Mahmud Ali (politician)

Mahmud Ali
মাহমুদ আলী
محمود علی
General Secretary of All India Muslim League (Assam)
In office
1946  14 August 1947
Member of East Bengal Legislative Assembly
In office
12 March 1954  27 May 1955
Member of Second Constituent Assembly
In office
28 May 1955  22 March 1956
Member of National Assembly
In office
23 March 1956  7 October 1958
Minister of State (Rank & Status)
In office
29 December 1971  17 November 2006
Personal details
Born(1919-09-01)1 September 1919
Sunamganj (Sylhet), Assam, British India
(now in Bangladesh)
Died17 November 2006(2006-11-17) (aged 87)
Lahore, Pakistan
NationalityPakistani
Political partyAll India Muslim League
Ganatantri Dal
United Front
National Awami Party
National Democratic Front
Pakistan Democratic Movement
SpouseBegum Hajera Mahmud
OccupationPolitician, statesman, journalist

Mahmud Ali (Bengali: মাহমুদ আলী; Urdu: محمود علی; 1 September 1919 – 17 November 2006) was a progressive leftist Pakistani politician known for his agrarian politics. He was part of the Freedom Movement and played an important role during the Sylhet referendum which led to its merger with East Bengal. As member of Pakistan's Second Constituent Assembly he demanded the recognition of Bengali as one of the national languages of Pakistan and advocated the cause through his newspaper, the Nao Belal. He strongly opposed the 'One Unit' scheme and voted against the merger in 1956. After the dissolution of the assembly and abrogation of the 1956 Constitution he worked towards the restoration of provinces and a parliamentary form of government based on adult franchise.