Jalaludin Abdur Rahim

Jalaluddin Abdur Rahim (; Bengali: জালালুদ্দিন আবদুর রহিম; also known as J. A. Rahim) (27 July 1906 – 1977) was a Pakistani communist and political philosopher who was known as one of the founding members of the Pakistan People's Party—a democratic socialist political party. Abdur Rahim was also the first Secretary-General of the Pakistan People's Party, served as the first minister of production. A Bengali civil servant, Abdur Rahim was a philosopher who politically guided Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, serving as his mentor, and had helped Bhutto navigate through the minefield of bureaucratic establishment when Ayub Khan had taken Bhutto into his cabinet. Abdur Rahim also guided Bhutto after Bhutto was deposed as Foreign Minister, critically guiding Bhutto to take down the once US-sponsored dictatorship of Ayub Khan. He also studied at Cambridge University and then chemistry at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, where he'd met his future wife, painter Esther Rahim, marrying her in 1929. Later, Abdur Rahim attended Calcutta University, receiving an LL.B. degree in Law and Justice. Abdur Rahim began his political activism in Pakistan Movement,

Abdur Rahim earned public notability after his name was announced as a Bengali member of delegation of Pakistan Peoples Party to launch a negotiation with Awami League party under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In 1970, Abdur Rahim along with Ghulam Mustafa Khar, returned to West Pakistan, telling Bhutto that the "meeting with Mujib was of no use".

In July 1974, Abdur Rahim himself got disillusioned with Bhutto after seeing Bhutto's handling of internal affairs and publicly disagreed with Bhutto as he wanted Bhutto to deal with the matters efficiently, not by force. Shortly afterwards, he was released. Later after Bhutto had formally issued an apology to him, he again left for France to complete his tenure as ambassador. Some people say that Bhutto, during his final days, regretted his falling out with his former mentor, Abdur Rahim.

Death In 1977, Abdur Rahim suffered a heart attack and died. He is now buried in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.

Writings

Outline of a Federal Constitution of Pakistan: Islam is our Faith, Democracy is our Polity, Socialism is our Economy, Pakistan People's Party: Political Series (4), 1969.