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.
During the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971, most Bengali members elected to the Pakistani National Assembly and the East Pakistani provincial assembly became members of the
Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh
The Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh was the constituent assembly of Bangladesh. It was the country's provisional parliament between 1971 and 1973. In 1972, it drafted and adopted the Constitution of Bangladesh. The assembly was dominated by ...
.
History
Partition of Bengal
On 20 June 1947, 141 East Bengali legislators from the Bengal Legislative Assembly voted on the partition of Bengal, with 107 supporting joining Pakistan's Constituent Assembly if India was partitioned. The Sylhet region in Assam voted in a referendum to join East Bengal. After the creation of the Dominion of Pakistan, those 141 legislators, in addition to legislators from Sylhet of the Assam Legislative Assembly, formed the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. The Muslim League's Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin became the first chief minister. He was succeeded by Nurul Amin in 1948. The assembly was housed in Jagannath Hall, within the vicinity of the University of Dacca and the High Court of Dacca. The area was the center of the Bengali Language Movement in 1952.
Krishak Praja Party
The Krishak Sramik Party ( bn, কৃষক শ্রমিক পার্টি, ''Farmer Labourer 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 ...
and the
Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people.
The adjective appears in the following proper names:
*Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
*Awami Front, wa ...
, routed the Muslim League during the provincial general election in 1954. The Farmer and Labour Party leader
A. K. Fazlul Huq
Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq ( bn, আবুল কাশেম ফজলুল হক, ur, ; 26October 1873 — 27 April 1962), popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla (''Lion of Bengal''), was a British Indian and Pakistani lawyer and writer who present ...
became chief minister for six weeks. The United Front called for complete autonomy in East Bengal, except in defence and foreign policy; and the recognition of Bengali as a federal language. The East Bengal Legislative Assembly passed a law for the establishment of the
Bengali Academy
The Bangla Academy ( bn, বাংলা একাডেমি, ) is an autonomous institution funded by the Government of Bangladesh, Bangladesh government to foster the Bengali language, literature and culture, to develop and implement nationa ...
. However, Huq's government was dismissed within two months. Huq was placed under house arrest. After a period of Governor General's rule, Abu Hussain Sarkar became chief minister in 1955.
One Unit and 1956 Constitution
As a result of the
One Unit
The One Unit Scheme ( ur, ; bn, এক ইউনিট ব্যবস্থা) was a geopolitical programme launched by the Government of Pakistan led by Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra on 22 November 1954 and passed on 30 September 1955 ...
scheme, the assembly was renamed as the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly in 1955. Pakistan became a
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
under the Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, in which Bengali was recognized as a federal language as a concession to East Pakistan.
In 1957, the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution demanding full autonomy.Ataur Rahman Khan became chief minister in 1956.
Martial law
In 1958, a brawl broke out between political factions in the assembly, resulting in the deputy speaker
Shahed Ali Patwary
Shahed Ali Patwary ( bn, শাহেদ আলী পাটোয়ারী; 1899– 26 September 1958) was a lawyer and prominent politician. He was elected as member of East Bengal Legislative Assembly.
Early life
Patwary was born in 1899 i ...
being injured. Patwary later died. The confrontation was used as a pretext by President Iskander Mirza to declare martial law on 7 October 1958. The chief of army staff
Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
was appointed Chief Martial Law Administrator. Khan later assumed the presidency by replacing Mirza. All provincial assemblies, including in East Pakistan, were disbanded. Numerous political leaders and journalists were arrested. The Elected Bodies Disqualification Order barred 75 politicians from holding public office for eight years (until 1966).
presidential
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
and gubernatorial system at the federal and provincial levels respectively. The most important feature of the system was dubbed "Basic Democracy", in which electoral colleges would be responsible for electing the
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Governors of East and West Pakistan.
In 1962, Dacca was declared Pakistan's legislative capital. During the 1960s, the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly was housed in Parliament House in Tejgaon. The
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...
would periodically convene in the same building. The building is now the Prime Minister's Office of Bangladesh.
In 1966, the six points of the Awami League demanded a federal parliamentary democracy.
Return of Martial Law
In 1969, President Ayub Khan was deposed by the army chief Yahya Khan. The 1969 uprising in East Pakistan played a role in the overthrow of President Ayub Khan. The new ruler Yahya Khan organized general elections in 1970 based on universal suffrage (the first in Pakistan's history), in which the Awami League won 288 of the 300 seats in East Pakistan's provincial assembly. The refusal of the Pakistani military junta to transfer power led to the
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...
in 1971.
Bangladeshi Constituent Assembly
Following the Pakistani military crackdown in East Pakistan that began on 25 March 1971, most members of the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly and the Bengali members of the National Assembly of Pakistan convened in Boiddonathtala, Meherpur on 17 April 1971, where they signed the Proclamation of Bangladesh Independence that was declared on 26 March and rebroadcast on 27 March.
Elections
East Bengal legislative election, 1954
The 1954 election in East Bengal was the first election since Pakistan was created. It was held on the basis of
separate electorate
In India, a number of political positions and university posts are held for specific groups of the population, including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and women in some cases.
There are reserved constituencies in both Parliamentary and ...
s, with reserved seats including 228 for the
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
electorate, 30 for the general electorate, 36 for the
scheduled caste
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...
electorate, 1 for the Pakistan Christian electorate, 12 for the womens' electorate and 1 for the Buddhist electorate.
The Awami League emerged as the single largest party. However, in response to popular demands, the United Front Legislative Party elected Krishak Sramik Party leader A K Fazlul Huq, a former
Prime Minister of Bengal
The Prime Minister of Bengal was the head of government of Bengal Presidency, Bengal Province and the Leader of the House in the Bengal Legislative Assembly in British India. The position was dissolved upon the Partition of Bengal (1947), Partitio ...
, as Leader of the House. Huq was invited by the governor on 3 April 1954 to form the government. The election ended the dominance of the Muslim League in the politics of East Bengal. It heralded a younger generation of legislators from the vernacular middle class. But verdict had little impact on Pakistan's central leadership and bureaucracy.
East Pakistan general election, 1970
The 1970 general election broke with the tradition of separate electorates and was organized on the basis of universal adult franchise. The results are given in the following.
The newly elected assembly could not convene due to the Pakistani military crackdown in East Pakistan. During the Bangladesh War of Independence, the Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence was signed by most of its members, which transformed the assembly into a part of the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh, alongside Bengali members of the National Assembly of Pakistan.
Ministries
A total of five ministries (parliamentary governments) were formed by Chief Ministers in the assembly.