THIS is with reference to Nadeem F. Paracha’s ‘The map man’ (Smokers’ Corner, Images on Sunday, June 21). The article provides information about Chaudhry Rehmat Ali about whom very little has generally been known except that he coined the name – Pakistan.

It seems that mystery continues to shroud his last three years (1948 to 1951) in the UK as is evident from Nadeem Paracha’s statement that “Rehmat returned to England (in 1948). Three years later he was found dead in his bedroom. He had passed away in his sleep. His body was found a few days after his demise.”

When I was at Cambridge, I had the opportunity to do some fact-finding about Chaudhry Rehmat Ali. The results, summarised in an article ‘Last days of Chaudhry Rehmat Ali’, were published in The Muslim, Rawalpindi, on March 23, 1981.

Chaudhry sahib had been taken ill on a cold winter day and admitted to Evelyn Nursing Home in Cambridge. As detailed in my article: “Chaudhry Rehmat Ali breathed his last on Feb 3, 1951. Dr Leslie of Evelyn Nursing Home certified that death had been caused by bronchitis, auricular fibrillation and coronary atheroma.”

He was laid to rest on Feb 20, 1951, in grave No. B-8330 at Cambridge City Cemetery.

While Chaudhry Rehmat Ali was shunned by those in power in Pakistan and hence went to live in Cambridge, he did not live in seclusion but remained surrounded by a small group of friends. He did not die in his bedroom, nor was his body found a few days after his demise. A wide range of documents, including his photographs, letters, passport, copies of medical bills and death certificate are preserved and available for researchers in the library of Emmanuel College of the University of Cambridge.

Dr Ghazy Mujahid

Canada

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2015

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