abul hashim as a political thinker

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/08/2012 ABUL HASHIM AS A POLITICAL THINKER

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ABUL HASHIM AS A POLITICAL THINKER

Rana Razzaque

Abul Hashim is a very debatable personality among the politicians of the twentieth century who had participated

in shaping the destiny of the Bengali Muslims of the subcontinent. He had made a great impact on the politica

and intellectual trends of the time. His birth anniversary this year marks the centenary and reminds us once again

the contribution made by the then Bengali Muslim political leaders. Although he worked actively with the MuslimLeague, he was a socialist at heart but he did not believe in Marxism as it were. Neither the Muslim League nor

the Communist Party of Bengal was happy with him. He was a socialist of a different brand. His politica

philosophy was based on the idea of Islamic Socialism, calledRabbaniyat, meaning the social order prescribed

in Islam.

Born of a political father and a very educated and wealthy family of Burdwan it seemed only natural for him to

get involved in politics. Hashim was born on January 27, 1905, in the village of Kashiara in Burdwan district o

West Bengal. It was the year of Bengal partition. Hashims father, Abul Kasem had been an ardent supporter o

Surendranath Banerjee (1848-1925) and had taken part in the anti-partition movement. Muslim support for the

Swadeshi movement in Bengal was a rare incident. He had also taken part in the Khilafat- Non-cooperationmovement (1919-1922) in its early stage under the leadership of Gandhi during the Khilafat Movement (1918-

1922). Abul Kasem never supported separatist politics. He was, however, involved in Muslim League politic

but had never supported the idea of Muslim separatism. He is also known to have never accepted the

domination of the Dhaka Nawab family. By the time Abul Hashim entered politics after the death of his father in

1936, his political belief was already moulded to a great extent by his father. He too, defied the authority of the

Khwaja family in Bengal politics and hated the politics of separatism and communalism which pervaded the

Muslim League politics.

Abul Hashims predecessors say, grandfathers and uncles from both fathers and mothers sides were high

officials, who held a prestigious position in the society. After Abul Hashim completed his graduation in 1928 from

the Raj College in Burdwan he got married and his wife also belonged to another prestigious family of DhakaShe was related to Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, who played a significant role in Hashims relatively brief bu

very active political life between 1943 and 1947. His autobiography,In Retrospection and his other writings

such as, As I See It, The Creed of Islam, Integration of Pakistan, reveal his political, social and religious

views.

Abul Hashim was offered his Law degree from the Calcutta Law College in 1932 and he started practicing at the

Burdwan district court. Soon after entering into politics in October, 1936 he contested the elections to the

Bengal Legislative Assembly as independent candidate from Burdwan constituency and won.His father formed

the Burdwan Mohammadan Association, a representative organization of the Muslims of Burdwan. Abul Hashim

renamed it the Burdwan District Muslim League in 1937 and was elected its President. He joined the Muslim

League after being convinced by Jinnah that the party was democratic and that there was no place for the

Khwajas or the Ispahanis to dominate Muslim politics in Bengal. But he soon realized, as he admitted in his

autobiography, that he was deceived by the false impression given by Jinnah.In fact, Abul Hashim started hi

political activity with the Muslim League hoping to free Bengal from the political maneuverings and the economic

exploitations of the non-Bengali landlords and capitalists, like the Khwajas and the Ispahanis respectively. He

was also critical of Fazlul Huqs repeated change of allegiance to political parties and quick shifts in opinions

Hashim had collaborated with H. S. Suhrawardy in 1943, in transforming the Muslim League to an organized

mass political party of the Muslims of Bengal but he was disappointed when he observed that Suhrawardy too

was interested in gaining higher political position than in merely organizing the party. Hashims total concern wa


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to organize the party in a more democratic and decentralized manner. He had never wanted to be a

parliamentary leader. Unfortunately, at this stage of his life he was having problems with his eyesight and wa

gradually losing his vision. This physical disability had obviously been a hindrance to his political career

Nevertheless he was a political leader of the front rank and had participated in major political events and

decision makings.

By the early 1940s, Abul Hashim emerged as a politician of a different kind with his preachings of Islamic

socialism on the one hand, and his ardent belief in the principle of self-determination of every nation in India, on

the other. He was often believed to be a communist, which he was not, in the Marxist sense of the term. Iseemed that he was a separatist and a supporter of Jinnahs two-nation theory but, in fact, he believed in the

right to self- determination of every nation. According to him, India was a multi-national geographical entity

where people of different religions, castes, races and languages lived side by side. Hashim was the exponent o

the idea of the multi-nation in India and believed in nationalism, regionalism, lingualism and socialism. His

political moves for the United Independent Bengal in 1946-1947, with Sarat Chandra Bose and others clearly

exposed him as a secular and democratic leader.

Abul Hashim played a significant role in the annual session of the All-India Muslim League held at Lahore on

March 23, 1940. He supported the resolution adopted at this session which contemplated the creation o

independent states in which the constituent units were to be autonomous and sovereign. The resolution passed a

Lahore proposed the creation of two independent sovereign states as homelands for the Muslims of India, one in

the North-West consisting of the Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, the North-West Frontier Province and Kashmi

and the other, in the North-East consisting of Bengal and Assam. Hashim supported this move hoping fo

complete independence in the North-Eastern region of India. He saw nothing communal in the Lahore

Resolution of 1940. He made very clear in his memoirs that he never believed in Jinnahs two-nation theory

which, according to him, had created a separatist tendency in Indian politics. He believed in the multi-nation

theory, which meant that India was a sub-continent comprising various nations each having its own racial

linguistic, cultural and religious identity. To me, he wrote, India coveys the same sense as the term Europe

does.The multi-national concept was not new in India but at a time when separatist tendency was gaining the

upper hand and was being popularized in India, the assertion and the attempts to establish the multi-nationaconcept by Abul Hashim received little support. He was trying to preach the theory of a multi-national state in

India when Jinnah was propagating his the two-nation theory, and the All-India Congress Party upholding its

theory of a unified India.Hashim never preached India as a one country but at the same time he never incited

communal difference or ill feeling. He urged all parties and organizations to form a common forge to fight agains

British imperialism in order to attain freedom and to establish the right to self determination. He also believed in

having joint electorates and the formation of a democratic government.

Abul Hashims active participation in the Muslim League began on a provincial level from 1943, when he wa

elected the general secretary of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML).Khwaja Nazimuddin was then

the Chief Minister. When Hashim took office the BPML had no organized fund or any treasury. Although Mirza

Hasan Ispahani was the treasurer there was no regular system of preparing annual budget or disbursing the billsand making payments at regular times.The Muslim League had no office in any of the districts of Bengal.The

President of the Dhaka District Muslim League was Khwaja Shahabuddin, the younger brother of Khwaja

Nazimuddin. Hashim saw that the BPML was under the complete domination of the Dhaka Nawab family. H

also noticed that whoever wanted to gain any political position in the BPML or fulfill any political aspiration, had

to work in allegiance with the Khwajas. Hashim observed with disgust and also with great concern that even

Suhrawardy at times accepted the authority of the Khwajas to retain his political position.He was critical of the

Khwajas from the beginning and kept himself out, as he put it, of this unholy game of power politics. The

Muslim League, he said, was in fact mortgaged to the Ahsan Manzil for leadership, to the Daily Azad fo


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publicity and to the Ispahanis for finance.

As general secretary of the BPML, his target was to free the party from financial constraints, set up party office

in the districts while simultaneously attempting to curb the authority of the Khwajas. Hashim got himself involved

in the task of organizing the Muslim League at the grass-roots level. He took up extensive programme to

decentralize and democratize the party, and for this, he concentrated mostly in the mofussilareas. He issued

bulletins and periodic circulars giving instructions to the leaders at local levels as to how to organize the party

bases there, to set up party offices at district and sub-divisional levels and to increase the membership.He fel

Muslim membership had to be increased in the eastern and northern Bengal where Muslim population was amajority and he made appeals to the Muslim youths in general and student leaders of Calcutta and Dhaka in

particular, to organize the party disregarding personal interest or intra-party conflict.He had also inspired the

students and the general masses to gain membership for only two annas, which, in fact, transformed the Muslim

League into a broad-based organization like the Congress.This had made a tremendous impact and within a

year membership of the BPML rose to half a million.Hashim made extensive tours in the years 1944 and 1945

to various places like Narayanganj, Dhaka, Faridpur, Chittagong, Comilla, Calcutta and other districts and

carried on organizational work there.He was able to gather a large following among the younger generation

particularly in the two university centres of Calcutta and Dhaka.The overwhelming victory of the Muslim League

in the 1946 elections to the Legislative Assembly was largely due to these tours and the mobilization of the

Muslim masses there.

During his extensive tours, Hashim had advocated that all Muslims should join the Muslim League and at the

same time, he had preached the fundamentals of Islam.This had put him in a very controversial position. He wa

interpreted as a communal person. The Hindu community could not trust him. It was difficult for many Hindus to

accept whether Hashims non-communal interpretation of the Lahore Resolution was his genuine belief. On the

other hand, he was alleged to be a Communist for the doctrine ofRabbaniyat or Islamic Socialism he wa

preaching, was close to Communism. He was often dubbed in the Muslim press, particularly by The Azad, The

Morning News and TheStar of India and by the Khwaja coterie, as a Communist.

Abul Hashim had published a draft manifesto of the BPML on March 24, 1945 which contained his views on

what should be the ideals of the Muslim League and on the socio-economic and political objectives of Pakistanthat was being demanded by the Muslims. The pamphlet was called Let Us Go to War which was widely

circulated.It contained his views about the multi-nation theory he had been propagating rather than the two-

nation theory preached by the Muslim League. Most of his ideas brought him severe criticisms from the right

wing of the Muslim League and from the Congress. The draft manifesto emphasized the ideals of Islam and

Socialism. It said that Muslims in the proposed state of Pakistan would not have any rights reserved for them

except their rights to mould their life according to the fundamentals of Islam; the non-Muslims would have equa

rights and would be treated generously as citizens of an independent and sovereign state; elections would be held

under universal adult suffrage; there would be equal opportunities irrespective of creed, caste and class; right to

education and primary education to be made free and compulsory; all monopolies and rent-receiving interests on

land would be abolished; the rights of the peasants would be protected; key industries like jute and transporwould be nationalized and workers would have the right to enjoy the share of the profit. There would be peasan

proprietorship, collective farming and co-operative marketing. There were also provisions for unemploymen

insurance, old age pensions, trade-union rights etc.The manifesto was very clearly progressive in its content. It

socialistic overtones however, brought him criticisms from the right- wing of the Muslim League and above all

his authority to bring out such a manifesto was questioned.

Abul Hashims liaison with the Communists was, in fact, somewhat close. He was brought up in a very libera

atmosphere. He had preached tolerance to others views and had been ideologically very close to the

Communists. He believed in the philosophy ofRabbaniyat and this is where he differed with the


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Communists but he maintained friendly relations with them. His attitude towards Communism, however, was

support where you can and oppose where you must.

The right-wing of the Muslim League led by Khwaja Nazimuddin accused Hashim of being a Communist and

having association with the terrorists. By terrorist, the left-wing supporters of the Muslim League were

indicated here. Hashim was further accused of preaching Communism among Muslims under the cover of Islam

In fact, Nazimuddin and his group had never wanted the Muslim League to be turned into a mass party

Democratization and decentralization of the party meant loss of their authority. Besides, ideologically Nazimuddin

was strongly opposed to Communism. Hashim was, therefore, the main target of their criticism.They attemptedto oust him from the leadership of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League and for this, they needed Suhrawardys

support.Suhrawardy had been a good organizer as well and was basically non-communal but was desperately

after political power.He had wanted to be the Chief Minister and therefore, moved away from Hashim.As the

1946 elections approached, the cleavage between the right-wing and the left-wing of the Muslim League

widened greatly. It was the time when conflict between Khwaja Nazimuddin, H. S. Suhrawardy, A. K. Fazlu

Huq, Maulana Akram Khan and Abul Hashim, the so-called Big Five of the Muslim League in Bengal politics

in the 1940s, reached to an extreme point.Hashim, however, neither craved for any parliamentary post, nor did

he interfere in parliamentary leadership. The Khwajas had wanted, to their benefit, to manipulate the Muslim

public opinion in Bengal and did not want a properly organized party. They feared Hashims attempts a

organizing the party as a move to strengthen his own position and felt threatened. By early 1947, Abul Hashim

was kept aside by the Muslim League leaders in Bengal. Fazlul Huq and Akram Khan were up against him and

even Suhrawardy did not like him any more, now that he had become the Chief Minister. For a brief period

Hashim became politically isolated and since he was least interested in getting involved in this shrewd game o

power politics, he left for Burdwan, his home town.

Another most significant aspect of Hashims political thinking was the idea of creating a United Independen

Bengal. Suhrawardy, who was then the Chief Minister, had initiated the move at a press conference at Delhi on

April 27, 1947, to form an independent and undivided sovereign Bengal.Hashim had seriously and sincerely

supported Suhrawardys scheme and proposed that there should be joint electorates and equal share of jobs in

the administration.Sarat Chandra Bose, Kiran Sankar Roy and Abul Hashim were most seriously involved in thismove but there was little sincere effort from the top ranking leaders of either the Muslim League or the Congress

The United Independent Bengal scheme was accepted by many Muslim leaders because Bengal was a Muslim

majority province and any election would bring a Muslim majority. This was exactly the reason why the Hindu

in Bengal were unwilling to accept such a plan. Sardar Patel, Jawaharlal Nehru and also the Hindu Mahasabha

had demanded partitioning of Bengal.Besides, after the riots of 1946, the Hindus could no longer trust the

Muslims.Muslim League opinion was also divided in this respect. The Khwaja group demanded the whole o

Assam but divided Bengal, omitting the Hindu majority Burdwan division and including some portion of Purnea

and the district of Bihar, while Suhrawardy and Hashim group wanted the whole of Assam and undivided Benga

with some adjoining districts of Bihar.Jinnah supported the scheme, because to him, the whole of Bengal wa

definitely much better than a truncated one.Suhrawardys move for United Independent Bengal remainedcontroversial since earlier, in April, 1946, he had moved the resolution at Delhi for a one Pakistan state.It is also

essential to mention in this context, that most surprisingly, Abul Hashim remained absent at the opening session o

the Muslim League Legislators Convention at Delhi (7-9 April 1946) but suggested at the persuasion of Jinnah

that the Lahore Resolution could be amended by removing the adjective one and putting the indefinite article

a.Nonetheless, on May 20, 1947, those who favoured the United Independent Bengal scheme met at the

house of Sarat Chandra Bose and reached at a tentative agreement. It was signed by Abul Hashim and Sarat

Chandra Bose. The terms of the agreement included provisions for joint electorate, adult suffrage, proportionate

reservation of seats for the Hindus, the Muslims and also the scheduled caste Hindus and an equal number o


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ministers from both the communities in the ministry, the Chief Minister being a Muslim and the Home Minister, a

Hindu.Position of Gandhi for a United Independent Bengal was not clear. It seemed that he favoured the move

but did not, in fact, commit himself.Suhrawardy, who had started the movement, declared, quite dramatically, on

June 7, 1947, that Dacca is now in Pakistan. Hashim came under severe criticisms. He felt completely

betrayed in his cause and seemed to be in a false position now. The Communist Party also supported the

partition of Bengal.

Abul Hashims demand for a United Independent Bengal was in accordance with the Lahore Resolution o

1940 as he understood it. Hashim believed in a united Bengal but he neither wanted Bengal to be dominated bythe Urdu-speaking (non-Bengali) West Pakistanis, nor did he want it to be a part of India.To Hashim, this wa

the Pakistan demanded by the Bengali Muslims. But, here too, Hashims view differed from both the Congres

and the Muslim League. He believed that India was a multi-linguistic, multi-cultural nation and each of these

linguistic and cultural regions was a nation and that, some of the nations would be Muslim majority, but he did not

define nationality on the basis of religion, as did the Muslim League, in the 1940s. The creation of a sovereign

Bengal was a secular demand where Muslims and Hindus would enjoy equal power and opportunities. But, his

dream did not materialize.

After the partition of Bengal and of India on August 15, 1947, Abul Hashim was a member of the West Benga

Legislative Assembly as the leader of the opposition and lived in Burdwan till the year 1950, when his house was

burnt during a riot.He came to Dhaka after this incident and got involved in the language movement, demanding

Bengali as the official language. He got arrested and was imprisoned for sixteen months. Later, in 1954, he

formed theKhilafat-i-Rabbani Party and kept himself outside the United Front.He contested the elections o

1954 as a Rabbani Party candidate from the old Dhaka constituency, but was badly defeated. He then

continued to get more involved in his religious philosophy ofRabbaniyatbut began to dislike the activities of his

followers. He left the party in 1956, and then joined the Muslim League, but remained practically inactive

However, he had an exceptionally friendly relation with Ayub Khan, then president of Pakistan.In 1960, Abu

Hashim became the first director of the Islamic Academy, formed in November, 1960, in Dhaka, where serious

intellectual discussions and debates were arranged, relating to the principles of Islam, Islamic thought and Islamic

economics.Although Hashim believed in the unification of Bengal and remained a secularist till the end of his lifehe, however, accepted Pakistan. He could not initially accept the break-up of Pakistan in 1971. However

finally he totally disassociated himself from the idea of united Pakistan and came to accept Bangladesh. He died

in 1974.

Abul Hashims political position in the brief years between 1943 and 1947, was of a meteoric one. From the

position of an almost unknown person he turned out to be a front-ranking politician of the Muslim League. Hi

organizing ability and his quality as an orator placed him among the top five Muslim leaders in Bengal. His

leanings towards socialism had also made him a prominent thinker in the Communist circle. His belief in

Rabbaniyator Islamic Socialism also made him one of the leading scholars of Islam. His firm belief in liberalism

socialism and secularism made him a very progressive-minded leader. While at the same time, his preaching for

Islamic Socialism had made people to criticize him as a communalist. This was the dichotomy in his wholepolitical career. Abul Hashims son, Badruddin Umar, commented that his father was, in fact, a politica

schizophrenic, to symbolize his contradictions.It seemed that failing to attain what he had fought for and when

all his hopes had slipped away, he was disillusioned.

1.


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* Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Dhaka

Leonard A. Gordon, Bengal: The Nationalist Movement, 1876-1940 (rpt. New Delhi 1979), pp. 32-34

The author notes that Abul Kasem of Burdwan was one of the few Bengali Muslims who joined Congres

politics. He had been a member of the Indian Association of Surendranath Banerjee, the chief and guru o

Congress politics in Bengal. See, Charitabidhan (Dictionary of Biography), (Dhaka 1985), p. 33. Also see

Mofidul Huq,Abul Hashim, (Dhaka 1990), p. 18.

Abul Hashim, The Creed of Islam (Dhaka 1950); As I See It (Dhaka 1965); Integration of Pakistan

(Dhaka 1967);In Retrospection (Dhaka 1974). Abul Hashim also wrote several manifestoes and pamphlets

most of which have been translated into Bengali. He also wrote a book in Bengali, Rabbani Drishtite (In the

Light ofRabbani), Dhaka 1970. These books give an insight into his political, social and religious thoughts. See

Mofidul Huq, ibid., pp. 121-134. The author gives a list of Hashims publications. Abul Hashimss mother-in-

law was the aunt of H. S. Suhrawardy. Abul Hashim was married to Mahmoodah Akhtar Meher Banu Begum

the daughter of Shah Syed Ziauddin, a descendent of the famous Shah Golam Ali of Hooghly district. His wife

mother was the daughter of Maulana Obaidullah Obaidee, an esteemed scholar of Midnapur. Obaidee

daughter, Khojistah Akhter Banu was the mother of H.S. Suhrawardy. See Abul Hashim, In Retrospection

pp.10-11.In Retrospection deals mostly with his political life, his views and opinions on various political issueswhile his earlier books deal with his philosophy of Islamic Socialism.

Abul Hashim,In Retrospection, p.16. Hashim mentioned in his memoirs, that his fathers popularity had won

him victory at the elections. To him, this was actually the expression of gratitude and also recognition of hi

fathers contribution to the Bengali Muslim society and politics.

See Abul Hashim, In Retrospection, pp.17-18. In 1937, Abul Hashim saw M. A. Jinnah at the residence o

M. A. H. Ispahani at Calcutta. There Jinnah had invited Hashim to join the Muslim League telling, Come, let u

organize ourselves in such a way that we can give 24 hours notice to the job hunters of Bengal and the Punjab

Hashim thought, that by job hunters Jinnah meant Khwaja Nazimuddin of Bengal, Sikandar Hyat Khan of thePunjab and the like. Hashim had a dislike for the Khwajas and, therefore, he readily joined the Muslim League

One can, however, also form the opinion that he could not have remained outside the mainstream politics of the

Muslim League in Bengal, whether Jinnah insisted him or not. Also see, Mofidul Huq,Abul Hashim, pp. 24-25.

The author had an interview with Abul Hashims son, Badruddin Umar, a writer and political commentator, a

his residence in Dhaka, on October 29, 1995. Umar mentioned that his father often used to say that his desire

was to be the speaker of the Legislative Assembly, had he not lost his eyesight.

The resolution adopted by the Muslim League at the Lahore Session, in March, 1940, did neither mention the

word Islam, nor the word Pakistan anywhere. Jinnah had coined the term two-nation to emphasize thecultural and religious differences which existed among the Hindu and the Muslim communities in India. Jinnah

realized, however, just before the creation of Pakistan, that serious consequences would follow if religion wa

mixed up with politics. He declared in his presidential address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, on

August 11, 1947, that he wanted Pakistan to be a secular state. A. F. Salahuddin Ahmed, Bengali Nationalism

and the Emergence of Bangladesh (Dhaka 1994), pp. 80-81. This statement of Jinnah was indeed belated and

the two-nation theory had become politically very expedient to bring the partition of India.

Harun-or-Rashid, The Foreshadowing of Bangladesh (Dhaka 1987), pp.162-163. Also see Kamruddin

Ahmad,A Socio-Political History of Bengal(Dhaka 1967. (4th ed. 1975), pp. 61-62, 74-75.


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The resolution contemplated two independent sovereign states as homelands for Muslims of India. See

appendices, In Retrospection, pp.168-169 and Kamruddin Ahmad,A Socio-Political History of Bengal, p

390.

Abul Hashim,In Retrospection, p. 23.

The Communists had developed the multi-national theory asserting the right to self-determination. They had

supported the Muslim League demand for separate state. The Indian Communists, indoctrinated by the idea o

self-determination, declared by Stalin as early as in 1925, made them support the right of each nationality to

secede from the Indian union. B. T. Ranadive, the Communist leader in India, said in August, 1942, Muslims in

certain areas do form a distinct nationality bound together by common culture, history and tradition. In

consequence --- they must have the completest liberty to --- form a separate state if and when they choose.

The Communist Party of India made this an open declaration. See Sankar Ghose, Political Ideas and

Movements in India (New Delhi 1975), pp. 194-195. Also see Kamruddin Ahmad, A Socio-Political History

of Bengal, p. 62.

Jinnah was basically a secularist. It is believed that had he declared the creation of a secular state earlier, no

highlighting the two-nation theory, the orgy of communalism could have been avoided. But the communal issuein the 1940s could not be treated a matter as simple as that. There were other factors existing, like the attitudes

of the conservatives in the Congress, the Hindu Mahasabha, the Muslim League separatists, and to some extent

the British attitude towards the communal affair.

Abul Hashim mentioned in his memoirs, that he had supported a Congress candidate, named Togo Sarkar, a

the election for Chairmanship of the Burdwan municipality in 1942 in order to keep communal harmony in his

district.InRetrospection, p. 26 and Kamruddin Ahmad,A Socio-Political History of Bengal, p.74.

Abul Hashim was elected General Secretary of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League on November 7, 1943

by a huge majority. Hashim was actually not interested to contest because of his eye problem, but was practicallyinsisted by Maulana Azad Subhani (1897-1964), who had inspired him to preach the philosophy ofRabbaniyat

Sobhani had wanted him to preach this philosophy of Islamic socialism while he was in charge of organizing the

Muslim League. H .S. Suhrawardy has also supported him in the election.In Retrospection, pp.30-32. Mofidu

Huq, ibid., p. 30 and Kamruddin Ahmad,A Socio-Political History of Bengal, p. 61.


Ibid., p. 37.

Nine members for the Dhaka Nawab family were in the BPML. Hashim also observed in his memoirs, tha

Khwaja Shahabuddin was very good at adopting Machiavellian means when needed. Hashim was puzzled a

times to see their political maneuverings, see Abul Hashim,In Retrospection, p. 38.

Hashims son, Badruddin Umar also observed that Suhrawardy was equally Machiavellian like the Khwaja

and all of them were power seekers. Interview with Badruddin Umar, Dhaka, October 29, 1995.


Ahsan Manzil was the family home of the Khwajas, the Nawab family of Dhaka. Maulana Akram Khan, who

published the Daily Azad, also had strong connection with the Khwajas. The Daily Azad, brought out from


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Calcutta from 1936 onwards, acted as the mouthpiece for the Muslim League. The Ispahanis were the leading

non-Bengali merchants in Bengal and allies of the Khwajas. They represented the right-wing of the Muslim

League in Bengal. The Bengali-speaking middle-class youths had begun to dislike their domination and authority

See Kamruddin Ahmad,Banglar Madhabitter Attabikash (Emergence of the middle-class in Bengal), Vol. 11

(Dhaka 1975), p. 21. Also see Shila Sen,Muslim Politics in Bengal,1937-1947(New Delhi 1976), pp.184

185. The battle royal Hashim fought inside the Bengal Presidency League against the Khwajas led to long-term

consequences. After he was forced to migrate to Dhaka, in 1950 (when his house was set on fire), Hashim was

imprisoned for several months by members of the Khwaja coterie, he had angered back in 1943. See, KennethMcPherson, The Muslim Microcosm: Calcutta, 1918-1935 (Wiesbaden 1974), pp. 150-151.


Abul Hashim, In Retrospection, pp. 42-43. Mofidul Huq, Abul Hashim, pp.38-39. Also see, Kamruddin

Ahmad,A Socio-Political History of Bengal, p. 62.

Abul Hashim,In Retrospection, p. 44, and Harun-or-Rashid,Foreshadowing of Bangladesh, p. 165.

Harun-or-Rashid,Foreshadowing of Bangladesh, pp. 166, 192.


Within a period of only two years he was able to open Muslim League branches in 18 districts. Hashim made a

tour of Bengal for 45 days, in 1945, and called it a Long-March for 45 days, which reminds one of Chairman

Mao-Tse Tungs Long March in China. Hashims methods of organizing the party through direct persona

contact with the people, through discussions, bulletins, pamphlets and manifestoes were similar to those of the

Communist party.In Retrospection, p.78. Harun-or-Rashid, ibid., pp.166-167. Mofidul Huq, Abul Hashim

pp. 48-49.

Harun-or-Rashid,Foreshadowing of Bangladesh, pp. 166-167.

Hashims commitment to the peasantry and his socialist leanings were not secret and he openly preached

Islamic Socialism in all his meetings. InRetrospection, pp. 54-58. Harun-or-Rashid, ibid., pp. 171-172.

These papers conducted malicious propaganda against Abul Hashim. Harun-or-Rashid, Foreshadowing of

Bangladesh,pp.145, 243. Hassan Ispahani wrote to Jinnah in 1942, when TheMorning News was brought ou

that, one more weapon in the armoury of the League was added. It is very useful to note the extent of hatred o

the Khwajas against Abul Hashim which, in fact, had created a polarization in the Muslim League politics in

Bengal. H. Ispahani wrote to Suhrawardy on March 6, 1947, from Calcutta, Fazlul Huq is a danger and

Abul Hashim is most undesirable. See Z. H. Zaidi (ed.), M. A. Jinnah Ispahani Correspondence, 1936

1948 (Karachi, 1976), pp. 295, 516-517.

Shila Sen, Muslim Politics in Bengal, p. 184. Harun-or-Rashid, ibid., p. 176 mentioned the date of the

publication of the manifesto as March 23, 1945, while Hashim, in his memoirs, mentioned the date as March 24

1945. See, In Retrospection, pp.80-81. Hashim also mentions here that all the top ranking leaders of the

Muslim League in Bengal, like Nazimuddin, Suhrawardy, Maulana Akram Khan had criticized him severely

Hamidul Huq Chowdhury (1901-1992) commented that the term manifesto was Communist and wanted to

establish that Hashims ideas were completely influenced by Communism and that most of the proposals in the


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manifesto were not in accordance with the Muslim League interests.

In Retrospection, pp.80-81. Shila Sen,Muslim Politics in Bengal, p.184.

Liaquat Ali Khan, a leader of the Muslim League, warned the Muslim students in Calcutta the danger o

Communism to Islam and criticized Hashim for using the Muslim League platform to preach Communism. Harun-

or-Rashid, Foreshadowing of Bangladesh, p.177. To counter these criticisms against the manifesto and hi

ideas, Hashim took initiative to publish the weekly Millat from Calcutta, in November, 1945. It acted as a

mouthpiece for the progressive group of the Muslim League. Harun-or-Rashid, ibid., pp. 202, 222.

Interview with Badruddin Umar, Dhaka, October 29, 1995. Umar mentioned that most of his fathers friend

were Hindus and many of them were Communists. Also see, In Retrospection, p. 115.


Ibid., p. 73. In fact, the left-wing of the Muslim League had very good relation with the Communists. Mofidu

Huq, ibid., p. 59.

See Harun-or-Rashid, A Move for United independent Bengal in Sirajul Islam (ed.),History of Bangladesh1704-1971, Vol. 1 (Dhaka 1992), p. 391. Also seeIn Retrospection, p. 40.

Harun-or-Rashid, The Foreshadowing of Bangladesh, p. 244.

Badruddin Umar mentioned in the interview on October 29, 1995, that it was not Suhrawardy, as was alleged

but Nazimuddin, who had engineered the Great Calcutta Killing in August, 1946. The British governmen

however, blamed Suhrawardy for the holocaust for not enforcing Section 144 before the tension increased, and

for not declaring total curfew and for not calling out the troops for precautions. See V. P. Menon, The Transfe

of Power in India (Princeton 1957), pp. 294-295. But Hashim mentioned in his memoirs, that Suhrawardy was

never communal and never vindictive.In Retrospection, p. 45.

In Retrospection, p. 73.

It is interesting to note the similarity in numbers and influence of political leaders at different times and

circumstances in history. The Big Five was dubbed to refer to the five powerful leaders of the Congress in

Bengal, in the 1920s. They were Tulsi Goswami, Nalini Ranjan Sarkar, Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy, Nirmal C

Chunder, and Sarat Chandra Bose. See Leonard A. Gordon, ibid., p.192.

Mofidul Huq,Abul Hashim, pp. 71-72 and,In Retrospection, p. 73.

Kamruddin Ahmad,A Socio-Political History of Bengal, p. 75.

Harun-or-Rashid, A Move for United Independent Bengal, p. 401. Suhrawardy demanded a Greate

Bengal comprising the undivided Bengal uniting adjoining districts of Manbhum and Singhbhum, the district o

Purnea from Bihar and the Surma valley of Assam, depending on the right to self-determination.Ibid., p. 403

Suhrawardys proposal was that, Bengal should remain sovereign, independent and undivided in a divided India

Sarat Chandra Bose, the Congress leader in Bengal and the Congress left-wing leaders supported the proposa

but it received little support from either the Muslim League or the Congress. See V. P. Menon, The Transfer of

Power in India, p. 355.


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This Hashim declared in accordance with the Bengal Pact forged with C. R. Das in 1923. Sirajul Islam (ed.)

History of Bangladesh, Vol. 1, ibid., p.404.

V. P. Menon, ibid., pp. 355-356.

Most Muslim League leaders like M. A. Jinnah, Nazimuddin, Fazlul Huq, Suhrawardy and other Bengal

Muslims favoured the idea of a united Bengal. A second partition of Bengal was not wanted by them

Suhrawardy argued that the Bengalees have a common mother tongue and they have similar economic interests

Jinnah would also have welcomed the emergence of an independent, united Bengal but on condition that it joined

neither Pakistan nor Hindustan. Both Nehru and Patel, however, considered the idea was against what the Indian

National Congress had wanted and feared that a unified Bengal, led by a Muslim premier, would definitely form

closer alliances with Pakistan rather than India. Stanley Wolpert,Jinnah of Pakistan (New Delhi 1985; 2nd ed

1989), pp. 238, 320-322, 398n.

Congress attitude during this time seemed communal to many. But Congress fear was not baseless. Hashim

realized why the Hindus did not support the United Bengal scheme. He said, the Hindus of Bengal had

developed a suspicion complex from 10 years of one party Muslim ministry. See Shila Sen,Muslim Politics in

Bengal, p. 233.

Sirajul Islam (ed.),History of Bangladesh, Vol. 1, ibid., p. 406.

To Jinnah, however, the existence of a United Independent Bengal would be a sort of subsidiary Pakistan

Ibid., pp. 411-412. Kamruddin Ahmad,A Socio-PoliticalHistory of Bengal, ibid., p. 88.

Z. H. Zaidi, Evolution of Muslim Political Thought in India,pp. 452-453.

In Retrospection, pp. 109-110. After making the amendment and the resolution adopted, confirmed that the

zones comprising Bengal and Assam in the North East and the Punjab, North West Frontier Province, Sindh and

Baluchistan in the North West of India, namely Pakistan zones, where the Muslims are in dominant majority, be

constituted into a sovereign independent state and that an equivocal undertaking be given to implement the

establishment of Pakistan without delay. See, A. M. Zaidi,Evolution of Muslim Political Thought in India

Vol. 6 (New Delhi 1979), pp. 453-454. Also see Harun-or-Rashid, Foreshadowing of Bangladesh, ibid., p

254.

In Retrospection, pp.153-154. Also see,History of Bangladesh, Vol. 1, ibid., pp. 414-415.

Kamruddin Ahmad, Socio-political History of Bengal, pp. 81-82.

In Retrospection, p. 160. Elsewhere Dacca is spelt as Dhaka only to keep consistency and to follow thepresent official spelling of the capital.

Hashim was criticized in the press as a traitor to the cause of one Pakistan state. The Dawn, on June 4, 1947

criticized him as a snake in the grass.In Retrospection, p.160.

In Retrospection, p.162.

Leonard A. Gordon, Divided Bengal: Problems of Nationalism and Identity in the 1947 Partition,Journal of

Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, Vol. XV1,No .2, London, July, 1978, p. 155. Gordon gives thi


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information on the basis of his interview with Abul Hashim, he had in Dhaka, in June, 1972.

Leonard A. Gordon, ibid., pp.150-155.

There was another reason besides all these mentioned so far for the failure of the United Bengal idea. See

Tamizuddin Khan, The Test of Time, my life and days (Dhaka 1989), p.147 where the author mentions tha

the Independent or Greater Bengal idea was mainly a go-ahead signal by the Muslim League High Command

which was later withdrawn.

See Charitabidhan, ibid., p. 36. Also see, Mofidul Huq,Abul Hashim, pp. 89-90. In 1950, Hashims house

in Burdwan was burnt during a riot. He sold his property and came to stay in Dhaka.

Charitabidhan, ibid., p. 36 and Mofidul Huq, ibid., pp. 92-94.

Mofidul Huq,Abul Hashim, pp. 94-95.

Ibid., p. 95. Being disappointed with the attitude of his followers, Hashim left the Khilafat-Rabbani Party in

1956.

Ibid. pp. 95-96. Hashim explained his philosophy ofRabbaniyatand the establishment of an Islamic Socialis

state in his book,Integration of Pakistan, published from Dhaka, in 1967.

Mofidul Huq,Abul Hashim, pp. 95-97.

Ibid., p. 96.

Leonard A.Gordon, Divided Bengal,p. 155. On the basis of his interview with Abul Hashim in June, 1972

Gordon wrote that Hashim was sincerely dedicated to the idea of a Bengal republic and had never wanted to be

in a Pakistan dominated by the West Pakistani Muslims.

This was the view given by Hashims son, Badruddin Umar, in an interview with the author at his residence in

Dhaka, on October 29, 1995.

Badruddin Umar had attempted to make a psychoanalytical study of his fathers mind and thought and had

found him a divided self in politics. Interview, October, 29, 1995.

abul hashim as a political thinker

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