All-Pakistan Awami League

All-Pakistan Awami League

آل پاکستان عوامی لیگ
নিখিল পাকিস্তান আওয়ামী লীগ
All-Pakistan Awami League آل پاکستان عوامی لیگ; নিখিল পাকিস্তান আওয়ামী লীগ
Abbreviation	AL
Founder	Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Founded	February 1950
Banned	26 March 1971
Merger of	East Pakistan Awami Muslim League; Frontier Awami Muslim League; Jinnah Muslim League
Succeeded by	Bangladesh Awami League
Headquarters	Haroon Abdullah Road, Karachi
Newspaper	Ittefaq
Ideology	Bengali nationalism (after 1966); Socialism; Democratic socialism; Factions:; Secularism; Islamic socialism
Political position	Left-wing
National affiliation	Combined Opposition Parties (1965)
Colors	Green
Election symbol
	; Boat
Party flag
	Politics of Pakistan; Political parties; Elections;

The All-Pakistan Awami League (before 1955 the All-Pakistan Awami Muslim League), or simply Awami League, was a Pakistani political party founded by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy in February 1950. Pir of Manki Sharif and Khan Ghulam Mohammad Khan from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) joined it soon afterwards.^[1]^[2]

History

After 1947, the independence of Pakistan, Amin ul-Hasanat, former Muslim League politician in North-West Frontier Province, established Frontier Awami Muslim League. He got this idea from Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, who advised him this name. Suhrawardy advised the former Muslim League members in East Bengal to established new political party under similar name too.^[3] In East Pakistan, East Pakistan Awami Muslim League was founded by Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Yar Mohammad Khan on 23 June 1949.^[2] It was established as the Bengali alternative to the Urdu dominated Muslim League in Pakistan and over centralization of the government. The party quickly gained massive popular support in East Bengal.^[4]

In 1949, Suhrawardy left Muslim League saying that the party became the party of elites and the party distanced itself from people.^[5] In the same year, Iftikhar Mamdot was dismissed from the premiership of Punjab and formed a party called Jinnah Muslim League.^[5] In 1950, Suhrawardy established All-Pakistan Awami Muslim League in West Pakistan.^[3] The two parties merged to form Jinnah Awami Muslim League prior to the provincial elections in 1951.^[6] In the Punjab provincial election in 1951, the Jinnah Awami Muslim League polled 18.3 percent votes and won 32 seats.^[6] In the NWFP, it won four seats.^[1] It was also established in Sindh.^[3]

Subsequently, the East Pakistani party merged with All-Pakistan Awami Muslim League in 1952^[3] and used the name All Pakistan Awami Muslim League.^[7] In the 1954 provincial election in Bengal, the party won 143 seats. The United Front of East Pakistan led by Haq, Bhasani and Surahwardhy the party won a total of 223 seats, soundly defeating the Muslim League with 10 seats.^[8] The party later dropped All Pakistan and named the party Awami Muslim League in East Pakistan. Later, the party evolved under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (himself a former aide to Suharwardy) and was named the Awami League .^[4] After long arduous consultations and negotiations by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with the West Pakistan establishment of remaining united as a single nation without bloodshed eventually led the forces of Bangladesh nationalism in the struggle against West Pakistan's military, socio economic and political control, and the civil establishment.^[4]

After Operation Searchlight, in a radio address on the evening of March 26, Yahya Khan, the then president of Pakistan, declared the Awami League treasonous and banned the party. In addition to this, the government seized the bank accounts of the Awami League.^[9]

Officials

President

Name	Assumed office	Left Office	Source
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani	23 June 1949	27 July 1956
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy	27 July 1956	10 October 1957
Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan	?	?	^[10]
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman	?	1971	^[11]

General Secretary

Name	Assumed office	Left office	Ref
Shamsul Huq	1949	1953	^[12]
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman	1953	1966	^[13]
Abul Hasnat Muhammad Qamaruzzaman	?	1971	^[14]

State leaders

Name	Term in office
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy	1956–1957

Name	Term in office
Chief Minister of East Pakistan
Ataur Rahman Khan	1956–1958

Electoral history

Pakistan National Assembly elections

Election	Party leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
1970	Sheikh Mujibur Rahman	12,937,162	39.2%	160 / 300	160	1st	Banned

East Pakistan Provincial Assembly elections

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
1954			143 / 237	143	1st	Government
1970	12,937,162	73.2%	288 / 300	45	1st	Opposition

North-West Frontier Province Provincial Assembly elections

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
1951			4 / 85	4	2nd	Opposition

Punjab Provincial Assembly elections

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
1951			32 / 192	32	2nd	Opposition

References

^ ^a ^b Kamran 2009, p. 269.
^ ^a ^b Chowdhury 2012, p. 72.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Wazed, Jafar (23 June 2024). প্লাটিনাম জয়ন্তী ও নিখিল পাকিস্তান আওয়ামী লীগ. Daily Kalbela (in Bengali).
^ ^a ^b ^c Abu Zafar Shamsddin, Atmasriti (Self-memories) -1st part, Dhaka, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Paracha, Nadeem F. (26 January 2017). "The Muslim League: A factional history". Dawn.
^ ^a ^b Kamran 2009, p. 264.
^ Kamran 2009, p. 274.
^ Kamran 2009, p. 277–278.
^ Chowdhury 2021, pp. 58.
^ "Mujibur Rahman leaves for Dacca". Dawn. 24 July 1965.
^ "No alliance with any party before elections : Mujib". Morning News. 5 July 1970.
^ "Bangladesh Awami League, a pioneer in practicing democracy within party". Bangladesh Awami League. 23 July 2009. Archived from the original on 17 June 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
^ "Bangladesh Awami League Constitution". Bangladesh Awami League. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
^ "পশ্চিম পাকিস্তানে ঐতিহাসিক সফরশেষে আজ শেখ মুজিবের ঢাকা প্রত্যাবর্তন". The Daily Ittefaq (in Bengali). 6 July 1970.

Bibliography

Chowdhury, Anisuzzaman (2012), Moulana Bhashani: Leader of the Toiling Masses, Xlibris, ISBN 978-1-4691-3790-2^{[self-published source?]}
Kamran, Tahir (July–December 2009). "Early phase of electoral politics in Pakistan: 1950s". South Asian Studies. 24 (2): 257–282.
Samad, Yunas (1995), A Nation in Turmoil: Nationalism and Ethnicity in Pakistan, 1937-1958, Sage, ISBN 978-0-8039-9214-6
Chowdhury, Afsan (2021). ১৯৭১: অসহযোগ আন্দোলন ও প্রতিরোধ [1971: Non-Cooperation Movement and Resistance] (in Bengali). Dhaka: Kothaprokash. ISBN 9789845101332.

[FOOTNOTEKamran2009269-1] Kamran 2009, p. 269.

[FOOTNOTEChowdhury201272-2] Chowdhury 2012, p. 72.

[kb-3] Wazed, Jafar (23 June 2024). প্লাটিনাম জয়ন্তী ও নিখিল পাকিস্তান আওয়ামী লীগ. Daily Kalbela (in Bengali).

[samsuddin-4] Abu Zafar Shamsddin, Atmasriti (Self-memories) -1st part, Dhaka, 2011.

[dawn-5] Paracha, Nadeem F. (26 January 2017). "The Muslim League: A factional history". Dawn.

[FOOTNOTEKamran2009264-6] Kamran 2009, p. 264.

[FOOTNOTEKamran2009274-7] Kamran 2009, p. 274.

[FOOTNOTEKamran2009277–278-8] Kamran 2009, p. 277–278.

[FOOTNOTEChowdhury202158-9] Chowdhury 2021, pp. 58.

[10] "Mujibur Rahman leaves for Dacca". Dawn. 24 July 1965.

[11] "No alliance with any party before elections : Mujib". Morning News. 5 July 1970.

[12] "Bangladesh Awami League, a pioneer in practicing democracy within party". Bangladesh Awami League. 23 July 2009. Archived from the original on 17 June 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2010.

[Constitution-13] "Bangladesh Awami League Constitution". Bangladesh Awami League. Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.

[14] "পশ্চিম পাকিস্তানে ঐতিহাসিক সফরশেষে আজ শেখ মুজিবের ঢাকা প্রত্যাবর্তন". The Daily Ittefaq (in Bengali). 6 July 1970.

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