Jalal-ud-din Jalal Baba

Khan Jalaluddin Khan, (Urdu: خان جلال الدین خان) (5 March 1901 – 23 January 1981) aka Jalal Baba (Urdu: جلال بابا), was a prime minister of Nawab of Amb and Muslim League stalwart and a Pakistan Movement activist who served as the 8th Interior Minister of Pakistan under the Premiership of Feroz Khan Noon. Jalal Baba was a major figure in British Indian and later Pakistani politics, in particular in the North-West Frontier Province.

Early life Born in Abbottabad, Hazara, Jalaluddin started his career as a driver for the British and rose to become a leading transporter. Jalal Baba belonged to the Rajput Chauhan tribe. He joined the All-India Muslim League in 1935 and in 1939 Jalal Baba was elected as the president of the Hazara District Muslim League. He held office as an unopposed president for fourteen years, until 1953. The Muslim League gained strength of popularity in Hazara under his apt leadership.

The government was highly impressed by the qualities of leadership displayed by Jalal Baba in Hazara and Sarhad Province. Hence, to win his support allegiance, the Viceroy of India conferred upon him, first the title Khan Sahib, then after some time that of Khan Bahadur. These were highly coveted titles and regarded as marks of great distinction and pride. But Jalal Baba never prided himself as being a British titleholder. When the occasion demanded, he was the first to renounce his titles. He was among the first ones to renounce his titles given by the British in 1946 and was widely regarded as the "Winner of Referendum" in 1947.

Under the leadership of K.B. Jalal Baba, the Muslim League became the dominant political force in the Hazara region of the North-West Frontier Province (then Sarhad). Jalal Baba's efforts resulted in the unification of various local groups and castes—including the Dhond, Karlal, Tanoli, Pathan, Syed, Awan, Swati, and Tareen—under the party's platform. This consolidation established the Hazara Muslim League as a primary regional center for the All India Muslim League.

His father Sheikh Ghulam Mohammad was a blacksmith who had migrated to this part of undivided India in the band of Mujahedeen under the banner of Syed Ahmad Barelvi before the 1857 War of Independence. Khan Jalaluddin was brought up in a middle-class family of Abbottabad. Before matriculation, he left his school in 1919, and joined the 'Hijrat Movement' of protest emigration and left for Kabul, Afghanistan. He came back to Hazara from Landi Kotal after the movement was called off. After Jalal Baba's death, longstanding land disputes sparked a bitter rift between his family and the Tanoli tribe.

Jalal Baba, by now an eminent figure in the provincial political circles, raised his voice at the most crucial juncture. The reorganization of the Muslim League resulted in a big change in the political ranks of British Indians. The seeds of the Hazara branch of the Muslim League were sown by him. He further nourished it. After joining the Muslim League, he emerged as the league's leader in Hazara.

Referendum in NWFP

In NWFP, 90 percent of the votes cast were polled in favor of Pakistan.