November 9, 2003

The people gave Fazlul Haq the eminently befitting title of Sher-i-Bangla, a title he had earned through sterling services in politics

Moulvi Abul Kassem Fazlul Haq has gone into the history of the subcontinent, and of Pakistan, as one of the outstanding political personalities. A cursory glance at his career and personality gives one the feeling that he was an ever-active and dynamic man who had many interests and commitments, and the capacity to nurse and promote each one of them at the same time. Indeed, he never had a dull or vacant moment in this long and remarkably active and successful life. By all reckoning, he was among the front-rank architects of Pakistan.

Moulvi A.K. Fazlul Haq (the name that established his remarkable identity) was born on October 26, 1873, in a middle-class family. His father, Kazi Wajid Ali, was a prominent lawyer and a renowned Persian scholar. While still as school, Fazlul Haq established himself as an exceptionally gifted and perceptive student. His reactions to his surroundings were remarkably sharp and incisive.

From a very early age, Fazlul Haq started reacting to the social environment in a sensitive, and for his age, mature manner. The ruling colonial government pursued a policy of divide-and-rule. It exploited the divide between the zamindar (landlord) and the krishak (farmer). The equation between the landlord, who nearly always would be Hindu, and the landless farmer invariably Muslim, was unequal to the detriment of the poor cultivator.

The landlords tended to be greedy, exploitative and cruel. They would just throw out the cultivator and his entire family for the sake of a few rupees. The peasants’ misery was further aggravated by greedy money-lenders who, too, happened to be mostly Hindus. The perceptive young man that he was, Fazlul Haq was deeply moved by this injustice to the poor peasants, who had no protection against such insatiable sharks. He could also see the nexus between the zamindar and the colonial government.

Fazlul Haq’s heart went out to the poor people. He had seen at close quarters how the hapless peasants were being exploited by a trinity of power — zamindar, bania (money-lender) and the colonial administration. He decided to take up the challenge of this conspiracy. He saw that even the laws in force were on the side of the exploiters.

It was entirely due to his untiring efforts that in 1928, the colonial rulers were forced to introduce legislation to redress the imbalance in favour of the zamindar-bania duo and against the peasant. Thus came the Bangiya Krishi Khatak Act, the Bengal Peasants Relief Act and the Bengal Peasants Ownership Act. As a tribute to these successful strivings of Fazlul Haq, the people gave him the eminently befitting title of Sher-i-Bangla — Tiger of Bengal. This was a title Fazlul Haq had earned with sterling services that he managed to render with his dedication and tenacity. Over time, the three laws brought about an awakening amounting to a silent revolution in Bengal’s countryside.

With such achievements to his credit, Fazlul Haq took the historic decision of forming his own political party — the Krishak Proja Party — the party of the peasants and the people at large. After elections in 1936-37, heading a coalition, the Sher-i-Bangla came to political power, forming the provincial government as the Chief Minister of Bengal. This was a moment of triumph for the peasant and the poor people of Bengal against the exploiting syndicate of the zamindars and the money-lending class.

As the CM, Fazlul Haq got going almost instantly on the line he had set for himself. First to come was the Bengal Tenancy Act. At the same time, he adopted measures for the uplift of poor Bengali Muslims. Notable among these were abolition of the zamindari system without any compensation. Alongside came the Debt Relief Board which was meant to provide relief to the debt-ridden poor Muslim farmers. Primary education was made free for all. This measure, too, was of tremendous good for the rural poor.

The first main meal of the poor in Bengal was Panta Bhat. This was the previous night’s leftover boiled rice with plenty of water and a pinch of salt. It was the set practice of Sher-i-Bangla that during his visits to the countryside, he always shared Panta Bhat with the village poor. This endeared him tremendously to the under-privileged of Bengal. They took him as their own.

Like Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, Fazlul Haq also passionately believed that the Muslims of the subcontinent would not be able to compete with others unless they were educated. Fazlul Haq played a key role in the establishment of the Dhaka University. He knew fully well that Muslim boys and girls in the rural parts of Bengal badly needed education. In those days, after doing their matriculation, most of the Muslim students were obliged to discontinue their studies as in smaller towns, high schools were the highest educational institutions. Most of these students could not afford to proceed to Calcutta for higher education.

The problems facing Muslim girls were even more acute. In most districts, there were no educational institutions for girls. Colleges for girls just did not exist. Fazlul Haq established a high quality college for girls in the heart of Calcutta. Keeping in view the needs of girls from smaller towns, this college had the facility of a hostel. The college was named Lady Brabourne College, after the wife of the then Governor of Bengal. But it became famous as Parda College.

For Muslim girls this college came as an immense blessing. It was to create a revolution in the lives of the Muslims of Bengal. From this institution were destined to emerge many a Muslim girl who would be leading their sisters into a new and nobler world.

Who knew better than Fazlul Haq that, by and large, Muslims were a poor community. He saw to it that the cost of education in Lady Brabourne College was the lowest possible. All college fees were nominal. Hostel expenses, too, were almost negligible. This ensured that the college gates were open to the girls from the poorest homes. One can say without any fear of contradiction that it was thanks very largely to the pioneering efforts of Sher-i-Banlga in the field of education that at the time of independence there were enough properly education men and women to take over responsibilities of administration and so forth in East Pakistan.

In the Pakistan Movement, Sher-i-Bangla took a historic and decisive part. His role was pivotal. In Bengal, his was the most articulate and forceful voice in projecting and promoting the cause of Pakistan. Along with his Krishak Proja Party, Fazlul Haq joined the Pakistan Muslim League in 1938. Instantly, he was one of the leading lights of the Pakistan Movement.

This is more than convincingly demonstrated when the Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah saw to it that A.K. Fazlul Haq would move the Pakistan Resolution at the historic Muslim League convention in Lahore on March 23, 1940. Fazlul Haq was then the chief minister of united Bengal. When he came to the rostrum, the Quaid-i-Azam resumed his seat, saying: “Now that the tiger has arrived, the lamb must retire.” (See Ayub Khan by Altaf Gauhar, Page 28).

After independence, Fazlul Haq’s role had undergone a major change. He now espoused the cause of East Pakistan and strove diligently to secure the due share of East Pakistan in all walks of national life. In order to achieve this goal, he joined hands with H.S. Suhrawardy, Maulana Bhashani and Ataur Rahman Khan and formed the Jukto Front. In the 1954 elections, the Front won all but nine seats in the East Pakistan assembly. In later years, Fazlul Haq became a minister in the federal government and Governor of East Pakistan. But come Iskandar Mirza, the entire scheme of things was jolted. Like so much else disturbed, he was dismissed.

Fazlul Haq will always be remembered by the people who have respect for the genuine pioneers who led the Muslims of the subcontinent in the struggle for freedom. He was a true friend of the poor and the deprived. He dedicated his life for their good and abiding welfare.

Here, I may indulge in a bit of my own recollections of this monumental personage. I had the privilege of seeing him when I was only a child. Our father, Syed Akbar Ali and Fazlul Haq were friends at college when both of them were studying law in Calcutta. Both started legal practice. Whenever he visited our city of Shahzadpur for political or professional reasons, he stayed with us. Later, I was to graduate from the Parda College that he had established. This was when he was chief minister of united Bengal. He had a soft corner for this college.

When Ayub Khan declared martial law and banned all political parties and activities and disrupted all democratic institutions of Pakistan, Fazlul Haq gave vent to his despair in these words: “Ya Allah, in a country where I have no right to vote, I do not wish to live. Kindly take me away to you.”

The great leader died on April 27, 1962. Millions mourned his death and followed his funeral taken out in a truck. Those who saw that scene will never be able to forget .

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)