The Krishak Sramik Party ( bn, কৃষক শ্রমিক পার্টি, ''Farmer Labourer Party'') was a major anti-feudal political party in the

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 ...

n province of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

and later in the Dominion of Pakistan's

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = Eas ...

and

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, 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 ...

provinces. It was founded in 1929 as the Nikhil Banga Praja Samiti to represent the interests of

tenant farmer A tenant farmer is a person ( farmer or farmworker) who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and managemen ...

s in Bengal's

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, t ...

estates. Sir

Abdur Rahim ʻAbd al-Raḥīm (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الرحيم) is a male Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words ''ʻabd'', ''al-Raḥīm'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to t ...

was its first 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 ...

was elected leader in 1935 when the former was appointed as the president of the Central Legislative Assembly of India. In 1936, it took the name of Krishak Praja Party ( bn, কৃষক প্রজা পার্টি ''Farmer Tenant Party'') and contested the

1937 election The following elections occurred in the year 1937. Asia * 1937 Philippine local elections * 1937 Iranian legislative election * 1937 Soviet Union legislative election India * 1937 Indian provincial elections * 1937 Madras Presidency legislative ...

. The party formed the first government in the Bengal Legislative Assembly. After the partition of British India, it was reorganized as the Krishak Sramik Party (Farmer-Labour Party) to contest the 1954 election, as part of the United Front. The coalition won the election and formed the provincial government in the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. The party's politics played an important role in the growth of

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the se ...

political consciousness; it also received support from large sections of the Bengali Hindu population who resented the influence of the landed gentry. The party was the political vehicle of the Bengali lawyer and politician

, who served as the Prime Minister of Bengal and Chief Minister of East Bengal. Another chief minister from the party was Abu Hussain Sarkar (1955–56). Abdus Sattar, one of the party's leaders, later became the President of Bangladesh.

Background

The Permanent Settlement established an extensive feudal system in the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

. Large sections of the population became

s of

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, ...

s (zamindars). Many of the landlords were wealthy Hindus who enjoyed the patronage of the British. The permanent settlement displaced much of the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

ruling class with many Hindu landed estates; but there continued to be influential Muslim landed estates. British Bengal's wealthy Hindu

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, ...

included Marwari merchants in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comm ...

, the political and commercial capital of Bengal and the

British Indian Empire The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. In contrast, the province of Bengal had a Bengali Muslim-majority population, with large minorities of non-upper class Hindus. In 1905, the British government implemented the first partition of Bengal, with support from the Muslim aristocracy, to increase investment in Eastern Bengal and Assam. The partition stoked vocal protests from Hindu landlords and merchants in Calcutta, who argued that it was a policy to divide and rule Bengal. In 1911, the partition was annulled. But the partition left a strong legacy and enjoyed support in the Muslim population. The All India Muslim League and

Bengal Provincial Muslim League The Bengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML) was the branch of the All India Muslim League in the British Indian province of Bengal. It was established in Dacca on 2 March 1912. Its official language was Bengali. The party played an important role i ...

were formed to uphold the interests of Muslims amid the growth of Hindu nationalist movements. But the All India Muslim League was dominated by members of the Muslim aristocracy, who were often speakers of Hindustani, instead of the vernacular

Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken o ...

. Bengal's middle classes, professionals and farmers increasingly looked for an alternative platform of this party.

Praja Party

In 1929, 18 members of the Bengal Legislative Council formed the All Bengal Tenants Association, which became known as the Praja Party. Its leaders included A. K. Fazlul Huq, Sir Azizul Haque, Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan and Sir Abdur Rahim. The group was formed to capitalize on the resentment caused among peasants by the Bengal Tenancy (Amendment) Act, 1928, which enjoyed the support of wealthy Hindus.

Krishak Praja Party

When the Government of India Act 1935 planned the 1937 Indian provincial elections, the Praja Party was renamed as the Krishak Praja Party, with the intention of appealing to a broad rural base. Its main rivals were the Bengal Congress and the

. The Krishak Praja Party won 36 seats in the Bengal Legislative Assembly. Due to non-cooperation and boycott of the new system by the Congress, the Krishak Praja Party claimed the right to form a government, with support from the Muslim League. A. K. Fazlul Huq became the first Prime Minister of Bengal. As part of reforming the zamindari system, Prime Minister Huq used legal and administrative measures to relieve the debts of farmers. The party saw internal rebellion soon after taking power and Huq emerged as its lone cabinet member. In 1940, Prime Minister Huq supported the Muslim League's Lahore Resolution. The Huq ministry governed during the period of

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1941, the Muslim League withdrew support for Prime Minister Huq after he joined the

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

's defence council against the wishes of the League's president

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

. Jinnah felt the council was dominated by politicians who did not support the partition of India. Huq was joined on the council by the premier of Punjab, Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan. In Bengal, Huq formed a second coalition with the Hindu Mahasabha and its leader Syama Prasad Mukherjee. The Huq-Syama coalition lasted until 1943, when the Muslim League secured majority support in the assembly.

Krishak Sramik Party

revived the party as the Krishak Sramik Party (Farmer-Labour Party) in 1954. The party was part of the United Front coalition that contested the

1954 East Bengali legislative election Legislative elections were held in East Bengal between 8 and 12 March 1954, the first since Pakistan became an independent country in 1947. The opposition United Front led by the Awami League and Krishak Sramik Party won a landslide victory with ...

; with a 21-point manifesto. The coalition secured a

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geol ...

. The Krishak Sramik Party itself won 48 seats in the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. Huq served as Chief Minister of East Bengal for six weeks. During his tenure, Huq took steps to establish the

Bangla 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 ...

. He was dismissed after allegations of inciting secession. After a period of Governor General's rule, Krishak Sramik Party leader Abu Hussain Sarkar became the Chief Minister of East Pakistan in 1955. Sarkar lost his majority in 1956, after which President's rule was imposed.

Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for ''Awam Awam ( ur, ) is the Urdu language word for common people or general public. In the early 20th century, the word was extensively used in the Indian subcontinent to refer to the general po ...

leader Ataur Rahman Khan then became chief minister. In August 1955, a coalition between the Krishak Sramik Party in East Pakistan and the Muslim League in

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 ...

allowed Chaudhry Mohammad Ali to become

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

and A. K. Fazlul Huq to become the federal Home Minister. Prime Minister Ali was later dismissed by President Iskander Mirza, who allowed a coalition of the

and

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

to form government. As a result, the Krishak Sramik Party and the Muslim League formed the main opposition. Following the 1958 Pakistani coup, all provincial assemblies, including in East Pakistan, were dissolved. Numerous political figures were arrested, with Huq placed under house arrest. The Elected Bodies Disqualification Order barred 75 politicians from holding public office for eight years (until 1966). Huq died on 27 April 1962.

References

{{Reflist 1929 establishments in India 1958 disestablishments in Pakistan Agrarian parties in India Banned political parties Defunct political parties in Bangladesh Defunct political parties in India Defunct political parties in Pakistan Political parties disestablished in 1958 Political parties established in 1929 Populist parties Progressive parties Social democratic parties in Asia

Background

Praja Party

Krishak Praja Party

Krishak Sramik Party

See also

References