Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq (26 October 1873 – 27 April 1962), popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla, was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer and politician who served as the first and longest-serving prime minister of Bengal during the British Raj. He presented the Lahore Resolution, the foundational document of the Pakistan Movement, for which he is regarded as one of the Founding Fathers of Pakistan.
Born in 1873 to a Bengali Muslim family in British Bengal, Huq held important political offices in the subcontinent, including president of the All India Muslim League (1916–1921), general secretary of the Indian National Congress (1916–1918), education minister of Bengal (1924), mayor of Calcutta (1935), prime minister of Bengal (1937–1943), advocate general of East Bengal (1947–1952), chief minister of East Bengal (1954), home minister of Pakistan (1955–1956) and Governor of East Pakistan (1956–1958). He was first elected to the Bengal Legislative Council from Dhaka in 1913; and served on the council for 21 years until 1934.
Huq was a key figure in the Indian independence movement and then the Pakistan movement. In 1919, he had the unique distinction of concurrently serving as president of the All India Muslim League and general secretary of the Indian National Congress. He was also a member of the Congress Party's committee enquiring into the Amritsar massacre. Fazlul Huq was a member of the Central Legislative Assembly from 1934 to 1936. He courted the votes of the Bengali middle classes and rural communities. He pushed for land reform and curbing the influence of zamindars. As prime minister, Huq used legal and administrative measures to reduce the debt of millions of farmers subjected to tenancy under the Permanent Settlement. He was considered a leftist and social democrat on the political spectrum. His ministries were marked by intense factional infighting.
In 1940, Huq had one of his most notable political achievements when he presented the Lahore Resolution which called for the creation of a sovereign state in the Muslim-majority eastern and northwestern parts of British India. During the Second World War, Huq joined the Viceroy of India's Defence Council and supported the Allied war efforts. Under pressure from the governor of Bengal during the Quit India movement and after the withdrawal of the Hindu Mahasabha from his cabinet, Huq resigned from the post of premier in March 1943. In the Dominion of Pakistan, Huq worked for five years as East Bengal's attorney general and participated in the Bengali language movement. He was elected as chief minister, served as a federal minister and was a provincial governor in the 1950s.
Fazlul Huq died in Dacca, East Pakistan (now Dhaka, Bangladesh) on 27 April 1962. He is buried in the Mausoleum of Three Leaders. Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, where the National Parliament is located, is named in his honour. His son, A. K. Faezul Huq, was a Bangladeshi politician.
Early life and family
thumb|left|Huq's birthplace, the Saturia Mia Bari at [[Rajapur Upazila, of Jhalokati District]]
thumb|upright|left|The [[Calcutta High Court, where Huq practised law for over 40 years]]
Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq was born on 26 October 1873 at his maternal family home, the Mia Bari of Saturia in Backergunge District of the Bengal Presidency (now in Barsial, Bangladesh).
Education
Initially home schooled by Shamsul Ulama Khan Bahadur Hedayet Hossain and Allamah Abdur Rahman Kashgari, he later attended the Barisal Zilla School, where he passed the FA Examination in 1890. Huq moved to Calcutta for his higher education. Huq formally proposed the resolution at the annual session. The resolution called for Muslim-majority provinces in British India to be grouped into "Independent States in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign". The initial wording of the resolution suggested that the Muslim League wanted multiple states instead of a single state. Huq later accused Jinnah of not working hard enough to ensure an undivided Bengal with Calcutta included. There have been varying interpretations of the Lahore Resolution ever since. One interpretation is that the plural spelling of 'states' indicated Huq had sought a separate Muslim-majority state covering Bengal and parts of Assam as early as the 1940s.
Education
Huq held the education portfolio in his cabinet. He introduced the Primary Education Bill in the Bengal Legislative Assembly, which was passed into law and made primary education free and compulsory. However, there was a storm of protests from the opposition members and the press when Huq introduced the Secondary Education Bill in the assembly as it incorporated 'principles of communal division in the field of education' at the secondary stage. He was a supporter of affirmative action for Bengali Muslims. Huq was associated with the foundation of many educational institutions in Bengal, including Calcutta's Islamia College and Lady Brabourne College, Wajid Memorial Girls' High School, and Chakhar College.
Rift with the Muslim League
In 1941, Huq joined the Viceroy's Defence Council, which was formed to oversee the war effort of British India during World War II. Huq was joined by Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, the Prime Minister of the Punjab. The growing influence of provincial Muslim League leaders like Huq and Khan was resented by Jinnah. The Muslim League leadership, led by Jinnah and his allies, demanded that both the Bengal and Punjab PMs withdraw from the Defence Council. Khan eventually complied but Huq refused. The breakdown in relations between Huq and Jinnah led to Huq's ouster from the Muslim League. Jinnah's allies in Bengal thereafter worked to bring down Huq's government. On 2 December 1941, Huq resigned and Governor's rule was imposed. He supported the Bengali language movement in 1952. Huq was injured during police action against demonstrators demanding that Bengali be made a state language of Pakistan. Huq emerged as one of the principal opposition leaders against the Pakistan Muslim League. East Bengal became the epicentre of Pakistan's political opposition. The Bengalis of East Bengal were the demographic majority of the Dominion of Pakistan.
In government
The East Bengali legislative election, 1954 was the first major democratic election in Pakistan's history. Huq was the leader of the opposition United Front alliance, which included his Krishak Sramik Party, the Awami League, the Ganatantri Dal and the Nizam-e-Islam Party. Huq toured the districts of East Bengal extensively during the election campaign. He was joined by Awami League leader Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Suhrawardy's protege Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Maulana Bhashani also supported Huq. Suhrawardy and Huq jointly campaigned in several districts, including Faridpur. The United Front won a landslide victory during the 1954 election. The Muslim League was routed and reduced to only a few seats in the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. Huq defeated his archrival Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin in the constituency of Patuakhali in Barisal.
Huq served as Chief Minister for two months. During his short lived government, he took measures to establish the Bangla Academy. Governor General's rule was imposed which ended Huq's leadership of the provincial government. Pakistan's political parties continued to squabble, particularly over power sharing between the provinces. In August 1955, a coalition between the Krishak Sramik Party in East Pakistan and the Muslim League in West Pakistan allowed Chaudhry Mohammad Ali to become prime minister and Huq to become Home Minister.
The first constitution of Pakistan was enacted under this coalition in March 1956. The coalition was later dismissed by President Iskander Mirza, who in turn allowed a coalition of the Awami League and Republican Party to form government. Huq's former ally Suhrawardy became prime minister. As a result, the Krishak Sramik Party and the Muslim League formed the main opposition. Huq and Surhawardy were once again on opposite ends. Huq was appointed Governor of East Pakistan in 1956. He served in the position for two years until the 1958 Pakistani coup d'état. The coup ended the dominance of Huq, Suhrawardy, and Nazimuddin in Bengali politics.
Writings
Huq wrote the book Bengal Today, which was translated into Bengali. He was one of three owner-cum-directors of the well regarded evening daily Nabajug which came often under British-Indian government's proscription due to its anti-imperialist premise. The paper is no longer published.
Notable quotations
Quotes by Fazlul Huq
thumb|[[Jawaharlal Nehru was Huq's political secretary between 1918 and 1919]]
thumb|In 1940, Muhammad Ali Jinnah facetiously compared Huq to a tiger and himself as a lamb. Huq's support was crucial for the [[Lahore Resolution. The two men often differed and disagreed.]]