The first Chief Minister of Sindh: a brief history
Mir Hasan Khan Talpur was the first chief minister of Sindh, serving from August 14, 1947 until October 27, 1947.
He was born in 1894 and educated at the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in Karachi and later at the Aligarh Muslim University in India.
His father was the Talpur leader Mir Murad Ali Khan Talpur and his grandfather was the chieftain of the Mangrol clan, Mir Nasir Khan Talpur.
Mir Atish Khan
Born in Hyderabad in 1892, Khan was the son of a wealthy landowner. He was educated at Aligarh Muslim University and later at Oxford University, where he studied law.
After returning to India, he began his political career with the All-India Muslim League. He served as the league's general secretary from 1926 to 1932 and was elected to the Sindh Provincial Assembly in 1937. In 1943, he became the province's first chief minister.
Khan held office until 1947, when Pakistan gained independence from Britain. However, he continued to play an important role in politics throughout the country.
When Muhammad Ali Jinnah created a new constitution for Pakistan that year, Khan became its Father or architect. He also served as one of two vice presidents from 1956 to 1958 and then again from 1960 to 1964.
Later, Mir Atish Khan founded the National Awami Party (NAP) in 1957 and became its president. The party won many seats in West Pakistan during the 1970 election but it did not win any seats on.
East Pakistan's provincial assembly because there were no elections there due to violence. Shortly after, Mir Atish Khan resigned from NAP due to disagreements with other members.
He died on January 22nd 1971 while serving as deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Bangladesh (previously East Pakistan).
As Pakistan's first chief minister, Atish Khan oversaw major reforms in finance and taxation that helped modernize Sindh's economy.
He also established schools across all district capitals of Sindh to help improve literacy rates among both women and men.
Unfortunately these institutions were badly damaged by floods in 1945 which claimed hundreds of lives.
Following independence, he played a key role in drafting Pakistan’s constitution along with Zafrullah Khan, who would become independent Pakistan’s first foreign affairs minister.
Mir Sadeeq Hussain Haidri
The first Chief Minister of Sindh was Mir Sadeeq Hussain Haidri. He was born on October 9, 1885, in Karachi. His father, Mir Ghulam Hussain Haidri, was a leading figure in the Karachi Nawab family.
After completing his schooling in Karachi, he went on to study at Aligarh Muslim University and then the University of London. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1910.
Upon his return to India, he began practicing law in Karachi. In 1917, he was elected to the Karachi Municipal Corporation. It was during this time that he became associated with Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
From 1919-1920, Haidri served as Mayor of Karachi. When Jinnah founded the All-India Muslim League in 1906, Haidri became its founding Secretary General.
Subsequently, when it was decided to hold the annual session of the party in Lahore (the capital of Punjab) in 1913, Haidri accompanied Jinnah from Bombay (the former name for Mumbai).
Following this conference, he played an important role in organizing protests against higher taxes and land revenue. In 1928, Haidri resigned from the post of secretary general because he wanted more freedom to focus on writing books.
However, after six years, he returned to politics by taking up the position as president of an interim government established by Gandhi.
Consequently, in 1937, he traveled to England as part of the Round Table Conference and negotiated what would become known as the Delhi Pact.
Haidri also participated in some other conferences including the Simla Conference which dealt with power distribution between Indian Muslims and Hindus.
By 1947, Pakistani independence had been achieved. In 1948, Haidri was appointed Prime Minister of Pakistan but only remained so until 1950 due to political instability within the country following independence.
During this time, Haidri negotiated Kashmir's accession into Pakistan along with establishing diplomatic relations with neighboring countries such as Afghanistan and Iran.
Sayyid Nizamuddin Shah
The first Chief Minister of Sindh was Sayyid Nizamuddin Shah, who served from 1947 until his death in 1948.
A close confidante of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Shah was instrumental in the creation of Pakistan and the province of Sindh.
He was a popular and respected leader, known for his integrity and commitment to democracy.
Shah's untimely death was a blow to the new country, and he is remembered as one of its founding fathers.
His contribution to the development of democracy can be seen in Karachi’s largest public park, which bears his name.
It contains an outdoor amphitheater where concerts are regularly held, including on Independence Day.
Mir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah
Born in 1883 in Karachi, Mir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah was the eldest son of a wealthy family.
He was educated at Karachi Grammar School and later at Bombay University, where he studied law.
After returning to Karachi, he practised as a lawyer and also became involved in politics. In 1937, he was elected to the Sindh Legislative Assembly and later that year became the first Chief Minister of Sindh.
He served in this role until 1943, when he resigned due to ill health. However, with his resignation came controversy. During his tenure, the rift between Muslim nationalists and Indian Nationalists began to widen.
Many nationalists sought closer ties with India while others sought more autonomy from India under Pakistan’s umbrella.
Fearing an influx of refugees following partition, Hidayatullah invited Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan to visit Sindh on 10th June 1947 to discuss how they could stem the tide. Liaquat agreed and left for Karachi on 8th June 1947.
Meanwhile, violence broke out in various parts of Sindh between Hindus and Muslims. It is not clear who initiated the violence but it does seem that some Hindu leaders were inciting their community against Muslims.
The result was mass migration from both communities into India or East Bengal (present day Bangladesh).
By 13th June 1947, the situation had become so dangerous that the Government of Pakistan sent forces to assist local authorities in maintaining law and order but by then it was too late.
More than 100,000 people had been killed or injured and over half a million had fled their homes.
On 15th June 1947, Hyderabad refused to join the Union of India and instead joined Pakistan. Due to political turmoil in.
Hyderabad, Muhammad Ayub Khuhro was appointed Governor General of Sindh in September 1948. On 2nd October 1948, he overthrew the government of Mirza Beg.
Khuhro which had earlier come into power through democratic means after elections held on 29th April 1946 but whose performance was deemed unsatisfactory.
Hidayatullah continued as Chief Minister until 1949 when Khuhro resumed office following a referendum that ratified him as leader of all-Pakistan's Constituent Assembly. In 1953, Hidayatullah succeeded Khuhro as Premier of Sindh.
But unlike other politicians of his time, he did not make use of the provincial machinery for personal benefit; nor did he try to undermine other politicians in order to remain politically strong.
Instead, like a true statesman, he tried to make every effort possible for peace and progress in Sindh.
His death on 30 December 1954 resulted in large scale public demonstrations throughout Sindh showing his popularity among all classes and sects of societysociety.