Malik Barkat Ali – a true companion of Muhammad Ali Jinnah!

The biography of Malik Barkat Ali, a frontline leader of the All India Muslim League who singlehandedly held the fort for the Muslim community of the subcontinent in Punjab for many years, provides insight into his personal and professional life. 

 The book, compiled and written by Malik Barkat Ali’s grandson, Prof. Dr Mahmood Shaukat, highlights many aspects of his personality as a great patriot, statesman, and, above all, gentleman. 

Malik Barkat Ali stuck to his principles with courage and strength of character at a time when standing against the ruling party was not without risk. His career reflects the moods and tendencies of the Muslim community in the subcontinent in the crucial and formative years of the freedom struggle.

Malik Barkat Ali was born on 1 April 1885 in Lahore into a middle-class Pashtun-Kakazai family. 

Following his early education at a local high school located at the Delhi Gate, he won a scholarship to the famous Forman Christian College where he did his master's in English and later passed the LLB examination.   

Malik Barkat Ali took an active part in the annual AIML sessions held at Bombay, Aligarh, and Delhi in 1924, 1925, and 1926, and was elected to the Punjab Legislature on a League ticket in 1937 and 1946.

He was the lone representative of the Muslim League in the said legislature from 1937 to 1945.

He was a close associate of Allama Iqbal as well, with whom he shared political views, and the association continued until Allama’s death in 1938.

The Punjab Muslim League session held on May 12, 1936, in Lahore, elected Allama Iqbal as the president, Malik Barkat Ali and Khalifa Shujauddin as vice presidents, Ghulam Rasool as secretary and Ashiq Batalvi as the joint secretary.

On June 19, 1930, Malik Barkat Ali and Allama Iqbal jointly sponsored a resolution with Gokal Chand and Nanak in the Lahore High Court Bar, condemning the unfair trial of Bhagat Singh.

In March 1940, the now famous Lahore Resolution for the creation of Pakistan was approved under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Malik Barkat Ali also participated in that process as a member of the All India Muslim League's Working Committee.

Malik Barkat Ali died on 5 April 1946, at Lahore while addressing a special tribunal in the Burma Fraud Case.

Quaid-e-Azam’s tribute on his death aptly describes the value of his contributions to the cause of the freedom movement. “I am deeply grieved to hear the sad and depressing news of the sudden death of Malik Barkat Ali,” the founder of Pakistan said.  

Mr Jinnah said that Malik Barkat Ali was a true and loyal member of the Muslim League from the very beginning and he rendered the greatest services for Muslim India. His advice and staunch support on all occasions were of the greatest value to the Muslim League. 

He said that he and Muslim India lost in him a great man, a colleague, a collaborator, and a true friend. “My deepest sympathies go out to his family in their bereavement for this irreparable loss,” Mr Jinnah was quoted to have said. 

 A few of Malik Barkat Ali’s speeches in Parliament and statements to the press have been selected carefully to highlight the parliamentary values and hard work he did in preparation for parliamentary debates. It is an important read for all interested in parliamentary practices and the freedom movement without any bias.

 Malik Barkat Ali’s biography is an informative and well-written book. If you are a non-fiction reader interested in history, it is definitely for you.