The Awami League in the Political Development of Pakistan Author(s): M. Rashiduzzaman Reviewed work(s): Source: Asian Survey, Vol.

10, No. 7 (Jul., 1970), pp. 574-587 Published by: University of California Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2642956 . Accessed: 26/11/2011 06:15
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THE AWAMILEAGUEIN THE POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PAKISTAN / M. Rashiduzzaman

parties haverisen of several political thekaleidoscopic politics Pakistan their and fallen. none of themhas been reallyeffective, role has Although domibeensignificant. WhiletheWestPakistanpoliticalscenewas largely persons families or Khansand nated certain by influential (Pirs,Zamindars, Here,partypolitics a picture. Nawabs), East Pakistanpresented different AwamiMusfirst of under leadership theEast Pakistan the crystalized itself of role lim League,1whichplayeda prominent in thelanguagemovement theprovince 1952, and in the defeatof theMuslimLeague in the 1954 in parties. The Awami alliancewith minor the elections forming electoral by an was disof Front cabinet 1954 which in Leaguewas a constituent theUnited in and after missed theCentral by Government onlytwomonths office it led a coalition cabinetforabouttwoyearsin East Pakistanuntilthe promulalso law in October1958. Its leader,H. S. Suhrawardy, gationof martial cabinetat servedas PrimeMinister Pakistanin the Awami-Republican of was the Centerin 1956-57.But its mostdistinguished contribution made by the whilethepartywas in opposition, arousing peopleof East Pakistan the of against maladministration theMuslimLeague cabinet. WhiletheAwamiLeague claimsto be an All-Pakistan partyit has been based in the EasternWing and its successin the West is still primarily limited. The AwamiLeague leader,SheikhMujiburRahman,gave a new program which a turnto Pakistanpoliticswhenhe put forward six-point powerto theprovince, at thesametimereduce and wouldallocatemaximum of The was thestrength theCentral of weight theparty Government.2 entire the thrown favorof theanti-Ayub in movement whichspreadthroughout in of thattheAwamiLeague country theearlymonths 1969 and it is likely willplay an evenmoreactiverole in the future. whichled to The purposeof thispaperis to examinethecircumstances theemergence theAwamiLeague in East Pakistan, role in building its of
'In 1955,the name of the organization was changed fromEast Pakistan Awami Muslim League (EPAML) to East Pakistan Awami League (EPAL) and it was opened to all communities. 2SheikhMujibur Rahman,6-PointFormula,Our Rightto Live, Dacca, March,1966.
574

In

M. RASHIDUZZAMAN

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up opposition, organizational its the of and character, extent itsmobilization electoral support its rolein thedemands regional and for autonomy Pakin istan.These are thevitalqueriesrelating any political to but party, an exhaustive treatment notyetpossible.The inadequacyof thematerials is on thepolitical partiesof Pakistanhas made it difficult give as detailedan to analysison severalaspectsof theAwamiLeague as will be possiblein the future.
BUILDING UP AN OPPOSITION

If anyonemanshouldbe given credit theriseofan opposition East for in it Pakistan, is Maulana AbdulHamidKhan Bhasani.Maulana Bhasanibecame a popularfigure the 193O'swhenhe organized peasantmovein the to ment East Bengaland Assam.Later,in the1940's he gave his support in thePakistanmovement by theMuslimLeague. Maulana Bhasani was led frustrated theclosed-door by policyoftheMuslim League in Pakistan, however,and eventually, was underhis leadership it that the East Pakistan AwamiMuslim League was bornat Dacca, on June 1949.3The political 23, climate an opposition for party was notfavorable Pakistanat thattime. in Onlya few months after cameintobeingan AwamiLeagueprocession it and meeting Dacca was lathi (baton) chargedand teargased the police. in by After incident, this nineteen AwamiLeague leaders, including MaulanaBhaunder PublicSafety the Ordinance emergency (an provissani,werearrested ion authorizing policeto arrest the anybody).In 1951, theAwamiLeague publicmeeting scheduled be addressed H. S. Suhrawardy to by couldnotbe heldas thegovernment imposed Section 144 (a specialpower which bans the assembly morethanfivepersons) in certain of areas of the city.4 This repressive policytowards opposition the was the naturalconsequence an of attitude typefied a statement Liaquat Ali Khan, the PrimeMinister by of of Pakistan, Mymensingh, Pakistan, December1950: "Pakistan at East in has been achievedby the MuslimLeague. As long as I am alive no other
political party will be allowed to work here.",5 Although the popularity of some of the individual Awami League leaders such as Bhasani and Suhrawardy was undoubtedlygreat, the party remained weak in organizational strength during its initial years. It professed to be more progressive than the Muslim League, but in structurewas now memberdifferent until 1955, both parties had restricted fundamentally as, ship to Muslims. There was a sharp cleavage betweenthe secular elementsof theAwami League who wantedto make it a non-communalorganizationand those who insisted on retaining a Muslim character. The firstdraft of the Awami League Manifestopublished by its General Secretary,Shamsul Huq,
in 3AtaurRahman Khan, Two Years of Ministership (an autobiography Bengali), (Dacca, 1965) p. 24. See also Shamsul Huq, East-PakistanAwami Muslim League Draft Manifest,(Dacca) p. 11. 'The Azad, December20, 1951. 'The Sainik, December20, 1950.

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an stated thatthemainobjectiveof theparty was to establish Islaclearly micsocialorder.0 seculargroup, by SheikhMujiburRahman, The led came to prominence whenShamsulHuq was in jail as a politicalprisoner. The confusion the continued within AwamiLeague on thisissue,however, for severalyears. Onlya fewmonths before 1954 elections East Pakistan, K. Fazthe in A. lul Huq, theformer Premier undivided of revived old Proja Par. his Bengal, tywiththenomenclature KrishakSramikParty (workers of and peasants partyor KSP).7 Political activities the province in had greatly increased on the eve of elections. Withthe blessingsof Fazlul Huq, a new political party, Nizami-i-Islam, was formed, the also withtheobjective establishof ing an administration based on theprinciples Islam. A leftwingparty of calledtheGanatantri (Democratic Dal Party) had also emerged witha programcallingforsecularpolitics and theeconomic emancipation thepeoof ple.9On theeve of elections East Bengal,theAwamiLeague appearedto in be thestrongest theparties. Muslim of The League'sfearthat United a Front of all theopposition parties wouldbe formed theprovince contest in to the impending elections soon becamea reality. The KSP was not as strong as theAwamiLeague organizationally the popularity its leader,A. K. but of Fazlul Huq, was a decisivefactor the opposition. in Soon the two leaders oftheKrishak SramikPartyand theAwamiLeague,Fazlul Huq and Maulana Bhasani,respectively came to termsand decidedto forma United Frontagainst MuslimLeague on thebasis of a "common the program."'0 an The decisionoftheAwamiLeague to enter electoral alliancewiththe is of The weaker opposition parties stilla matter controversy. idea of a joint withotheropposition front partieswas suggested Maulana Bhasani,1" by elements make thismove,(the to who had been persuadedby someleftist wereveryweak at thattimeand it was not possileftwingorganizations Bhathe ownstrength). on ble forthem contest elections their to Moreover, confident abouttheAwamiLeague'schancesas an sani was notparticularly in as independent politicalorganization the elections, the MuslimLeague all on On was busymobilizing its resources the eve of elections. theright and HamidulHuq Choudhury YusufAli Choudhury-both whom of wing, had been expelledfromthe MuslimLeague-were also eager for a joint front againstthe governing party.

'See also Shamsul Huq, op. cit. 'The Azad, August 23, 1953. The full textof the originalKrishak Sramik PartyProgram (typescript)was made available to the authorby Syed Azizul Huq, DeputyLeader ofthePartyfrom 1954 to 1958. 8TheAzad, August2, 1953. "Ibid.,Novermber 1953. 28, '?The Azad, December6, 1953. "Related to the author by Tajuddin Ahmed, the present General Secretaryof the East Pakistan Awami League who was also a prominent Awami Leaguer in 1953.

M. RASHIDUZZAMAN MOBILIZATION AND ELECTORAL SUPPORT

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The 21-point electoral program announced the UnitedFrontof the by AwamiLeague and KSP struck popularresponse a amongthestudents, the intellectuals, workers thepeasants. provided alternative all the and It an to those whowanted see theendoftheMuslim to League administration. While thepro-government elements described electoral the program utterly as impractical impossible implementation,12 publicconsidered to be and of the it a "Charter Freedom"forEast Pakistan.13 of Soon theelection campaign took twodistinct patterns. Muslim The League, as usual,emphasized contribution its towards achievement Pakistan the of and called upon thepeopleto voLefour in orderto maintain integrity it the of thenascent state.The UnitedFrontleaders,on the other hand,emphasized heirprogram. Theydecidedto contest theMuslim all seatsoftheEast PakistanAssembly and top leaderslike Bhasani,Fazlul Huq and Suhrawardy toured remotest the partsoftheprovince mobilize to support their on behalf.'4 The strategy theUnitedFrontleaderswas to hammer of uponthe failure theMuslimLeague administration variousfields, of in and particularlyon thelanguageissue.Publicfeelings highon thisquestion ran and it was easyto mobilize support. Another important issuewas thelow priceof jute which caused frustration amongthejute growers theprovince. of Center-province relations also figured prominently theelection in campaign although 1954 it was not as sensitive issue as it becamelater.15 in an The top leadersof theUnitedFrontand MuslimLeague werekeptbusy and breadth theprovince of the in whirlwind toursthroughout length adand local leaders.The dressing big public gatherings meeting important actualcampaigning doneby ordinary was workers. the party Among United of Frontcampaigners, there was a largenumber students working throughof outtheprovince. The twomainstudents' the organizations theprovince, Union (reputedfor its leftist East PakistanStudents leanings) and the to the East PakistanStudents' League,combined support UnitedFrontcanfrom citiesspreadoutin theruralareas and mobilized the didates.Students for election to pupilsin thevillageschools work theUnitedFront campaign. wereconclusive. United The in The results 1954 elections East Pakistan of Frontwon210 of the237 Muslimseatsin theprovincial and obassembly tainednearly the 64% of thevotes.In contrast MuslimLeague won only9 seatsand secured less than27%oof thevotespolledin thecontested consti-

in "2AbulMansur Ahmed,FiftyYears of Politics (a political authobiography written Bengali) (Dacca, 1968) p. 256. 3Ibid.,p. 258. "4Thisimpressionis gatheredfroma diary of A. K. Fazlul Huq recorded in 1954 whichwas made available to the authorthrough the courtesyof his son Faizul Huq. "5Thefeelingsagainst the Centerwere not so high in 1954. Regionalismas a political phenomena became moreprominent a subsequentstage. at

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tuencies.16 Among themost excitingaspects of the electionwas the defeat of several ministers includingNurul Amin, the Muslim League Chief Minister. This spectacular United Front victory,however,has been interpreted in different ways. According to the Muslim League, the people of East Pakistan had been swayed by passions which the United Front was able to rouse. On the otherhand, fromthe opposition point of view, it was a revolt of the East Pakistanis throughthe ballot box,'7 was a clear and emphatic verdict of the province against the Muslim League and a positive expression of supportforthe 21-pointprogram.
POOR ORGANIZATIONALCHARACTER

The Awami League in opposition had been a more disciplined and organized body. Internaldeterioration startedwhen the partygained office the at provincial level and then at the center in the autumn of 1956. For some time,the Awami League had provided an umbrella for all kinds of political elementswho were inclined to oppose the Government. Having achieved power, the party now had to divert its activities towards the consolidation of its position. There was, however, a strong group of left wing agitationists among the Awami Leaguers, led by Maulana Bhasani, who refused to accept this new role. The firstclash between the Awami League administrationand the Maulana took place over the question of the pro-western policy pursued by H. S. Suhirawardy, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan. In spite of his long career in politics, Maulana Bhasani appeared not to understandthe spirit of parliamentary politics which assumes thatthe cabinet should be leftalone betweenSuhrawardy and to make its own decision. The first seeds of conflict his colleagues in the provincial cabinet on the one hand and Maulana Bhasani and his followerson the otherwere sown at the Kagmari conferencein February 1957. Maulana Bhasani's predilectionfor giving directivesto the cabinet was disliked by many of the ministersin the central and provincial protestthis at the time in order governments althoughtheydid not formally to maintain the solidarity of the party.'8 The differences which startedat Kagmari took a serious turna fewweeks' later. In March 1957, the Organising Secretary of the Awami League was suspended by General Secretary Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for his alleged activities"against the interestof the party."'9 In protest,nine members of theAwami League WorkingCommittee tenderedtheirresignations.20

"6Basedon the electionresultspublished in Statistical Year Book, 1954-55, (Dacca: Government East Pakistan Press). of "Abul ManusrAhmed,op. cit.,p. 260. "8See Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, East Pakistan Awami League Special Council Session, (Kagmari, 1957). Several Awami League leaders confirmed this view in their conversations withthe author. '9ttefaq, March 31, 1957. 20Ibid., May 22, 1957.

M. RASHIDUZZAMAN

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PrimeMinister Suhrawardy triedto patchup the splitin thepartyduring itstwo-day sessions Dacca, butfailed.2' in The East Pakistan AwamiLeague Councilsessionheld in June1957 was dominated thefollowers Suhby of rawardy and his foreign policywas approved morethansevenhundred by
Awami League Councillors.22Maulana Bhasani had earlier submittedhis licly criticized Suhrawardy's policy.23 The attitude of Maulana Bhasani

resignation fromthe Presidentship the partyand came out withpubof

and his followers hardened also becauseof thehostility shownby theproSuhrawardy groupin theAwamiLeague. EarlierSheikhMujiburRahman had proposed amendment theparty an to constitution curbing powersof the thePresident nominate the members the Working to all of Committee.24 The semblence his association of withthe partywas finally severedwhen Maulana Bhasaniresigned from evena.primary membership theAwami in
League2.5

for of The resignation Maulana Bhasaniwas a real set-back the Awami control"in the League. A fewweekslaterthe EPAL lost "organizational of districts Faridour, Pabna, Rangpur, Bogra and Dinajpur,in whichmost instructions alignedthemand of the AwamiLeaguersdefiedministerial In had with Bhasani.26 Dacca itself, Bhasanites somehow the selves captured of the cityAwamiLeague.27It appearedthatthe supporters Suhrawardy workas the followers Bhasani. of werenot as dedicated organizational to werechasingtheir ministers get "perto WhiletheAwamiLeague workers the of to mits"and other favors, followers Bhasaniwerepreparing establish a new politicalparty, NationalAwamiParty (NAP).28 the of The weakorganizational character theAwamiLeague in East Pakistan ChiefMinister in was further demonstrated the personalclashesbetween AtaurRahmanKhan and SheikhMujiburRahman,the GeneralSecretary oftheparty.29 latter taken lead in separating AwamiLeague the had The the towards in from UnitedFront 1955 and had made a major contribution the But thedevelopment theorganization. there of weremanyAwamiLeaguers of the who feltthatSheikhMujiburhad damanged interest East Pakistan between Sheikhand Chief the the Front.30 parting The bydestroying United his whentheformer AtaurRahmanKhan occurred Minister tendered resig-

"MorningNews,June13, 1957. 22Ibid., June14, 1957. 23Ibid. and "MorningNews, June7, 1957. See also Constitution Regulationof East Pakistan AwamiLeague (Dacca) p. 8. "Ibid., July25, 1957. 28Ibid., July8, 1957. 28TheNAP was formed the following DemocraticWorkersConvention whichwas convened by Maulana Bhasani from July25 to 26, 1957. 29Morning News,September 1957. 7, 30AbulMansurAhmed,op. cit.,p. 456.
27Ibid.

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nation,31 on the plea that he should devote more time to organizational activities to strengthen the Awami League. Sheikh Mujibur's love for the organizationappeared to many suspicouslylike a love forpower. He wanted to strengthen hold over the organization it was felt,in order to dictate his termsto the Awami League administration.32 AlthoughSheikh Mujibur Rahman was expectedto strengthen Awami the League, he was not successfulin checking organizational weakness at various levels of the party.The Awami League at the districtand sub-divisional levels was seriously suffering from factionalism,and there were instances in which two separate executive committeeswere found in one branch of the party.33 When the Awami League assumed office, businessmenbegan to enterthe party and soon became prominentand cornered the old workers of the party.34Gradually, the Chief Minister Ataur Rahman found himself in open clash withthe General Secretaryof the party.H. S. Suhrawardytook note of the internal feud of the party and tried to settle the differences throughthe good offices Abul Mansur Ahmed, an Awami League minisof ter of the central cabinet, but his efforts were not successful.33 The internalconflicts the Awami League were further in aggravated when the working committeeof the party recommendedthe resignation of two Awami League Ministersfromthe East Pakistan cabinet. This was a direct affront the Chief Minister,who made a strong protestto the President to of the EPAL (Maulana Abdur Rashid Tarkabagish) and demanded that proof should be given by the working committeeof the allegations brought against two of the ministersin his cabinet.36 Eventually the matter was dropped on behalf of the organization but the fear of party pressures from outside continued to haunt the ministers.Ataur Rahman Khan, the Chief Minister,held thatthe Awami League executivehad no rightto exerta unilateral influenceon his cabinet, which rested on the coalition of several parties.37 The feud withinthe Awami League was ripeningwhile the fate of its cabinet was hanging in the balance. Some independentsupportersmoved away fromthe coalition for purely personal considerations. But it was the factionalfeuds in the Awami League which lowered the prestigeof the party in the eyes of the public, and eventallythe Awami League cabinet collapsed whentheNAP decided to oppose it.38 3Ittefaq,May 31, 1957. "2Abul MansurAhmed,Ibid. 3"Ataur RahmanKhan, op. cit.,p. 248.
34Ibid.

"5Seealso Abul MansurAhmed,op. cit. 30Ataur RahmanKhan, op. cit.,p. 310.

38TheAwami League Government East Pakistan headed by Ataur Rahman Khan in resignedon June19, 1958 whenit lost a vote on a cut motionin the budget.The Awami League Government was, however, restoredin August afterabout two monthsof Governor'srule in the provinceand this was the ninthand the last cabinet in East Pakistan under parliamentary government from1947 to 1958. Mr. Khan himselfwas now headingtheAwamiLeague coalitionforthe thirdtime.

37Ibid.

M. RASHIDUZZAMAN

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1958 thepolitical parof With. promulgation MartialLaw in October the were suspendedin Pakistan ties were banned and all politicalactivities in of untiltheintroduction thenew Constitution 1962. The AwamiLeague sinceitsrevival January in it the from setbacks has suffered to is yet recover 1964. Parties' Opposition to The AwamiLeague lentitssupport theCombined in Miss Fatima Jinnah, 1964 and therewas little candidate, presidential The 1965 warwithIndia also brought its scopeto consolidate ownposition. the for politicsin Pakistan.In real terms, difficulties opposition manifold to attempt mobilizetheAwamiLeague was onlymade in 1966 when first From1966 to 1969, theAwamiLeague was announced. a 6-point program because most of its top leaders were in j ail. organizationally suffered "AgartalaConspiracy case" againstSheikhMujiburRahman The so-called aboutjoiningtheAwami in and others 1968 madesomepeopleapprehensive AwamiLeague Councilhasnever the League.Sinceits revival, All Pakistan and met,39 the onlyactiveunitis theEast PakistanAwamiLeague which of the since1964.40 Lastly, imposition MarCouncilsessions has heldthree of tial Law on March25, 1969 had a generalset back on the activities all in parties Pakistan. thepolitical
AUTONOMY DEMANDS FORREGIONAL

two had the of TheMuslim Leaguein EastPakistan faced dilemma serving Musloyalties-theEast Pakistanipeople and theAll-Pakistan conflicting Withits claim to be lim League coupledwiththe centraladministration. whenit asthe a nationalparty, AwamiLeague faced a similarsituation in partyformanyyears, sumedoffices the 1950s. But beingan opposition the of theAwamiLeague was morefreeto ventilate grievances East Pakisin provintan.The East PakistanAwamiLeague,started 1949 as a purely withtheJinnah AwamiLeague was merged cial organization, subsequently the Nevertheless, East by in WestPakistanorganized H. S. Suhrawardy. its and to character, the AwamiLeaguecontinued retain provincial Pakistan of manifesto the AwamiLeague clearlystatedthatit stood for "the first of the rightof self-determination regionalunits,"and had also demanded forces.41 thatEast Pakistanshouldhave its own defense demands increased. After of in AwamiLeague pressure support regional becamePrime of theassassination Liaquat Ali Khan,Khawaja Nazimuddin he that a of Minister Pakistanand it was during visitto Dacca that declared

All-PakistanAwami League Council are "9Preparations being made to hold the first Session at Dacca in thenear future. the '0Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is now simultaneously Presidentof the East Pakistan AwamiLeague and theAll-PakistanAwami League. p. Muslim League DraftManifesto, 13, 17. The 4"ShamsulHuq, East Pakistan Awami did Manifesto notelaboratetherightofself-determination.

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Urdushouldbe thesole statelanguagein Pakistan.42 sharpreaction A followedthisspeech.On January 1952, an All-Parties 31, ActionCommittee was formed--consisting representatives the opposition of of such as the Awami League, TamaddunMajlis, the Islamic brotherhood, Youth the League and thestudent bodies of variousschools,collegesand Dacca Unia state language.In theFebruary 1952 languagemovement theprovince, in some students werekilled,and manyleadingAwamiLeaguers,including Maulana Bhasaniand SheikhMujiburRahman, werejailed. The 21-point electoral program the1954 UnitedFrontalso included of a categorical demandforthe recognition Bengalias one of the statelanof guagesin Pakistan. Later,Maulana Bhasaniwentevenfurther his dewith mandthatBengalibe introduced all stagesof education at and administration,and thattheCentral Government's powers shouldbe restricted three to subjects-i.e., defense, foreign policyand currency-andthat othersubjectsshouldbe leftwiththeprovince governments.44 The AwamiLeague had to moderate demandforEast Pakistan'sauits tonomy while Subrawardy was Prime Ministerof Pakistan.While this situation provided someprotection the AwamiLeague cabinetin East for Pakistanagainstthe central government's interference the provincial with the administration, AwamiLeagueministry East Pakistanalso couldnot in pressits demands farand thusembarrass AwamiLeague colleagues too its at theCenter.45 Pressure regional for autonomy, however, continued the at party level.At theKagmarisessionof theAwamiLeague Councilin 1957, Maulana Bhasani bluntly statedthatthe EasternWing shouldsay "good bye" to WestPakistanif thelatter failedto concedeher demands.46 his In letter resignation of fromthe Awami League, Maulana Bhasani charged thatthe AwamiLeague government failedto give autonomy East had to The draft manifesto theAwamiLeague afterits revivalin 1964 deof mandedfullautonomy the regionsof Pakistan,as well as the removal for of disparities between twowingsof Pakistanin theeconomic, the administrative and politicalspheres treating two wingsof Pakistanas two by the
Pakistan.47
versity-43
to

launch a province wide movementin support of Bengali as

2The Azad, January28, 1952. Quaid-e-AzamM. A. Jinnahmade the firstannouncement in 1948 to the effect that Urdu alone should be the state language of Pakistan whichwas protested East Pakistan. in "Ibid., February2, 1952. See also Historyof Language Movement(a Bengali pamphlet), (Dacca, 1952). 44Address Maulana Bhasani at EPAML's Council Session, Dacca, 1955. of 4"Onone occasion Prime MinisterSuhrawardy claimed that98% autonomy had been given to the provincesunder the 1956 Constitution. This statement put the East PakistanAwamiLeague cabinetintoa veryawkwardposition. February15, 1957. 6lttefaq, "7The Pakistan Observer, July 1957. 25,

M. RASHIDUZZAMAN

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separate economies.48 The culmination of the Awami League demand for regional autonomy came in March 1966 when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman put forwardhis Six-Point Program which may be summed up as follows 4 (1) The constitutionshould provide for a Federation of Pakistan in its true sense on the basis of the Lahore Resolution and the parliamentary formof government with supremacyof a Legislature directlyelected on the basis of universal adult franchise. (2) The federal Government should deal with only two subjects, Defense and Foreign Affairs, and all otherresiduary subjects shall be vested in the federatingstates. (3) Two separate but freelyconvertiblecurrenciesfor two wings should be introduced; or if this is not feasible, there should be one currencyfor the whole country,but effective constitutionalprovisions should be introduced to stop the flight capital fromEast to West Pakistan. Futhermore, of a separate Banking Reserve should be established and separate fiscal and nmonetary policy be adopted for East Pakistan. (4) The power of taxation and revenue collection shall be vested in the federating units and the federal centerwill have no such power. The federation will be entitledto a share in the state taxes to meet its expenditures. (5) There should be two separate accounts for the foreign exchange earnings of the two wings; the foreignexchange requirements the federal of government should be metby the two wings equally or in a ratio to be fixed; indigenous products should move free of duty between the two wings and the constitutionshould empower the units to establish trade link with foreign countries. (6) East Pakistan should have a separate militia or paramilitary force. The im-pactof the six-point demand of the Awami League was felt far and wide. The central governmentdubbed it as a demand for the separaand launched a proption of the Eastern Wing fromthe rest of the country, aganda campaign which called for a strong central government and decried the autonomists.On June 6, 1966, therewas a province-widehartal (strike) in East Pakistan sponsored by the Awami League to press the demands embodied in the six-point program.50Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along

48Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,East Pakistan Awami League DraftManifesto,Dacca, p. 5. The real purposeof the Awami League demand forregional autonomy to establish is a balance of power for East Pakistan which would introducefastereconomic development in the province.It has been argued repeatedlythat West Pakistan has been the beneficiary the CentralGovernment of expenditure, and this imbalance can be set right only by givingthe East Wing greaterautonomy.See also K. B. Sayeed, The Political SystemofPakistan, Chapter8 (Boston: HoughtenMifflin Company, 1967) and Unhappy East Pakistan, (a pamphlet) (St. Peter: Jersey, 1962). 4"SheikhMujibur Rahman,6-PointFormula, op. cit. See also Tajuddin Ahmed,East Pakistan AwamiLeague Manifesto,(Dacca, 1969). "0There were severalclashes betweenthe police and the strikers duringwhichten persons werekilled. The Pakistan Observer, June8, 1966.

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withseveral of his lieutenants, were again put into the prison.51The governmentalso blamed "foreigninterests"in the agitation led by the six-pointers. Afterabout a year several East Pakistani civil servants and militaryofficers were arrestedon the charge thattheyhad conspired to separate the East Wing by violent means in collusion with India. Eventually, the so-called "Agartala Conspiracy case" was initiated against Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 34 othersfor alleged high treason. The trial was opened at the Dacca Cantonment a special tribunalconsistingof senior judges of the Supreme by Court and High Courts of Pakistan. Eleven of the accused turned approverwitnesson behalf of the government(they were pardoned by the Government) but the rest,including Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, denied the charges brought against them. The "Agartala Trial" was soon synchronisedwith the country-wide movementagainst the Ayub regime which also demanded greaterautonomyfor East Pakistan. The opposition leaders met at Dacca and formedthe Democratic Action Committee(DAC) which demanded the restorationof parliamentarydemocracy and a direct franchise. The formationof the DAC was warmly welcomed by the studentcommunityof East Pakistan who spearheaded the anti-Ayubmovementin the province. Two leading studentparties in East Pakistan, the East Pakistan Students'League (aligned with the Awami League) and the East Pakistan Students'Union (aligned with the NAP), formed a Students' Action Clommittee (SAC). The political demands incorporated in the lipoint program formulatedby SAC included: parliamentarydemocracy on the basis of adult franchise; full autonomyfor East Pakistan and also autonomy for the formerprovinces of West Pakistan; restrictionof the Federal Government to only three functions, defense, foreign policy and currency. It also proposed that East Pakistan be given the power to form a militia or paramilitary force and that the headquarters of the Navy be transferredto the province.52For all practical purposes, the eleven-point student programwas an expanded version of the Awami League's six-pointdemand for autonomy. Under great pressure, President Ayub was compelled to withdraw the "Agartala Conspiracy" case against Sheikh Mujibur Rabman and his codefendants. also agreed to meet the opposition leaders at a Round Table He Conferenceto discuss the constitutionalproblems of the country. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman emerged from being the primary defendantin a treason trial to the status of a leader dominatingnational opinion. The feelings in the East Wing ran high against West Pakistan and the central administration. During the political turmoil,the army (mostly fromWest Pakistan)
"While Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was in jail, the Awami League became a divided house, with two clear divisions-the six-pointers and the pro-PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement,an alliance of the major opposition parties in Pakistan formedin 1967 to fight Ayub regime). Undoubtedly, six-pointers the the formedthe majorityfactionin theparty. 52Pakistan Observer, January 1969. Also 11-PointPrograrrme(a pamphlet). 6,

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had been used to put down agitations and manyhad been killedin East Pakistan.In West Pakistan,the politicalagitationturnedagainst Ayub because of his "failure"in the 1965 war withIndia, but East Pakistan domilookeduponhis political system theinstrument WestPakistan's as of nation.The politicalconcessionmade by President Ayub did not satisfy thepeople in theEast wherethe agitations and violencegradually spread into the rural areas. In this context, SheikhMujibur Rahmancould not his moderate demandfor regionalautonomy his without risking political for future. theRoundTable Conference, demanded autonomy the At he full on EasternWing and representation the central in legislature thebasis of population(whichwouldgive a majority East Pakistan).53 to After agreeing theconference at table to introduce parliamentary a systemand directadult franchise, President Ayubis reported have asked to SheikhMujiburRahmanprivately (over dinner)notto pushhis demands forregional autonomy proportional and representation thesetwobasic until reforms been passed in the NationalAssembly.54 had Only fourdays beforeMartialLaw was again imposed, SheikhMujiburRahmansubmitted draftconstitutional amendments the President, to whichenvisageda federal parliamentary system withregionalautonomy based on the six-point program the Awami League and SAC's eleven-point of demand.55 PresidentAyubwas shocked learnthatSheikhMujiburRabmanwas in fact to planning place beforetheNationalAssembly own draft to his bill. He apprehended thatRahman'samendment might just be carriedwiththe supportof Sindhis, Bengalis, Pathansand Baluchimembers thattheprivate or bill wouldcreateanother stalemate theAssembly in itself. Eventually, PresidentAyub handed over powerto the Armystating thatSheikhMujibur Rahman's amendment "would liquidate the Central Government and GeneralMohammed On November 1969, President 28, Yahya Khan announcedthatPakistanwould go to the polls in October1970 to elect a whichwill framea constitution the country. for Since NationalAssembly on was this announcement made,the martiallaw restrictions politicalactivities have been relaxedand the politicalpartiesare now propagating The Awami League has launcheda vigorouselection theirviews freely. campaignin East Pakistanwiththe six-point programas theirelection manifesto. Later, on March 30, 1970 President Yahya Khan announced Orderwhichwould governthe conductof elections the Legal Framework NationalAssembly of as wellas theroleofthefuture (consisting 313 memEast Pakistan) in framing Constitution. bers of whom169 willbe from a
"3See Address by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Round Table Conferenceheld at Rawalpindi, (Dacca, 1969). 6&The Times,April9, 1969. "5Acopyof the Draftof the Bill was made available to the authorby Tajuddin Ahmed, of March 25, 1969. Secretary EPAL. See also Pakistan Observer, "6TheTimes,April9, 1969; see also Pakistan Observer, March 26, 1969.

Army."56

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THE

AWAMI

LEAGUE

OF

PAKISTAN

The Orderdeclaredthatthefuture constitution Pakistanmustpreserve of five fundamental principles: Islamicideology;territorial an integrity; free elections theindependence judiciary; a federal and of system ensuring autonomy theprovinces well as adequatelegislative, to as administrative and financial powers theCentral for and to Government; fullopportunities the peopleof all regions participation nationalaffairs. for in The Orderstipulatesthatif the President refuses authenticate constitution, Nato the the tional Assembly wouldstanddissolved that wouldbe thesole arbiter and he in interpreting Order. the The AwamiLeague as wellas someother political partiesin East Pakistanhavechallenged theseprovisions Legal Framework of Orderwhich they argueamount thenegation democratic to of principles. AwamiLeague The is particularly apprenhensive thefactthatthe Legal Framework of Order maybe utilized the President refuseauthentication any Constituby to of tionwhich wouldgivemaximum autonomy East Pakistanin conformity to with party's the six-point election manifesto.
CONCLUSION:

the whichemerges from above is thattheAwamiLeague One conclusion in is notyeta strong terms. main contribution Its party organizational in in and the1950's had been thebuilding of opposition thecountry also up in the politicization the masses.The Awami League can rightly of claim to it lessonsin agitational that gave thefirst politics Pakistan.Nevertheless, werenot significantly better thanthose of the its organizational loyalties MuslimLeague whichwas routedin the 1954 elections. It is noteworthy the AwamiLeague has been able to cultivate that the of them thatit has been able to mainand loyalty thestudents it is through withthe people. Duringthe languagemovement 1952 the tain contact in AwamiLeague was able to wintheconfidence thestudents' of community role whichalso playeda significant in all other anti-government agitations in East Pakistan, wellas in theanti-Ayub as movement early1969. The in East PakistanStudents' for League (EPSL) is campaigning the Awami League six-point and program,57 it is well-known theLeague is now that working closelywiththe AwamiLeague on all otherimportant political of The real strength theAwamiLeague in Pakistanis thepopularity of itsleader, Sheikh whoreceived hero'swelcome Dacca a MujiburRahman, at and elsewhere theProvince in whenhe was releasedin 1969 after years two in jail. A volatileand a fiery his speaker, approachto politicsis stillpersonal and he is essentially guided by politicalinstincts. feelsthathe He can help the people through sufferings. wantsto communicate his He di"7Theleft wing National Awami Party (NAP) is also supportedby a student's orthe ganization, East Pakistan Students'Union (EPSU), whichat the moment sharply is dividedintopro-Moscow and pro-Peking factions.

issues.

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Since he was releasedfrom rectly withthepeoplethrough publicmeetings. to the prison,SheikhMujibur Rahmanhas been touring province bring his party closerto thepeople.But thispersonalapproach party to building on is likelyto be replacedby one placinggreater emphasis organizational to The mostseriouschallenge theAwamiLeague skillin thenear future. has better comesfrom leftist NationalAwamiPartywhich demonstrated the the organizing ability thegrassroots at level.58 many, AwamiLeague is To for an organization the middleclass in East Pakistan.While it fights of to regional autonomy, argue,theAwamiLeague onlyproposes replace they To thenon-Bengali bourgeois a Bengalibourgeois. meettheNAP's chalby the started organizing Labour lenge,however, AwamiLeague has recently Leagues as component elements theparty. in skill The real strength theAwamiLeague is notits organizational but of the growing withthe 70 popularity its program regionalautonomy of of millionBengalisin East Pakistan.We have alreadynotedthata popular movement started East Pakistanfollowing announcement Awami in the of League six-point program thechanging and pattern Pakistanpolitics of has eventually to whatis undeniably separatist led a movement. Even themost stringent repressive measuresand centralized administration cannothalt theprocess. thechampion thecause ofregional As of autonomy, future the of the Awami League lies in its capacityto sustainand strengthen the -movement.

"8Thereis no studyof the NAP as yet,but this impressionis gatheredfromits effortsto bring the workersand peasants withinthe fold of the organization.Maulana startedorganizing the peasants in the rural areas Bhasani, the NAP leader has recently of East Pakistan. M. RASHIDUZZAMAN is a Reader in Political Science at the University Dacca, of East Pakistan.