RosemaryBrifman at 14:24, 17 March 2026

2026-03-17T14:24:32Z

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{{Short description|Indian politician (1896–1972)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2023}}
{{similar names|Muhammad Ismail (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = Quaid-e-Millat
| name = M. Muhammad Ismail
| image = M. Muhammad Ismail (Postage Stamp, Government of India).jpg
| caption = M. Muhammad Ismail on a 1996 postage stamp of India
| office = Member of the [[Madras Legislative Assembly]]
| term_start = 1946
| term_end = 1952
| constituency =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| office2 = Member of the [[Constituent Assembly of India|Indian Constituent Assembly]]
| term_start2 = 1948
| term_end2 = 1952
| constituency2 = [[Madras Presidency|Madras]]
| office3 = [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha]]
| term_start3 = 3 April 1952
| term_end3 = 2 April 1958
| constituency3 = [[List of Rajya Sabha members from Tamil Nadu|Madras]]
| office4 = [[Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha]]
| term_start4 = 1962
| term_end4 = 5 April 1972
| constituency4 = [[Manjeri (Lok Sabha constituency)|Manjeri]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1896|06|05|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Tirunelveli]], [[Madras Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1972|04|05|1896|06|05|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Chennai|Madras]], [[Tamil Nadu]], [[India]]
| party = * [[All-India Muslim League]] (1930–1947)
* [[Indian Union Muslim League]] (after 1948)
| spouse = Jamal Hameeda Bi
| relations = [[K. T. M. Ahmed Ibrahim|K. T. M. Ahmed Ibrahim Sahib]] (brother)
| children = Jamal Miakhan (son)
| website =
| footnotes =
}}

'''M. Muhammad Ismail''' (5 June 1896—5 April 1972) was an Indian politician and social worker from southern Indian state [[Tamil Nadu]]. He was a founder of the [[Indian Union Muslim League]] party after the partition of [[British India]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Wright |first=Theodore P. |date=1966 |title=The Muslim League in South India since Independence |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1952972 |journal=The American Political Science Review |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=582–583 |doi= 10.2307/1952972|jstor=1952972 |s2cid=143572105 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref> He was popularly known in [[Tamil Nadu]] and [[Kerala]] as the "Quaid-e-Millat" ("the Leader of the Nation").<ref name=":45">{{Cite journal |last=Wright |first=Theodore P. |date=1966 |title=The Muslim League in South India since Independence |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1952972 |journal=The American Political Science Review |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=597 |doi= 10.2307/1952972|jstor=1952972 |s2cid=143572105 |issn=|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Ismail was a member of [[Madras Legislative Assembly]] and [[Leader of the Opposition]] (1946—52).<ref name=":1" /> He was also a member (1948—50) of the [[Constituent Assembly of India|Constituent Assembly]], the drafting body of the [[constitution of India]]. He was also a member of [[Rajya Sabha]] (1952—58) and [[Lok Sabha]] (3rd, 1962—67, 4th, 1967—70 and 5th, 1971—72).<ref name=":1" />

==Early life and career==
M. Muhammad Ismail Rowther was born in [[Pettai, Tirunelveli|Pettai]], [[Tirunelveli]], in what is now the Indian state of [[Tamil Nadu]], on 5 June 1896 to Maulavi K. T. Miakhan Rowther in a [[Tirunelveli]] [[Rowther]] family.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> He was educated at C. M. S. College and Hindu College at [[Tirunelveli]] and later at [[St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirappalli|St. Joseph's College]], [[Trichy|Trichinopoly]] and [[Madras Christian College|Christian College, Madras]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=M. Muhammad Ismail (Fifth Lok Sabha Members. Profile) |url=http://164.100.47.194/loksabha/writereaddata/biodata_1_12/1564.htm |website=Lok Sabha |publisher=Government of India}}</ref>

Ismail started the 'Young Muslim Society' in his home town Tirunelveli [[Pettai, Tirunelveli|Pettai]] in 1909 ( as a 13-year-old).<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Muthiah |first=S. |date=2017-05-01 |title=Who was Quaid-e-Millat? |language= |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/who-was-quaid-e-millat/article18347247.ece |access-date=2020-10-13 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> He was also instrumental in establishing ''Majlis ul-Ulama'' ('the Council of Islamic Scholars') in 1918.<ref name=":1" /> He went into business in the 1920s and became a leader of Madras leather industry and eventually of [[Madras]] commerce.<ref name=":3" />

Ismail married Jamal Hameeda Biwi in November 1923.<ref name=":1" /> Ismail's brother, [[K. T. M. Ahmed Ibrahim]], was also a principal leader of the [[All-India Muslim League]] in [[Madras Presidency]].<ref name=":02" /> Ismail served as Vice President, Muslim Educational Association of Southern India and Anjuman Himayat-e-Islam. He was also a founding member of the [[Tamil Valarchi Kazhagam]], Madras.<ref name=":1" />

==Political career==

=== With the All-India Muslim League ===
Success in [[Madras]] commerce led Ismail into Indian politics.<ref name=":3" /> Along with [[K. M. Seethi Saheb]], [[B. Pocker]] and [[K. Uppi Saheb]], he was one of the principal leaders of [[All-India Muslim League]] in [[Madras Presidency]] from the mid-1930s.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Wright |first=Theodore P. |date=1966 |title=The Muslim League in South India since Independence |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/muslim-league-in-south-india-since-independence-a-study-in-minority-group-political-strategies/2EBA3F25D373A0D9BA1DBAA6B9D25C30 |journal=American Political Science Review |language= |volume=60 |issue=3 |pages=579–599 |doi=10.2307/1952972 |issn= |jstor=1952972|s2cid=143572105 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In 1945, he became the President of the [[Madras Presidency]] unit of the All-India Muslim League.<ref name=":1" /> In the elections to the Madras legislature, the League won all but ten of the reserved seats in 1936 and all in [[1946 Madras Presidency legislative assembly election|1946]].<ref name=":02" /> The League emerged as the second largest party in the Assembly after the 1946 elections and Ismail served as the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly during 1946–52.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="ralhan">{{Cite book|last=Ralhan|first=Om Prakash|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6qEHg_7sWGQC&pg=PA1045|title=Encyclopaedia Of Political Parties|publisher=Anmol Publications|year=1998|isbn=978-81-7488-865-5|volume=33-50|pages=13}}</ref><ref name="dash">{{Cite book|last=Dash|first=Shreeram Chandra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SoRaAAAAIAAJ&q=165|title=The Constitution of India: A Comparative Study|publisher=Chaitanya Publishing House|year=1968|page=532}}</ref><ref name="Saroja">{{Cite book|author=Sundararajan|first=Saroja|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nr5HAAAAMAAJ|title=March to Freedom in Madras Presidency, 1916–1947|publisher=Lalitha Publications|year=1989|location=Madras|pages=623–636}}</ref>

=== With the Indian Union Muslim League ===
[[File:Indian_Union_Muslim_League_leadership_in_1954_(Calicut_Railway_Station).jpg|left|thumb|335x335px|Indian Union Muslim League leadership with Muhammad Ismail in 1954.]]
When [[Partition of India|British India was partitioned]] into India and [[Pakistan]], the [[All-India Muslim League]] was virtually disbanded (December, 1947).<ref name=":02" /> Ismail, the then President of the Madras Muslim League, was chosen as the Convener of the Indian segment of the League.<ref name=":02" /> The Indian members of the League formed the [[Indian Union Muslim League]] at Madras (first council in March, 1948 and constitution passed in September, 1951).<ref name=":02" /> Ismail was chosen as the first President of Indian Union Muslim League.<ref name=":1" />

After partition of India, Muslims were still well represented in the [[Constituent Assembly of India|Constituent Assembly]], the drafting body of the [[constitution of India]] (almost all of these lawmakers had been elected on League tickets). Only those from [[Madras Presidency]] formally adhered to the [[Indian Union Muslim League|League]].<ref name=":02" /> Ismail was elected from the Madras Legislative Assembly to the [[Constituent Assembly of India|Constituent Assembly]] in 1948.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="ralhan" /><ref name="dash" /><ref name="Saroja" /> When the report of the Advisory Committee on Minorities was debated (1949), Ismail moved a motion for the retention of reserved seats for Muslims and a separate communal electorate. The [[Constituent Assembly of India|Assembly]] summarily rejected this motion.<ref name=":02" /> Ismail Sahib wanted [[Tamil language|Tamil]] to be the Official Language of India.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-05 |title=சிறப்பு கட்டுரை: காயிதே மில்லத் தமிழரா? |url=https://tamil.news18.com/news/special-articles/is-quaid-e-millat-a-tamilian-vin-476705.html |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=News18 Tamil |language=ta}}</ref>

=== Attempts for an alliance ===
In the 1950s, Ismail started negotiating with the stubborn High Command in New Delhi (through the Madras leadership) for an electoral alliance with the [[Indian National Congress|Congress]].<ref name=":02" /> Some informal or local alliances with the Madras Congress were realized.<ref name=":02" /> The party thereupon suffered a rout in the 1957 General Elections and witnessed a major split in 1961 (instigated by Mohammed Raza Khan, M. S. A. Majeed and K. T. Sheriff).<ref name=":02" /> League in due course allied with [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] and [[Swatantra Party]].<ref name=":02" />

In 1952, Ismail was elected to the [[Rajya Sabha]] from [[Madras State|Madras]] with support of the independent candidates endorsed by the League.<ref name=":3" />

=== As a Member of Parliament from Kerala ===
When the state of [[Kerala]] was formed by the [[States Reorganisation Act]] in 1956, Ismail his constituency to northern Kerala. He was elected to the [[Lok Sabha]] from [[Manjeri (Lok Sabha constituency)|Manjeri Parliamentary Constituency]] three times – in [[1962 Indian general election|1962]] (Third Lok Sabha), [[1967 Indian general election|1967]] (Fourth Lok Sabha) and [[1971 Indian general election|1971]] (Fifth Lok Sabha) as an [[Indian Union Muslim League]] candidate.<ref name=":1" />

During the [[1962 India-China War]], Ismail famously offered to send his son Mian Khan to join the [[Indian Army]] to fight against [[China]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nair |first=Preetha |date=19 April 2019 |title=A Coloured Scheme Of Things |work=Outlook Magazine |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/india-news-a-coloured-scheme-of-things/301479}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+[http://www.ceo.kerala.gov.in/electionhistory.html General Elections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111050225/http://www.ceo.kerala.gov.in/electionhistory.html |date=11 November 2021 }}
!General Election
!Constituency
!Winner
!Party
!Runner up
!Margin
|-
|1962 (Third)
|[[Manjeri (Lok Sabha constituency)|Manjeri]]
|M. Muhammad Ismail
| rowspan="3" |[[Indian Union Muslim League]]
|Muhammed Kunju ([[Communist Party of India|CPI]])
|4,328
|-
|1967 (Fourth)
|[[Manjeri (Lok Sabha constituency)|Manjeri]]
|M. Muhammad Ismail
|A. N. Beevi ([[Indian National Congress|Congress]])
|107,494
|-
|1971 (Fifth)
|[[Manjeri (Lok Sabha constituency)|Manjeri]]
|M. Muhammad Ismail
|S. P. Mumammed Ali (Ind.)
|119,837
|}

==Business career==
Ismail went into business in the 1920s and was involved in various commerce committees.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> He was a noted businessman of the [[Madras Presidency]] involved in leather and meat industry.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Bhattacharjee |first=Rupanwita |date=2018-09-29 |title=Muhammad Ismail, Indian Muslim League Pioneer who Wanted Hindustani as Official Language |url=https://theprint.in/forgotten-founders/muhammad-ismail-indian-muslim-league-pioneer-who-wanted-hindustani-as-official-language/122525/ |website=The Print |language=}}</ref>

The boards and committees he was a member of include:
* Madras Port Trust Board, Madras Board of Industries, Madras Provincial Marketing Board, Madras Excise Licensing Board, and South India Railway Advisory Committee.<ref name=":1" />
* Industrial Planning Committee (Government of Madras), [[Southern Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry|South India Chamber of Commerce and Industry]] (once Vice-President of the Chamber), [[Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry]], and Court of [[Aligarh Muslim University]].<ref name=":1" />
* Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Hides and Skins), Hides Cess Enquiry Committee, Mica Enquiry Committee, Chairman of Leather and Leather Goods Committee, Government of Madras, Honorary Secretary and Vice-President of Southern India Skin and Hide Merchants Association, Madras and President, Madras State Mutton Dealers Chamber.<ref name=":1" />

==Legacy==
M. Muhammad Ismail died in 1972 (after a prolonged illness).<ref name="debate">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JVzVAAAAMAAJ&q=muhammad+ismail+|title=Lok Sabha Debates|publisher=Lok Sabha Secretariat|year=1972|page=274}}</ref> [[Indian National Congress]] politician [[M. Bhaktavatsalam]], former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, paying his tribute, described Ismail as a "a model for all Opposition leaders".<ref name=":3" />

* A number of colleges in Tamil Nadu including the [[Quaid-e-Millath Government College for Women]], Chennai<ref name=":3" /> and [[The Quaide Milleth College for Men|Quaid-e-Millat College, Medavakkam]], Chennai have been named after M. Muhammad Ismail.<ref>{{Cite web |title=University of Madras: Aided Colleges |url=http://www.unom.ac.in/aided.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221030604/http://www.unom.ac.in/aided.html |archive-date=21 February 2006 |website=University of Madras}}</ref>
* The Tamil Nadu Government renamed [[Nagapattinam district|Nagapattinam District]] as "Nagai Quaid-e-Millat" District in M. Muhammad Ismail's honour (however, it reverted to its old name in 1997, when all names of individuals were dropped from the names of districts and transport corporations).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Panneerselvan|first=A. S.|date=16 June 1997|title=Name Of The Game|url=https://magazine.outlookindia.com/story/name-of-the-game/203878|website=Outlook Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=DISCUSSION|url=https://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/lsdeb/ls10/ses2/1904129101.htm|website=Parliament of India}}</ref>
* In 2003, the Tamil Nadu Government constructed a memorial hall for M. Muhammad Ismail.

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Muhammad}}
[[Category:Members of the Madras Legislative Assembly by term]]
[[Category:Madras Christian College alumni]]
[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1972 deaths]]
[[Category:India MPs 1962–1967]]
[[Category:Rajya Sabha members from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:India MPs 1967–1970]]
[[Category:India MPs 1971–1977]]
[[Category:People from Tirunelveli district]]
[[Category:Indian Union Muslim League politicians]]
[[Category:Lok Sabha members from Kerala]]
[[Category:Indian Union Muslim League politicians from Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of India]]
[[Category:Tamil Muslims]]

M. Muhammad Ismail - Revision history

RosemaryBrifman at 14:24, 17 March 2026