Prof. Md. Moslemuddin Sikder :Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq, popularly known as ‘Sher-e-Bangla (1873-1962) was the first Muslim Mahyor of Calcutta City Corporation, the first Muslim Prime Minister of undivided Bengal and first Bengalee Governor of the then East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh). He played a very vital role in various aspects of the politics of Indo-Pak Sub-continent for over half a century. He was not merely a top-ranking politician but also an intellectual giant, a renowned social reformer, a benevolent administrator, a magnanimous and most popular orator and undisputed leader of his time. As the draftsman and mover of the historic Lahore Resolution (1940) he is regarded as the fore-runner of the Independence of our Bangladesh. Leaving aside all other aspects of this great man, the following attempt is being made to evaluate the basic fact for which he was acclaimed as the pioneer of Muslim renaissance in Bengal. In order to ‘realise’ and justify the role of Mr. A.K. Fazlul Haq, let us recollect briefly, the plight of the Muslims of those days. The gloomy period of the history of Muslims of the Indian Sub-continent, especially of Bengal, began with their defeat in the skirmish of Plassey. Tyranny took a vicious for after the failure of the so-called Sepoy Mutiny, rather the first War of Independence of 1857 after one hundred years of the Plassey tragedy. The Muslims of the sub-continent. who ruled this vast land for over five hundred years, lost everything they had. Oppression and exploitation by the foreign rulers; their camp followers and zamindars rendered the Muslims of India and Bangladesh absolutely hopeless and helpless. At this calamitous time, when the oppressed and almost ignorant Muslims and even the scheduled casste Hindus of Bengal, were convulsed with the waves of an unbounded sea of dispair, came like a harbinger of salvation, Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Haq with courage in heart, strength in mind and words of redemption on lips like the benediction of Allah.Born in a great land of Eastern Bengal, he never confined himself to the causes of his natives only, rather his was noble mission to bring emancipation of the down-trodden Muslims of the sub-continent as a whole. But the pity is that, we had never before felt the urge for knowing this uncrowned king of the people in all spheres of his life even after long-length of his demise. Sometimes, he was to some extent misunderstood for his frequent changes of different political platforms. But we must not forget that he did it not for his own interest but for his community and the country at large. He fought for Indian freedom from the platform of the All India Congress, for Islam and the Muslims from the platform of All India Muslim League and for the rack-rented tenantary of Bengal from that of his All Bengal Krishak Proja Party which accelerated the abolition of zamindary system. It may be noted in this connection, after the Partition of 1947, Haq Shaheb left Caleutta for Dhaka for good and revived his Party under the style, Krishak Sramik Party which survived until 1958 upto the Promulgation of Martial Law by President Ayub Khan of Pakistan.The various academic and other institutions which A.K. Fazlul Haq set up in Bengal still speak eloquently of his unparalleled achievement. He felt seriously the necessity of education – the backbone of a nation. He left no stone unturned to spread education among the Bengalees, particularly among the Muslim community who had been neglected miserably under the British regime. Fazlul Haq’s interest in education was evidenced in his joining the now-defunct Rajchandra College of Barisal as Professor of Mathematics even when he was practicing at the Barisal Bar. Royal posts and rich disches were not his only tastes though he was born and brought up in a most solvent and aristocratic family. So ignoring the alluring proposal of posting promotion from the British Government and dam caring the displeasures of his better-half, Khurshid Talat Banu, he vehemently resigned from high government service and rejoined the Bar at Calcutta amidst great enthusiasm from all the top-ranking contemporary Muslim leaders. His main aim was to ameliorate the sufferings of the teeming millions and to light the torch of learning among the distressed and disappointed masses. It may be added in this connection that the contemporary prominant Muslim leaders of Bengal Nawab Sir Salimulah, Nawab Nabab Ali Chowdury and other Muslim leaders including Sher-e-Bangla were shocked seriously at the sudden annulment of the partition of the Bengal in 1911. Within a few years, as an elected Member of Bengal Legislative Assembly he demanded proper compensation from the government for this hasty and one-sided decision. Among the demands for compensation for the Muslims of Eastem Bengal and Assam, topped the demand for establishment of an University at Dhaka. Sher-e-Bangla’s contribution to the establishment and development of the University of Dhaka deserves special mention. From 1913-16 as an young and energetic member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly he addressed the House on 148 occasions out of which about 128 times he talked about Muslim education. On 3rd April, 1916, Haq Shaheb attracted the attention of the speaker of the Assembly. “If a new High Court and an affiliating University may be established at Patna why then the establishment of Dhaka University shall be delayed on the excuse of the paucity of fund or an the excuse of the World War (1)?” It was the earnest desire of Haq Shaheb whose timely interference was effective for the enrolment of Islamic Studies, Arabic and Persian in the curriculam of the Dhaka University since its inception.
In 1955, while he was the State Minister of Pakistan the Dhaka University showed Fazlul Haq due respect by conferring upon him formally the Honorary Doctorate of Law.
In February, 1957, as the provincial Govenor and chief guest of a Convocation ceremony of the Dhaka University this old octogenarian leader recollected in his historic deliberation the sad memories as follows: “I was very closely and actively associated with all the plans and schemes and I know the difficulties which we the Muslims had to face to overcome at the establishment of Dhaka University. I am the living history of Bengal and East Pakistan of the last sixty years. I am the last survivor of that band of unselfish and courageous Muslims who fought fearlessly against terrific odds in order to secure the rights and prestige of the Muslims in this part of the world.”
With absolute abhorrence against the British rule, unlike his Hindu associates like C.R Das, M.K Ghandi and others, A.K Fazlul Haq warned the Muslim students not to boycott classes on the excuse of Non-Co-Operation Movement as they were far backward to their Non-Muslim counterpart.
In 1924 when there was a diarchic form of government, his great zeal for Muslim Education made him the Education Minister of Bengal. Of course, the burden of the Ministry of Health was added to his capacity. During his short-term of ministry he founded many educational institutions, like Islamic College, Lady Brabourne College at Calcutta. Bangabgandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-75), Advocate Kazi Ghulam Mahbub (1927-2006), the reputed convener of the historic Language Movement, and many others were the famous ex-students of Islamia College. One of his noteworthy achievements was the establishment of Chakar Fazlul Haq College which was inaugarated by Mr. Heroett, the then Governor of Bengal in 1940.
Besides these intuitions Sher-e-Bangla established and assisted enormously in many other academic institutions like Adina Fazlul Haq College, Nababgonj, Munshigonj Hargonga College, Karatia Saadat College; Tangail, the Fazlul Haq Muslim Hall and Iqbal Hall of Dhaka University and Taylor Hostel and Carmichael Hostel of Calcutta.
Throughout his long-chequered career Sher-e-Bangla was generous-hearted to the core as the proverbial ‘Hatem Tayee of Bengal’. Like his fore-fathers he helped the students, poor and the distressed, irrespective of caste, creed and birth. In this connection the achievement of the Central National Mohammedan Educational Association and the Muslim Educational Fund established by him at Calcutta in the early quarter of the last country is noteworthy.
He left no stone unturned to remove mass illiteracy. It was under his able patronage that the Mawla Baksh Committee, started for the first time in undivided Bengal, the system of compulsory free primary education in 1937. Himself a very pious Muslim since his boyhood, Sher-e-Bangla A.K Fazlul Haq tried his utmost to spread Islamic education among the Muslim community. He introduced the system of appointing a Moulavi for each high school. Hitherto, the Muslim students were taught Sansktit compulsorily in the absence of Muslim teachers. He also patronised and established so many high schools and madrashas belonging to old and new schemes. The Aligarh Muslim University, Calcutta Alia Madrasha, the Sarsina Alia Madrasha, etc. are highly indebted to him on various grounds. For over half of a century a large section of Madrasha students, even teachers and other concerned are clamouring for the establishment of an Arabic Islamic University, (which has been recently established).
It was Sher-e-Bangla who in his presidential address in 1939 at the prize giving ceremony of Calcutta Alia Madrasha, stressed the importance of materialising the plan of the oversaid University. Do we all know that Sher-e-Bangla reformed the system of writing the roll No. of the examinees on the answer scripts in place of mentioning names of the students so that they, particularly the Muslims, may not become victim of communal judgement? In 1937-39, no Muslim leader was able to convince the Bengal Legislative to abolish ‘Sree Padma monogram’ as the symbol of Hindusim from the Calcutta University.
It was A.K Fazlul Haq who as the leader of the House urged Shyama Prashad Mukherjee, the then Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University and he was convinced to remove the controversial monogram as anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim. He also badly demanded the withdrawal of the limitations on the way of getting admission of Muslim students in Presidency College, Calcutta, his one-time Alma Mater.
Had all these institutions and facilities mentioned above been neglected or abandoned, many ex-students now in enviable positions mostly coming of indigent families of different place and origins, would have remained ignorant and led a contemptible life. No Muslim leader of Bengal has contributed so much for the spread of education as well as providing the unemployed Muslims with various jobs as was done by Sher-e-Bangla A.K Fazlul Haq. As the Prime Minister of Bengal (1937-41) he also passed a law that seventy-five percent of all future appointments would go to the Muslims until the required percentage of fifty was reached.
He did not remain content by making official arrangement, but a high ranking Muslim IC.S officer was deputed to see that this was implemented properly. Earlier, in 1924, during his first ministry, he created a separate Directorate for teaching Arabic and Persian to the Muslims and Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah was appointed for the mission and vision in question. During his second time ministry (1941-43), popularly known as Shyama-Haq Cabinet, about two hundred Muslims got appointment in the Calcutta University.
In 1954-55 as the Chief Minister of East Bengal (Pakistan), he materialised 21 February as the Government holiday, built Central Shaheed Minar and did many things for the development of our beloved mother-tongue including the establishment of Bangla Academy through his nephew Syed Azizul Haq Nanna Mia who was the provincial Minister for Education and Registration. It may be noted in this connection that Sher-e-Bangla was wounded in participating in a procession of the Language Movement in 1952, while he was the Advocate General of East Pakistan High Court.
Sher-e-Bangla was well aware of the close relationship of journalism and literature with education and thereby awakening the unconscious and undeveloped society. Journalism was his favourite hobby and he edited a children’s weekly named ‘Balak’ and another one named “Bharat Sureed” from Barisal and the daily “Navavuga'” from Calcutta.
He also patronised the esteemed daily AZAD of Maulana Mohd. Akram Khan and many other journals of those days. He also helped poets, writers and singers very lavishly. The celebrated poets and singers like Kazi Nazrul Islam. Abbas Uddin, Jasim Uddin, A.K. Zainul Abedin were fervently assisted by Sher-e-Bangla.
All these facts narrated above though very brief prove beyond doubt that Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazll Haq contributed enormously for the Muslim renaissance in Bengal.
Those who are now in dominant positions in different fields of socio-political activities in the country are his definite creations, directly or indirectly. The sooner the nation realises it, better for all. His magnanimity, fearlessness, towering personality, Islamic traits of character, speciality of versatile genius, rare qualities of statesmanship and above all indomitable zeal for the enlistment of the backward nation and unparalleled virtue are engraved in letters of gold on the pages of the history of the sub-continent in general and that of Bangladesh in particular.
In view of the present chaotic conditions, political turmoil, economic crisis, degradation of morality and lacking of patriotism and thereby proper feeling for the maintenance of Independence, solidarity and sovereignty of the country, let us conclude the essay with the optimistic remark of Sher-e-Bangla, “I believe firmly that God will, in His Infinite Mercy enable the present and coming generations in this country to raise the prestige of this country and work for peace, harmoney and love in the world. The flower fades, but its fragrance remains. Men come and go but memory of their deeds and achievements never dies. I have faith in my country and its people. Insha-Allah, they will achieve glory after glory, which I hope I shall live to see.” (Extract from Dhaka University Convocation speech, 1957)
The mortal body of Sher-e-Bangla was buried on April 27, 1962 near Dhaka High Court campus where H.S Suhrawardy, Khawja Nazimuddin, two of his prominent political lieutenants and rivals too, are taking eternal rest, died within a couple of years of the demse of Sher-e-Bangla, but the immortal deeds and words of Sher-e-Bangla will guide and inspire us amidst any kind of unrest and despair if we try to know and realise them properly.
