Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy

HUSSAIN SHAHEED SUHRAWARDY

Date of Birth: 8^th September, 1893 and Date of Death: 5^th December, 1963

            Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, who aspired to build a socialistic pattern of society, was born on 8^th September, 1893 in an educated family at Midnapore in West Bengal.  His father was Justice Zahid Suhrawardy and mother Khujastha Akhtar Banu was a writer in Urdu and Persian.  Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy studied law at Oxford University after finishing his education at Calcutta.  He started practice as an advocate after returning to India.  Suhrawardy had liberal ideas from his childhood and was very close with the poor.  Initially, he became close with the Congress.  He later joined the Swarajya Party under the leadership of Chittaranjan Das.  Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy got elected as the Deputy Mayor of Calcutta Municipal Corporation.  He continued in that post for about three years.  He participated actively in the Khilafat and Non Cooperation Movements.  He was elected to the Bengal Assembly in 1921 for the first time.  He was elected several times till 1947 continuously and held different Ministries.  He got himself close to the All India Muslim League after the demise of Chittaranjan Das in 1925.  He played a vital role in the activities and the development of the League.  He represented the progressive group of the League in Bengal.  He became the Chief Minister of Bengal in 1946.  He lost his reputation during the Calcutta riots in 1946, which happened due to the call given by the All India Muslim League for Direct Action.  He did not choose to migrate to Pakistan after Independence as some other Muslim leaders did.  He travelled all over the East Bengal along with Mahatma Gandhi to restore peace, where communal riots took place.  He tried hard to establish communal harmony between the Hindus and Muslims.  In 1949 he migrated to Pakistan and started Awami League party, having differences with the then Pakistan Premier Nawab Liyakhat Ali Khan.  With the support from the socialist leaders and opponents of Muslim League he could get thumping majority in East Pakistan in the first General Elections of Pakistan.  Initially, he was confined himself as an opposition leader.  But, he became the fifth Prime Minister of Pakistan after the fall of Chowdhry Mohammad Ali’s Government in 1956.  Later, he lost his post and was exiled because of the developments that took place in Pakistan.  He demanded autonomy for the East Pakistan, Hussain Hamid Suhrawardy breathed his last on 5^th December, 1963.