Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq[a] (26 October 1873 – 27 April 1962),[2] popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla,[b] was a Bengali lawyer and politician who presented the Lahore Resolution which had the objective of creating an independent Pakistan.

In 1919, he had the unique distinction of concurrently serving as president of the All India Muslim League and general secretary of the Indian National Congress.

[7] As prime minister, Fazlul Huq used legal and administrative measures to reduce the debt of millions of farmers subjected to tenancy under the Permanent Settlement.

In 1940, Fazlul Huq had one of his most notable political achievements when he presented the Lahore Resolution which called for the creation of a sovereign state in the Muslim-majority eastern and northwestern parts of British India.

Under pressure from the governor of Bengal during the Quit India movement and after the withdrawal of the Hindu Mahasabha from his cabinet, Fazlul Huq resigned from the post of premier in March 1943.

In the Dominion of Pakistan, Fazlul Huq worked for five years as East Bengal's attorney general and participated in the Bengali Language Movement.

Fazlul Huq was born on 26 October 1873, in his maternal home, the Mia Bari of Saturia in Backergunge District of the Bengal Presidency (now in Barsial, Bangladesh).

Based on advice from Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, he joined the bar council of the Calcutta High Court and started a legal practice.

With the patronage of Sir Salimullah and Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury, he was elected to the Bengal Legislative Council from the Dacca Division in 1913.

[5] In 1919, Fazlul Huq was chosen as a member of the Punjab Enquiry Committee along with Motilal Nehru, Chittaranjan Das and other prominent leaders which was set up by the Indian National Congress to investigate the Amritsar massacre.

In 1929, he founded the All Bengal Tenants Association, which evolved into a political platform, including as a part of the post-partition United Front.

Fazlul Huq's cabinet included Nalini Ranjan Sarkar (finance), Bijoy Prasad Singh Roy (revenue), Maharaja Srish Chandra Nandy (communications and public works), Prasanna Deb Raikut (forest and excise), Mukunda Behari Mallick (cooperative credit and rural indebtedness), Sir Khwaja Nazimuddin (home), Nawab Khwaja Habibullah (agriculture and industry), Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (commerce and labour), Nawab Musharraf Hussain (judicial and legislative), and Syed Nausher Ali (public health and local self-government).

[5] Under Fazlul Huq, the Bengal government used administrative and legal measures to relieve the debt of millions of tenant farmers under the zamindari system of the Permanent Settlement.

The Land Revenue Commission, appointed by the government of Bengal on 5 November 1938 with Sir Francis Floud as chairman, submitted its final report on 21 March 1940.

The resolution called for Muslim-majority provinces in British India to be grouped into "Independent States in which the constituent units shall be autonomous and sovereign".

One interpretation is that the plural spelling of 'states' indicated that Fazlul Huq wanted a separate Muslim-majority state covering Bengal and parts of Assam as early as the 1940s.

The Muslim League leadership, led by Jinnah and his allies, demanded that both the Bengal and Punjab PMs withdraw from the Defence Council.

The focal point of the League's campaign against Fazlul Huq was that he was growing closer to Syama Prasad Mukherjee of the Hindu Mahasabha, who was alleged to be working against the political and religious interests of the Muslims.

A devastating cyclone and tidal waves whipped the coastal region on 26 October but relief efforts were hindered due to bureaucratic interference.

Another severe strain on the administration was caused when the Congress launched the Quit India movement on 9 August, which was followed by British political repression.

To enforce his writ, the governor asked Fazlul Huq to sign a prepared letter of resignation on 28 March 1943 and assigned himself the responsibility of administering the province under the provision of Section 92 of the constitution.

Fazlul Huq bitterly criticised John Herbert for forcing his resignation and imposing Governor's rule, calling it "an outrage on the Constitution".

[4] Fazlul Huq paraphrased the ancient Greek philosopher Plutarch, stating "The mills of God grind slowly but they grind exceeding small; and sooner perhaps than Sir John Herbert or the supporters of the Ministers may think, Nemesis will overtake those who [Nazimuddin] had rushed to office not to serve the people but to enjoy the sweets of power emoluments".

[4] Fazlul Huq's party won significantly fewer seats during the 1946 Indian provincial elections in which the Muslim League led by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy triumphed.

Fazlul Huq was injured during police action against demonstrators demanding that Bengali be made a state language of Pakistan.

[citation needed] Governor General's rule was imposed which ended Fazlul Huq's leadership of the provincial government.

[22] "Someday sooner or later, they will be humbled to dust even; as tyrants and oppressors of humanity have met their doom in the chequered history of mankind.

"[4]"A Budget, whose figures in cold print, creep through the marrow of our bones till we stand aghast at the national calamity with which we are faced.

"[16]"Administrative measures must be suited to the genius and traditions of the people and not fashioned according to the whims and caprices of hardened bureaucrats, to many of whom autocratic ideas are bound up with the very breath of their lives.

During his premiership Bangla Academy was founded and Bengali New Year's Day (Pohela Boishakh) was declared a public holiday.