The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

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 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 we ...

and 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 ...

, which were divided between East Bengal and

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

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.

History

Partition of Bengal

On 20 June 1947, 141 East Bengali legislators from the

voted on the partition of Bengal, with 107 supporting joining Pakistan's

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

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 Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of ...

, those 141 legislators, in addition to legislators from Sylhet of the Assam Legislative Assembly, formed the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. The

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. **Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...

's Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin became the first chief minister. He was succeeded by

Nurul Amin Nurul Amin ( bn, নুরুল আমিন; ur, ; 15 July 1893 – 2 October 1974) was a prominent Pakistani leader, and a jurist who served as the eighth prime minister of Pakistan and as the first and only vice president of Pakistan. H ...

in 1948. The assembly was housed in

Jagannath Hall Jagannath Hall of Dhaka University is a residence hall for minority students, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, and others. It is one of the three original residence halls that date from when the University was founded in 1921, and like them is modelled ...

, within the vicinity of the

University of Dacca The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently it ...

and the High Court of Dacca. The area was the center of the Bengali Language Movement in 1952.

Land reform

The assembly passed the

East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 The East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950 (also known as the East Pakistan Estate Acquisition Act 1950) was a law passed by the newly formed democratic Government of East Bengal in the Dominion of Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) ...

. The act repealed the earlier laws and regulations which formed the

permanent settlement The Permanent Settlement, also known as the Permanent Settlement of Bengal, was an agreement between the East India Company and Bengali landlords to fix revenues to be raised from land that had far-reaching consequences for both agricultural met ...

during British rule.

United Front comes to power

The

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political ...

coalition, led by the Krishak Praja Party and the Awami League, routed the Muslim League during the provincial general election in 1954. The Farmer and Labour Party leader A. K. Fazlul Huq 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. However, Huq's government was dismissed within two months. Huq was placed under house arrest. After a period of

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

's rule,

Abu Hussain Sarkar Abu Hussain Sarkar ( bn, আবু হোসেন সরকার; 1894 – 17 April 1969) was a Bengali politician and lawyer. He served as the fourth chief minister of East Pakistan. Under his ministry, the Bangla Academy was inaugurated and 2 ...

became chief minister in 1955.

One Unit and 1956 Constitution

As a result of the One Unit scheme, the assembly was renamed as the

Provincial Assembly in 1955. Pakistan became a republic under the

Constitution of Pakistan of 1956 The Constitution of 1956 was the fundamental law of Pakistan from March 1956 until the 1958 Pakistani coup d'état. It was the first constitution adopted by independent Pakistan. There were 234 articles 13 parts and 6 schedules. Origins Pakista ...

, 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 Ataur Rahman Khan ( bn, আতাউর রহমান খান; 1 July 1907 – 7 December 1991) was a Bangladeshi lawyer, politician and writer, and served as Chief Minister of East Pakistan from 1 September 1956 – March 1958, and as the P ...

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 being injured. Patwary later died. The confrontation was used as a pretext by President Iskander Mirza to declare

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

on 7 October 1958. The chief of army staff Ayub Khan was appointed

Chief Martial Law Administrator The office of the Chief Martial Law Administrator was a senior and authoritative post with Zonal Martial Law Administrators as deputies created in countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia that gave considerable executive authority and p ...

. 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).

1962 Constitution

The

Constitution of Pakistan of 1962 The Constitution of 1962 was the fundamental law of Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 8 June 1962 until martial law was declared in 25 March 1969. It was abrogated on 25 March 1969 by President Yahya Khan. Origins Pakistan became an independent s ...

abolished the parliamentary system and introduced a presidential and

gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

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 and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

s of East and

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was ...

. 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 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 General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his p ...

. The 1969 uprising in East Pakistan played a role in the overthrow of President Ayub Khan. The new ruler Yahya Khan organized

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

in 1970 based on

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stan ...

(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 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 electorates, with reserved seats including 228 for the Muslim electorate, 30 for the general electorate, 36 for the scheduled caste electorate, 1 for the Pakistan Christian electorate, 12 for the

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

s' electorate and 1 for the

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

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, 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 A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

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 Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

. 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 The independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971 at the onset of the Bangladesh Liberation War by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; the following day the declaration was broadcast by Major Ziaur Rahman in a radio broadcast. On 1 ...

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 Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

s in the assembly.

List of Chief Ministers

References

{{Authority control Government of East Pakistan 1947 establishments in East Pakistan 1971 disestablishments in Pakistan Provincial Assemblies of Pakistan Historical legislatures in Bangladesh