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 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 ...

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 = Ea ...

and

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, wit ...

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 management, ...

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 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 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 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 ...

. 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 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 The Prime Minister of Bengal was the head of government of 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 in 1947. History The office was ...

and Chief Minister of East Bengal. Another chief minister from the party was

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 ...

(1955–56). Abdus Sattar, one of the party's leaders, later became the President of Bangladesh.

Background

The Permanent Settlement established an extensive

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

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 an ...

. 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, t ...

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

, the political and commercial capital of Bengal and the British Indian Empire. 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 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 subcont ...

and Bengal Provincial Muslim League 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 ...

. 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 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 ...

formed the All Bengal Tenants Association, which became known as the Praja Party. Its leaders included A. K. Fazlul Huq,

Sir Azizul Haque Sir Muhammad Azizul Haque, KCSI, CIE (27 November 1892 – 23 March 1947), also known as Muhammad Azizul Huq or Mohammad Azizul Huque, was a Bengali lawyer, writer and public servant. He studied at Presidency College and University Law Colle ...

, 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 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 ...

planned the

1937 Indian provincial elections Provincial elections were held in British India in the winter of 1936-37 as mandated by the Government of India Act 1935. Elections were held in eleven provinces - Madras, Central Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, United Provinces, Bombay Presidency, A ...

, 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 Bengal Provincial Muslim League. 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

. 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 " ...

'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 ''Khan Bahadur'' Captain Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, (5 June 1892 – 26 December 1942), also written Sikandar Hyat-Khan or Sikandar Hyat Khan, was an Indian politician and statesman from the Punjab who served as the Premier of the Punjab, among ...

. In Bengal, Huq formed a second coalition with the

Hindu Mahasabha The Hindu Mahasabha (officially Akhil Bhārat Hindū Mahāsabhā, ) is a Hindu nationalist political party in India. Founded in 1915, the Mahasabha functioned mainly as a pressure group advocating the interests of orthodox Hindus before the ...

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

coalition that contested the 1954 East Bengali legislative election; 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. He was dismissed after allegations of inciting secession. After a period of Governor General's rule, Krishak Sramik Party leader

became the

Chief Minister of East Pakistan 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 ...

in 1955. Sarkar lost his majority in 1956, after which

President's rule In India, President's rule is the suspension of state government and imposition of direct Union government rule in a state. Under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, if a state government is unable to function according to Constitutional ...

was imposed.

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 ...

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 Sahibzada Iskander Ali Mirza ( bn, ইস্কান্দার আলী মির্জা; ur, ; 13 November 1899 – 13 November 1969), , was a Pakistani Bengali general officer and civil servant who was the first President of Pakistan. ...

, 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 Party ...

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