A K Fazlul Haq, sher-e-Bengal

A K Fazlul Haq (1873-1962)

A K Fazlul Haq,  in full Abul Kasim Fazlul Haq, (ابوالقاسم فضل الحق) was the man who presented the historic Lahore Resolution in 1940, occupied key administrative positions, held leading places in AIML, ML, and KPP, was the first Prime Minister of undivided Bengal under the British rule, the chief minister of Bengal, and the governor of East Pakistan. To add more feathers to his cap, A K Fazlul Haq was the champion of the Bengali language and an advocate of peasants' rights. His astounding political, social and economic role in the struggle for Pakistan earned him the title, Sher-e-Bangla (the Lion of Bengal). However, like all famous politicians in Pakistan, he was also termed as a traitor. 

Political career of A K Fazlul Haq:

Sher-e-Bengal A K Fazlul Huq was born in 1873 in a Bengali Muslim family. Muhammad Wazid, his father, was a famous lawyer. He was Assistant Registrar. A K Fazlul Huq was a lawyer by profession and served in the Calcutta High Court. 

The political struggle of Fazlul Haq was incredible. He soon left government jobs and joined politics. He then became Secretary of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League, and Joint Secretary of the All India Muslim League. In 1916, Fazlul Huq became the president of All India Muslim League. Later, he was elected as a member of the Bengal Legislative Council in 1913. He was an educator. As a result, he was made education minister of Bengal in 1924 until 1934 for around 21 years. He introduced scholarships for Muslim students and strived for women education in Bengal. Moreover, A k Fazlul Haq was one of those politicians who played a fundamental role in the successful formation of the Lucknow Pact of 1916 between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. 

Although he was landlord, he opposed the feudal system and championed for land reforms. Maulvi Fazlul Haq co-founded the All Bengal Tenants Association in 1929 to advocate the rights of the peasants. Later, he was elected as the first Muslim Mayor of Calcutta in 1935, and a member of the Central Legislative Assembly from 1934 to 1936. He is the only man who haf held simultaneously two key positions- the president of the Muslim League and the secretary -journal of the All India National Congress. The importance of his political career can be understood from the fact that even celebrated politicians like Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India , had remained his political secretary from 1918 to 1919. 

A K Fazlul Haq, however, was never on the same page with the manifesto of the Muslim League. Like the Muslim League and even the All India Muslim League are parties full of landlords and a feudalistic mindset. Thus, he wanted to fight for the farmers in feudal Bengal. Keeping this in mind, Maulvi Fazlul Huq played a key role in the formation of the Krishak Praja Party (KPP), an organisation of farmers and labourers. The party was said to be a movement for peasant freedom and dignity. Unlike the capitalist mindset of the Muslim League, Huq and the KPP actively fought for the rights and interests of Bengali Muslims. That was the very reason Fazlul Huq defeated Khwaja Namizuddin at the Provincial Assembly elections of 1937. 

In addition, it was during the first provincial general election in 1937, A K Fazlul Haq changed that Association of All Bengal Tenants to the Krishak Praja Party. With his dynamic personality and clear vision and manifesto, the election of 1937 turned fortunate for him and the Krishak Praja Party emerged as the third largest party after the Congress and the Muslim League. By forming a coalition with the Bengal Provincial Muslim League and independent legislators, A K Fazlul Haq became the Leader of the House and the first elected Prime Minister of Bengal. A K Fazlul Haq occupied a central place in Bengal politics. Considering his political acumen and foresightedness, Quaid -e-Azam, during Lahore Resolution in 1940, requested Maulvi Fazlul Haq to present Lahore Resolution at Minto Park in 1940, which is also known as Pakistan resolution. 

Unfortunately, a famine had struck Bengal in 1943. On the pretext of famine, mismanagement and corruption, A K Fazlul Haq was resigned and replaced by Khwaja Nazimuddin by British governor John Arthur Hurbert. He was said to be unable to face the national calamity and to protect the rights of the peasantry. 

Again, elections happened in 1946. A K Fazlul Haq lost the elections and was defeated by his political rival, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrwadry. When Pakistan got independence in 1947, Haq settled in Dhaka, East Pakistan. Here, he fought for Bengali as a state language in Pakistan. 

In 1954, he disassociated from Muslim League and formed Krishik Saramik Part. Fazlul Haq's Krishik Party and other opposition parties under the Jugto Front Party jointly fought elections in 1954. The landslide victory of the Jugto Front Party in Bengal delivered a death blow to the Bengal Muslim League. After these elections, Sheikh Mujib-ur-Rehman was the first time elected as a member of the provincial assembly. Maulvi fazlul Haq himself defeated former governor general and prime minister Khuwaja Nazimuddin in his constituency. As a result, Fazlul Haq became chief minister of Bengal. 

However, the success of A K Fazlul in the elections of 1954 and the substitute Chief Ministership, Fazlul Haq was an eye sore to many in the government. Hardly after two months, he was dismissed from the seat of Chief Minister over baseless charges. One day, CM Fazlul Haq paid an official visit to West Bengal where he made a forceful speech. But his speech was surprisingly distorted by the media because the speech was anti-Pakistan and incited Bengalis to the division of Bengal. Under treachery charges, the Bengal government was dissolved and fazlul Haq was replaced by Islander Mirza. Surprisingly, the same alleged traitor, fazlul Haq, hardly after 10 months in 1955, became the interior minister of Pakistan and the governor of East Pakistan in 1956 but got sacked in 1958. Following hi sacking in 1958, Fazlul Huq was placed under house arrest.

The fall of Haq's political career began to decline after the first martial law of 1958. He was dismissed and jailed. After four years, on 27 April, 1962 in Dacca, sher-e-Bengal A K Fazlul Haq died. The man who presented Lahore resolution 1940 was labelled as a traitor. His untiring and unconditional services to Pakistan, especially Bengal, were thrown into the dust bin. He was one of those men who were considered as a bridge between East Pakistan and West Pakistan. His only crime was that he just wanted Bangali language to be made as a state language in Pakistan and stood for the rights of peasants. Today, Maulvi Fazlul Haq is buried beside his two political rivals, Hussain Shaheed Sohrawardy and Khuwaja Nazimuddin, in Dacca.

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