Tributes to Sher e Bangla AK Fazlul Huq, on the Golden Jubilee of the Independence of Bangladesh

“When the tiger arrives, the lamb must give away”, Jinnah commented while making way for Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq, enter the hall, to address the All India Muslim League to present Lahore Resolution. Sher-e-Bangla was a visionary leader, lawyer, orator and patriotic politician. He was the mentor for many subsequent political leaders in this region. He always stood beside down-trodden people from the very early stage of his career. Haq always wanted emancipation of down-trodden people of Bengal exploited by Calcutta based Zamindars/elites. Political affiliation was not important for him but when Dhaka Nawab Kawaja Salimulla dragged him into politics while launching the Muslim League (ML) in 1906, Haq gladly accepted it as it was a win-win situation. Huq accepted to support ML to help the peasantry of the East Bengal Asam region, to free them from Zamindars most of whom lived in W Bengal. He needed a platform to work for the people, so existing parties attracted him. He was first elected to Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1913 and also became secretary of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League in the same year, with which actually his political career started in full swing. In 1916, Huq was elected president of the All India Muslim League (1916-1922). He is the only person in South-Asian history to concurrently hold the presidency of the Muslim League and the General Secretary's position in Congress. Nehru was his political secretary between 1918 and 1919. In 1940, Huq was selected by the All India Muslim League to formally present the Lahore Resolution, which envisaged ‘independent States’ in the eastern and north-western parts of India.