FORMATION OF THE

UNITED FRONT
&
ELECTION OF 1954

Dr. Mohammad Humayun Kabir

 POLITICAL SUBJUGATION
OF EAST BENGAL
• Since the very beginning of its journey the Central
Government and the West Pakistan ruling elites
behaved with East Bengal as a colony . Bengalis
were majority. But ironically inequality between
two wings were seen in every sector from
representation in the civil service and defense, to
any government position. Most of the ruling elites
were from the Punjab.
• The political subjugation and cultural repression
caused huge resentment among the Bengalis
which was culminated in a campaign for their full
autonomy giving birth to regionalism.
 MUSLIM LEAGUE
• Muslim League as a political organization became a
monolithic, virtually detached from the common
people. As a result the members of the East Bengal
Assembly were no longer representatives of anyone
beside themselves.
• In the 1954 momentous election the entire Muslim
League leadership, which had held on to power
since 1947, was challenged. Ironically it was in East
Bengal that the Muslim League was founded almost
half a century earlier. Again it was East Bengal that
rejected the party. With the legislative defeat,
public support for the party quickly declined and
disappeared for ever.
 AWAMI MUSLIM LEAGUE AND
KRISHAK SRAMIK PARTY
• As the Muslim League was no longer supporting the cause of
East Bengal and its people, new political parties dedicated to
the cause of the common people in general and East Bengal in
particular emerged.
• Two most important Party which emerged were Awami Muslim
League and the Krishak Sramik Party.
• Election – A general election in East Bengal is supposed to be
held in 1951. However, in a bye-election held in Tangail, in 1949,
the candidate of the Muslim League was defeated. This
unexpected defeat proved the Muslim League’s unpopularity
and indifference to serve the cause of East Bengal. The Chief
Minister Nurul Amin realized that the League has lost the grass
root support and thus did not want to risk further setback. As a
result the duration of the Provincial Legislature was unduly
extended by the Central Legislature.
• However, the election was eventually held in 1954.
 Electoral System:
Seat Distribution
1. Muslim Seats : 228

2. Schedule Caste Seats : 36

3. Buddhist : 2

4. Christians : 1

5. Women : 12 (3 for Hindu Women)

6. General Seats : 30

• Total Seats : 309

• To Form the Government, required seats: 156
 NEW OPPOSITION PARTIES
• Awami Muslim League was formed in 1949
• Pakistan Democratic Party was formed in January
1953
• Fazlul Huq revived his Krishak Praja Party under
the new name Krishak Sramik Party on 23 August
1953
• In 1954 Abul Hashim formed the Khilafate
Rabbany Party
• All these parties were formed to create a healthy
democratic opposition
 UNITED FRONT
• On 14 November 1953 at a historic council of the
East Pakistan Awami Muslim League held at
Mymensingh the decision of forming a United
Front was taken. Sheikh Mujib in his General
Secretary’s Report declared that East Bengal had
lost its faith in Muslim League and it is now united
to renounce the League from the province.
• United Front – Coalition – Awami League, the
Krishak Sramic Party, the Nizam-e-Islam and
Ganatantri Dal.
• Leading role played by AK Fazlul Huq, HS
IMPORTANT POLITICAL LEADERS
NOMINATING MEMBERS
 ELECTION CAMPAIGN
• The symbol of the United Front was Boat
• The Election manifesto launched by the United
Front included 21 Points. The two main points
were autonomy for East Bengal (defense, foreign
policy and currency were excluded) and the
recognition of Bangla as one of the State
Languages of Pakistan.
• The establishment of Bangla Academy and
Declaration of 21 February as a public holiday
were the two other important points.
 election manifesto of the United Front: 21
Points
The 21-point package program in the election manifesto adopted
by the United Front runs as follows:
1.To recognize Bangla as one of the State Languages of Pakistan;
2.To abolish without compensation zamindari and all rent
receiving interest in land, and to distribute the surplus lands
amongst the cultivators; to reduce rent to a fair level and abolish
the certificate system of realizing rent;
3.To nationalize the jute trade and bring it under the direct control
of the government of East Bengal, secure fair price of jute to the
growers and to investigate into the jute-bungling during the Muslim
League regime to punish those found responsible for it;
 election manifesto of the United Front: 21
Points
4. To introduce co-operative farming in agriculture and to
develop cottage industries with full government subsidies;

5. To start salt industry (both small and large scale) to make

East Bengal self-sufficient in the supply of salt, and to
investigate into the salt-bungling during the Muslim League
regime to punish the offenders;

6. To rehabilitate immediately all the poor refugees belonging

to the artisan and technician class;

7. To protect the country from flood and famine by means of

digging canals and improving irrigation system;
 election manifesto of the United Front: 21
Points
8. To make the country self-sufficient by modernizing the method of
cultivation and industrialization, and to ensure the rights of the
laborer as per ILO Convention;

9. To introduce free and compulsory primary education throughout

the country and to arrange for just pay and allowances to the
teachers;

10. To restructure the entire education system, introduce mother

tongue as the medium of instruction, remove discrimination
between government and private schools and to turn all the schools
into government aided institutions;
11. To repeal all reactionary laws including those of the Dhaka and
Rajshahi Universities and to make them autonomous institutions;
to make education cheaper and easily available to the people;
 election manifesto of the United Front: 21
Points
12. To curtail the cost of administration and to rationalize the
pay scale of high and low paid government servants. The
ministers shall not receive more than 1000 taka as monthly
salary;
13. To take steps to eradicate corruption, nepotism and
bribery, and with this end in view, to take stocks of the
properties of all government officers and businessmen
from 1940 onward and forfeit all properties the acquisition
of which is not satisfactorily accounted for;
4. To repeal all Safety and Preventive Detention Acts and
release all prisoners detained without trial, and try in open
court persons involved in anti-state activities; to safeguard
the rights of the press and of holding meetings;
 election manifesto of the United Front: 21
Points
15. To separate the judiciary from the executive;

6. To locate the residence of the chief minister of the United

Front at a less costly house, and to convert Burdwan
House into a students hostel now, and later, into an institute
for research on Bangla language and literature;

17. To erect a monument in memory of the martyrs of the

Language Movement on the spot where they were shot dead,
and to pay compensation to the families of the martyrs;

18. To declare 21 February as ‘Shaheed Day’

 election manifesto of the United Front: 21
Points
9. The Lahore Resolution proposed full autonomy of East
Bengal leaving defense, foreign affairs and currency under
the central government. In the matter of defense,
arrangements shall be made to set the headquarters of the
army in West Pakistan and the naval headquarters in East
Bengal and to establish ordnance factories in East Bengal,
0. The United Front Ministry shall on no account extend the
tenure of the Legislature and shall resign six months before
the general elections to facilitate free and fair elections
under an Election Commission;
21. All casual vacancies in the Legislature shall be filled up
through by-elections within three months of the vacancies,
and if the nominees of the Front are defeated in three
successive by-elections, ministry shall resign from office.
 CAMPAIGN AND OVERWHELMING
VICTORY
• The Front had charismatic leaders
• Student leaders played crucial role. The United Front
galvanized the Bengalis to press for their legitimate
demands on all aspects.
• The famous 21 Points were delivered by Maulana
Bhashani while it was drafted by Abul Mansur
Ahmed and finalized by Suhrawardy.
• United Front achieved the spontaneous support and
popularity of the people of East Bengal due to the
high esteem of Fazlul Huq, Suhrawardy Maulana
Bhashani and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in their mind.
 ELECTION CAMPAIGN
• Muslim League also tried its best to win over the
people of East Bengal by adopting some very
provocative and communal postures.
• The League warned that voting against it would be
equivalent to supporting the enemies of Pakistan.
• Some of the West Pakistan based newspapers also
supported the League raising religious and
regional issues.
• The League was supported by West Pakistan based
industrialists, landowners and business people.
 ELECTION CAMPAIGN
• The election strategy of the United Front was to
hammer upon the failure of the Muslim League
administration in various fields specially on the
language issue, economic mismanagement and
food crisis. In this connection they mentioned the
negative roles of Nazimuddin and Nurul Amin.
• United Front’s vigorous election campaign was
conducted by various factions of the Party who
were more aggressive, persuasive and enthusiastic.
• Front’s campaigning on the autonomy and
language issue had great impact upon the voters.
 RESULT OF THE ELECTION

• In the election of 1954, the Jukto Front or the

United Front won a landslide victory and the
Muslim League was virtually wiped out from the
political scene of the country.
• The United Front won 223 seats out of 237 Muslim
seats whereas the ruling Muslim League managed
to win only 9.
• All five members of the Muslim League Ministry
including the Chief Minister, Nurul Amin were
defeated.
 Result At A Glance
Party Seats
Awami Muslim League : 143
Krishak Sramik Party : 48
Nizam-e-Islam Party : 19
Ganatantri Dal : 13
Muslim League : 9
Khilafat-e-Robbani Party : 1
Independents : 4

Total : 237
RESULT OF THE ELECTION
 AFTER ELECTION
• Following the outcome of the election, the East
Bengal Governor Choudhury Khaliquzzaman
invited the United Front Leader & Krishak Sramik
Party Leader AK Fazlul Huq on 25 March 1954 to
form the government. The United Front Ministry
was formed on 3 April 1954.
• The subsequent developments were however very
disappointing for the coalition as they could not
deliver the goods for which they were elected.
Rather a sad and bitter political disunity took place
leading to the unhappy time for the people of East
 AK FAZLUL HUQ
• Fazlul Huq announced a cabinet consisting of 3 members of
his choice which led to the dissatisfaction among the
coalition partners. More particularly the Awami Muslim
League leaders became frustrated who soon decided to leave
the coalition.

• Gradually the alliance of the of the United Front began to

split.

• Personality clash and divergent party programs were mainly

responsible for the disintegration of the United Front within
the shortest period of their formation.

• Strictly speaking the United Front was an election time

alliance based on anti-Muslim League sentiment, which
 CONSEQUENCES
• These unhappy developments provided
ammunition to the Muslim League and all those
vested interests who did not want development
and welfare of the people of East Bengal.
• Finally an opportunity was provided by the Chief
Minister Fazlul Huq which strengthened the
central government to dismiss the United Front
Government.
 DISMISSAL OF UF GOVERNMENT
• During his visit to Kolkata in May 1954, Fazlul Huq had made
some speeches expressing friendship and closeness with
the people of West Bengal.
• Fazlul Huq was also reported to have said that
‘Independence will be the first thing to be taken up by his
ministry at the negotiation between the Center and East
Bengal’.
• This was interpreted by the Pakistani Government as
anti-Pakistani and anti-State move and Huq was accused of
contemplating the independence of East Bengal.
• However, nothing happened for the time being and Huq in
order to mend the situation expanded his cabinet on 14
May 1954 where members of the Awami Muslim League
 END OF THE UNITED FRONT
• A serious riot between the Bangali and non-Bengali
workers of the Adamjee Jute Mills at Narayanganj,
and paper mills at Chittagong caused the death of
1500 workers on the very day of the cabinet
expansion that is 15 May.
• The riots between Bangalis and Biharis were
pre-planned and were engineered by the
reactionary elements. The Communist activists
were held responsible for the tragedy, and Fazlul
Huq government was blamed for its failure in
controlling the situation.
 DISMISSAL
• On May 30, 1954 , the Central Government, instead
of taking action against the criminals dismissed the
Fazlul Huq Ministry and imposed central rule.
• Major General Iskander Mirza, the Defense
Secretary was appointed Governor of East Bengal.
• The politicians of East Bengal missed an
opportunity to improve the lot of the Bengalis and
of East Bengal due to their own weaknesses and
limitations.