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Nurul Amin

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Patriot
Nurul Amin

নূরুল আমীন
نورالامین
8th Prime Minister of Pakistan
In office
December 7 1971 – December 20 1971
PresidentGeneral Yahya Khan
Vice PresidentSheikh Mujibur Rahman
(appointed, never took this office)
Vice PMZulfikar Ali Bhutto
(appointed, never took this office)
Preceded bySir Feroz Khan Noon
Succeeded byZulfikar Ali Bhutto
1st Vice President of Pakistan
In office
December 7, 1970 – April 2 1972
PresidentYahya Khan
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byPost abolished
1st Chief Minister of East Pakistan
In office
September 14 1948 – October 17 1952
Governor GeneralKhawaja Nazimuddin
Prime MinisterLyakat Ali Khan
GovernorMuhammad Ali Bogra
Preceded byKhawaja Nazimuddin
Succeeded byFazlul Haq
Personal details
Born
Nurul Amin

(1893-07-15)15 July 1893
Shahbazpur, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died2 October 1974(1974-10-02) (aged 81)
Rawalpindi, Punjab Province, Pakistan
Resting placeRalwapindi Cemetery
CitizenshipBritish Subject (1893-1947)
Pakistan (1947-1974)
NationalityPakistan
Political partyMuslim League
Parent
  • name Nurul Amin
    নূরুল আমীন
    نورالامین
Alma materCalcutta University
OccupationStatesman
ProfessionLawyer

Nurul Amin (English IPA:nʊɾul əmin, Template:Lang-ur, July 15, 1893 - October 2, 1974), famously referred as Patriot of Pakistan, was a prominent Bengali leader, jurist, national conservative[1] , and party chairman of the Pakistan's Muslim League— founding party of Pakistan.[1]

Starting his statesmanship in 1948 as Chief minister of East-Pakistan, and headed the Ministry of Supply, and played a vital role in Bengali Language Movement to make the Bengali language as part of 1956 constitution. After participating in parliamentary elections in 1970, Amin was appointed and served as the eighth Prime Minister of Pakistan, and also was the first and the only Vice President of Pakistan from 1970 till 1972[2] , leading Pakistan in Indo-Pakistani war of 1971.[2]

An anti-war and principle Pakistan movement activist, Amin is widely regarded and considered a patriot who used his entire assets and struggle to keep the country united, and remained a respectable Bengali figure, although Amin opposed the movements that eventually led to the severing of ties between his Bengali people and the concept of a Muslim homeland in South Asia.

Early life

Amin was born in the small poor village of Shahbazpur, in what was then undivided Bengal's Brahmanbaria District. Amin grew up in hardness at the Mymensingh District, working with his father to support the family income and his education.[3] In 1915, Amin passed college entrance examination from Mymensingh Zila School, to attend the college.[4] In 1917, Amin attended the Mymensingh Ananda Mohan College, obtaining the Intermediate in Arts (I.A) and further proceeded to gain the B.A. in English literature in 1919 respectively.[3][4]

After graduating, Amin took the position of teaching at the local school in Calcutta, but decided to pursue his career in law.[3][4] In 1920, Amin attended Calcutta University where he gained the LLB in Law and Justice in 1924, passed the Bar exam the same year.[4] Amin started his career in law after joining the Mymensingh Judge Court Bar.[4]

Public Service

In 1929, Amin was appointed as a member of Mymensingh Local Board, and later became a member of Mymensingh District Board in 1930.[4] In 1932, the British Indian Government appointed Amin as commissioner of Mymensingh Municipality in 1932. In 1937, Amin was elevated as the Chairman of Mymensingh District Board from 1937, an assignment he continued until 1945.[4]

During this time, Amin's interest in politics began to take place and became a early of Muslim League led under Jinnah.[4] During this time, Amin was appointed as President of Mymensingh district unit of Muslim league, and was elected the vice president of Bengal Provincial Muslim League in 1944.[4] In 1945, Amin participated in Indian general elections, 1945, securing a landslide victory and was the Member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1946 and, was elected its Speaker General.[4]

Pakistan

Pakistan Movement

Amin became a trusted lieutenant of Mohammad Ali Jinnah in East Bengal, fighting for rights of Bengali Muslims in British India.[5] Amin took active part in Pakistan Movement, organizing the Bengali Muslims, while he continued to strengthened the Muslim League's stronghold in Bengal.[5] In 1946, Jinnha came to visit to Bengal, Amin assisted Jinnah while Jinnah took the Bengali nation in confidence and promised the Bengali nation to build a democratic country.[5] In East Bengal, Amin proved himself to be a crusader of the country's solidarity and earned for himself the highest pedestal by dint of his intelligence. By the time of creation of Pakistan, Amin has became one of the leading advocate and activist of Pakistan Movement, with a wide approve ratings of Bengali population.[5]

Chief Minister

His close association and public image has brought him to prominence, and Jinnah appointed Amin as the Chief Minister of East Pakistan. Amin worked for the pride of Muslim League in East Pakistan, while continued his relief programme for East Pakistani population. As Chief Minister, his relations were significantly with Prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan and Governor-General Khawaja Nazimuddin, rising influence in Ali Khan's government. Soon after the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, Amin was appointed as Ministry of Supply, and became was also a member of Pakistan National Assembly from 1947 until 1954.

After the death of Jinnah, Amin was nominated as the Chief Minister of East-Pakistan in September 1948 by Khawaja Nazimuddin who succeed Jinnha as Governor General.[6] Amin subsequently left his ministerial post and assumed the office of Chief Minister in few weeks.[6] Historians noted that Nurul Amin's government was not strong enough to administer the provisional state, and it was completely under the directional control of central government of Nazimuddin.[6] His government did not enjoyed the enough power, and lacked the vision, imagination, and initiatives.[6] Amin failed to counter the Communist Party's influence in the region and widely took the credit for turning the language movement in 1952 into large unified mass protest.[6]

Language Movement

During Amin's term as Chief Minister, Governor General Nazimuddin, although also a Bengali, reiterated the federal government's position that Bengali, the language of the overwhelming majority of East Pakistanis in addition to the majority of Pakistanis as a whole, was not to be considered a national language on par with Urdu language.[7] This proposal was highly considered unpopular in East-Pakistan, and subsequently led to what is now known as the Language Movement, as well as a general loss of power for the ruling Muslim League. Both Nazimuddin and Amin failed to bring the East population fully integrated in Pakistan, and East Pakistan Muslim League significantly lost the administrative control of the provisional state.[7] Amin on other hand, held Communist Party responsible for this failure, accusing the "communist agents" provocateur behind the language movement.[7] Problems within Muslim arise after Nazimuddin became Prime minister, and the Prime minister expressed the strong opposition to Chief minister.[8] Soon a visit was paid by the Prime minister and Amin stressed the importance that: Pakistan would die if Muslim League died fell on deaf ears".[8]

Amin's government failed to restore the law and order situation in East Pakistan, therefore Amin called for the military police to restore the order.[9] The civilian East-Pakistan police shot four student activists, leading to a mass protest that turned violent, an incident that permanently sealed the fate of Muslim League in East Pakistan.[9] Leading politicians in West and East Pakistan called for Amin's resignation, and the new elections were soon held.[9]

1954 elections

In the 1954 provisional elections, the Muslim League was comprehensively defeated by the United Front, an alliance between the East Pakistan Peoples League, presided under[ one of leading Founding Father of Pakistan, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy who also became Prime minister as a result of the elections; and the Krishak Sramik Party, chaired by A. K. Fazlul Huq, the Nizam Islam Party headed by Maulana Athar Ali, and the Ganatantri Dal, led by Haji Muhammad Danish and Mahmud Ali Sylheti.[10]

Amin lost his assembly seat to a veteran student leader of the then East Pakistan and language movement hero Khaleque Nawaz Khan and the Muslim League was effectively eliminated from the provincial political landscape.[10][11] It is worth to mention Nurul Amin lost only one election in his whole political carrier and that was in 1954 Jukto front election while he was in office and it is still a record in political arena of Indo-Pakistan subcontinent.[10] Amin served as the President of East Pakistan Muslim League, working tirelessly for the positive image of Muslime League, but all efforts were wasted when Army Commander General Ayub Khan imposed a force Martial law after commencing a successful military coup d'état against the government of President Sikander Mirza.[11] His career was over after Ayub Khan disbanded all of the political parties in the country.[11]

Pakistan Democratic Party

In 1962, Amin joined the National Democratic Front (NDF) headed by former Prime minister Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, and was thus associated with the movement against autocratic rule of President General Ayub Khan. After the death of Suhrawardy Amin was elected president of NDF in 196, evolving the party into Pakistan Democratic Party (PDP).

Leader of the Opposition

Amin took full participation in the 1965 presidential elections, in East Pakistan, wining the majority vote in the Parliament of Pakistan but declined to work with Ayub Khan. The same year, after the death of Fatima Jinnah, Amin succeeded Jinnah as Leader of Opposition which he held until 1969 after General Yahya Khan imposed the martial law.

Nurul Amin was made the chairman of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) formed in 1967 as a united platform of National Democratic Front, Jamaat-e-Islami, Nezam-e-Islam, Council Muslim League, and Awami League (pro 8-point). He played an important role in floating the Democratic Action Committee (DAC) in 1969, and as one of the top leaders of the forum participated in anti-Ayub movement. As a representative of NDF he attended Round Table Conference at Rawalpindi (1969) convened by President Ayub Khan with a view to mitigate the political crisis between the government and the opposition parties. A new political party was floated by him as Pakistan Democratic Party (PDP) in 1969, and he was made its president. Nurul Amin was elected member of the National Assembly in 1970.

1971 Bangladesh-Pakistan War

In the 1970 elections, Amin was elected to the National Assembly as one of only two non-Awami League members from East Pakistan. During this time, the Pakistani authority in East Pakistan had already become highly unpopular as the struggle to promote Bengali as a national language was further suppressed. Civil unrest ignited by the Language Movement and fuelled by alleged discriminatory practices against the Bengali people eventually led to East Pakistan's declaration of independence.

The Bangladesh Liberation War, as it is now known, further escalated as India formally declared war on Pakistan in 1971. As the situation in his home district of East Pakistan worsened under civil war, Amin was appointed Prime Minister by President General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan on December 6, 1971. On December 20, 1971, however, Yahya Khan resigned, leaving the Deputy Prime Minister (and Foreign Minister) Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to be sworn in as the new President. Two days later, Amin was appointed as Vice President of Pakistan, the only person to have held this post. He continued to hold this post until the lifting of martial law on April 21, 1972.

Postwar and emotions of Pakistan

So Dhaka has fallen, and East Pakistan has gone and you are enjoying.... Whisky!.

— Nurul Amin scolding Yahya Khan, 1971., [12]

While his political career lasted through war and civil unrest, Amin is considered by many Pakistanis to be a patriot, as he opposed the movements that eventually led to the severing of ties between his Bengali people and the concept of a Muslim homeland in South Asia. Many Bangladeshis, however, view him as a traitor and collaborator with a genocidal occupation force.

Disappointed and frustrated with the apparent indifference portrayed by the Pakistani government when it was clear that East Pakistan had been lost, Amin is said to have remarked to President Yahya and his military advisers, "So Dhaka has fallen, and East Pakistan is gone, and you are enjoying yourselves..."[13]

Death and state funeral

Amin continued to deliberately stay in West Pakistan, while his home region of East Pakistan won its independence as the People's Republic of Bangladesh following a bloody civil war and the deaths of between 1 and 3 million people. Following the war, Amin did not return home and died in Rawalpindi on 2 October 1974, less than three years after the dissolution of the united Pakistan.

Legacy

Amin was given a public state funeral by Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1974, where the national anthem was song and played, and an honorary speech was given by Bhutto to honor his services done for Pakistan.[14] Amin is buried in Jinnah Mausoleum, next to Jinnah, where grave was specially designed and is made of Italian white marble, with golden letters composing his name and his contribution.[14]

Amin was a great patriot, cherishing his love to see a strong and healthy Pakistan, and is one of the notable Bengali who brought a great name for the Bengali population and community who decided to ally with Pakistan after the war.[5]

Nurul Amin was a trusted lieutenant of Quaid-i-Azam and a valiant fighter for the Pakistan Movement, and for Pakistan. He proved himself to be a crusader of (Pakistan's) solidarity and earned for himself the highest pedestal by dint of his efforts, intelligence, and his struggle...

— Malick Mirage, minister of law and parliamentary affairs, tribute to Nurul Amin, at ninth parliamentary session, 1976, [5]

References

  1. ^ a b Ahmad, Mushtaq (1970). Government and politics in Pakistan. United States: Space Publishers,. pp. 392 pages. ISBN the University of Michigan. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  2. ^ a b Gupta, Om (2006). Encyclopedia:India and Pakistan. New Delhi: Ish Book Publications. pp. 1781–1782. ISBN 81-8205-389-7.
  3. ^ a b c Syedur Rehman, Craig Baxter (2010). Dictionary of Bangladesh. Library of Congress: Scarecrow Publication Inc. pp. 101–223. ISBN 978-0-8108-6766-6.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Press Release. "Nurul Amin". Pakistan Herald. Pakistan Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Minister of Parliamentary Affairs (1976). Parliamentary Debates. Official Report (Honorary Speech by the Prime minister). Parliament of Pakistan, Capital Territory Zone: Parliament of Pakistan. pp. 3–5. ISBN University of California. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e Nair, N.B (1990). Politics in Bangladesh. New Delhi: Nothern Book Center. pp. 44, 53, 73, 142. ISBN 81-85119-78-1. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
  7. ^ a b c Aklam Hussain, Sirajul Islam, (1997). History of Bangladesh, 1704-1971. Dacca: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, 1997. pp. 398, 440, 470. ISBN 978-9-8451-2337-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b Ziring, Lawrence (1997). Pakistan in the twentieth century: a political history. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 1997. p. 647. ISBN 9780195778168.
  9. ^ a b c Mahmood, Safdar Mahmood (2008). Pakistan: Ruling of Muslim League and Inception of Democracy. Karachi, Sindh Province: Jang News Publications, 2008. pp. 224 pages.
  10. ^ a b c Chatterjee, Pranab (2010). A Story of ambivalent modernization. U.S.: Peter Lang Publications. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-4331-0820-4.
  11. ^ a b c Pakistan Government. "Elections in Pakistan: Nurul Amin". ELection Commission of Pakistan. Electronic Government of Pakistan. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  12. ^ Nurul Amin - The story of Pakistan
  13. ^ Nurul Amin - The story of Pakistan
  14. ^ a b Shah, Sabir (Monday, December 26, 2011). "An overview of Quaid's mausoleum". The News International. Retrieved 27 January 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Pakistan
1971
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Office created
Vice President of Pakistan
1970-1971
Succeeded by
Post abolished indefinitely
Preceded by Chief Minister of East Bengal
1948–1954
Succeeded by

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