A. K. Fazlul Huq

Who was A. K. Fazlul Huq?

Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq; popular with the title Sher-e-Bangla, was an eminent Bengali nationalist, social democrat, politician and statesman during the first half of the 20th century. He founded the Krishak Praja Party, which championed the rights of the Bengali peasantry. Huq served twice as the Prime Minister of Bengal in British India and was a key figure of Hindu-Muslim unity. After the end of colonial rule, he became one of the leading statesmen of East Pakistan, serving as its Chief Minister and Governor, and was instrumental in pushing through the first major land reforms in the subcontinent. Huq supported the Bengali Language Movement of 1952 and established the landmark Bangla Academy in Dhaka in 1954. He was dismissed from public office by the Governor-General of Pakistan on charges of inciting secession, and was later banned from politics by the military junta of General Ayub Khan. His legacy endures as one of the most respected Bengali statesmen of the twentieth century, and he is popularly honored as the Tiger of Bengal.

A K Fazlul Huq was born in Jhalokati District of Barisal. He was a senior figure of the Indian National Congress, but later joined the Muslim League in 1920s, under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He played a crucial role in drafting and presenting the Lahore Resolution. After the establishment of Pakistan, he was appointed as Chief Minister of East Bengal in 1952, and in 1955 became the Interior Minister of Pakistan. In 1954, he was appointed Governor Governor of East Pakistan as part of the United Front platform and presided the provisional state until 1958. After a brief illness, he died in Dacca in 1962 and is buried at a mausoleum at the Suhrawardy Udyan in Shahbag, Dhaka.