In August this year, the winds of change blew away Sheikh Hasina’s regime in Bangladesh (former East Pakistan). A student-led movement demolished a quasi-tyrannical state apparatus that was becoming dangerous for the people of that country. With the regime change, there were also many departures from previous norms. Bangladesh began looking towards Pakistan with the hope of reviving ties in various walks of life. Some headways were made instantly. The 76th death anniversary of M.A. Jinnah was commemorated in Dhaka at the National Press Club. Urdu songs and poetry were presented on the occasion. Many speakers dilated on Jinnah and the ideas that he stood for. They lauded his struggle for the Muslim polity of the Indian sub-continent. Many were of the view that without his able leadership, Pakistan may not have become a reality. And without Pakistan, Bangladesh may not have come into being!

While this air of cordiality is a welcome sign for the people and the state of Pakistan, it would be apposite to review the role of Bengal in the Pakistan Movement, as well as Jinnah’s viewpoints about the various attributes of Bengal during and after the creation of Pakistan. Bengal showed signs of political awakening from the early 20th century. It was Nawab Salimullah Khan of Dhaka and his illustrious comrades who founded the All-India Muslim League (AIML) in December 1906. It became the most important platform for the Muslims of the subcontinent. Jinnah joined the AIML in 1913 and eventually became its president in 1916.

Bengali nationalism was not an accidental construct. Bengali society had continued evolving intellectually during the British Raj. It benefited from the thoughts, ideas and discourse of intellectuals like Rabindranath Tagore, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Kazi Nasrul Islam, Mir Musharraf Husain and more. The transformation seen in this region during the British Raj is also known as the Bengal Renaissance. The 1905 partition of Bengal by the British greatly agitated the Bengali people, especially their youth. Nationalist songs by Tagore, like ‘Amar Shonar Bangla’ (My Golden Bengal) emerged during this time. The partition itself was undone a few years later.

During the entire freedom movement in the Indian subcontinent, the Bengali people and their leadership maintained an exclusive identity — often taking strong positions. Jinnah was quite aware of the Bengali leadership’s attributes and responded to political situations accordingly. One such moment came when the stakeholders — the British administration and Indian National Congress — proposed to partition Bengal, Assam and Punjab under the Partition Plan. Jinnah was vehemently against the partition of Bengal and Punjab during the creation of the states of India and Pakistan. Nonetheless, the partitions were eventually realised. Calcutta (now Kolkata) became the capital of Indian West Bengal. Most of the developed areas and urban locations were included in West Bengal. The bulk of East Bengal territory was pastoral, which saw frequent natural disasters such as floods, cyclones and typhoons. Dacca (now Dhaka) and Chittagong were the prominent towns. There was a general dearth of trained administrative and police officers as well as other cadres of administration. Eventually, these ranks were filled with officers who came from West Pakistan. The attitude and conduct of many of these officers were reported to be arrogant, which did not go down well with the local population. Jinnah was aware of these difficulties and tried to address them as best as he could during his extremely short tenure as the governor-general of the new dominion.

Jinnah was quite aware of the Bengali leadership’s unique strengths and attributes; he responded to political situations accordingly.

However, there were also some areas where Jinnah’s decisions were criticised. Foremost in this regard was the language issue. It should be noted that Bangla was more than a language to the people of East Pakistan: it was a binding force for this populous and dense region. It was also the vehicle for the reform and renaissance of thought that was led by Bengali intellectuals for more than a century. Peasants, farmers, fishermen, boat people and the like — the majority of whom were illiterate — possessed a strong connection to Bangla literature, poetry, music, dances, fables and folklore. Storytelling, theatre, music recitals and traditional dance performances were common ingredients of everyday life in cities, towns and villages. Sharing of new political ideas, engagement with local and national leaders, and general communication all took place in the Bangla language.

While the Bengali people cherished the idea and state of Pakistan, they could not let go of their strong association with their culture, traditions and Bengali value system. Against this backdrop, Khwaja Nazimuddin, the premier of Bengal, pushed the policy of enforcing Urdu as the national language. To obtain support for his stance, Nazimuddin invited Jinnah to visit East Pakistan. Jinnah arrived on March 19, 1948 and was well received. However, during a public meeting in Dhaka on March 21, Jinnah spoke emphatically about enforcing Urdu as the national language. His move was met with voices of dissent. According to many scholars, this move created a wedge between the two peoples of East and West Pakistan, which widened with the passage of time.

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was perhaps one of the most popular Bengali leaders when Pakistan came into being. Suhrawardy was instrumental in the AIML victory in the 1946 elections, which paved the way for Pakistan. Like Jinnah, he was a strong proponent of keeping Bengal united. When the option failed, the United Independent Bengal scheme was professed by several Bengali leaders, including Suhrawardy. These leaders discussed the option with both Mahatma Gandhi and Jinnah. According to accounts, both the leaders gave careful thought to it. However, the INC leadership later opposed the idea, and the partition of Bengal was thus carried out. Jinnah and all others had to accept the new reality under the given circumstances, but some differences emerged between Jinnah and Suhrawardy. Thereafter, several leaders who were aligned with Suhrawardy and his ideas grew aloof from Jinnah and the AIML. After partition, the overall popularity of the AIML began to drop in East Pakistan. This happened because the immediate challenges faced by the people after independence were not effectively addressed by the AIML leadership. Jinnah’s critics regret that perhaps the language issue was a vital matter that made ordinary people drift away from the AIML and Bengali nationalism became stronger in the times to come.

On the political front, Jinnah assigned crucial importance to political leaders and senior members of the AIML from Bengal. When Jinnah became the president of the constituent assembly in August 1947, Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan — a prominent Bengali lawyer and politician — was appointed his deputy.

Jinnah aptly defined the contours of Pakistan in his famous speech on August 11, 1947. The contents of the speech clearly indicate that Jinnah desired Pakistan to become modern, progressive, enlightened, inclusive and an open country for all who existed in it. Jinnah took many steps to show the world the same. Among these was the appointment of Jogendra Nath Mandal, a scheduled caste leader from Bengal, to become a minister in Pakistan’s first cabinet. It is saddening to recall that the situation changed after Jinnah’s death. Hindus in East Pakistan, though socially more integrated, faced many challenges and predicaments at the hands of the majority. Many prominent leaders, including Mandal, had opted to live in Pakistan. After Jinnah’s demise, Mandal was appalled to see the unfriendly conduct of the administration and their henchmen towards the minorities. He resigned his post. Several subsequent blows to Jinnah’s vision for Pakistan eventually led East Pakistan to secede in 1971.

It is unfortunate that, after the creation of Bangladesh, relations between the two countries remained cold. The present times, however, offer a new opportunity to put the past behind us and reconstruct cordial and brotherly relations with Bangladesh. Perhaps this will be one move which will bring us closer to the ideals that Jinnah stood for.

The writer is an academic and researcher based in Karachi.