Indian politician (1905–1991)
Abul Kashem Khan (best known as A. K. Khan; 5 April 1905 – 31 March 1991) was a Bangladeshi lawyer, industrialist and politician. In 1945, he founded A K Khan & Company, one of Pakistan's leading conglomerates until 1971, when it became one of Bangladesh's leading conglomerates.[1] Khan served as a member of the Constituent Assembly of India and the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. He was a federal minister of Pakistan and member in the Pakistan National Assembly.
Early life
He was born in an aristocratic family in the village of Mohara in Panchlaish in Chittagong in 1905. His father, Abdul Latif Khan, was a government sub-registrar at Fatehabad, Chittagong, and his mother's name was Wahabun Nessa Khan. Khan's great-great-great grandfather, Shamsher Khan, was a rich politician and minister in the city of Gour in the 16th century.[2] Khan studied law at Presidency College, Calcutta. In 1934 he joined the Kolkata High court as an advocate. He joined the judicial branch of the Bengali Civil service in 1935. He continued in the service till 1944.[1]
Career
Khan entered business during the Second World War in 1945, when Chittagong was a key base for Allied Forces. A variety of industries, including a match factory, a plywood factory, a garment mill, and a dockyard, have been stepped up by him. He was elected a member of the Constituent Assembly of India from the All-India Muslim League candidate in 1946. He joined the Pakistan Constituent Assembly after the partition of India. In 1951-1952 budget he spoke against the economical discrimination of East Pakistan.[1]
"Sir, I cannot help' remark ' which I hope will not be misinterpreted as an indication of petty provincial-mindedness. Sir, these are the days of decentralisation and regional self-sufficiency. We find that in this six-year plan, the total sum allocated to East Bengal where 56 percent of your people live is less than 23 percent. Under the head 'Agriculture', provision has been made for 82 crores and a sum total of all the projects envisaged for East Bengal is only 5.6 crores. Under the head 'Development of Hydro-Electric Power', a provision for 45 crores has been made and the share of East Bengal is only 5 crores. Under the head 'Industries', provision has been made for textile industries' [for West Pakistan] to the tune of 30 crores and the provision for jute industry' [for East Bengal] is only 11 crores. Now, Sir, this gives a clear indication that not only in the past, not only in the present, but in the future development plans of the country, East Bengal is not expected to get its legitimate share."[1][3]
Politics
He was the minister of Industries, Works, Irrigation, Power and Mineral Resources from 1958 to 1962. From 1962 to 1964 he was a member of the national assembly of Pakistan. He retired from politics in 1965.[1]
Personal life
Khan married his wife Shamsun Nahar Khan in 1935. She was the daughter of a wealthy merchant, Abdul Bari Chowdhury, who owned industries in British Burma. Abdul Bari owned a shipping company and multiple rice mills in Rangoon until the Japanese invasion of Burma, after which he moved to Chittagong. In Chittagong, he established a shipping company called the Bengal-Burma Steam Navigation Company, the first maritime company in the area to challenge the dominance of the British India Steam Navigation Company.
Chowdhury also served as a director of the Pakistan Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation.
Khan had nine children with Shamsun Nahar: five sons and four daughters; Zahiruddin (Bambu), Shamsuddin (Jambu), Salahuddin, Sadruddin, Ziauddin (Pablo), Latifa (Kohinoor), Zebun Nahar, Yasmin, and Shamima.[2]
Khan's eldest daughter, Latifa, was married to Bangladesh's first minister of commerce and the first Bangladeshi ambassador to the United States, Mustafizur Rahman Siddiqi.[2]
Extended family
The Khan family, whose ancestors were aristocrats in the ancient city of Gour, is one of the most interconnected and prominent Muslim families in Bengal. Kafi Kamal, a senior reporter with the Manab Zamin, details the extent of the Khan clan's relations in his book Attiyotar Bondhone Rajneeti (Kinship Politics).
A.K Khan's eldest grandson Schezade A.K Khan (son of A.M. Zahiruddin Khan) is married to Zarka Rumana Khwaja, a descendant of Khwaja Yunus Ali Enayetpuri, one of the most influential Sufis in the Bengal region. Another grandson Kalim A. Khan (son of A. M. Zahiruddin Khan), was married to Nusrat Khanam, daughter of industrialist S.M Kamaluddin (founder of Concord Group). His granddaughter (daughter of A. M. Zahiruddin Khan), is married to Faisal Morshed Khan (son of Morshed Khan). Morshed Khan is a maternal nephew of A.K Khan and the former Foreign Minister of Bangladesh.
Another grandson, Amer Siddiqi (son of his eldest daughter Latifa), was married to Saifa, the only daughter of A.K Khan's maternal niece Duree Rahman. Duree Rahman was married to BNP politician and former Finance Minister of Bangladesh Saifur Rahman.
A.K Khan's granddaughter, daughter of his son Shamsuddin Khan (Jambu), is married to Hummam Quader Chowdhury, son of late Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and grandson of late Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry.
A.K Khan's brother, Shamshul Huda Khan (S.H Khan), was the president of the Chittagong branch of the All Pakistan Muslim Youth Movement. He was elected vice-president of the movement's central committee in 1954. In 1955, S.H Khan was elected as the vice-president of the International Assembly of Muslim Youth. S.H Khan's daughter, Farida, was married to Major Faruque, and his other daughter, Zubeida (Tinku), was married to Major Rashid.
A.K Khan's maternal niece, Zeenat Mosharraf, is a former member of parliament from the Jatiya Party (Ershad). She was married to BNP politician A. K. M. Mosharraf Hossain, former MP from Mymensingh and former State Minister of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources.[4]
Death
He died on 31 March 1991.[1] His wife, Shamsun Nahar Khan, died the same year just two months after his death.[2] He left behind nine children – five sons and four daughters.
In popular culture
AK Khan More is a circle located in Chittagong, Bangladesh near Dhaka-Chittagong Trunk Road.
