History Speaks
A SENSE OF HISTORY SHARED: BIRTH OF BANGLADESH
Mohammad Amjad Hossain*
In March, 1947, Lord Louis
Mountbatten was sent to India as a
new Viceroy at the request of
Jawaharlal Nehru, Leader of Indian
Congress to arrange withdrawal of the
British from India. Meanwhile, Indian
Congress accepted the concept
floated by the Muslim League for the
division of India into two countries on
1
Jinnah, President of All India Muslim
League. In Delhi conference on April
7, 1946 resolution was changed by
the instruction of Mohammad Ali
Jinnah for one Muslim country on the
pretext of typographical error despite
protests by Maulana Abdul Hamid
Khan Bhashani, President of Assam
Provincial Muslim League and Abul
Hashim, General Secretary of Bengal
Provincial Muslim League. Huseyn
Shaheed Suhrawardy, the only Muslim
leader who won election in Bengal in
1946 gave his nod to one Pakistan
idea. Had Suhrawardy not been
elected, it would have been difficult to
sell the idea of Pakistan because
Muslim League Leaders in other
provinces could not win elections,
including Punjab.
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The year 1945 was turning point in
the context of movement for freedom
in South Asian sub-continent. With
the end of Second world War and
winning of election of a Labor
government in Great Britain headed
by Clement Richard Atlee, it was
assured that the British government
would quit India soon as a result of
the demand made by both the
National Congress of India and All
India Muslim League for the departure
of the British from India to end
subjection of Indian Sub-continent for
more than 200 years. The process of
independence was delayed because of
division of opinion between the Indian
National Congress and the Muslim
League.
The
Muslim
League
maintained that a separate state
comprising Muslim majority areas
could serve the interest of the
Muslims. In fact, a resolution was
adopted by All India Muslim League
at Lahore Conference in 1940 for two
Muslim States following the departure
of the British. The proposal was
placed by Chief Minister of Bengal
A.K .Fazlul Haq under the
chairmanship of Mohammad Ali