The Name Pakistan Was Coined By A Kashmiri Journalist And Not Choudhry Rahmat Ali, Says New Research

Pakistan may have to review its history books if what a new research suggests is true --that its name was coined by a Kashmiri journalist, Ghulam Hassan Shah Kazmi in 1928, and not Choudhary Rehmat Ali in 1933.

Kazmi coined the term for a newspaper called Pakistan in Abbottabad, said a reputed Pakistani historian and poet Aqeel Abbas Jafiri in an article in Dawn News (Urdu Edition).

Jafiri, according to kashmirlife, said that it was during Kazmi’s stay in Bombay in 1928, that he moved an application on July 1, 1928, before the government in Abbottabad seeking a sanction for publishing a weekly newspaper, Pakistan.

Jafri, who is also the chief editor Urdu Dictionary Board, wrote: “This was for the first time that the word Pakistan was used anywhere in the subcontinent,” Jaferi writes. “This application was sent to Deputy Commissioner Abbottabad through S A Aziz Chisti, who was district president of Majlis-e-Itehad-e-Mili, Abbottabad.”

Till now it is believed that the name Pakistan was coined by Choudhary Rehmat Ali who had used the word in his booklet, Now or Never, that was published on January 28, 1933 by Cambridge. On his gravestone it is carved, Ban-ie-Tehreek-e-Pakistan, Khaliq-e-Lafz-e-Pakistan (The founder of Pakistan movement and the creator of word Pakistan).

The dates are what might lead to controversies, as the newspaper, Pakistan, did not come into being in 1928, as it was rejected by then government. It was in 1935, when Kazmi applied again that the weekly Pakistan started publishing from Abbottabad.

Jafri writes that Kazmi wrote in one place about Pakistan, “Why did we chose the word Pakistan for this newspaper?” Kazmi wrote in the first issue of this weekly. “We wanted to use this name because non-Muslims are scared by this name and I wanted to tell them that it is not a dangerous name.”

The newspaper did not work for too long, after 1937 elections, Pakistani politician Dr. Khan Sahib came to power in Frontier province and ceased the publication in 1938.

Jafri writes, Kazmi moved back to Srinagar after that and started working with a newspaper Haqeeqat. According to Jafri, Kazmi knew Urdu, English, Persian, Gurmukhi, Arabic, Punjabi, Hindko and Pashto and has written 127 books, some of which are still unpublished. He died on September 14, 1984.

This has not been verified yet, but Jafiri says that since Choudhary was in India and was working on the Muslim issues, there was a possibility of him knowing Kazmi and hearing the word.