The Prime Minister of Bengal was the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

of Bengal Province and the Leader of the House in the

Bengal Legislative Assembly The Bengal Legislative Assembly () was the largest legislature in British India, serving as the lower chamber of the legislature of Bengal (now Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal). It was established under the Government of India A ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. The position was dissolved upon the Partition of Bengal in 1947.

History

The office was created under the

Government of India Act 1935 The Government of India Act, 1935 was an Act adapted from the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It originally received royal assent in August 1935. It was the longest Act of (British) Parliament ever enacted until the Greater London Authority ...

, which granted Bengal a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single grou ...

legislature, including the

Bengal Legislative Council The Bengal Legislative Council ( was the legislative council of British Bengal (now Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal). It was the legislature of the Bengal Presidency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After reforms wer ...

and the Bengal Legislative Assembly. The Prime Minister was in charge of the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

. The Prime Minister of Bengal played an important role in pan-Indian politics, including proclaiming the

Lahore Resolution The Lahore Resolution ( ur, , ''Qarardad-e-Lahore''; Bengali: লাহোর প্রস্তাব, ''Lahor Prostab''), also called Pakistan resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlul ...

and dealing with Japanese attacks during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Congress party boycotted the office due to its anti-British policy. The office was held by three Muslims. The first premier was A. K. Fazlul Huq, the leader of the anti-feudalist Krishak Praja Party. Huq formed his first government with the

All India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontin ...

in 1937. The League withdrew support in 1941, after which Huq forged a coalition with the Hindu Mahasabha led by

Syama Prasad Mukherjee Syama Prasad Mukherjee (6 July 1901 – 23 June 1953) was an Indian politician, barrister and academician, who served as India's first Minister for Industry and Supply (currently known as Ministry of Commerce and Industry) in Jawaharlal Nehru' ...

. The Huq-Syama coalition lasted till 1943. Huq was succeeded by a Muslim League ministry led by Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin. A conservative figure, the Nazimuddin ministry lasted till 1945, when governor's rule was imposed. The next election saw H. S. Suhrawardy lead the Muslim League to a majority. Suhrawardy sought an undivided Bengal with support from Hindu leaders and the British governor; but faced challenges like the

Noakhali riots The Noakhali riots were a series of semi-organized massacres, rapes and abductions, combined with looting and arson of Hindu properties, perpetrated by the Muslim community in the districts of Noakhali in the Chittagong Division of Bengal (n ...

Direct Action Day Direct Action Day (16 August 1946), also known as the 1946 Calcutta Killings, was a day of nationwide communal riots. It led to large-scale violence between Muslims and Hinduism in India, Hindus in the city of Calcutta (now known as Kolkata) ...

and the idea was also rejected by the All India Congress party who called for partitioning of Bengal.

List of prime ministers of Bengal (1937–1947)

Writers' Building, Calcutta, India (8136102863)

Legacy

When Bengal was partitioned, the office was succeeded by the

Chief Minister of West Bengal The Chief Minister of West Bengal is the representative of the Government of India in the state of West Bengal and the head of the executive branch of the Government of West Bengal. The chief minister is head of the Council of Ministers and ap ...

and the

Chief Minister of East Bengal 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 ...

. All three Bengali premiers moved to East Bengal, where they continued to be influential statesmen. Nazimuddin served as East Bengal's chief minister, and later became Governor General and Prime Minister of Pakistan, Suhrawardy became

Prime Ministers of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , Roman Urdu, romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet ...

, while Huq served as East Bengal's chief minister, and later as East Pakistan's governor. The three premiers are considered the forerunners of politics in modern

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

References

{{Reflist Provinces of British India Bengal Presidency Prime Ministers of British India

History

List of prime ministers of Bengal (1937–1947)

Legacy

See also

References