The Awami League (officially the All-Pakistan Awami League, and before 1955 the All-Pakistan Awami Muslim 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]
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 | |
.svg) | |
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
 Prime Minister of Pakistan | |||
| Name | Term in office | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy | 1956–1957 | ||
 Chief Minister of East Pakistan | |||
| Name | Term in office | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
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
Bibliography
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