Mohammad Ali Bogra | |
|---|---|
| মোহাম্মদ আলী বগুড়া محمد علی بوگڑا | |
.jpg) Bogra in 1955 | |
| 3rd Prime Minister of Pakistan | |
| In office 17 April 1953 – 12 August 1955 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governors General | Malik Ghulam Muhammad Iskandar Ali Mirza |
| Preceded by | Khawaja Nazimuddin |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Ali |
| 3rd & 7th Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 13 June 1962 – 23 January 1963 | |
| President | Muhammad Ayub Khan |
| Deputy | S.K. Dehlavi (Foreign Secretary) |
| Preceded by | Manzur Qadir |
| Succeeded by | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto |
| In office 24 October 1954 – 12 August 1955 | |
| Deputy | J.A. Rahim (Foreign Secretary) |
| Preceded by | M. Zafarullah Khan |
| Succeeded by | Hamidul Huq Choudhury |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 17 April 1953 – 24 October 1954 | |
| Deputy | Akhter Husain (Defence Secretary) |
| Preceded by | Khawaja Nazimuddin |
| Succeeded by | GeneralAyub Khan |
| Pakistan Ambassador toJapan | |
| In office 1959–1962 | |
| President | Ayub Khan |
| Preceded by | Omar Hayat Malik |
| Succeeded by | K. M. Sheikh |
| Pakistan Ambassador tothe United States | |
| In office November 1955 – March 1959 | |
| President | Iskander Mirza |
| Preceded by | Syed Amjad Ali |
| Succeeded by | Aziz Ahmed |
| In office 27 February 1952 – 16 April 1953 | |
| Governor General | Malik Ghulam |
| Preceded by | A. H. Isphani |
| Succeeded by | Amjad Ali |
| High Commissioner of Pakistan to Canada | |
| In office 1949–1952 | |
| Governor General | Khawaja Nazimuddin |
| Pakistani Ambassador to Burma | |
| In office 1948–1949 | |
| Governors General | Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1948) Khawaja Nazimuddin (1948–1949) |
| Preceded by | Shamsuddin Ahmed |
| President of Pakistan Muslim League | |
| In office 17 April 1953 – 12 August 1955 | |
| Preceded by | Khawaja Nazimuddin |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Ali |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Syed Mohammad Ali Chowdhury (1909-10-19)19 October 1909 Backergunge District,Eastern Bengal and Assam, British India |
| Died | 23 January 1963(1963-01-23) (aged 53) Dacca,East Pakistan, Pakistan |
| Resting place | Nawab Palace,Bogra, Bangladesh |
| Citizenship | British Raj (1909–1947) Pakistan (1947–1963) |
| Political party | PMLC |
| Other political affiliations | PML (1947–1958) AIML (pre-1947) |
| Spouse(s) | Hameeda Begum[1] Aliya Begum[1] |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Nawab Ali Chowdhury (grandfather) Hasan Ali Chowdhury (uncle) Syeda Ashiqua Akbar (cousin) |
| Residence(s) | Karachi, Pakistan |
| Education | B.A. |
| Alma mater | University of Calcutta |
| Known for | Bogra formula |
| Cabinet | Bogra administration |
Syed Mohammad Ali Chowdhury Bogra[a] (19 October 1909 – 23 January 1963) was a Pakistani politician and diplomat who served as the thirdprime minister of Pakistan from 1953 to 1955. He was appointed in this capacity in 1953 until hestepped down in 1955 in favour of hisfederal finance ministerChaudhri Muhammad Ali.[b]
After his education at thePresidency College at theUniversity of Calcutta, he started his political career onMuslim League's platform and joined theBengal's provincial cabinet of then-Prime MinisterH. S. Suhrawardy in the 1940s. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, he joined the foreign ministry as a diplomat and briefly tenured as Pakistan's ambassador toBurma (1948), High Commissioner toCanada (1949–1952), twice as ambassador to theUnited States, and as ambassador toJapan (1959–1962).[8]
After he was recalled in 1953 from his services toPakistan from the United States, he replacedSir Khwaja Nazimuddin as Prime Minister in an appointment approved by then-Governor-General SirMalik Ghulam. His foreign policy strongly pursued thestrengthening of bilateral relations between Pakistan and the United States, while downplayingrelations with theSoviet Union. He also pushed for a stronger military to achieve peace with India and took personal initiatives to prioritizerelations withChina. At home front, he successfully proposed the popularpolitical formula that laid the foundation of theconstitution in1956 which made Pakistan afederalparliamentary republic. Despite his popular initiatives, he lost his support to then-acting governor-generalIskandar Ali Mirza who re-appointed him as Pakistani Ambassador to the United States which he served until 1959.
In 1962, he joined PresidentMuhammad Ayub Khan'sadministration as theForeign Minister of Pakistan until his death in 1963.
Mohammad Ali was born inBackerganj (nowBarisal),East Bengal,British India, on 19 October 1909.[9] He was born into an elite and wealthyaristocrat family who were known as theNawabs of Dhanbari.[10] Theprefix,Sahibzada (lit. Prince) is added before his name to represent theBengali royalty which is customary to give to individuals in India.[11]
His father,NawabzadaAltaf Ali Chowdhury, educated at theSt Xavier's College in Calcutta, was a prominent figure inDacca and was also a local politician who served as the Vice-President of theMuslim League's East Bengal faction.[12] His father, Altaf Ali Chowdhury, was fond ofhorse races, dog shows, and sports.[9] His grandfather,Nawab Ali Chowdhury, was also a politician who served as the firstBengali Muslim to be appointed as minister, and played a pioneering role in founding theDhaka University along with Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur of Dhaka.[13]
Mohammad Ali Bogra grew up inBogra, having studied first at the local Hastings House and then educated at the localmadrassa inCalcutta.[7] After hismatriculation, Bogra went to attend thePresidency College of theCalcutta University where he secured his graduation with aBA degree inpolitical science in 1930.[14][7]
He was married twice: his first wife wasBegum Hamida Mohammad Ali, with whom he had two sons.[15] He later married Aliya Saddy in 1955.[15] His second marriage led to widespread protests againstpolygamy bywomen organizations in the country.[16]
Before his entrance in the politics, the Bogra family were influentialNawabs active in Bengali politics andMuslim League as aparty worker in 1930.[17] In the1937 Indian provincial elections he was elected to theBengal Legislative Assembly. His uncle,Hasan Ali Chowdhury was also elected to the assembly, but from an opposing party.[18]
In 1938, he was elected chairman of the Bogra District Board, a position he retained until June 1942.[18] He served in the opposition until 1943 when the Muslim League had gained political support and he was made parliamentary secretary to then-Chief MinisterKhawaja Nazimuddin.[19][20] In 1946, he was asked byHusyn Suhrawardy to join his cabinet and subsequently held ministerial portfolio ofhealth,finance, and local government.[19] As health minister, he founded theDhaka Medical College and the Calcutta Lake Medical College.[7]
Bogra supported the Muslim League's call forcreation of Pakistan through thepartition ofBritish India and successfully defended his constituency in thegeneral elections held in 1945.[7] In 1947, he joined the firstConstituent Assembly.[19] While in Dacca in 1948, he received Governor-GeneralMuhammad Ali Jinnah and reportedly dissented on the issue of populistlanguage movement being excluded as an official state language of Pakistan.[7] He strongly advised Chief Minister Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin to restrain Jinnah from announcing the measure, but was rebuked.[7]
In 1948, Bogra was asked by Prime MinisterLiaquat Ali Khan to be appointed thePakistan ambassador to theKingdom of Egypt to head the Pakistani diplomatic mission inCairo, which Bogra declined.[7] Instead, he chose the diplomatic assignment in neighboringBurma and presented his credentials inRangoon in 1948.[7] Soon after becoming Pakistan Ambassador to Burma, his political philosophy reflected aconservative mindset and took ananti-communist stance when he supported theBurma's militaryoperations against the communists.[21] In 1948, he showed concerns ofcommunist expansion in Pakistan when he reportedly told Pakistani journalists that: "even [sic] if the Burmese Government succeed in suppressing the communists, it is possible they may shift the centre of communist efforts to Pakistan."[21]
In 1949, he left Burma to becomehigh commissioner to Canada, a position he held until 1952. In February 1952, he was made ambassador to the United States.[20][22]
Watching thecampaign for the 1952 United States presidency, Bogra conjectured, according toHusain Haqqani, that Pakistan could obtain economic and military aid from the United States by casting itself as a front line state in the battle tocontain Soviet communism. He vigorously lobbied anticommunists in Washington, D.C. to that end.[23] In Pakistan's political circle, he was seen as extremely having pro-American views and had fondness of the country, the United States.[24] He also helped negotiate the United States' officerassistance advisory to be dispatch to Pakistan, in an agreement he signed with theUnited States government in 1952.[25]: 36
In theForeign Service society of Pakistan, Bogra gained a reputation of "a man who was known for hisexcessive praise of everything American."[26] Pakistani historians held him widely responsibly as one of the principal personalities putting Pakistan in the alliance of the United States against the Soviet Union.[25]: 41–59 He was a little-known pro-American political outsider whenGhulam Muhammad chose him in 1953 to replace Khawaja Nazimuddin as prime minister.[27]
The issue of theBengali language movement in East in 1952, the rise of thePakistan Socialist Party, and theriots in Lahore against theAhmadi in 1953 were the defining factors that led to the dismissal of Prime MinisterKhawaja Nazimuddin by Governor-GeneralGhulam Muhammad on 17 April 1953.[28]
Bogra was recalled toKarachi fromWashington, D.C. for further consultation, but Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad moved to appoint him as the new prime minister and thePresident of the Muslim League, which the party had accepted.[29] Under pressure he accepted the new appointment from Ghulam Muhammad.[30][31][1] Initially, he kept thefederal ministries offoreign affairs anddefence until appointing a new cabinet.[28] Upon taking over the government, Bogra dismissed the electedEast Bengali government ofA.K. Fazlul Huq on 30 May 1954 for "treasonable activities."[32][33] He appointed then-defence secretaryIskander Mirza as theGovernor of East Bengal, but this appointment only lasted a couple of months.[32]
Bogra's new cabinet—known as the "Ministry of Talents"[34][35]—includedCommander-in-Chief of the Pakistan ArmyAyub Khan asDefence Minister and GovernorIskander Ali Mirza asInterior Minister andMinister of States and Frontier Regions.[34]
After Bogra's appointment, U.S. PresidentDwight Eisenhower ordered the shipment of thousands of tons of wheat to Pakistan.[36] Bogra was eager to strengthen military ties with the United States; however, the U.S. moved cautiously to notdamage their relations with India.[37] He signed several agreement with the United States, most notably theMutual Defense Assistance Agreement in 1954, which provided U.S. military assistance to Pakistan.[31] During Bogra's premiership, Pakistan also joined theSoutheast Asia Treaty Organization in 1955.[38]
His foreign policy was noted for strong "anti-Soviet agitation" because he viewed theSoviet Union as "imperialist", but did not label the same forChina despite both beingideologically close.[39]: 71 In 1955, Bogra helped organize and attended theBandung Conference inIndonesia, expressing his approval for greater Afro-Asian cooperation and opposition toEuropean colonialism.[40]
Bogra sought to address and resolve theKashmir conflict with India. In 1953, he met with Indian Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru on the sidelines of theCoronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London.[41] Bogra also received Nehru when he paid an official visit to Karachi, and Nehru reciprocated during Bogra's visit toNew Delhi shortly after.[41] Bogra enjoyed warm relations with Nehru, as both eventually agreed on aplebiscite in Kashmir. However, this plebiscite was not achieved due to Bogra losing support from theleft-wing sphere in Pakistan.[41]
As a part of his approach towards India, Bogra pushed for astronger military to achieve peace in thesubcontinent, arguing: "[w]hen there is more equality of military strength, then I am sure that there will be a greater chance of settlement."[42]
The Bogra Formula was a political compromise presented and proposed by Bogra on 7 October 1953 before theConstituent Assembly.[43] Upon taking the control of thePrime Minister's Secretariat, Bogra announced that drafting of the codifiedConstitution was his primary target, and within six months, he announced a proposal that leads to the drafting of the constitution writ.[43]
The framework proposed the establishment of more effectivebicameralparliament that would be composed of a 300-seatNational Assembly with proportionate representation based on population, alongside aSenate with equal representation for thefive provinces:West Punjab, theNorth-West Frontier Province,Sind,Baluchistan, andEast Bengal.[43]
Under this framework, the largest number ofconstituencies for the National Assembly were given to East Bengal—with 165 reserved seats—followed by West Punjab with 75 seats, the North-West Frontier Province with 24 seats, Sind with 19 seats, and Baluchistan with 17 seats.[43] TheFederally Administered Tribal Areas,Federal Capital Territory,Bahawalpur,Khairpur, andBaluchistan States Union, were given a combined representation of 24 reserved seats.[43] East Bengal was given more seats due to itssocial homogeneity in the National Assembly, in contrast to the reserved seats for the other provinces which were all were socially heterogeneous and ethnically diverse.[43] However, the combined the reserved seats for the West Pakistani provinces were in balance with East Bengal in the bicameral parliament.[43] Both the houses were given equal power, and in case of a conflict between the two houses, the issue was to be presented before a joint session.[43]
The Bogra framework also createdcheck and balances to avoid permanent domination by any of the five provinces, in which a provision was made that if the president was elected from the four provinces of West Pakistan, then the prime minister was to be elected from East Bengal, andvice versa.[43] The president was to be elected for a term of 5 years through anElectoral College formed by both houses.[43]
TheSupreme Court was to be given more power and institutionaljudicial independence that would permanently replace theIslamic clergy to decide if a law was in accordance withSharia.[43]
The Bogra formula was highly popular and widely welcomed by the people as opposed to theBasic Principles Committee led by former Prime Minister Nazimuddin, as it was seen with great enthusiasm amongst the masses because it could bridge the differences between the two wings of Pakistan and act as a source of unity.[43]
Despite its public popularity, Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad, threatened by a curbing of his powers, dissolved the Constituent Assembly in 1954 with the support of thePakistani civil and military establishment.[46][47]
Following the failure to implement a constitutional formula, Bogra began working towards the controversial One Unit scheme that integrated the four West Pakistani provinces into a single province. He justified this scheme when he stated:
There will be no Bengalis, no Punjabis, no Sindhis, no Pathans, no Balochis, no Bahawalpuris, no Khairpuris. The disappearance of these groups will strengthen the integrity of Pakistan...
— Prime Minister M. A. Bogra, presenting the One Unit on 22 November 1954[48]
The scheme was ultimately implemented by his successor,Chaudhri Muhammad Ali, in October 1955.[49]
On 4 August 1955, the Cabinet accepted Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad's request for aleave of absence due to ill health. They chose Interior Minister Iskander Mirza to replace him, and Mirza was sworn in as acting Governor-General three days later.[50][51][52]
Soon after the appointment, Mirza confronted Bogra on regional disparity despite the fact that both men wereBengalis, and forced Bogra to resign from the prime ministership.[53][54] Mirza also dismissed Malik Ghulam Muhammad and sent a letter of notification to inform him of the political developments.[55]
After his dismissal, Bogra was appointed the Pakistani Ambassador to the United States[52] when he recalledAmjad Ali, who was appointedFinance Minister.
In 1959, he left the ambassadorial assignment after the then-Chief Martial Law AdministratorAyub Khan took control of the government from PresidentIskander Mirza in 1958. Ayub appointed Bograforeign minister.[citation needed]
Soon after his appointment, he visited China where he continued talks with the Chinese leadership that eventually led to asettlement with China regarding theChina–Pakistan border.[56] As foreign minister, he guided a pro-Western policy but made efforts to improve relations with theSoviet Union after witnessing theWestern and American support India during theChinese-Indian War in 1962.[57] After visiting Soviet Union with President Ayub, Bogra quoted: There was no such thing as friends forever or enemies forever– only national interests count.[57]
During this time, his health became a serious issue and illness caused him to miss out the meeting over Kashmir but his deputyZulfikar Ali Bhutto attended in the United States on 26 December 1962.[39]: 136 In 1963, Bogra died while staying inDacca and was buried at the Bogra Nawab Palace inEast Pakistan, nowBangladesh.[54][58]
Ali was married twice; his first wife was BegumHamida Mohammed Ali,[7] and his second wife was a Lebanese lady, Aliya Begum.[1] This marriage was controversial because it constitutedpolygamy, which was uncommon among the elites of Pakistan.[1][59]
Bogra died on 23 January 1963 in Dacca. PoliticianAjmal Ali Choudhury offered condolences and felt "deep sorrow" for the sudden death.[60]
Choudhury Muhammad Ali ... in October 1955 succeeded Mohammad Ali Bogra as prime minister. He presided over the introduction of the One Unit Scheme."
In 1954, Pakistan's then Prime Minister Mohammad Ali Bogra announced what he called the One Unit Province policy in which then West Pakistan's provinces were merged into one.
On 7 August, Major-General Iskander Mirza vacated the post of Interior Minister and assumed charge as the Acting Governor-General.
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Ambassador to the United States 1952–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ambassador to the United States 1955–1959 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Pakistan 1953–1955 | Succeeded by |
| Minister of Defence 1953–1954 | Succeeded by | |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1954–1955 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1962–1963 | Succeeded by |
