Formation of government, split in the party, ouster from power
In August 1956, the governor of East Bengal called upon Awami League to form the provicial government. The Awami League government was formed next month with Ataur Rahman Khan, the leader of the Awami League Parliamentary Party, as the Chief Minister. His cabinet included Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Bangabandhu was entrusted with the important portfolio of the Ministry of Industries, commerce and Labour. Awami League stayed in power for about two years. Inspite of a series of conspiracies hatched by the central government, the Awami League government in East Bengal succeeded in taking some important steps in various fields. These included the tackling of serious problem of food-shortage, the release of the political prisoners, giving ‘test relief’ to the landless peasants, the granting of financial aid to the families of the Language Movement martyrs, the declaration of February 21 as a government holiday, the observance of Pahela Baiskh as Bangla New Year’s Day, the establishment of a Veterinary College in Mymensingh, of Fenchuganj Fertilizer Factory and Savar Dairy Farm and of Film Development Corporation (FDC) etc. Bangabandhu played a very strong role in all these.
We must note here a singular event that took place during the Awami League rule. Bangabandhu was concurrently holding the posts of the Party General Secretary and a cabinet minister. The party decided to segregate the leadership of the Organization and the ministry. Bangabandhu was given the choice of keeping any of the two posts. This problem arose in the case of a few others also. Bangabandhu unhesitatingly made his choice he left the ministry and opted for the post of the party secretary. This shows how much importance he laid upon the party organization. This rare incident proves the fact that Bangabandhu was the central force in Awami League and that his commitment to the party was above everything else. Incidentally, all the three vice-presidents of the party opted for ministership and left the party posts. Almost simultaneously with the formation of government in East Bengal by AL, the party under the leadership of Huseyn Shaheed Shhrawardy formed government of only 13 members of Awami League and was backed by the Republican Party. But it lasted only 13 months (12 September 1956-11 October 1957). Naturally, it was too short a tenure for the Suhrawardy government to do anything significant. But even within this period, the AL administration took a few bold steps. These include the adoption of ‘parity’ policy with a view to lessening the multiple disparities between the two wings of Pakistan; the holding of the session of Pakistan National Assembly in Dhaka (for the first time); the passing of an act in the assembly in favour of non-communal joint electorate system (October 14,1956); the establishment of Jute Marketing Corporation; taking steps to facilitate industrialization and expansion of trade and commerce in East Bengal; the establishment of IWTA for developing the river transport system and WAPDA for flood control, etc.
The civil and military bureaucracy had exerted its unhealthy influence on the administration since the very inception of the state of Pakistan. The AL government of Suhrawardy successfully curbed this influence. Moreover, with a view to basing the fledgling domocracy on a firm footing, Suhrawardy stressed the need for holding a general election in his very first address to the nation. These bold steps taken by the Shurawardy government, particularly its pledge to hold a general election unnerved the ruling clique and its frontsman President Iskander Mirza. It was at his behest that Republican Party (a party that Mirza himself had helped found) withdrew its support from Suhrawardy Ministry. Immediately after this President Iskander Mirza forced Suhrawardy to resign.
One big event for Awami League that took place during this period was the split in the party The two top leaders of AL, Suhrawardy and Maulana Bhashni were having a difference of opinion for quite some time on the question of the foreign policy of Pakistan. Bhasani was in fovour of a non-aligned foreign policy, while Suhrawardy fovoured strong links with the powerful countries of the West, Particularly with Amirica. Suhrawardy’s stance was backed by a pragmatic assessment of the contemporary geo-political realities of South Asia. Most of the leaders of Awami League under the guidence of the Party General Secretary Bangabandhu Shiekh Mujibur Rahman supported Suhrawardy’s standpoint. On February 7-8, 1957, Bhasani hosted the special council meeting of AL at Kagmari Tangail. There the division of opinion came to the fore. The split in the party could be forestalled at Kagmari Council, but soon it became inevitable. Maulana Bhasani resigned his post of party President on March 18, 1957; within a few days, 9 out of the 37 members of the Working Committee resigned in support of Maulana Bhasani. On July 25-26, 1957, Bhasani called ‘Democratic Workers Conference’ at Rupmahal Cinema of Dhaka. There, a new political party named ‘National Awami Party’ was formed with Bhasani as its president. A few leftist organization joined NAP. In this time of crisis, the youthful General Secretary of AL took the reins of the party in his hands. Maulana Abdur Rashid Tarkabagish was made the party president in the place of Maulana Bhasani. Bangabandhu, at this juncture, left his post in the provincial ministry in order to devote his whole time to the reorganization of the party.
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