Shaukat Ali Khan (10 March 1873– 26 November 1938; Urdu: مولانا شوكت علی خان) was an Indian Muslim member of the Khilafat Movement. He was the elder brother of the renowned political leader Mohammad Ali Jouhar.

Early life

Shaukat Ali Khan was born in 1873 into a wealthy family with roots in the city of Najibabad in what is today Uttar Pradesh in India; other than that little is known about his family background.

He was educated at the Aligarh Muslim University. He was extremely fond of playing cricket, captaining the university team. Shaukat Ali served in the civil service of the United Provinces of Oudh and Agra for 17 years in British India.

Nehru report

thumb|right|Handing of the Palestinian Arab flag with a drawing of the [[Dome of the Rock over to Indian Muslim anti-colonial leader Shaukat Ali during his visit to Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine, 1931]]

While still a supporter of Congress and its non-violent ethos, Shaukat Ali even surpassed some of his colleagues in also providing support to the revolutionary independence movement. To this end, he supplied guns to Sachindranath Sanyal.

He opposed the 1928 Nehru Report. Instead, he demanded separate electorates for Muslims and finally the Khilafat Committee rejected the Nehru Report. Shaukat Ali attended the first and second Round Table Conferences (India) in London in 1930-31. His brother Jauhar died in 1931, and Shaukat Ali continued on and organized the World Muslim Conference in Jerusalem.

In 1936, Shaukat Ali became a member of the All India Muslim League and became a close political ally of and campaigner for Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the future founder of Pakistan. He served as member of the 'Central Assembly' in British India from 1934 to 1938. He travelled all over the Middle East, building support for India's Muslims and the struggle for independence from the British rule in India.

Commemorative postage stamp

Pakistan Postal Services issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honor in 1995 in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series.

Roads

A street in Mumbai (formerly Grant Road) is named after him. A road in Lahore is also named after him.

A road in Rampur, UP named after him (Shaukat Ali Rd)

References

  • Maulana Shaukat Ali materials in the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA)