Partition of Bengal On 20 June 1947, 141 East Bengali legislators from the
Bengal Legislative Assembly voted on the partition of Bengal, with 107 supporting joining Pakistan's
Constituent Assembly if Bengal were partitioned. The
Sylhet region in
Assam voted in a referendum to join Pakistan. After the creation of the
Dominion of Pakistan, those 141 legislators, in addition to legislators from Sylhet of the Assam Legislative Assembly, formed the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. The
Muslim League's
Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin became the first chief minister. He was succeeded by
Nurul Amin in 1948. The assembly was housed in
Jagannath Hall, within the vicinity of the
University of Dacca and the
High Court of Dacca. The area was the center of the
Bengali language movement in 1952. All 34 Hindu legislators fled away following the
1950 East Pakistan riots, prominent among them being
Jogendranath Mandal.
Land reform The assembly passed the
East Bengal State Acquisition and Tenancy Act of 1950. The act repealed the earlier laws and regulations which formed the
permanent settlement during British rule.
United Front comes to power The
United Front coalition, led by the
Krishak Praja Party and the
Awami League, routed the Muslim League during the
provincial general election in 1954. The Farmer and Labour Party leader
A. K. Fazlul Huq became chief minister for six weeks. The United Front called for complete autonomy in East Bengal, except in defence and foreign policy; and the recognition of Bengali as a federal language. The East Bengal Legislative Assembly passed a law for the establishment of the
Bengali Academy. However, Huq's government was dismissed within two months, following deadly clashes between
Bengali speaking Bengali Muslims &
Urdu-speaking
Bihari Muslim labourers at the
Adamjee Jute Mills, with the government being accused of mismanagement. Huq was placed under house arrest. After a period of
Governor General's rule,
Abu Hussain Sarkar became chief minister in 1955.
One Unit and 1956 Constitution As a result of the
One Unit scheme, the assembly was renamed as the
East Pakistan Provincial Assembly in 1955. Pakistan became a
republic under the
Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, in which Bengali was recognized as a federal language as a concession to East Pakistan. In 1957, the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution demanding full autonomy.
Ataur Rahman Khan became chief minister in 1956.
Martial law In 1958, a brawl broke out between political factions in the assembly, resulting in the deputy speaker
Shahed Ali Patwary being injured. Patwary later died. The confrontation was used as a pretext by President Iskander Mirza to declare
martial law on 7 October 1958. The chief of army staff
Ayub Khan was appointed
Chief Martial Law Administrator. Khan later assumed the presidency by replacing Mirza. All provincial assemblies, including in East Pakistan, were disbanded. Numerous political leaders and journalists were arrested. The Elected Bodies Disqualification Order barred 75 politicians from holding public office for eight years (until 1966).
1962 Constitution The
Constitution of Pakistan of 1962 abolished the parliamentary system and introduced a
presidential and
gubernatorial system at the federal and provincial levels respectively. The most important feature of the system was dubbed "Basic Democracy", in which
electoral colleges would be responsible for electing the
President of Pakistan and
Governors of East and
West Pakistan. In 1962, Dacca was declared Pakistan's legislative capital. During the 1960s, the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly was housed in Parliament House in
Tejgaon. The
National Assembly of Pakistan would periodically convene in the same building. The building is now the Prime Minister's Office of Bangladesh. In 1966, the
six points of the Awami League demanded a federal parliamentary democracy.
Return of Martial Law In 1969, President Ayub Khan was deposed by the army chief
Yahya Khan. The
1969 uprising in East Pakistan played a role in the overthrow of President Ayub Khan. The new ruler Yahya Khan organized
general elections in 1970 based on
universal suffrage (the first in Pakistan's history), in which the Awami League won 288 of the 300 seats in East Pakistan's provincial assembly. The refusal of the Pakistani military junta to transfer power led to the
Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.
Bangladeshi Constituent Assembly Following the Pakistani military crackdown in East Pakistan that began on 25 March 1971, most members of the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly and the Bengali members of the National Assembly of Pakistan convened in Boiddonathtala, Meherpur on 17 April 1971, where they signed the Proclamation of Bangladesh Independence that was declared on 26 March and rebroadcast on 27 March. ==Elections==