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Khawaja Nazimuddin (July 19, 1894 - 1964) was the second Governor General of Pakistan, and then the second Prime Minister of Pakistan.
He was born in Dhaka, to a family descended from the nawabs of Bengal. He received his education from Aligarh
University, and later Cambridge University, where he
studied at Trinity Hall until the mid-1930s.
After returning to the subcontinent, he became involved in
politics in his native Bengal. Nazimuddin would initially be the educational minister, but would climb the ranks up to becoming
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 would become 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. During his reign, a
framework was begun for a constitution that would allow Pakistan to become a republic, and end it's status as dominion of the
United Kingdom. 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 a declaration of this group as non-Muslim.
Nazimuddin would resist such pressures; but riots would break out in The Punjab against both the government and followers of this religious minority. Nazimuddin would respond
by changing the governor of that province to Feroz Khan Noon, but this would be to no avail. Ghulam Muhammad, who had replaced Nazimuddin as Governor General, would ask the Prime Minister to step
down. However, the PM would refuse, but Muhammad would get his way, invoking an old clause that gave him the power to remove the
Prime Minister. The new prime-minister would be another Bengali born statesman: Muhammad Ali Bogra.
This episode would signal the beginning a troubling future trend in the young nation's history. The removal of Nazimuddin, the
Prime Minister, by the Governor General, Muhammad, would signal a troubling trend in Pakistani history of Prime Ministers being
removed by the President or Generals claiming executive power.
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