Government of East Pakistan | |
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পূর্ব পাকিস্তান সরকার حکومتِ مشرقی پاکستان | |
Overview | |
Established | 1947 |
Dissolved | 1971 |
State | Dominion of Pakistan (1947–1955) Islamic Republic of Pakistan (1955–1971) |
Leader | Chief Minister |
Appointed by | President of Pakistan |
Main organ | Cabinet of East Pakistan |
Responsible to | East Pakistan Provincial Assembly |
Headquarters | East Pakistan Secretariat, Dacca |
The Government of East Pakistan or formerly Government of East Bengal governed the province East Bengal (later East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) and was centered in its provincial capital Dhaka. The head of the province was the Governor, who was nominated by the President of Pakistan. While the head of the province of East Pakistan was the Chief Minister who was elected by the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly.
The East Pakistani government was dominated by the Awami League. [1] It was succeeded by the Government of Bangladesh following the province's secession in 1971.
Awami League accepted A.K. Fazlul Haque of Krishak Sramik Party as the Chief Minister of the province in the Parliamentary meeting on 2 April 1954, forced by Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman, the then governor of East Bengal, to form the provincial government. However, on the same day, without consulting the provincial council meeting, Haque announced three persons as ministers of the province according to his own wish. Awami League, the majority party of the United Front, could not accept this. [2]
On the 30th of the same month, Haque's speech in Calcutta, India highlighted the similarity between the two Bengals, which drew criticism in Pakistan. [3] Under the pressure of criticism, Haque announced the names of 10 more ministers to improve relations with Awami League, 7 of whom were members of Awami League. However, on May 30, the central government dissolved the United Front cabinet and imposed Governor's rule in East Bengal. [4]
After the removal of Governor's rule on 5 June 1955, the Krishak Sramik Party and the Awami League formed the next cabinet. [5] Although he announced his retirement from politics on 24 July 1954, on 11 August 1955 A.K. Fazlul Haque became the Home Minister [6] and Abu Hussain Sarkar was the Chief Minister of the new cabinet. [7] In the session of the Provincial Council dated 13 August 1956, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman moved a motion of no confidence against the Second United Front Cabinet. However, on August 14, when A.K. Fazlul Haque, Governor of East Pakistan, announced the suspension of the session of the Provincial Council for an indefinite period, the Awami League started a movement against the governor.
On August 15, three cabinet ministers resigned. [8] In the face of strong protests, the Governor convened a session of the East Pakistan Provincial Council on 26 August. On 4 September 1956, after East Pakistan Rifles fired at an Awami League rally, killing 4 people and injuring several others, protests broke out in Dhaka in response. In such a situation, Section 144 was issued and the leaders of Krishak Sramik Party went into hiding. [9]
In view of the events of September 1956, the governor ordered the Awami League to form a cabinet. [9] On 5 September 1956, the Awami League in East Pakistan formed the second ministry in the province. This ministry, which lasted for about two years, was abolished on 24 September 1958. [2] At that time, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was simultaneously a member of the working committee of Awami League and the Minister of Industries of East Pakistan, which was against the constitution of Awami League. So he resigned from the post of Minister of Industry. As Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani resigned from Awami League and formed the National Awami Party, a section of Awami League members joined Bhasani's party. In March 1957, Governor Haque amended the law to reduce the no confidence vote from 130 to 104. [10]
On March 21, 1958, two days after 11 Awami League leaders left the party, the Abu Hossain government moved a motion of no confidence against the Khan cabinet. However, the no-confidence motion was rejected due to lack of sufficient votes. [11] AK Fazlul Haque dismissed the Khan cabinet and installed a new cabinet of the Abu Hussain Sarker on 31 March, but the Khan cabinet was reinstated on the same day after Haque was dismissed by Feroz Khan Noon's administration. [12] On 19 June 1958, Ataur Rahman Khan's cabinet fell due to a no-confidence motion. [12] Abu Hussain Sarker's ministry was ousted by a no-confidence vote on the day it formed the ministry on June 20. [12] After Ataur Rahman Khan's cabinet came to power, governor's rule was imposed in the province on June 25 for 2 months. [13]
After absorption into the Dominion of Pakistan, the province of East Pakistan (former East Bengal) was administered by a ceremonial Governor and an indirectly elected Chief Minister. During the year from May 1954 to August 1955, executive powers were exercised by the Governor and there was no Chief Minister.
Tenure | Governors [14] |
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15 August 1947 – 31 March 1950 | Sir Frederick Chalmers Bourne |
31 March 1950 – 31 March 1953 | Sir Feroz Khan Noon |
31 March 1953 – 29 May 1954 | Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman |
29 May 1954 – May 1955 | Iskandar Ali Mirza |
May 1955 – June 1955 | Muhammad Shahabuddin (acting) |
June 1955 – 14 October 1955 | Amiruddin Ahmad |
14 October 1955 – March 1956 | Amiruddin Ahmad |
March 1956 – 13 April 1958 | A. K. Fazlul Huq |
13 April 1958 – 3 May 1958 | Muhammad Hamid Ali (acting) |
3 May 1958 – 10 October 1958 | Sultanuddin Ahmad |
10 October 1958 – 11 April 1960 | Zakir Husain |
11 April 1960 – 11 May 1962 | Lieutenant-General Azam Khan, PA |
11 May 1962 – 25 October 1962 | Ghulam Faruque |
25 October 1962 – 23 March 1969 | Abdul Monem Khan |
23 March 1969 – 25 March 1969 | Mirza Nurul Huda |
25 March 1969 – 23 August 1969 | Major-General Muzaffaruddin, [15] PA |
23 August 1969 – 1 September 1969 | Lieutenant-General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, PA |
1 September 1969 – 7 March 1971 | Vice-Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan, PN |
7 March 1971 – 6 April 1971 | Lieutenant-General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, PA |
6 April 1971 – 31 August 1971 | Lieutenant-General Tikka Khan, PA |
31 August 1971 – 14 December 1971 | Abdul Motaleb Malik |
14 December 1971 – 16 December 1971 | Lieutenant-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, PA |
Tenure | Chief Ministers [14] | Political Party |
---|---|---|
15 August 1947 – 14 September 1948 | Khawaja Nazimuddin | Muslim League |
14 September 1948 – 3 April 1954 | Nurul Amin | Muslim League |
3 April 1954 – 29 May 1954 | A. K. Fazlul Huq | United Front |
29 May 1954 – June 1955 | Governor's Rule | |
20 June 1955 – 30 August 1956 | Abu Hussain Sarkar | |
1 September 1956 – March 1958 | Ataur Rahman Khan | Awami League |
March 1958 | Abu Hussain Sarkar | |
March 1958 – 18 June 1958 | Ataur Rahman Khan | Awami League |
18 June 1958 – 22 June 1958 | Abu Hussain Sarkar | |
22 June 1958 – 25 August 1958 | Governor's Rule | |
25 August 1958 – 7 October 1958 | Ataur Rahman Khan | Awami League |
7 October 1958 | Post abolished |
East Pakistan's provincial assembly consisted of 300 members. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the provincial name was changed. The legislature was a successor to the Bengal Legislative Council and the Bengal Legislative Assembly, which were divided between East Bengal and West Bengal during the partition of Bengal in 1947. It was the largest provincial legislature in Pakistan.
The High Court of judicature for East Bengal commonly known as the Dhaka High Court was established in 1947 under Pakistan (Provisional Constitutional) Order 1947 as a separate High Court with all Appellate, Civil and Original jurisdictions. [16] [17] In 1955 the Dhaka High Court became the High Court of East Pakistan and the Supreme Court of Pakistan was established as the apex Court with the appellate jurisdiction to hear the decisions of the High Courts established in the East and West Pakistan. [18] Until 1967 the High Court was held in the building that now known as the Old High Court Building on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, opposite the curzon hall, Dhaka. With the construction of a larger facility in the 1960s nearby that now houses the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and Attorney General's office, the High Court was shifted from Old House on 10 July 1967.
Abdus Sattar was a Bangladeshi statesman. A leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), he served as the president of Bangladesh from 1981 to 1982, and earlier as the vice president. A jurist by profession, Abdus Sattar held numerous constitutional and political offices in British India, East Pakistan and Bangladesh. He was a cabinet minister, supreme court judge, and chief election commissioner. He took oath and became president shortly after the assassination of president Ziaur Rahman.
The independence of Bangladesh was declared from Pakistan on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March and lasted till 16 December 1971 which is celebrated as Victory Day in Bangladesh. There is a dispute along partisan line regarding who declared the independence of Bangladesh. The Awami League claim Sheikh Mujibur Rahman while the Bangladesh Nationalist Party claim it was Ziaur Rahman.
Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the Minister of Commerce in the third Mujib Rahman ministry under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and assumed the presidency of Bangladesh after the Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975. He praised the assassins as "sons of the sun" and put cabinet ministers loyal to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in jail. He was himself deposed by another coup, less than three months later on November 3, 1975.
Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq, popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla, was a Bengali lawyer and politician who presented the Lahore Resolution which had the objective of creating an independent Pakistan. He also served as the first and longest Prime Minister of Bengal during the British Raj.
East Bengal was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 1955, when it was renamed as East Pakistan. East Bengal had a coastline along the Bay of Bengal to the south, and bordered India to the north, west, and east and shared a small border with Burma to the southeast. It was situated near, but did not share a border with Nepal, Tibet, the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Kingdom of Sikkim. Its capital was Dacca, now known as Dhaka.
The Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League was a political front comprising the Bangladesh Awami League, the Communist Party of Bangladesh, the National Awami Party (Muzaffar) and Bangladesh Jatiya League.
The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the provincial name was changed. The legislature was a successor to the Bengal Legislative Council and the Bengal Legislative Assembly, which were divided between East Bengal and West Bengal during the partition of Bengal in 1947. It was the largest provincial legislature in Pakistan. Elections were held only twice in 1954 and 1970.
The United Front was a coalition of political parties in East Bengal which contested and won Pakistan's first provincial general election to the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. The coalition consisted of the Awami Muslim League, the Krishak Praja Party, the Ganatantri Dal and Nizam-e-Islam. The coalition was led by four major Bengali populist leaders- A. K. Fazlul Huq, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Maulana Bhashani The election resulted in a crushing defeat for the Muslim League. Veteran student leader of East Pakistan Khaleque Nawaz Khan defeated sitting Prime Minister of East Pakistan Mr. Nurul Amin in Nandail Constituency of Mymensingh district and created history in political arena. Nurul Amin's crushing defeat to a 27 years old young Turk of United Front effectively eliminated the Muslim League from political landscape of the then East Pakistan with United Front parties securing a landslide victory and gaining 223 seats in the 309-member assembly. The Awami League emerged as the majority party, with 143 seats.
Abul Mansur Ahmad was a Bangladeshi politician, lawyer, journalist and writer.
Ataur Rahman Khan was a Bangladeshi lawyer, politician and writer, who served as the chief minister of East Pakistan from 1 September 1956 – March 1958, and as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 30 March 1984 to 1 January 1985.
Yusuf Ali Chowdhury, known as Mohan Mia, was a Bengali-Pakistani politician.
The history of East Bengal and East Pakistan from 1947 to 1971 covers the period of Bangladesh's history between its independence as a part of Pakistan from British colonial rule in 1947 to its independence from Pakistan in 1971.
The Krishak Sramik Party was a major anti-feudal political party in the British Indian province of Bengal and later in the Dominion of Pakistan's East Bengal and East Pakistan provinces. It was founded in 1929 as the Nikhil Banga Praja Samiti to represent the interests of tenant farmers in Bengal's landed gentry estates. Sir Abdur Rahim was its first leader. A. K. Fazlul Huq was elected leader in 1935 when the former was appointed as the president of the Central Legislative Assembly of India.
Hajee Mohammad Danesh was a Bangladeshi politician and communist activist born in the British India.
Shahed Ali Patwary was a Pakistani lawyer and politician. He was elected as member of East Bengal Legislative Assembly.
Legislative elections were held in East Bengal between 8 and 12 March 1954, the first since Pakistan became an independent country in 1947. The opposition United Front led by the Awami League and Krishak Sramik Party won a landslide victory with 223 of the 309 seats. The Muslim League Chief Minister of East Pakistan Nurul Amin was defeated in his own constituency by Khaleque Nawaz Khan by over 7,000 votes, with all the Muslim League ministers losing their seats.
Abu Hussain Sarkar was a Pakistani Bengali politician and lawyer. He served as the fourth chief minister of East Pakistan. Under his ministry, the Bangla Academy was inaugurated and 21 February was recognised as Shohid Dibosh in memory of the Bengali Language Movement.
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The Bengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML) was the branch of the All India Muslim League in the British Indian province of Bengal. It was established in Dhaka on 2 March 1912. Its official language was Bengali. The party played an important role in the Bengal Legislative Council and in the Bengal Legislative Assembly, where two of the Prime Ministers of Bengal were from the party. It was vital to the creation of the Dominion of Pakistan, particularly after its election victory in 1946.
Provincial elections were held in East Pakistan on 17 December 1970, ten days after general elections. A total of 1,850 candidates ran for the 300 seats in the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly. The result was a landslide victory for the Awami League, which won 288 of the 300 seats.