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The Foundation of East Pakistan Awami

Muslim league

Dr. Mohammad Humayun Kabir


BIRTH OF AWAMI LEAGUE
• Historical Background- At the birth of Pakistan, the
Muslim League was in power. Soon the Party
turned into a narrow and self-centred political
organisation
FOUNDATION
• Muslim League government both at the
centre and East Bengal turned into
authoritarian, parochial and oppressive more
often using religion for political gain.
• But most important the government adopted
a policy to repress the legitimate interest of
the people of East Bengal.
• Muslim League- a party of pocket and
coterie.
MUSLIM LEAGUE
• Muslim League did not allow the dedicated leaders
from East Bengal to become Party leaders or
ministers.
• In a planned manner the Pakistan Constituent
Assembly excluded some of the most known and
charismatic leaders from East Bengal like Huseyn
Shaheed Suhrawardy, Abul Hashim and Fazlul Huq
from the cabinet.
• Of the seven Ministers, only two were Bengali then
again of doubtful character.
NEW SITUATION
• Democracy was not followed within the Muslim
League.
• Moderate and non communal leaders were not
welcome.
• Leaders of East Bengal became frustrated.
• Moreover, the Language Movement ‘exposed the
need of a party for the people of East Bengal – to
protect their culture and their rights’.
• Economic depression of East Bengal
NEW SITUATION
• Food situation in East Bengal deteriorated from
August 1947
• Famine broke out in many places in 1948-49
• Muslim League became virtually fragmented due
to internal conflicts among the top leaders of the
Party.
• It was in this backdrop that the Awami League was
formed.
Rose Garden
AiMS and Obejectives OF THE East
pakistanAWAMI MUSLIM LEAGUE
• The League adopted a draft manifesto in its
conference on 23 and 24 June 1949 at Rose Garden,
Dhaka.
• In the manifesto party support the Islamic Order,
provincial autonomy and Bengali as a state language
of Pakistan.
• At its birth the party adopted a 42– point program
with special emphasis on the demand for provincial
autonomy.
• The Aims and Objectives of the Awami Muslim
League were as follows -
AiMS and Obejectives OF THE EPAml

1. To provide the Sovereignty, integrity, dignity


and stability of Pakistan.
2. To ensure that the constitution and the laws of
Pakistan are founded on the principles of the
true democracy.
3. To promote and maintain the religious, cultural,
social, educational and economic interest of the
Muslims of Pakistan and to ensure similar rights
to other non-Muslim citizens of Pakistan.
AiMS and Obejectives OF THE EPAml

4. To ensure the basic necessities of life for every


citizen of Pakistan namely food, shelter, clothes,
education, medical aid and the scope to earn an
honest and honorable competence.
5. To improve the lot of the common man to raise
his standard of living and to procure for him full
remuneration for his labour.
6. To relieve sufferings, propagate knowledge,
promote equality and justice, banish oppression,
eradicate corruptions, elevate moral and material
standard of the people by organising social
service on the basis of self-help and
co-operation.
AiMS and Obejectives OF THE EPAml

7. To separate the Judiciary from the Executive and


maintain the independence of Judiciary and the
Public Service Commissions; to provide judicial trial
before any detention unless in emergencies such as
war or mutiny.
8. To safeguard civil liberties, such as individual and
collective freedom of belief, expression, association
and organization.
9. To strengthen the bond of brotherhood amongst
Muslims all over the world; to established and
strength friendly and economic relationship with
the neighbouring countries as well as with the
Muslim countries all over the world.
AiMS and Obejectives OF THE EPAml

10. To disseminate true knowledge of Islam and its


high moral and religious principles among the
people.
11. To promote peace in international affairs.
program OF THE EPAML
1. Abolition of the system of Zamindary without
compensation and equitable distribution of land
among the tillers of the soil.
2. Nationalise the key industries, essential to the life
of the nation; to establish industries on
government initiative and also to organize,
expand and encourage cottage industries etc.
3. To introduce free and compulsory primary
education; to reorganize secondary and higher
education on modern and scientific basis.
program OF THE EPAML
4. To eradicate corruption, favouritism, nepotism
and all other kind of anti-social evils from the
administration and social life.
5. To take bold and sweet measures to rehabilitate
the Muhajereen in the life of the country and
make them useful citizens.
6. To utilise to the fullest advantage- JUTE- the
golden fibre, in the interest of the State and to
ensure the highest price for the GROWERS and to
establish sufficient number of mills to assure
proper market for Jute.
program OF THE EPAML
7. To adopt austerity measures and to curtail the
expense of administration to the necessary
minimum and provide for honest living of the low
paid offices.
8. To provide a net-work of government charitable
dispensaries to afford free medical aid all over the
county.
9. To fix a just and fair appointment of all revenues
between the Centre and the provinces.
program OF THE EPAML
10. To eradicate the evil of begging and make
provision for establishment of ‘Work houses’ and
to undertake the maintenance education of the
destitute orphans to make them useful citizen.
11. To improve the means of communication by
roads, railways, river navigation.
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani’s ROLE
IN EPAML
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani’s ROLE IN
EPAML
• Born in 1880 at village Dhanpara of Sirajganj district.
• Between 1907 and 1909, Bhashani attended the famous
Islamic University of Deoband, where he received
theological training. Deoband was widely regarded as a
centre with progressive leanings.
• First Political involvement- NON-COOPERATION
MOVEMENT and KHILAFAT MOVEMENT
• Bhashani is regarded as the proponent of anti-imperialist,
non-communal and left-leaning politics in East Pakistan.
• Gained Popularity through his Peasant Movement in
Santosh, Tangail during the great depression period of 1937.
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani’s ROLE IN
EPAML
• Bhashani led the successful campaign in Sylhet referendum during
1946 and managed Sylhet to become a part of East Pakistan.
• After Partition, Bhashani returned to East Bengal (East
Pakistan). Here, he led a mass campaign in the 1950s in favor of
regional autonomy and Bengali self-determination. This
campaign was to play a key role in the Maulana’s journey
towards the secularization of politics, for the momentum
which the movement for autonomy gained decisively
demonstrated that the hold of the Muslim League and of
Pakistan’s rulers over the minds of the population in East
Bengal was weakening, and that secularization was truly
possible.
SUHRAWARDY’S ROLE IN EPAML
SUHRAWARDY’S ROLE IN EPAML

• Was born on 8 September 1892, in the town


of Midnapore, now in West Bengal.
• Education at St. Xavier's College, Calcuta University
and Oxford University, UK.
• Started his practical political life as a labour leader in
Calcutta, within a short period of time he succeeded in
organising as many as 36 trade unions.
• Political Affiliation- Swaraj part (1921-1926), All India
Muslim League (1937-1947). In 1946, Suhrawardy
established and headed a Muslim League government in
Bengal
SUHRAWARDY’S ROLE IN EPAML

• On the eve of the 1947 partition Suhrawardy envisioned


the establishment of a state in Eastern India comprising
the whole of Bengal and Assam and the adjoining
districts of Bihar.
• This came to be known as his scheme for Greater
Independent Bengal. His collaboration with some
Bangali Hindu leaders, namely, Sarat Chandra Bose,
Kiran Shankar Roy and Satya Ranjan Bakshi initiated
a move for a United Independent Bengal as a third
dominion alongside India and Pakistan. However, the
project was not successful.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
FOUNDATION OF EPAML
• The foundation of the Awami Muslim League was
laid on two conflicting forces.
- On the one hand, there were the frustrated and
dissident Muslim Leaguers whose political
philosophy and ideology were not fundamentally
different from those of the Muslim League.
- On the other hand, the Awami Muslim League had
a large number of followers mostly young who
were secular in their attitude and anxious to
establish true democracy in the country.
Contribution of Awami Muslim League
• From the very inception the Awami League has
been a secular and non-communal party. As a mark
of its secular posture, the term 'Muslim' was
deleted from the name of the party at its council
meeting held on 21-23 October 1955.
• The party opened front organisations among the
students, labourers, peasants, youths and women
after inception.
• The Awami Muslim League was the first opposition
party in the then Pakistan. At its birth the party
adopted a 42-point programme with a special
emphasis on the demand for provincial autonomy.
Contribution of Awami Muslim League
• Recognition of Bangla as one of the state languages
of Pakistan, one man one vote, democracy, framing
of a constitution, parliamentary form of
government and removal of disparity between the
two wings had been the major demands of Awami
Muslim League during the initial stage of the
Pakistani rule.

• In the 1948-56 language movement, the Awami


League and its student front, Chhatra League
(established in January,1948), played an important
role in the formation of the 'All Party Central
Language Action Committee’.
Contribution of Awami Muslim League
• In 1957, the Awami League faced a serious
organisational crisis resulting in a split in the party
on the issue of foreign policy.
• Suhrawardy and Maulana Bhasani differed
fundamentally on the issue of Pakistan foreign
policy. While Suhrawardy favoured strong links
with the West, particularly with America, Bhasani
was in favour of a non-aligned foreign policy.
• The division came to surface at the Kagmari
Conference (Tangail) of the party (7-8 February
1957).
Contribution of Awami Muslim League
• On March 18, Maulana Bhasani resigned from the
Awami League and from the position of president
of the party.
• In the spree of resignations, Bhasani was soon
followed by 9 out of 37 members of the party's
working committee.
• This eventually led to the formation of a new party
named the National Awami Party with Maulana
Bhasani as its president.
President and General Secretary of Awami
League

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