Bengal Provincial Muslim League | |
|---|---|
| Former provincial party | |
 | |
| Founded | 1912 (1912) |
| Dissolved | 1947 |
| Ideology | Constitutionalism Muslim nationalism in South Asia Civil rights forBengali Muslims |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| National affiliation | All-India Muslim League |
TheBengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML) was the branch of theAll India Muslim League in theBritish Indian province ofBengal. It was established inDhaka on 2 March 1912. Its official language wasBengali.[1] The party played an important role in theBengal Legislative Council and in theBengal Legislative Assembly, where two of thePrime Ministers of Bengal were from the party. It was vital to the creation of theDominion of Pakistan, particularly after its election victory in 1946.
In 1929, a faction of the party broke away as thePraja Party. Members of the BPML later became prominent statesmen ofPakistan andBangladesh, including holding offices such as thePrime Minister of Pakistan (SirKhawaja Nazimuddin,Mohammad Ali of Bogra,Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy andNurul Amin),Governor General of Pakistan (Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin),Chief Minister of East Bengal (Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin, Nurul Amin, A. K. Fazlul Huq andAtaur Rahman Khan),President of Bangladesh (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,Mohammad Mohammadullah andKhondaker Mostaq Ahmad),Vice President of Bangladesh (Syed Nazrul Islam) andPrime Minister of Bangladesh (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,Tajuddin Ahmad,Muhammad Mansur Ali and Ataur Rahman Khan).
Eastern Bengal and Assam was the birthplace of the Muslim League in 1906. The League was created as a response to the growth of Hindu nationalist movements in India, particularly in Bengal after the1905 partition. It was formed at theAll India Muhammadan Educational Conference, which was aimed at promoting liberal education among Indian Muslims. In 1912, the British government annulled the partition. The annulment was not well-received among many in the Muslim population.[citation needed]
The founders of the BPML wereNawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah,Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury, SirAbdul Halim Ghaznavi, Justice SirZahid Suhrawardy, Abul Kashem, Wahid Hossain and Abdur Rasul. Many members were concurrently members of theIndian National Congress.[1]A. K. Fazlul Huq was elected as its president in 1915.[citation needed]
The BPML adopted Bengali as its official language. All its resolutions were published in Bengali.[1] In contrast, the central leadership of the Muslim League were mostlyUrdu-speaking.[citation needed]
In the period of dyarchy (1919-1935), the BPML had many factions. One of the notable factions led by A. K. Fazlul Huq favored cooperation with the British government to achieve self-rule. Another faction led byManiruzzaman Islamabadi supported non-cooperation and theKhilafat movement.[1]
The BPML won 40 seats in the Bengal Legislative Assembly during the1937 election. It supportedKrishak Sramik Party leader A. K. Fazlul Huq's government. In 1940, the All India Muslim League adopted theLahore Resolution which included references to a sovereign state in eastern India. In 1941, the BPML withdrew support for Huq's government. Its chief leader between 1937 and 1946 wasSir Khawaja Nazimuddin, a trusted confidante of All India Muslim League presidentMuhammad Ali Jinnah. In 1943, Nazimuddin unseated the Huq-Syama coalition, formed government and became thePrime Minister of Bengal. The conservative Nazimuddin ministry grappled with the effects ofWorld War II, including theBengal famine of 1943. Factional infighting increased within the BPML. The Nazimuddin ministry collapsed in 1945 andGovernor's rule was imposed. The party's control passed on to a more liberal and centrist faction, which included leadersH. S. Suhrawardy andMohammad Ali of Bogra. In the1946 election, the BPML won a majority of 114/250 seats in the Bengal Legislative Assembly, compared to 28/60 inSind, 75/175 inPunjab, 17/150 in theNorth-West Frontier Province, 54/228 in theUnited Provinces, 34/152 inBihar, 31/108 inAssam, 30/175 inBombay Presidency, 29/215 inMadras Presidency, and 4/60 inOrissa.[2] The result in Bengal, with 45% of seats won by the BPML, was among the largest mandates for the League. The Suhrawardy ministry lasted until the partition of India in 1947.[3] Suhrawardy mooted the proposal for aUnited Bengal, but the Mountbatten Plan failed to take it into account. Suhrawardy also faced bitterness to his plans from Nazimuddin and could not count on the cooperation of Nazimuddin's ally Jinnah.[4]