Sir Fazli Hussain, KCSI (14 June 1877 – 9 July 1936) was an influential politician during the British Raj and a founding member of the Unionist Party of the Punjab.
[2] His Rajput ancestors moved to Punjab from Bikaner and Jaisalmer in modern-day Rajasthan around the year 1500, having converted to Islam and entered the civil administration and the military forces of the Mughal Empire from Babur onward.
[7] During this time he spearheaded a rural bloc of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs, which in 1923 formally organised itself into the Unionist Party and intended to be a mass organization of Punjab's peasant proprietors.
[6] In his role as education minister he is credited with having been the main engineer of the scheme to establish employment quotas for Muslims in the Indian civil service.
Chhotu Ram, a Hindu Jat, was named as his successor as president of the Unionist party[7] He was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire in 1926.
The implementation of the Communal Award and Government of India Act 1935, allowed the majority Muslims in Punjab and Bengal to retain their separate electorates yet also granted them more seats than any other community in their respective assemblies.
[12] In 1932, he led the Indian delegation to the Indo-South African Conference and was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India in 1932.
[7] He made strides in reorganizing, financing, and allotting tickets for his party, and warned Jinnah against meddling with the inter-communal politics of the Punjab.