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{{short description|Head of government of Bengal Province in British India}}{{Use Bangladeshi English|date=February 2023}}

factoids

|body = |flag = Flag of British Bengal.svg|flagsize = 160px|flagcaption = Flag of British Bengal|insignia = Badge of British Bengal.svg|insigniasize = 120px|insigniacaption = Badge of Bengal|image = File:Suhrawardy of Bengal.jpg|imagesize = 225px|imagecaption = Huseyn Shaheed SuhrawardyLast in Office|incumbentsince = |style = The Honorable|residence = |appointer = Governor of Bengal|appointer_qualified = |precursor = |formation = 1 April 1937|first = A. K. Fazlul Huq|last = H. S. Suhrawardy|abolished = 14 August 1947|succession = Chief Minister of West Bengal, India Chief Minister of East Bengal, Pakistan|salary = }}The Prime Minister of Bengal was the head of government of Bengal Province and the Leader of the House in the Bengal Legislative Assembly in British India. The position was dissolved upon the Partition of Bengal during the partition of India in 1947.

History

The office was created under the Government of India Act 1935, which granted Bengal a bicameral legislature, including the Bengal Legislative Council and the Bengal Legislative Assembly. The Prime Minister was in charge of the executive branch.NEWS, Sen, Saibal, 15 August 2013, Post-Independence, a Prime Minister for Bengal!,timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Post-Independence-a-Prime-Minister-for-Bengal/articleshow/21836473.cms, Times of India, The Prime Minister of Bengal played an important role in pan-Indian politics, including proclaiming the Lahore Resolution and dealing with Japanese attacks during World War II.The Congress party boycotted the office due to its anti-British policy. The office was held by three Muslims. The first premier was A. K. Fazlul Huq, the leader of the anti-feudalist Krishak Praja Party. Huq formed his first government with the All India Muslim League in 1937. The League withdrew support in 1941, after which Huq forged a coalition with the Hindu Mahasabha led by Syama Prasad Mukherjee. The Huq-Syama coalition lasted till 1943. Huq was succeeded by a Muslim League ministry led by Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin. A conservative figure, the Nazimuddin ministry lasted till 1945,BOOK, Ayesha Jalal, 1994, The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan,books.google.com/books?id=D63KMRN1SJ8C&pg=PA152, Cambridge University Press, 152, 978-0-521-45850-4, The [Nazimuddin] ministry was unpopular ... No one was particularly sorry to see the League ministry fall., BOOK, Alamgir, Mohammad, 2012, Nazimuddin, Khwaja,en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Nazimuddin,_Khwaja, Islam, Sirajul, Sirajul Islam, Jamal, Ahmed A., Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, Second, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, On 1 December 1941 he resigned from the cabinet because of dissension between Huq and Jinnah. During the Shyama-Huq coalition (1942 to 1943) he acted as the Leader of the Opposition., when governor’s rule was imposed. The next election saw H. S. Suhrawardy lead the Muslim League to a majority. Suhrawardy sought an undivided Bengal with support from Hindu leaders and the British governor; but faced challenges like the Noakhali riots, Direct Action Day and the idea was also rejected by the All India Congress party who called for partitioning of Bengal.

List of prime ministers of Bengal (1937–1947)

File:Writers’ Building, Calcutta, India (8136102863).jpg|thumb|129x129pxFile:Tomb Of Three Leader 3.A.M.R.jpg|thumb|The mausoleummausoleum{| class=“wikitable” style="text-align:center“! rowspan=“2” |No! rowspan=“2” |Name! rowspan=“2” |Portrait! colspan=“3” |Tenure! rowspan=“2” |Party(coalition partner)! rowspan=“2” |Assembly! rowspan=“2” |Appointed by(Governor)!Took office !Left officeWEB, Premier of Bengal,wbassembly.gov.in/html/permiersOfBen.html,wbassembly.gov.in/html/permiersOfBen.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20140714140526wbassembly.gov.in/html/permiersOfBen.html,">web.archive.org/web/20140714140526wbassembly.gov.in/html/permiersOfBen.html, 14 July 2014, West Bengal Legislative Assembly, !Term 1 rowspan=“2” A. K. Fazlul Huq> Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq (Barisal, Bengal Presidency, now Bangladesh)> (File:A k fazlul hoque.jpg|120px) |1 April 1937|1 December 19411937112| Krishak Praja Party(Muslim League) 1st Assembly(1937 Elections)John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley>Sir John Anderson |12 December 1941|29 March 19431941123|29}}|Krishak Praja Party(Hindu Mahasabha)Sir John Arthur HerbertKhawaja Nazimuddin>Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin (Dhaka, Bengal Presidency, now Bangladesh)>120px)|29 April 1943|31 March 19451943293All-India Muslim League>Muslim League | -|Vacant||1 April 1945|22 April 1946194514|22}}| Governor’s Rule| -| -H. S. Suhrawardy>Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (Medinipur, Bengal, now West Bengal, India) 1946238All-India Muslim League>Muslim League |2nd Assembly(1946 Elections)Frederick Burrows>Sir Frederick Burrows

Legacy

When Bengal was partitioned, the office was succeeded by the Chief Minister of West Bengal and the Chief Minister of East Bengal.All three Bengali premiers moved to East Bengal, where they continued to be influential statesmen. Nazimuddin served as East Bengal’s chief minister, and later became Governor General and Prime Minister of Pakistan, Suhrawardy became Prime Ministers of Pakistan, while Huq served as East Bengal’s chief minister, and later as East Pakistan’s governor. The three premiers are considered the forerunners of politics in modern Bangladesh.

See also

• Legislatures of British India
• Prime Minister of Bangladesh

References

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