Fazl-i-Husain (1877–1937) is credited with transforming the Punjab into a modern Muslim province during the British Raj. He introduced projects for the development and well-being of the Punjabis. While serving as a minister for education, as a member of Board of Revenue, and as a member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council (for education, health and lands), he introduced valuable reforms and important legislative measures to protect the interests of the Punjabis in general and agrarian communities of the Punjab in particular.

Rather than seeking isolation from the British, Husain, following in the footsteps of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (the father of the modern Muslim India), cooperated with the Raj. He set up the Rural Bloc to protect the rights of rural communities of the province. This Rural Bloc later on led to the formation of the Punjab National Unionist Party in 1923—that was aimed at ensuring the success of diarchy in the Punjab, attaining the dominion status for India and preservation of Punjab Land Alienation Act as a measure to protect the interests of the backward classes, mainly rural.

Acknowledging his services for the Punjabis, Lord Linlithgow, the governor-general and viceroy of India from 1936 to 1943, while laying the foundation stone of Fazl-i-Husain Memorial Library in Government College Lahore on October 26, 1937 uttered: “In thinking of him today we think of a great politician, a great educationist, a great Punjabi, a great Mussalman, and most important of all, a great Indian.” Sir HD Craik, the then governor of the Punjab, addressing the opening ceremony of the Fazl-i-Husain Memorial Library corroborated the words of Linlithgow by saying that “He (Fazl-i-Husain) was a great enthusiast of the advancement of his country, his province and his community.”

Born in a leading Rajput Bhatti family of Sialkot—that had migrated to the Punjab from Bikaner and Jaisalmer in sixteenth century AD, MianFazl-i-Husain studied at Government High School, Peshawar, and Government College, Lahore. After receiving his bachelor of arts degree from Government College, Lahore, in 1897, he, on the advice of Professor Sir TW Arnold, went to England and got admission in Christ’s College at Cambridge University. Milton’s Areopagitica, Mill’s Liberty and Mazzini’s Duties of Man influenced him and directed him to appreciate the value of individual liberty that, to him, was sine qua non of a civilised society. Thus he trained himself in self-denial and sacrifice for the lesser that strengthened his personality.

On returning home from England after completing his Bar-at-Law in 1901, he got himself enrolled at the Punjab Chief Court. He was quite successful in the early years of his career and earned a reputation for being a professional lawyer. This is verified by his son and biographer, Azim Husain, who writes that “with three cases in his first month all of which he won Fazl-i-Husain began well as a lawyer, and could be hopeful about his future.”

After practicing law for a few years at Sialkot, he moved to Lahore, where he started contributing his opinions to the Observer and; once, when his friend Shaikh (later Sir) Abdul Qadir was away at Calcutta, he also served as editor of the Observer and wrote editorials highlighting various socio-economic and political issues confronting the Muslims of the Punjab. He also contributed to Makhzan, a leading contemporary literary Urdu magazine, by writing serious articles on education, social reform, philosophy and politics.

Following in the footsteps of his father who had established various chapters of Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam, Lahore, and opened schools under its auspices at Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Abbotabad and Batala, MianFazl-i-Husain was highly interested in regenerating Indian Muslims generally and Punjabis particularly by promoting organisation (tanzim) and education. Therefore, while in Sialkot, he had connected with community work and with the Anjuman.

When Muslim community of Sialkot was divided over Hakim Mir Hissam-ud-Din’s—who was mutawalli of a mosque—inclinations towards Ahmadiya sect, he intervened, and by avoiding the option of civil suit, established a local branch of Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam and entrusted the responsibility for management of the disputed mosque to this organisation.

This drew his attention towards not only looking after but also educating the orphans. For this purpose, he, with the help of the Anjuman, founded a Madrassa-tul-Quran and donated resources as well as books to its library. This was the beginning of his lifelong attachment to Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam that continued during his stay at Lahore. He served this leading organisation of Punjabi Muslims in various capacities.

His journey of establishing and promoting organisations, for the well-being of Punjabi communities, did not stop here. He is credited with establishing “Muslim League”—limited to Punjab province only—that only a few people might know about. The backdrop to the founding of this organisation lay in the factionalism in Anjuman-i-Himayat-i-Islam, Lahore.

The Anjuman was divided into two factions: one that was inspired by Mian Shah Din, who, following the strict tradition of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, wanted to keep Muslims away from active involvement in politics; and second, that was inspired by Mian Fazl-i-Husain, who held progressive views and wanted Muslims to participate actively in the politics. That is why he had to establish the “Muslim League” in February 1906, with the help of likeminded leading Punjabi Muslims of Lahore, in order to provide an institutional and organisational platform to the Muslims.

This organisation started losing its effectiveness and deviating from its aims and objectives mainly due to the differences between Mian Fazl-i-Husain and Mian Shah Din. The point of the matter was that Fazl-i-Husain, while being a leader of the “progressive” group of Punjabi Muslims that included Pir Taj-ud-Din, Malik Barkat Ali, Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal, Khalifa Shuja-ud-Din, Chaudhary Shahab-ud-Din and Ghulam Bhik Nairang, wanted Mian Muhammad Shafi to be the president of Provincial Muslim League.

During World War I, mainly through Turkey’s decision to side with Germany, anti-British feelings among the Muslims intensified. This brought the All India Muslim League closer to the Indian National Congress—that resulted in Lucknow Pact. This proved beneficial for Fazl-i-Husain and his progressive group who were advocates of communal harmony in the Punjab. They held a meeting at Barkat Ali Muhammadan Hall in Lahore and denounced the leadership of Mian Muhammad Shafi and announced the formation of a new Punjab Muslim League. As a result of these developments, Fazl-i-Husain became president of Provincial Congress and general secretary of Muslim League.

His decision, of moving from Sialkot to Lahore, provided him with an opportunity to collaborate with the University of the Punjab, the Education Department of the Government of Punjab and the Anjuman—and he followed this line of action throughout his life. The Government of Punjab nominated him as a member of the Punjab Text Book Committee and the University of Punjab nominated him as Fellow of the university. Later on, he was elected as secretary of the Faculty of Oriental Learning in 1913 and Faculty of Law in 1915. His immersion in education for the uplift of community reached its zenith when he became minister for education in the Punjab in 1922.

After assuming the responsibility as a minister for education, Fazl-i-Husain intensified his efforts for uplift of education in the Punjab. He initiated a four-fold programme of expansion, economy, efficiency and equality in the field of education. Because of these reforms, Punjab moved from the group of most backward provinces to the group of most advanced provinces of British India.

Moreover, he remained committed to promoting non-denominational institutions rather than maktabs and madressahs. It was in recognition of his services for education that the Government College, Lahore’s library (Mian Fazl-i-Husain Memorial Library) was established in his name.

Michael O’Dwyer acknowledged and appreciated his contributions, in the field of education, in the following words: “His industry and great ability made him a most valuable member of the Education Select Committee, and his advice and knowledge were of enormous value in framing and carrying through the Bill for Compulsory Primary Education in 1918-19. That Bill, the first of its kind in India, was based on local option of the Municipal and District Boards concerned, and its successful passage was mainly due to two men, Sir Fazl-i-Husain and Mr Ritchie, the DPI. It paved the way for the great development of primary education in later years when Sir Fazl-i-Husain was minister of education and the Punjab—especially the rural Punjab—is under a very deep obligation to him for that remarkable achievement.”

In addition to rendering services in the education sector, he attached utmost importance to local self-government institutions for the future political development of the province. He not only reformed District Boards as valuable instruments of rural self-government but also recalled the almost forgotten recommendations of the Decentralisation Committee of 1908 and contributed to creating statutory panchayats through the Punjab Panchayat Act of 1921. This Act reformed and bettered the local self-government institutions.

Being a member of Board of Revenue between 1926 and 1930, he protected peasants’ interests against government demands and economic parasites like the moneylenders. He regarded the Land Alienation Act of 1901 as the cornerstone of his policy of protecting peasants’ interests and relieving them from indebtedness. The Punjab Hindu Sabha, for instance, had secured two rulings from Lahore High Court that “permitted the sale of land of an insolvent member of a notified agricultural tribe and permitted the alienation of land in execution of a decree for any number of years.” To redeem the Punjab peasants from harmful effects of these rulings, Fazl-i-Husain brought forward the Punjab Land Alienation (Amendment) Act.

He was keenly interested in collaboration with the British and local non-Muslim groups (communities) particularly for securing the rights of the Punjabis by following the available constitutional means. For this purpose, he, with the help of Sir Chottu Ram, established the Punjab National Unionist Party in 1923. This political party offered him great opportunity of modernising the Punjab—that he availed quite successfully. By using this organisation, he effectively advocated and protected the interests of the rural communities - mainly peasants. He also united the rural classes of the Punjab along secular and political lines—despite the fact, in those times, Indian masses were mostly divided along religious lines.

He also served as a member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council (for education, health and lands) from 1930 to 1935. By exercising his influence, he secured the speedy release of political prisoners like Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Dr Khan Sahib in 1933.

He was anxious to keep the Punjab free from the Civil Disobedience Movement, as it had been free, largely, from the Non-Cooperation movement. He was away from the Punjab for nearly five years when he was living in Delhi, yet he kept himself in close contact with his province and was always ready to devote his energies for the political, educational and economic advancement of the Punjab.

Owning to his invaluable services—introducing reforms and initiating legislative measures—in the field of education, politics and economy for the promotion and protection of interests of rural Punjabis, it would be quite just to call him The Father of Modern Punjab.

DrMazhar Abbas has a PhD in history from Shanghai University and is a lecturer at GCU, Faisalabad. He can be contacted at mazharabbasgondal87@gmail.com. He tweets at @MazharGondal87

Dr Muhammad AbrarZahoor has a PhD in history from Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad and is Head of History Department at Sargodha University. He could be reached at abrar.zahoor@hotmail.com. He tweets at @AbrarZahoor1