Haji Shariatullah (1781–1840) was an eminent Islamic reformer of the Indian subcontinent in British India. He is known for founding Faraizi movement.[1]
Earlylife Haji Shariat Ullah was born in 1781 in faridpur district in east Bengal(today part of Bangladesh). His father was a farmer and his family was not very well off. In 1799he travelled to Arabia on pligrimage and stayed there for the next nineteen years. He became greatly influenced by the beliefs of Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab.
On his return to East Bengal he started his own reform movement designed to purify Islam of the Hindu influences.Haji Shariat Ullah died in 1840,but his work was carried out by his son Mohsin-Ud-Din.
Life in Arabia
Haji Shariatullah stayed there from 1799 to 1818 and got his religious education. He learnt Arabic and Persian from his teacher, Maulana Basharat. During his stay in Arabia he came into close contact with Wahabism started by Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Wahab. He was really influenced by the point of views of the Wahabi Movement. While he was in Arabia, he kept on thinking to be of help to his Muslim brothers in East Bengal.The Faraizi Movement
The Faraizi Movement essentially a religious reform movement had emerged forth during the 19th century, founded by Haji Shariatullah by the Bengali Muslims. The term Faraizi has been deduced from `farz`, standing for compulsory and mandatory duties ordained by Allah. The Faraizis are, thus, those bunch of men whose only objective is to implement and impose these mandatory religious duties. The promoter and initiator of the Faraizi Movement, Haji Shariatullah, however had represented the term in a different light and sense, implying to assimilate every religious duty ordained by the Quran as well as by the Sunnah of the Prophet.Prior to the uprising of the Faraizi movement, there lies hidden a history and backdrop which indeed had induced the Bengali Muslims and Shariatullah in large to incite such an action against the British oppression. Haji Shariatullah had been onto a pilgrimage to Mecca, staying back for twenty years and being absorbed in comprehending religious doctrines under Shaikh Tahir Sombal, a heavyweight of the Hanafi School. Returning home, he had plunged a movement to make the Bengali Muslims espouse the true canons of Islam. After his return to Bengal under British Indian rule, he had remained a continuous witness to the appalling and degenerating conditions of his brotherhood, calling them forth to give up un-Islamic practices (Bidah) and execute their honest duties as Muslims (Faraiz). Due to various accumulating historical reasons, the Muslims of Bengal had been merrily complying with umpteen local customs, rituals and observances, which were almost unimaginable and displaced from the principles of Islam. Most Bengali Muslims did not even abide by the basic principles of Islam and adhered to these Hindu customs.[2]
Haji Shariatullah then and there had sworn to bring the Bengali Muslims back in the true path of Islam, which later had churned into the gargantuan Faraizi Movement. He had assayed to lay paramount accentuation on the five fundamentals of Islam, insisted on the complete acceptance and strict observation of virginal monotheism and reprobated all digressions from the original doctrines as shirk (polytheism) and bid`at (sinful conception). Umpteen rituals and ceremonies affiliated with birth, marriage and death like Chuttee- Puttee, Chilla, Shabgasht procession, Fatihah, Milad and Urs were heavily prohibited by Shariatullah. Saint-worship, demonstrating unnecessary admiration to the Pir, lifting of the Taziah during Muharram were also adjudged shirk. Haji Shariatullah indeed had laid gross emphasis upon justice, social equality and universal fraternity of Muslims.
Haji Shariatullah deemed British domination in Bengal as exceedingly detrimental to the religious life of the followers of Islam. Travelling in earnest quest of the Hanafi law, he spoke up that the complete non-existence of a lawfully-appointed Muslim caliph or representative administrator in Bengal had stripped the Muslims of the privilege of observing congregational prayers. To the Faraizis, Friday congregation was inexcusable in a predominantly non-Muslim state like Bengal. The Faraizi movement thus began to circulate with astonishing promptness in the districts of Dhaka, Faridpur, Bakerganj, Mymensingh, Tippera (Comilla), Chittagong and Noakhali (back then, during British Indian times, the country was yet to be divided, hence these regions very well fell under the erstwhile undivided Bengal), as well as to the province of Assam. Faraizi movement, however, acquired its grooviest momentum in those provinces where the Muslim peasantry was horribly dejected under the tyrannical domination of Hindu zamindars and the sadistic European indigo planters.
Many Muslims, on the other hand, did not abide by the Faraizi doctrine and tried to defend against their activities with aid from the Hindu zamindars. The landlords of Dhaka, hence, guaranteed the eviction of Haji Shariatullah by the police in 1831, from Ramnagar or Nayabari, where he had assembled his propaganda centre. Through unremitting engagement with the Hindu landlords and European indigo planters, this movement swelled into a socio-economic issue,[3] which became an overriding feature of the Faraizi movement under Shariatullah`s son Dudu Miyan and his descendants.
The landlords levied numerous Abwabs (plural form of the Arabic term bab, signifying a door, a section, a chapter, a title). During Mughal India, all temporary and conditional taxes and impositions levied by the government over and above regular taxes were referred to as abwabs. More explicitly, abwab stood for all irregular impositions on Raiyats above the established assessment of land in the Pargana) over and above normal rent and such abwabs were horribly dishonest in the eye of law. Several abwabs were of religious nature. Haji Shariatullah then intervened to object to such a practice and commanded his disciples not to pay these dishonest cesses to the landlords. The landlords had even inflicted a ban on the slaughter of cow, especially on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha. The Faraizis ordained their peasant followers not to cling and stick by to such a ban. All these heated instances added up to tensed and stressed relationships amongst the Faraizies and the landlords, who were nearly all Hindus. This was another major communal cause, which in the long run, had induced these two religious factions to stand against each other, leading to the Fairizi Movement.
Gradually gathering up incidents under the Islamic-led Faraizi movement could be witnessed in various parts of Bengal, with overwhelming English-Bengali agreement for perhaps the very first time. The outraged landlords built up a propaganda campaign with the British officials, incriminating the Faraizis with mutinous mood. In 1837, these Hindu landlords indicted Haji Shariatullah of attempting to build up a monarchy of his own, similar in lines to Titu Mir. They also brought several lawsuits against the Faraizis, in which they benefitted dynamic cooperation of the European indigo planters. Shariatullah was placed under the detention of the police in more than one instance, for purportedly inciting agrarian turbulences in Faridpur.
After the bereavement of Haji Shariatullah in 1840, his only son Muhsinuddin Ahmad, alias Dudu Miyan was heralded the chief of the Faraizi movement. It was under Dudu Miyan`s leadership that the Faraizi movement took on agrarian disposition. He had machinated and masterminded the oppressed peasantry against the oppressive landlords. In trembling vengeance, the Hindu landlords and indigo planters tried to hold back Dudu Miyan by constituting false cases against him. But, he had turned so very iconic with the peasantry that in these several issued cases, courts hardly ever establish a witness against Dudu. The initial victories of Dudu Miyan caught the fancy of the masses and his reputed standing rose high and higher in their respect. These incidents also lent additional impetus to the circulation of the Faraizi movement and drew to its congregation not only numerous Muslims, who so far stood cold, but also Hindus and native Christians who assayed Dudu Miyan`s protection against the tyrannical landlords.
Dudu Miyan however, passed away in 1862 and before his death he had appointed a board of guardians to watch over his minor sons, Ghiyasuddin Haydar and Abdul Gafur, alias Naya Miyan, who succeeded his father sequentially. The board, scouting under great troubles, kept the now-declining Faraizi movement from shattering to pieces. It was not until Naya Miyan reached maturity that it recovered some of its lost force and vigour. Nabinchandra Sen, the then sub-divisional officer of Madaripur, deemed it practical to enter into a treaty of mutual help with the Faraizi leaders, who, in their turn, demonstrated a zeal of cooperation towards the government.
On the death of Naya Miyan in 1884, the third and youngest son of Dudu Miyan, Syeduddin Ahmad, was hailed as the leader by the Faraizis. During Syeduddin Ahmad`s period, the clash of the Faraizis with the Taiyunis, another reformist group, reached its peak status and religious debates between the two schools had become a common place episode in the then British Indian Bengal. Syeduddin was conferred the title of Khan Bahadur by the government. In 1905, on the question of the partition of Bengal, he lent tremendous support to Nawab Salimullah in favour of partition, but he too expired in 1906. Faraizi Movement was now, almost biting the dust of degenerating soil, with no potential hope for an intelligent tomorrow.
Khan Bahadur Syeduddin was succeeded by his eldest son Rashiduddin Ahmad, also acknowledged as Badshah Miyan. During the early years of his leadership, Badshah Miyan strictly had defended the policy of co-operation towards the colonial government. But the dissolution and succeeding invalidation of the partition of Bengal made him terribly anti-British and he this began taking active part in the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movements. Soon after the establishment of Pakistan, Badshah Miyan called for a conference of the Faraizis at Narayanganj and declared Pakistan as Dar-ul-Islam and afforded permission to his followers to hold the congregational prayers of Jum`ah and Eid. In such a gradual manner, the Faraizi movement lost its erstwhile zing and forcefulness, as the country witnessed its Independence, coupled with the Partition into two distinctive nations, comprising Hindus and Muslims.
Doctrines of Faraizi Movement The Faraizis had strongly clung to the Hanafi School with particular oddities in their religious beliefs as well as practices. These oddities can be loosely classed together into five Faraizi doctrines, comprising: (i) tawbah i.e. to remain repentant for past sins as a step towards the purification of soul; (ii) to rigorously observe the mandatory duties of Faraiz; (iii) tawhid or Unitarianism as was enounced by the Quran; (iv) India being Dar-ul-Harb, Jum`ah and Eid congregations were not deemed mandatory and, (v) disapproving all popular rites and ceremonies, which possessed no acknowledgment to the Quran and Prophetic traditions, as sinful designs. The chief of the Faraizis were referred to as Ustad or teacher and his disciples Shagird or students, instead of employing terms like pir and murid. A person so inducted into the Faraizi congregation were referred to as Tawbar Muslim or Mumin.
Organisation of Faraizi Movement In organising the Faraizi society and additional movement, Dudu Miyan primarily had two objectives in perspective, comprising: (i) safeguarding the Faraizi peasantry from the tyranny of the zamindars and European indigo planters and, (ii) guaranteeing social justice for the bulks. In order to guarantee the first objective, Dudu Miyan had parented up a volunteer corps of clubmen (lathial) and ordained for their regular training in the art of combating with clubs. For guaranteeing the second objective, he had resurrected the traditional system of local government (Panchayat) under Faraizi headship. The former came to be acknowledged as the Siyasti or political branch and the latter Dini or religious branch, which were consolidated later on into a hierarchical Khilafat system.
The Faraizi Khilafat system was contrived to bring together all the Faraizis under the direct control of the authorised representatives of Dudu Miyan who stood at the zenith of the hierarchy of khalifahs. He had thus appointed three grades of khalifahs, consisting of: (i) the Uparastha Khalifah, (ii) the Superintendent Khalifah and, (iii) the Gaon Khalifah.
Dudu Miyan then had separated the Faraizi settlement into small units comprising 300 to 500 families and decreed a Gaon or ward Khalifah over each unit. Ten or more such units were classed together into a circle or Gird, which was placed under a Superintendent Khalifah. The Superintendent Khalifah was furnished with a peon and a piyadah or guard, who was despatched to and fro keeping contact with the Gaon Khalifaha on one hand and with the Ustad on the other. The Uparastha Khalifahs were consultants and experts to the Ustad and stayed back in Dudu Miyan`s company at Bahadurpur, the headquarters of the Faraizi movement.
The Gaon Khalifah represented himself as a community leader, whose duty was to circularise religious teaching, implement religious duties, preserve a prayer-hall, take care of the morals and parcel out justice by consulting with elders. He was also required to preserve a Maktab for preaching the Quran and elementary lessons to the children. The Superintendent Khalifah`s chief functions were to oversee the activities of the Gaon Khalifahs, take care of the well-being of the Faraizis of his Gird or jurisdiction, sermonise the fundamentals of religion and in particular, to sit as a Court of Appeal against the decisions of the Gaon Khalifahs, if any. In such cases, the Superintendent Khalifah heard the appeal sitting in a council of the Khalifahs of his Gird. In all affairs, religious as well as political, the decision of Dudu Miyan was final and as the Ustad he also acted as the ultimate Court of Appeal
Legacy
Palong thana, a district in the Dhaka Division of central Bangladesh was named as Shariatpur District on the honor of Haji Shariatullah.Surya Sen (Bengali: সূর্য সেন) (22 March 1894 – 12 January 1934) was a Bengali independence fighter (against British rule) who is noted for leading the 1930 Chittagong armoury raid In Chittagong of Bengal in British India (now in Bangladesh). Sen was a school teacher by profession and was popularly called as Master Da ("da" is a suffix in Bengali language denoting elder brother). He was influenced by the nationalist ideals in 1916, when he was a student of B.A. in Behrampore College.[1] In 1918 he was selected as president of Indian National Congress, Chittagong branch.[citation needed]
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Early life
Sen was born on 22 March 1894[2] at Noapara, under Raozan upazilla in Chittagong. His father Ramaniranjan Sen was a teacher. In 1916 when he was a B.A. student in Behrampore College he learned about Indian freedom movement from one of his teachers. He felt attracted towards revolutionary ideals and joined a revolutionary organization Anushilan Samity. After completing his studies he returned to Chittagong in 1918 and joined as a teacher at National school, Nandankanan . At that time, Indian National Congress was the most prominent political party there.[citation needed]Chittagong armoury raid
Main article: Chittagong armoury raid
Surya Sen led a group of revolutionaries on 18 April 1930 to raid the
armoury of police and auxiliary forces from the Chittagong armoury.[3]
The plan was elaborate and included seizing of arms from the armoury as
well as destruction of communication system of the city (including
telephone, telegraph and railway), thereby isolating Chittagong from the
rest of British India.[3] However, although the group could loot the arms, they failed to get the ammunition. They hoisted the national flag
on the premises of the armoury, and then escaped. A few days later, a
large fraction of the revolutionary group was cornered in the nearby Jalalabad hills by the British troops. In the ensuing fight, twelve revolutionaries died, many were arrested, while some managed to flee, including Surya Sen.[3]Arrest and death
Surya Sen stayed in hiding, and kept moving from one place to another. Sometimes he took up a job as a workman, a farmer, a priest, a house worker or even as a pious Muslim. This is how he avoided being captured by the British. He once hid in the house of a man called Netra Sen. Either because of greed of money, or out of jealousy or maybe both, Netra Sen informed the British that Surya Sen had taken asylum at his house, and the police came and captured him in February 1933. Before Netra Sen could be rewarded by the British, a revolutionary came into his house and beheaded him with a long knife, called 'daa'. As Netra Sen's wife was a big supporter of Surya Sen, she never disclosed the name of the revolutionary who killed Netra Sen. Before Surya Sen was hanged, he was brutally tortured by the British. The British executioners broke all his teeth with a hammer, and pulled out all his nails. They broke all his limbs and joints. He was dragged to the rope unconscious. His last letter was written to his friends and said: “Death is knocking at my door. My mind is flying away towards eternity ...At such a pleasant, at such a grave, at such a solemn moment, what shall I leave behind you? Only one thing, that is my dream, a golden dream-the dream of Free India.... Never forget the 18th of April,1930, the day of the eastern Rebellion in Chittagong... Write in red letters in the core of your hearts the names of the patriots who have sacrificed their lives at the altar of India’s freedom." Surya Sen was given a burial at sea in the Bay of Bengal [4]In popular media
A film named Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey was made on the life of Surya Sen directed by Ashutosh Gowariker in which Abhishek Bachchan played master da . Chittagong (film) made by Bedabrata Pain which released in 2012 was based on the story of the armoury raid.Manoj Bajpayee essayed the main rolePritilata Waddedar (5 May 1911 – 23 September 1932)[1] was a Bengali revolutionary nationalist.[2][3] She was very studious. After completing her education in Chittagong, she attended Bethune College in Kolkata. Pritilata graduated in Philosophy with distinction.
After a brief stint as a school teacher, Pritilata joined a revolutionary group headed by Surya Sen. She led a 15 man team of revolutionaries[4] in a 1932 attack on the Pahartali European Club,[5][6] which had a sign board that read "Dogs and Indians not allowed".[2] The revolutionaries torched the club and were later caught by the British police. To avoid getting arrested, Pritilata consumed cyanide and died.[7]
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Early life
Pritilata was born in a middle-class Vaidya-Brahmin family on 5 May 1911[8] in Dhalghat village in Patiya upazila of Chittagong (now in Bangladesh).[9] Her parents were Jagabandhu Waddedar (father) and Pratibhamayi Devi (mother). Jagabandhu was a clerk in the Chittagong Municipality.[2] Her mother Pratibhamayi Devi was a housewife.[10] The couple had six children– Madhusduan, Pritilata, Kanaklata, Shantilata, Ashalata and Santosh. Pritilata was nicknamed Rani.[10] Waddedar was a title conferred to an ancestor of the family who originally had the surname Dasgupta.Jagabandhu tried to arrange best possible education for their children.[11] He got Pritilata admitted in Dr. Khastagir Government Girls' School of Chittagong. Pritilata was a meritorious student.[12] A teacher in the school, whom students affectionately used called Usha Di, used stories of Rani Lakshmibai to inspire nationalism in her students. Kalpana Datta, a classmate of Pritilata, writes in the biography Chittagong Armoury raiders– "We had no clear idea in our school days about our future. Then the Rani of Jhansi fired our imagination with her example. Sometimes we used to think of ourselves as fearless...".[13] Arts and literature were Pritilata's favourite subjects.[14] She passed out of Dr. Khastagir Government Girls' School in 1928 and in 1929, got admitted to the Eden College, Dhaka. In the Intermediate examinations, she stood first among all students who appeared in that year's examination from the Dhaka Board.[2][11] As a student in Eden College, she participated in various social activities. She joined the group Sree Sangha, headed by Leela Nag, under the banner Dipali Sangha.[15]
In Calcutta
To pursue higher education, Pritilata went to Calcutta (now Kolkata) and got admitted to the Bethune College. Two years later, she graduated in Philosophy from the college with a distinction.[16] However, her degree was withheld by British authorities at Calcutta University. In 2012, she (and Bina Das) were conferred their certificates of merit posthumously.[3]As a school teacher
After completing her education in Calcutta, Pritilata returned to Chittagong. In Chittagong, she took up the job of a school teacher at a local English medium secondary school called Nandankanan Aparnacharan School. She was appointed as the first Headmistress of the school.[2][11][17]Revolutionary activities
Joining Surya Sen's revolutionary group
"Pritilata was young and courageous. She would work with a lot of zeal and was determined to drive the British away."
Binod Bihari Chowdhury, a contemporary revolutionary[18]
Inspiration from Ramkrishna Biswas
Surya Sen and his revolutionary group decided to kill Mr. Craig, Inspector General of Chittagong. Ramakrishna Biswas and Kalipada Chakravarty were assigned for this task. But they mistakenly killed SP of Chandpur and Traini Mukherjee instead of Craig. Ramakrishna Biswas and Kalipada Chakravarty were arrested on 2 December 1931.[19] After the trial Biswas was ordered to be hanged till death and Chakravarty to be exiled to Cellular Jail.[20]The family and friends lacked the amount of money required to travel to Chittagong to Alipore Jail of Calcutta. Since at that time Pritilata was staying in Kolkata, she was asked to go to Alipore Jail and meet Ramkrishna Biswas.[20]
Activities in Surya Sen's group
Along with the revolutionary group of Surya Sen, Pritilata took part in many raids like attacks on the Telephone & Telegraph offices[8] and the capture of the reserve police line. In the Jalalabad battle, she took the responsibility to supply explosives to the revolutionaries.[2]Pahartali European Club attack (1932)
In 1932, Surya Sen planned to attack the Pahartali European Club which had a signboard that read "Dogs and Indians not allowed".[21] Surya Sen decided to appoint a woman leader for this mission. Kapana Datta was arrested seven days before the event. Because of this, Pritilata was assigned the leadership of the attack. Pritilata went to Kotowali Sea Side for arms training and made the plan of their attack there.[11]They decided to attack the club on 23 September 1932. The members of the group were given potassium cyanide and were told to swallow it if they were caught.[2]
On the day of the attack, Pritilata dressed herself as a Punjabi male. Her associates Kalishankar Dey, Bireshwar Roy, Prafulla Das, Shanti Chakraborty wore dhoti and shirt. Mahendra Chowdhury, Sushil Dey and Panna Sen wore lungi and shirt.[20]
They reached the club at around 10:45 PM and attacked the club. There were around 40 people inside the club then. The revolutionaries divided themselves into three separate groups for the attack. In the club, a few police officers who had revolvers started shooting. Pritilata incurred a single bullet wound. According to the police report, in this attack, one woman with a surname of Sullivan died and four men and seven women were injured.[20]
Death
An injured Pritilata was trapped by the British police.[2] In order to avoid arrest, she swallowed cyanide and committed suicide.[18] On the next day police found her body and identified her. On searching her dead body police found a few leaflets, photograph of Ramkrishna Biswas, bullets, whistle and the draft of their plan of attack. After the post-mortem it was found that the bullet injury was not very serious and cyanide was the reason of her death.[20]The chief secretary of Bengal sent a report to British authorities in London. In the report it was written–[22]
Pritilata had been closely associated with, if not actually the mistress of, the terrorist Biswas who was hanged for the murder of Inspector Tarini Mukherjee, and some reports indicate that she was the wife of Nirmal Sen who was killed while attempting to evade arrest of Dhalghat, where Captain Cameron fell..
Influence
Bangladeshi writer Selina Hossain calls Pritilata an ideal for every woman.[23] A trust named Birkannya Pritilata Trust (Brave lady Pritilata Trust) has been founded in her memory. Pritilata's birthday is celebrated by the trust in different places of Bangladesh and India every year. The trust considers her to be "a beacon of light for women".[24] The last end of Sahid Abdus Sabur Road to Mukunda Ram Hat of Boalkhali upazila in Chittagong has been named as Pritilata Waddedar Road.[25] In 2012, a bronze sculpture of Pritilata Waddedar and Suya Sen has been planned to be installed in front of Pahartali Railway School, adjacent to the historical European Club.[26]Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur Nawab of Dhaka |
|
---|---|
Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur GCSI
|
|
Reign | 1901 - 1915 |
Predecessor | Nawab Sir Khwaja Ahsanullah |
Successor | Nawab Khwaja Habibullah |
House | Dhaka Nawab Family |
Father | Nawab Sir Khwaja Ahsanullah |
Born | 7 June 1871 Ahsan Manzil, Dacca, Bengal Presidency, British India |
Died | 16 January 1915 (aged 43) Chowringhee, Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India |
Burial | Begum Bazaar, Dhaka |
Personal life
Khwaja Salimullah was the eldest son of the third Nawab of Dhaka, Sir Khwaja Ahsanullah and grandson of the first Nawab of Dhaka, Sir Khwaja Abdul Ghani.[4] Khawaja Salimullah was born at the Ahsan Manzil Palace on 7 June 1871.[5]Politics
Salimullah began his career in government service in 1893 as Deputy Magistrate, a position he held until he departed in 1895 to start his business in Mymensingh. In 1901 he inherited the position of Nawab of the Dhaka Nawab Family following his father's death.[5]In 1903-04, Nawab Salimullah began supporting the partition of Bengal in the face of opposition of the Indian National Congress. On 16 October 1905, the day the Bengal Province was parted, Salimullah presided over a meeting of Muslim leaders from all over East Bengal in Northbrook Hall where a political front called Mohammedan Provincial Union was formed. With others of the front, Salimullah organized meetings around East Bengal in favor of the partition, while the Congress built up a movement to oppose it. On 14 and 15 April 1906, Salimullah organized and was named president at the first convention of East Bengal and Assam Provincial Educational Conference at Shahbag, Dhaka. Later that year, newspapers published a dispatch from Salimullah to various Muslim leaders around India urging to form an all-India political party he called Muslim All India Confederacy,[6] and leaders of the Aligarh Movement requested him to convene the 20th meeting of the All India Mohammedan Educational Conference at his own cost. Over two thousand people covering Muslim leaders from all over India gathered at the Nawab's family garden-house in Shahbag, Dhaka for the conference held between 27 to 30 December 1906. On the last day, the assembly formed the All India Muslim League, appointing Nawab Salimullah the Vice President and placing him on a committee to craft its constitution. Two years later, in December 1908, Salimullah would speak out for free speech in educational institutes and also rights for Muslims to separate elections.The Muslims in East Bengal who hoped that a separate province of Eastern Bengal and Assam as created in 1905 would give them more control over education and employment,found a new leader in Nawab Salimullah.[7]
Throughout these years, Salimullah held positions of authority in several leagues and conferences and continued to speak out on important political issues. In 1907, he became president of the All Bengal Muslim League, formed newly Kolkata. In 1908, he became the secretary of the newly established East Bengal and Assam Provincial Muslim League, becoming president in 1909. He served as the chairman at the 22nd Convention of the All India Mohammedan Educational Conference at Amritsar in December 1908. In 1909, he led people of wealth in the newly formed province to form the Imperial League of Eastern Bengal and Assam. In March 1911, at a meeting at the Ahsan Manzil, he presided over a decision to maintain the provincial Muslim League and provincial Educational Conference separate for political and educational activities. On 2 March 1912, Salimullah chaired a meeting at which the two Muslim Leagues of the Bengal were combined into the Presidency Muslim League and the two Muslim Associations were combined into the Bengal Presidency Muslim Association. Salimullah was made president of both the organisations.
In August 1911, Salimullah demanded a university for Dhaka at a function at a political function at Curzon Hall,[5] but it was not until after the shock of the annulment of the partition by George V on 12 December 1911 that Salimullah was able to achieve this goal. Within days of the annulment, Salimullah submitted a list of demands to Viceroy Lord Hardinge to protect the interest of Muslims. In response, a pledge was made to establish a university at Dhaka and to provide for Muslims an education officer, which pledge led to the inclusion of an Islamic Studies Department in Dhaka University. Salimullah continued afterwards to champion this cause, making speeches to counter those who argued against it and, in 1914, organizing a convention on 11–12 April for the Muslim Education Conference of United Bengal.
Along with his continued championing of education, Salimullah's last focuses before withdrawing from active politics in 1914 included situations involving Turkey. In 1912, he raised money from East Bengal to assist Turkish Muslims threatened by the Balkan wars. During World War I, however, he supported the Allied Powers after Turkey aligned with Germany.
Honors
- Companion of the Order of the Star of India (CSI)-New Year Honours, 1906
- Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India (KCSI)-New Year Honours, 1909
- Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE)-23 December 1911
Legacy
Sir Salimullah is regarded in both Bangladesh and Pakistan as a great freedom fighter. Several of his descendants have gone onto to become prominent politicians in the later days of the British Raj and in Pakistan. They include one of his sons Khwaja Nasrullah who was the Governor of Calcutta, his grandson Sir Khwaja Nazimuddin who was the second Prime Minister of Pakistan, his great grandson Khwaja Hassan Askari who became a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. Other family members also became prominent political figures such as Khwaja Atiqullah, Khwaja Khairuddin, Khwaja Shahbuddin, Khwaja Nuruddin and Lieutenant General Khwaja Wasiuddin(the senior most general of Bangladesh Army). Sir Salimullah's great leadership had transformed the Dhaka Nawab Family into one of the most historic and significant political dynasties in the Indian Subcontinent.Several places in Bangladesh have been dedicated in Sir Salimullah's name. They include most notably the following-
- Salimullah Muslim Hall, University of Dhaka
- Sir Salimullah Medical College, Dhaka
- Salimullah Orphanage
- Nawab Salimullah Road, Naryanganj
In 1943, Huq moved the Lahore Resolution, which called for the creation of sovereign Muslim-majority states in eastern and northwestern British India. After the Partition of India, he moved to Pakistan and led the United Front government in East Bengal, serving as Chief Minister and Governor. He later served as central minister of home affairs, food and agriculture. He established the Bangla Academy in Dhaka. A lifelong Bengali nationalist, he is regarded as one of the forerunning leaders in the independence of Bangladesh. Huq is buried on the grounds of the Suhrawardy Udyan in central Dhaka.
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Early life
Huq was born in Bakerganj, located in present-day Jhalokati District in Barisal Division, Bangladesh. He passed the Entrance examination in 1890 and the FA Examination in 1892. He then obtained a BA degree (with triple Honours in Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics) from Presidency College.[3] Then he got admitted in MA in English at Calcutta University. Just six months before the final exam, a friend of him teased that, Muslims are weak in Mathematics and that's why he is also studying English. Huq opposed it strongly and challenged his friend that he will sit for Mathematics exam instead of English. With special permission to attend the exam he passed the MA on Mathematics from Calcutta University with record marks.[3] His formal education was completed with a BL degree in 1897 from the University Law College. He was the second Muslim in the Indian subcontinent to obtain a law degree.[1]Political career
After being alienated from the Congress party where he served as its general secretary in 1916–1918, it was up to the Muslims to nominate a mayor in Calcutta. In 1929, he launched the Nikhil Proja Samiti. In 1935, with the Congress' support, he was chosen and elected first Muslim mayor of Calcutta.In 1937 elections took place in British India. A year before that he had converted the Nikhil Proja Samiti to Krishak Praja Party (K.P.P.). Meanwhile, Muhammad Ali Jinnah nominated him to the Muslim League Central Parliamentary Board (C.P.B.). But Huq refused to dissolve his own party citing its bi-communal composition, thus terminating his alliance with the League. When elections were held he successfully challenged Khwaja Nazimuddin for his seat. The K.P.P. won 35 seats. Despite his bitter fight with the League which had won 40 seats, the K.P.P. entered into an alliance with it. The Europeans (25), the Independent Scheduled Castes (23) and the Independent Caste Hindus (14) lent support to the alliance. As a result, Huq was appointed the Premier of Bengal.
His reign was unstable as it was marred by controversies. In 1938, the Independent Scheduled Castes seceded and the K.P.P. slowly started disintegrating. He also moved the Lahore resolution in 1940 which increased communal tensions. In 1941, The Viceroy of India, Lord Linlithglow nominated him to the Defence Council. But the Quaid-i-Azam who headed the All-India Muslim League asked him to resign. He obeyed but, to demonstrate his unhappiness, resigned from the League Working Committee. As a result of Huqs' reluctance to obey the League ministers resigned.
In 1945, he contested elections successfully on two seats. But his party was trounced badly by the All India Muslim League. In 1947,he joined the League campaign to include Calcutta in Pakistan. The other prominent supporters included Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sarat Chandra Bose.[citation needed] The opposition of the Congress, however, ensured a partition of the province. Later on he accused Jinnah of not working hard enough for the cause.
He became Chief Minister of Bengal in 1952. In 1955, he was Home Minister of Pakistan and, from 1956 to 1958, Governor of East Pakistan. He moved the Lahore Resolution, drafted by Sir Zafrulla Khan, of 1940 that established Muslim League's demand for a homeland for Muslims; that ultimately resulted in the nation of Pakistan.[4] He was buried in Dhaka.
Legacy
Sher-e-Bangla founded several educational and technical institutions for Bengali Muslims, including Islamia College in Calcutta, Baker hostel and Carmichael hostel (residence halls for Muslim students of the University of Calcutta, Lady Brabourne College, Adina Fazlul Huq College in Rajshahi, Eliot hostel, Tyler Hostel, Medical College hostel, Engineering College hostel, Muslim Institute Building, Dhaka Eden Girls' College Building, Fazlul Huq College at Chakhar, Fazlul Huq Hall (Dhaka University), Sher-E-Bangla Hall (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) Dhaka-1207, Bulbul Music Academy and Central Women's’ College. Sher-e-Bangla had significant contribution for founding the leading university of Bangladesh: Dhaka University. During his premiership Bangla Academy was founded and Bengali New Year's Day (Pohela Baishakh) was declared a public holiday.[5]Throughout Bangladesh, educational institutions (e.g., Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College), roads, neighbourhoods (Sher-e-Bangla Nagor), and stadiums (Sher-e-Bangla Mirpur Stadium) have been named after him. This depicts the respect of the people for Sher-e-Bangla. Fazlul Huq's only son, A. K. Faezul Huq, was a Bangladeshi politician. Islamabad's A.K.M. Fazl-ul-Haq Road is named after him.[6]
See also
References
- On the 49th death anniversary of the man who moved the resolution that eventually resulted in the creation of Pakistan, there is barely a mention of him in the media. One of the main roads in Islamabad is named after him. Some years ago the name of the road was misspelt as Fazle Haq Road, and it has been changed to A K M Fazlul Haq. What the letter "M” stands for remains a mystery.
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Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (English IPA: ɦusæŋ ʃɑid sɦuɾɑwɑɾdɪə; Bengali: হোসেন শহীদ সোহ্রাওয়ার্দী; Urdu: حسین شہید سہروردی; 8 September 1892 – 5 December 1963) was a Bengali politician and statesman in the first half of the 20th-century. He served as the Prime Minister of Bengal in British India and was the fifth Prime Minister of Pakistan.[1][1][2]
Born into a prominent Bengali Muslim family, Suhrawardy was educated at Oxford, and joined the Swaraj Party of Chittaranjan Das upon returning to India in 1921. He became the Mayor of Calcutta, the largest city in British India, during the 1930s, and later, as a member of the All-India Muslim League, assumed the premiership of Bengal in the mid-1940s. Along with Sarat Chandra Bose, Suhrawardy mooted the United Bengal proposal, in an attempt to prevent the Partition of Bengal. Following the independence of Pakistan in 1947, he became a leading populist statesman of East Pakistan, leaving the Muslim League to join the newly formed centre-left Awami League in 1952. Along with A. K. Fazlul Huq and Maulana Bhashani, he led the pan-Bengali United Front alliance to a resounding victory in the 1954 East Bengal elections, which witnessed a crushing defeat of the Muslim League in East Pakistan.[1][3]
In 1956, the Awami League formed an alliance with the Republican Party to lead a coalition government in Pakistan. Suhrawardy became prime minister and pledged to resolve the energy crises, address economic disparities between East and West Pakistan, and strengthen the armed forces. His initiatives included supply side economic policies, planning nuclear power and energy and reorganizing and reforming the Pakistani military. In foreign policy, he pioneered a strategic partnership with the United States. Faced with pressure from the bureaucracy and business community over his policies in aid distribution, nationalization and opposition to the One Unit scheme, he was forced to resign on 10 October 1957, under threat of dismissal by President Iskandar Mirza. He was banned from public life by the military junta of General Ayub Khan. Suhrawardy died in 1963 in Beirut, Lebanon after suffering a massive heart attack.[3]
Contents
Early years
Family
Suhrawardy was born on 8 September 1892 to a Bengali Muslim family in the town of Midnapore, now in West Bengal. He was the younger son of Justice Sir Zahid Suhrawardy, a prominent judge of the Calcutta High Court and of Khujastha Akhtar Banu (c. 1874–1919) a noted name in Urdu literature and scholar of Persian. Banu was the daughter of Maulana Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy and sister of British Army officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Hassan Suhrawardy, OBE and Sir Abdullah Al-Mamun Suhrawardy. Suhrawardy had an elder brother Shahid Suhrawardy, the co-founder of Pakistan PEN Miscellenay with Professor Ahmed Ali.
Education and marriage
Suhrawardy attended the St. Xavier's College, where he obtained BS in Mathematics in 1910, later he was admitted at the department of arts of the University of Calcutta. In 1913, he gained MA in Arabic language and won a scholarship to proceed his education abroad. Afterwards, he moved to the United Kingdom to attend St Catherine's College, Oxford from where he obtained a BCL degree in civil law and justice. Upon leaving Oxford, he was called to the bar at Gray's Inn and later started his practice at Calcutta High Court.
In 1920, Suhrawardy married Begum Niaz Fatima, daughter of Sir Abdur Rahim, the then home minister of the Bengal Province of British India and later President of India's Central Legislative Assembly. Suhrawardy had two children from this marriage; Ahmed Shahab Suhrawardy and Begum Akhtar Sulaiman (née Akhtar Jahan Suhrawardy). Ahmed Suhrawardy died from pneumonia whilst he was a student in London in 1940. Begum Akhtar Sulaiman was married to Shah Ahmed Sulaiman (son of Justice Sir Shah Sulaiman) and had one child, Shahida Jamil (who later became the first female Pakistani Federal Minister for Law). Shahida Jamil has two sons, Zahid Jamil (a lawyer in Pakistan) and Shahid Jamil (a solicitor in London).
His first wife, Begum Niaz Fatima, died in 1922. In 1940 Suhrawardy married Vera Alexandrovna Tiscenko Calder, who, after her conversion to Islam had changed her name to Begum Noor Jehan.[4] She was a Russian actress of Polish descent from the Moscow Art Theatre and protege of Olga Knipper.[5][6] The couple divorced in 1951 and had one child, Rashid Suhrawardy (aka Robert Ashby), who is an actor living in London (he played Jawaharlal Nehru in film Jinnah). Vera later settled in America.
Political activism in British India
Suhrawardy returned to the subcontinent in 1921 as a practising barrister of the Calcutta High Court. He became involved in politics in Bengal. Initially, he joined the Swaraj Party, a group within the Indian National Congress, and became an ardent follower of Chittaranjan Das. He played a major role in signing the Bengal Pact in 1923.
Suhrawardy became the Deputy Mayor of the Calcutta Corporation at the age of 31 in 1924, and the Deputy Leader of the Swaraj Party in the Provincial Assembly. However, following the death of Chittaranjan Das in 1925, he began to disassociate himself with the Swaraj Party and eventually joined Muslim League. He served as Minister of Labour, and Minister of Civil Supplies under Khawaja Nazimuddin among other positions. He was the Minister responsible during the Midnapore (Bengal) famine of 1943, but did little to relieve it.Madhushree Mukherjee's 2010 book, "Churchill's secret War" places the responsibility mainly on Churchill, then wartime premier of Britain for actively blocking relief to Bengal, even when the Americans offered it in their ships, in the context of Churchill's unceasing refrain of a "scarcity of shipping" in the atlantic. (The alleged scarcity is seriously questioned by Mukherjee based on documents available recently). Suhrawardy's government did implement British scorched earth policies designed to counter Japanese invasion threats, policies like burning over a thousand fishing boats to block any potential movement of invading troops. These measures aggravated starvation and famine. Relief, it was said, only arrived after Wavell became Viceroy, who used the Indian Army to organise relief.However by that time, the winter crop had arrived and famine conditions had already eased, after millions had earlier perished. In the Bengal Muslim League, Suhrawardy and Abul Hashim led a progressive line against the conservative stream led by Nazimuddin and Akram Khan.
Chief Minister of United Bengal
In 1946, Suhrawardy established and headed a Muslim League government in Bengal. It was the only Muslim League government in India at that time.
As the demand for a separate Muslim state of Pakistan became popular amongst Indian Muslims, the independence of Pakistan on communal lines was deemed inevitable by mid-1947. To prevent the inclusion of Hindu-majority districts of Punjab and Bengal in a Muslim Pakistan, the Indian National Congress and the Hindu Mahasabha sought the division of these provinces on communal lines. Bengali nationalists such as Sarat Chandra Bose, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Kiran Shankar Roy, Abul Hashim, Satya Ranjan Bakshi and Mohammad Ali Chaudhury sought to counter division proposals with the demand for a united and independent state of Bengal. Suhrawardy and Bose sought the formation of a coalition government between Bengali Congress and the Bengal Provincial Muslim League. Proponents of the plan urged the masses to reject communal divisions and uphold the vision of a united Bengal. In a press conference held in Delhi on 27 April 1947 Suhrawardy presented his plan for a united and independent Bengal and Abul Hashim issued a similar statement in Calcutta on 29 April.
Involvement in Direct Action Day
Also see the detailed wikipedia article Direct Action Day
Suhrawardy has left a controversial legacy in post-independent India. He is perceived as responsible for unleashing, at Jinnah's behest, the Direct Action Day in August 1946 which killed thousands of Hindus.[7] The intention was to prove that if the Congress Party did not agree to division, all of British India would be engulfed by civil war. This action turned Hindus and Muslim neighbours into enemies and caused a cycle of death, revenge and further destruction.[8] During the Noakhali riots, he is quoted as saying to a group of Indian political leaders that everything was peaceful and orderly. He explained the rape and molestation of Hindu women as natural because they were more handsome than Muslim women.[9]
Independence of Pakistan
In 1947, the balance of power in Bengal shifted from the Muslim League to the Indian National Congress, and Suhrawardy stepped down from the Chief Ministership. Unlike other Muslim League stalwarts of India, he did not leave his hometown immediately for the newly established Pakistan. Anticipating revenge of Hindus against Muslims in Calcutta after the transfer of power, Suhrawardy sought help from Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was persuaded to stay and pacify tempers in Calcutta with the intention that Suhrawardy share the same roof with him so that they could appeal to Muslims and Hindus alike to live in peace. "Adversity makes strange bed-fellows," Gandhi remarked in his prayer meeting.[10]
Upon the formation of Pakistan, Suhrawardy maintained his work in politics, continuing to focus on East Bengal as it became after the independence of Pakistan. On return to Dhaka he joined Awami Muslim League that Maulana Bhashai formed.
In the 1950s, Suhrawardy worked to consolidate political parties in East Pakistan to balance the politics of West Pakistan. He, along with other leading Bengali leaders A.K. Fazlul Huq and Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, formed a political alliance in the name of Jukta Front which won a landslide victory in 1954 general election of East Pakistan. Under Muhammad Ali Bogra, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy would serve as Law Minister and later become the head of opposition parties.
Prime Minister of Pakistan
In 1956, Suhrawardy won the slot of Prime minister and was hastily appointed as fifth Prime Minister by President Iskander Mirza after the surprise resignation of Chaudhry Muhammad Ali. As Prime minister, Suhrawardy took the nation on confidence on national radio, promising to resolve the energy crises, economical disparity and promised the nation to build a massive military in an arms race with India.
Domestic policies
One Unit programme
The One Unit was a controversial geopolitical programme implemented to consolidate the political authority, retained by four provinces, to federal capital in 1954.[11] By the time Suhrawardy was the Prime Minister, an intense political competition between rightist Muslim League and the centrist Republican Party was forming regarding this issue. The politics over this issue was chaotic when the four provinces engaged in a political struggle to the reversal of the One Unit which established West Pakistan in 1955.[11]
The right-wing and left-wing parties in West were opposing the One Unit, and the cause was taken up by the rightist Muslim League and religious parties. Prime Minister Suhrawardy supported the One Unit plan to establish the federalism but the vast opposition paralyzed Suhrawardy's progress to oversee the program properly. Politically, the One Unit failed to progress and suffered with many set backs in West; it did not produce any goepolitical results and achievements for Suhrawardy's government.[11] On the other hand, the One Unit was a quiet a success in East Pakistan. Political disturbances, massive labour strikes, and civil disorder instigated at the behest of right-wing and left-wing parties, Suhrawardy was forced to halt the One Unit and finally abandoning the controversial sections of One Unit in 1956. The four provinces successfully retained their geographical status while the East-Pakistan was evolved into one single large province with overwhelming Bengali population.[11]
Economic initiatives
The constitutionally obliged, the National Finance Commission Program (NFC Program), was immediately suspended by Prime Minister Suhrawardy despite the reserves of the four provinces of the West Pakistan in 1956. Suhrawardy advocated for the USSR-based Five-Year Plans to centralized the national economy. In this view, the East Pakistan's economy was quickly the centralized and all major economic planning shifted to West Pakistan.
Efforts leading to centralizing the economy was met with great resistance in West Pakistan when the elite monopolist and the business community angrily refused to oblige to his policies. The business community in Karachi began its political struggle to undermine any attempts of financial distribution of the US$10 million ICA aid to the better part of the East Pakistan and to set up a consolidated national shipping corporation. In the financial cities of West Pakistan, such as Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, and Peshawar, there were series of major labour strikes against the economic policies of Suhrawardy supported by the elite business community and the private sector.[12]
Furthermore in order to divert attention from the controversial One Unit Program, Prime Minister Suhrawardy tried to end the crises by calling a small group of investors to set up small business in the country. Despite many initiatives and holding off the NFC Award Program, Suhrawardy's political position and image was worsen and deteriorated in the four provinces in West Pakistan. Many nationalist leaders and activists of the Muslim League were dismayed with the suspension of the constitutionally obliged NFC Program while nationalists. His critics and Muslim League leaders observed that with the suspension of NFC Award Program, Suhrawardy tried to give more financial allocations, aids, grants, and opportunity to East-Pakistan than West Pakistan, including West Pakistan's four provinces. During the last days of his Prime ministerial years, Suhrawardy tried to remove the economic disparity between the Eastern and Western wings of the country but to no avail. He also tried unsuccessfully to alleviate the food shortage in the country.[12]
Legal reforms
Suhrawardy's bid for premiership as well as Suhrawardy successfully forging an alliance with the Republican Party to managed to secure the office for himself. As soon as becoming the Prime Minister, Suhrawardy initiated a legal work reviving the joint electorate system. There was a strong opposition and resentment to the joint electorate system in West Pakistan. The Muslim League had taken the cause to the public and began calling for implementation of separate electorate system. In contrast to West Pakistan, the joint electorate was highly popular in East-Pakistan. The tug of war with the Muslim League to establish the appropriate electorate caused problems for his government.[12]
His contribution in formulating 1956 constitution of Pakistan was substantial as he played a vital role in incorporating provisions for civil liberties and universal adult franchise in line with his adherence to parliamentary form of liberal democracy.[12]
Foreign and Defence initiatives
Foreign policy
In the foreign policy arena, Suhrawardy wasted no time announcing his foreign policy in first session of the parliament of Pakistan.[13] Suhrawardy advocated a pronounced pro-western policy, supporting a strong support to United States.[13] Suhrawardy is considered to be one of the pioneers of Pakistan's pro-United States stand, a policy that is presently continued by the present government.[13] He was also the first Pakistani Prime Minister to visit China in 1956 and the delegation included Professor Ahmed Ali, Pakistan's First Envoy to China (1951–52) who had established the Pakistani embassy in Peking and formed Pak-China friendship and strengthened the official diplomatic friendship between Pakistan and China,[14] a friendship that Henry Kissinger would later use to make his now-famous secret trip to China in July 1971.
His tenure saw the enhancement of the relations with the United States in July 1957, when President Dwight Eisenhower requested prime minister Suhrawardy to allow the US to establish a secret intelligence facility in Pakistan and for the U-2 spyplane to fly from Pakistan. A facility established in Badaber (Peshawar Air Station), 10 miles (16 km) from Peshawar, was a cover for a major communications intercept operation run by the United States National Security Agency (NSA). The base was finally closed by the military government in 1970, later by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who installed the ISI as in charge of the base in 1971.
His pro-western policy dismantle the foreign support of the leftist alliance in Pakistan, most notable of them were Maulana Bhashani and Yar Mohammad Khan who challenged him for the party's chairmanship.[13] Although, Maulana Bhashani and Yar Mohammad Khan managed to consolidate the Awami League, but failed to carry the party mass with them, leading to left the party to junior leadership.[13]
Rebuilding the military
In 1955, the United States dispatched the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) for the Pakistan Armed Forces. The promotion of military uniforms and the military services were projected and broadcast all over the country, as part of his policy. Approving a new defence policy, Suhrawardy expanded the area of military districts, integrating the adjacent areas, and making arm deals enhance the military capabilities. Prime Minister Suhrawardy signed the extension papers of Chief of Army Staff General Ayub Khan and Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Siddiq Choudhry in 1955; both were continued to serve on four-star appointments until 1959.
Suhrawardy appointed radiochemist dr. Abdul Hafeez as the Chairman of the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) whilst the ingenious military reforms and production were also taken. The presence of Pakistan Armed Forces in East Pakistan also exponentially grew, but restricted to maintain combatant forces in West whilst the reserves were sent to East Pakistan.
Nuclear power
Main articles: Nuclear power in Pakistan, Nuclear energy in Pakistan and Pakistan Atomic Energy CommissionDuring the 1950s, Pakistan was suffering from severe energy crises, although the East did not suffered the energy crises as severe as West.[15] Amid protest and civil disobedience by West-Pakistan's population demanding to resolve the electricity issue, force Suhrawardy to take the approach to resolve the issue to harness the electricity.[15] In 1956, Suhrawardy announced the nation's first ever nuclear policy, but only benefiting the West-Pakistan, and adpoted the parliamentary act of 1956.[15]
It was Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy's premiership when Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) was established by a Parliamentary Act of 1956.[15] Suhrawardy renounced to develop the nuclear weapons, and disassociated scientific research on the nuclear weapons, after signing the Atoms for Peace programme. Suhrawardy approved the appointment of Dr. Nazir Ahmad, an experimental physicist, as the first Chairman.[15] Suhrawardy asked the PAEC to survey the site to establish the commercial nuclear power plants.[15] Suhrawardy upgraded the government rank, and extended the appointment of Salimuzzaman Siddiqui as his government's Science Advisor.
Under Dr. Nazir Ahmad's scientific direction, Pakistan started its nuclear energy programme and Prime Minister Suhrawardy also allotted PAEC to set up its new pilot-nuclear labs.[15] As Prime minister, he played an important role in establishing of Nuclear research institutes in West Pakistan, working to build the nuclear power infrastructure.[15] The PAEC brought the role of Raziuddin Siddiqui, a theoretical physicist, but refrained him to work on the atomic bombs, instead asking him to constitute research on theoretical physics and alternative use of nuclear energy.[15] Suhrawardy made extremely critical decision on nuclear power expansion, and denied the request of PAEC Chairman dr. Nazir Ahmad to acquiring the NRX reactor from Canada.[15] Instead approved the recommendation of Raziuddin Siddiqui after authorizing an agreement to acquire the Pool-type reactor from the United States in 1956.[15]
He also laid foundation of the first nuclear power plant in Karachi, when it was recommended by the PAEC.[15] After addressing the West population, Suhrawardy planned to provide country's first nuclear power plant in near future to end the energy crises.[15] However, after his removal from office, the proposal went into cold storage and severely undermined by a political turmoil in the country.[15] Furthermore, Ayub Khan had also froze the further programmes as he thought Pakistan was too poor to work on this programme.[15] Thus, the nuclear energy programme and academic research was halted by Ayub Khan's military regime for more than a decade.[15]
Resignation
Just within a year of assuming the government, Suhrawardy was in a middle confrontation with the business community and the private-sector in 1956.[16] The business community leaders were meeting with the President Iskandar Mirza to discuss the removal of Prime Minister Suhrawardy.[12]
The Awami League's close interaction with Pakistan Muslim League, who at that time was re-organizing itself, threatened another Bengali President Iskandar Mirza.[17] President Mirza wanted to control the democracy in the country, which Suhrawardy had always resisted.[18] President Mirza refused Prime minister Suhrawardy's request to convene a meeting of Parliament for seeking a vote of confidenc movement.[18] Amid pressure to resigned from his position and given vital threats to be removed by the President Mirza, Prime minister Suhrawardy submitted his resignation letter after losing the considerable party support from the junior leadership.[18]
Death
He had been a chronic heart patient and died in Lebanon in 1963 due to a cardiac arrest. His death was officially due to complications from heart problems, though some have alleged he was poisoned, gassed or subjected to blunt-trauma in his bedroom, although is no proof of this.
Honors
- Suhrawardy Udyan, a historic maidan in Dhaka (formerly the Ramna Race Course)
- Shaheed Suhrawardy Hospital, a major medical centre in Dhaka
- Khayaban-e-Suhrawardy, one of the main thoroughfares of Islamabad[19]
THANKS ALL VISITOR. MD.PLABON HOSSAIN
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