Sultan Muhammad Khan
Afghan statesman and author (c. 1860–1931)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chaudhry Sultan Muhammad Khan[1] (c. 1860 – 1931) had a unique association with imperial Afghanistan while being a British Indian subject, as an advisor to King Abdur Rahman Khan, record-keeper and translator to/from English and later, ambassador of Afghanistan to the United Kingdom.
Mir Munshi Aala Chaudhry Sultan Muhammad Khan | |
|---|---|
چودھری سلطان محمد خان | |
 | |
| Born | c. 1860 |
| Died | 1931 |
He was the father of author, poet, educator and revolutionary Faiz Ahmad Faiz.
Biography
Studying part-time, he finished middle school in 1873 placing top in the examinations and earned a high school scholarship of two rupees a month from the Education Department of the Government of Punjab.[2]
A polyglot, he was fluent in Urdu, Punjabi, Persian, Arabic, English, Pashto and Russian, which would help him in his later career.[1]
In 1897, Sultan Muhammad fled Afghanistan and after a brief imprisonment and stay in British India, left for England. After studying law at Cambridge, he was called to the Bar. He also earned a Master's degree in English.[1]
In 1898, Sultan Muhammad Khan was named the ambassador of Afghanistan in London. He served in the post until 1905.[3]
Sultan Muhammad returned from British India and settled in Sialkot in 1908.[4]
Marriage and children
Sultan Muhammad married four times in Afghanistan and his living wives and children eventually joined him in Sialkot.
He married for a fifth time on his return from England and had children:
- Tufail Ahmed, judge
- Faiz Ahmad Faiz, teacher and eminent poet
- Inayat, Major in British Indian Army
- Bashir, disabled from birth
Death
Sultan Muhammad Khan died in 1931 in Sialkot.[citation needed]
Published works
- The Constitution and Laws of Afghanistan, comprising 164 pages, published in London, in 1900 by Jon Marry Printing Press
- The Life of Amir Abdur Rahman, Volumes I & II, printed in 1900, by John Murray, Albemarle Street London, reprinted, in 1980, by Oxford University Press, Karachi