maulana Amin Ehsan Islahi for taking his lessons in Qur'an and Hadith.

He started his career as a Lawyer, working as junior to Justice Mohammad Sharif in 1938 in Jalandhar, but moved to his Kapurthala State after one year. He was the first Muslim lawyer of the princely State.

[edit] Political activities

When the Jamaat political party was founded in August 1941, Mian Tufail Muhammad was one of its 75 founding members. He left law practice on 23 January 1942 and joined a relative in business in Lahore. His vehemence and intense zeal for the Islamic movement were noticed. In the All India Conference of the Jama'at in March, 1944, he was appointed the first permanent Secretary General (Qayyam) of the party. He immediately abandoned his business in Lahore and moved to Pathankot. From that moment on, he was always in company of Sayyed Mawdudi—attached to him physically and emotionally.

Except for the periods when he was put in jail, he worked as Secretary General of the Jama'at till 1965. From January 1966 to 1972 he was Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami in West Pakistan. In between, he also assumed the position of Ameer-e-Jama'at of Pakistan when occasion so demanded, particularly when Sayyed Mawdudi was ill and on leave.

When Sayyed Mawdudi resigned as Ameer-e-Jama'at of Pakistan in October 1972, for health reasons, Mian Tufail Mohammad was elected as Ameer for five years. He was also elected for two more terms. In 1987 he declined further service in the post because of a long ailment, and Qazi Hussain Ahmad was elected to the top position. Mian Sahib confined himself to research work of the Idara-e-Ma'arif-e-Islamia in Mansoorah, Lahore.

[edit] Agitation for democracy

During the Ayub era, nine prominent leaders belonging to different political parties were tried for mutiny under the Official Secret Act. Actually, they had decided to initiate a democratic movement; Mian Sahib was one of the nine. The trial lingered on for two years. Ultimately, the case was taken back by the government, on the grounds of that there was no evidence whatsoever.

In 1965, the joint opposition was organized. Mian Sahib was one of its central leaders. Along with other leaders of the C.O.P., Mian Tufail Mohammad extensively toured the two wings of the country (East and West Pakistan) to create mass awareness and organize a strong national democratic movement. That was the movement which gave the first big upset to Ayub's dictatorial rule. Mian Sahib then actively represented the Jama'at during the post-Tashkent period, in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and Democratic Action Committee (DAC). The result of these movements was the termination of Ayub rule in 1969 and the first ever general elections in the country in 1970.

During July-August 1971—a period that no political leader from West Pakistan would normally dare step in East Pakistan—Mian Sahib was busy combing through road (?) and took the message of unity and Islamic brotherhood to various parts in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

[edit] U.D.F. and United Democratic Mahaz/Pakistan National Alliance

Mian Tufail Mohammad's played a central role in the foundation of the U.D.F. in March 1973 and the United Democratic Mahaz/Pakistan National Alliance in January 1977. The Front (?) agreed with the Bhutto government on the 1973 Constitution. However, later PNA played in the hands of army to provide an excuse to Zia-ul-Haq to end Bhutto's rule in 1977.

[edit] Later career

Like Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Mian Sahib also did not have much time for literary activities. Yet some of his works are widely hailed. The Urdu rendition of 'Kashaf-al-Mahjub' and Dawat-e-Islami and Its Demands' (Urdu) co-authored with Sayyed Mawdudi and Amin Ehsan Islahi, are the prominent pieces. His articles and interviews to press are numerous and cover most scholarly and political topics.

Invited by different world Islamic Movements, he has visited UK (1974), U.S. and Canada (1974), Iraq, Saudi Arabia (1975) and many more countries. He has been specially associated with 'Rabita-al-Aalam-e-Islami' and the 'Aalami Masajid Conference'; of the latter he has been one of 26 members. In 1976 he participated in the Islamic Fiqh Conference.

[edit] Books

  • Kashful Mahjub: An Urdu commentary
  • Daw'at-e-Islami and Its Demands (Urdu)

[edit] See also

Party political offices
Preceded by
Abul Ala Maududi		 Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami
1972 – 1987		 Succeeded by
Qazi Hussain Ahmad