page_title: Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani
section_title: Early Pakistan days
hierarchical_section_title: Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani / Political career / Early Pakistan days
caption_attribution_description: বাংলা: ১৯৫৬ সালের ২১শে ফেব্রুয়ারি: বর্তমান শহীদ মিনারের ভিত্তিপ্রস্তর স্থাপন অনুষ্ঠানের পর মাওলানা আবদুল হামিদ খান ভাসানী। English: 21st February, 1956 - on Language Movement Day. Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani after the foundation stone laying program for Shahid Minar (Martyrs' monument).
context_page_description: Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, shortened as Maulana Bhashani was an Islamic scholar and political leader in British India. His political tenure spanned the British colonial India, Pakistan and Bangladesh periods.
  Maulana Bhashani is popularly known with the honorary title Mazlum Jananeta for his lifelong stance for the poor suffered by establishment. He gained nationwide mass popularity among peasants and helped to build East Pakistan Peasant Association. Owing to his leaning to the left, often dubbed Islamic Socialism, he is also called 'The Red Maulana'.
  An alumnus of Deoband, and participant of the Khilafat Movement protesting the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire he led the Muslims of Assam in a successful campaign during the 1947 Sylhet Referendum, through which Sylhet chose to become part of the Pakistan national project. He was the founder and President of the Pakistan Awami Muslim League which later became Awami League. Later however, owing to differences with the right-leaning leaders in the AML, such as Shahid Suhrawardy, on the issue of autonomy for East Pakistan, he formed a new progressive party called National Awami Party.
context_section_description: After the establishment of India and Pakistan in 1947, following the exit of the British, Bhashani planned his anti-establishment course of action. On 23 June 1949, he founded East Pakistan Awami Muslim League. Bhasani was elected its president with Shamsul Huq as its General Secretary. On 24 July 1949 he organized the first meeting of Awami Muslim League at Armanitola, Dhaka, in which Yar Mohammad Khan contributed and finally established the party inside Dhaka city.
  On 31 January 1952 he formed the "All Party Language movement Committee" at the Dhaka Bar Library. He campaigned for the recognition of Bangla as a national language in Pakistan. The National Democratic Front was established under his leadership on 4 December 1953. He renamed Awami Muslim League as the Awami League by removing "Muslim" from its official name in the council session of Awami League held on 21–23 October 1953.
  The Muslim League Government both in the centre and the province of East Pakistan lost considerable popularity after the Language Movement of 1952. It was seen as not being capable or interested in protecting the interest of East Pakistan. In 1954, election was going to be held in the province and a new political party emerged to challenge the Muslim League. It was called United Front and comprised the party of Bhashani and the Krishak Sramik Party of A. K. Fazlul Huq, former Prime Minister of Bengal. The Awami League, under Shahid Suhrawardy also joined the alliance. The United Front won the provincial election in East Pakistan by defeating the Muslim league.
  In the elections of 1954, Jukta Front successfully defeated Muslim League and its leader Prime minister Nurul Amin lost his parliament seat to a young student leader Mr. Khaleque Nawaz Khan and Jukta Front formed the provincial government of East Pakistan. However, the government was arbitrarily dismissed.
  In May 1954 he went to Stockholm. He was barred from returning to East Pakistan by the government of Iskander Mirza and branded a communist. In 1956 Bhashani went on a hunger strike in demand of food for the famine affected people from 7 to 23 May.
  During the Kagmaree Conference of Awami League held on 7–8 February 1957, Bhashani left the West Pakistani authority which acted negatively against East Pakistan. On 24–25 July 1957, Bhashani convened the conference of All Pakistan Democratic Activists. On 25 July he formed the East Pakistan National Awami Party (NAP). Bhashani was elected the President with Mahmudul Huq Osmani, the General Secretary.
  1965 Pakistani presidential election
  According to Ehtisham, Bhashani played a crucial role in the opposition decision to nominate Fatima Jinnah, instead of Azam Khan. Fatima Jinnah was initially scornful of an opposition attempt to nominate her, however on Bhashanis personal intervention, she agreed to be their joint candidate.
  Despite this pledged support for Fatima Jinnah, Bhashani is controversially alleged to have become inactive during the opposition Presidential campaign ostensibly because of Ayub Khan's pro-China leanings; Sherbaz Khan Mazari later alleged that Bashani was bribed by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
  He organized the Cooperative for the Cultivators of East Pakistan on 2–3 January 1968. He was elected the founder Chairman. On 15 June 1968 Bhashani founded the Cooperative for the Provincial Fish Tradesmen at Dhaka Bar library. On 12 October of the same year, he was arrested by President General Ayub Khan's government from the Mirzapur hospital, Tangail.
  In 1967 Bhashani protested against the governmental ban against Rabindranath Tagore. In 1969 Bhashani launched a movement for the withdrawal of the Agartala Conspiracy Case and the release of Sheikh Mujib. American journalist Dan Coggin, writing for Time, credited Bhashani, "as much as any one man", for instigating the 1969 Mass uprising in East Pakistan that culminated in the collapse of the Ayub Khan regime. In 1970 Bhasani called for the Independence of East Pakistan per the 1940 Lahore Resolution. When the Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March 1971, Bhasani was confined 
caption: Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani after the foundation stone laying program for Shahid Minar (Martyrs' monument).
exif: {}