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Muhammad Zafrulla Khan

Person·Updated October 2026

A jurist and diplomat, Muhammad Zafrulla Khan served on the Viceroy's Executive Council and held the Railways portfolio as minister.[1][2][3] In 1962, he conferred with President Kennedy on the Kashmir question.[4]

Facts

Born
6 February 1893[5]
Occupation
Jurist and diplomat[1]

Connections

Early life

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan was born on 6 February 1893 into a Jat Punjabi Zamindar lineage of Sahi extraction settled around Daska.[5][6] His kin had shared village headmanship with a Sahi Sikh Sardar before family standing declined under Sikh rule due to official favour toward Sikhs and the early death of his great-grandfather.[6] His grandfather Chaudhry Sikandar Khan attained the headmanship as an adolescent and later restored much of the family's standing around Daska.[6]

His father, Chaudhry Nasrullah Khan, belonged to Sialkot's first western-educated landed gentry and worked as the leading attorney of Sialkot district.[7][8] His mother Hussain Bibi came from a prosperous Bajwa Jat Zamindar family and was his father's maternal first cousin.[7] Both parents were devout members of the Ahmadiyya movement, and Khan considered his mother to be the strongest influence in his life.[7]

Timeline

  1. 1927Successfully defended Punjab Muslims in the Muslim Outlook contempt proceedings.[9]
  2. 1935Received a knighthood.[10]
  3. May 1935Assumed the Railways portfolio as minister.[3]
  4. 16 May 1938His mother died.[11]
  5. 1941All India Radio carried his address entitled Foundation for a New World.[12]
  6. June 1947Commenced providing constitutional and legal advice to the Nawab of Bhopal.[13]
  7. July 1955Began accompanying Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II on a European tour as interpreter.[14]
  8. 1962Conferred with President Kennedy on the Kashmir question.[4]
  9. 1967Performed Hajj.[15]

Life and work

Khan's legal career included representing Punjab Muslims in the 1927 Muslim Outlook contempt proceedings.[9] In 1935, he was knighted and entered government service as minister for Railways.[10][3] He served as a member of the Viceroy's Executive Council from 1935 to 1941, during which his address Foundation for a New World was broadcast by All India Radio.[2][12]

From June through December 1947, he rendered constitutional and legal counsel to the Nawab of Bhopal.[13] He later joined Hazrat Khalifatul Masih II as an interpreter on a European tour from July to September 1955.[14] In 1962, he engaged in discussions with President Kennedy regarding the Kashmir issue.[4] Alongside his public appointments, he published several works on Islam in both Urdu and English.[16]

References

  1. [1]A contributor's report
  2. [2]A contributor's report
  3. [3]A contributor's report
  4. [4]A contributor's report
  5. [5]A contributor's report
  6. [6]A contributor's report
  7. [7]A contributor's report
  8. [8]A contributor's report
  9. [9]A contributor's report
  10. [10]A contributor's report
  11. [11]A contributor's report
  12. [12]A contributor's report
  13. [13]A contributor's report
  14. [14]A contributor's report
  15. [15]A contributor's report
  16. [16]A contributor's report
Synthesized from contributor reports. Something wrong or missing? Add a note to improve this page, or see Corrections & takedowns.