CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · People & Ideas

M. Muhammad Ismail

Indian politician (1896–1972)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ2644748 ↗
Source-derived summary

M. Muhammad Ismail (5 June 1896—5 April 1972) was an Indian politician and social worker from southern Indian state Tamil Nadu. He was a founder of the Indian Union Muslim League party after the partition of British India. He was popularly known in Tamil Nadu and Kerala as the "Quaid-e-Millat" ("the Leader of the Nation"). Ismail was a member of Madras Legislative Assembly and Leader of the Opposition (1946—52). He was also a member (1948—50) of the Constituent Assembly, the drafting body of the constitution of India. He was also a member of Rajya Sabha (1952—58) and Lok Sabha (3rd, 1962—67, 4th, 1967—70 and 5th, 1971—72).

Early life and career

M. Muhammad Ismail Rowther was born in Pettai, Tirunelveli, in what is now the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on 5 June 1896 to Maulavi K. T. Miakhan Rowther in a Tirunelveli Rowther family. He was educated at C. M. S. College and Hindu College at Tirunelveli and later at St. Joseph's College, Trichinopoly and Christian College, Madras.

Ismail started the 'Young Muslim Society' in his home town Tirunelveli Pettai in 1909 ( as a 13-year-old).

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “M. Muhammad Ismail” as indian politician (1896–1972). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Muhammad, Ismail and Indian.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1896, 1972, 1946, 1948—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1896-06-05. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Muhammad, Ismail and Indian providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “M. Muhammad Ismail”, the useful work is to connect “indian politician (1896–1972)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2644748. VIAF identifies the subject as 16362502. The Library of Congress control number is n89234430. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1896, 1972, 1946 and 1948.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “M. Muhammad Ismail”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow M. Muhammad Ismail primary sources, M. Muhammad Ismail archive and Muhammad research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “M. Muhammad Ismail”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “M. Muhammad Ismail” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.