East Pakistan Renaissance Society

Organisation

Map of East Pakistan, which later became Bangladesh.

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Independence of Bangladesh
Events

* Partition of Bengal
* Bengali language movement
* Six point movement
* Agartala Conspiracy Case
* Eleven Points Programme
* East Pakistan mass uprising
* Pakistani general election
* Non-cooperation movement
* 7 March Speech
* Operation Searchlight
* Proclamation of Independence

Organisations

* East Pakistan Renaissance Society
* Awami League
* United Front
* East Pakistan Communist Party
* Sarbadaliya Chhatra Sangram Parishad
* Swadhin Bangla Biplobi Parishad
* Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra

Key persons

* Abul Kalam Shamsuddin
* Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury
* Mujibur Rahman Khan
* Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
* Serajul Alam Khan
* Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
* Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani
* Ataur Rahman Khan

Related

* Lahore Resolution
* United Bengal
* Bangladesh Liberation War
* International recognition

Bangladesh portal

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The East Pakistan Renaissance Society was a political organisation formed to articulate and promote culturally and intellectually the idea for a separate Muslim state for Indian Muslims and specifically for the Muslims of Bengal.[1] The organisation's founders and leaders included Abul Kalam Shamsuddin, the society president, Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury and Mujibur Rahman Khan.[1][2][3][4]

## History

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The "Two-Nation Theory", which argued that the Hindus and Muslims of India were not a common nation and could not live together as a nation, had been propagated by Muslim politicians and intellectuals such as Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Choudhary Rahmat Ali and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the president of the All India Muslim League.[5][6] The demand for a separate state for Indian Muslims took definite shape when the All India Muslim League adopted the Lahore Resolution (also known as the Pakistan Resolution) on 23 March 1940. The resolution called for the Muslim-majority provinces of British India to be constituted as separate, independent states – it did not specify a single state.[1]

### Foundation

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At a meeting held on 30 August 1942, at the offices of the Azad newspaper in Kolkata, Bengali Muslim activists decided to form the East Pakistan Renaissance Society as a platform to advocate the idea of a Muslim state on a cultural and intellectual basis. The society held regular weekly meetings where articles would be presented and different issues discussed. Despite the focus on Islam, the meetings were not restricted to Muslims.[4] Manabendranath Roy delivered a speech on Pakistan and Democracy, which highlighted the inevitability of self-rule for Indian Muslims.[4] In September 1944, Mujibur Rahman Khan along with economist M Sadeq, published a booklet, Eastern Pakistan: Its Population, Delimitation and Economics which contained a description of the government, economy, population, geographic boundary and security of a future state of East Pakistan.[4]

The society held its first council at the Islamia College in Kolkata in July 1944. Among those present at the inaugural occasion were Khwaja Nazimuddin, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Hasan Suhrawardy, Nurul Amin, Mohammad Akram Khan, A K Fazlul Huq, Abul Quasem, Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan, Shahadat Hossain, Golam Mostofa, S Wajid Ali, Abu Jafar Shamsuddin, Abul Hussain, Golam Kuddus, Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Gopal Halder.[4]

## Philosophical differences

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The Muslim League and most other advocates of Pakistan had demanded a single state of Pakistan consisting of the British Indian provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (then Northwest Frontier Province), Sindh, Balochistan and Bengal, and sought the Urdu language to be the only official language and lingua franca of Muslims.[1] However, the East Pakistan Renaissance Society not only argued that Muslims were a separate nation from Hindus, it also advocated that the Bengali Muslims were distinct from the Muslims of other parts of India, on an ethnic, cultural and geographical basis.[1][3] Unlike religion, the society argued that ethnicity and cultural differences cannot cross geographic boundaries.[1][3] The society and its supporters in the Bengal Muslim League asserted that Bengali Muslims should constitute an independent state, as an "Eastern Pakistan" rather than part of a single state of Pakistan.[1][7] The society asserted the importance of the Bengali culture and language, which many advocates of Pakistan criticised as being "Hinduised" and "Sanskritised."[1][8]

## Aftermath

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The society dissolved after the partition of India in 1947 which also partitioned Bengal to create the Muslim-majority East Bengal (also known as East Pakistan), which became part of Pakistan; Hindu-majority West Bengal and Assam became part of India. Several of the society's leaders were leading activists in the Bengali language movement (1953–1956), which was a mass struggle in East Pakistan for the recognition of the Bengali language as the second official language of Pakistan, along with Urdu.[1][3]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ian Talbott (1998). Pakistan: A Modern History. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 88–92. ISBN 978-0-312-21606-1.
2. ^ Harun-or-Rashid (2003) [First published 1987]. The foreshadowing of Bangladesh: Bengal Muslim League and Muslim politics, 1906–1947 (Rev. and enl. ed.). University Press. p. 167\. ISBN 978-984-05-1688-9.
3. ^ a b c d Nagendra Kr. Singh (2003). Encyclopaedia of Bangladesh. Anmol Publications Pvt. Ltd. pp. 180–82\. ISBN 978-81-261-1390-3.
4. ^ a b c d e Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir, eds. (2012). "East Pakistan Renaissance Society". Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
5. ^ Robin W. Winks, Alaine M. Low (2001). The Oxford history of the British Empire: Historiography. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-924680-9.
6. ^ Liaquat Ali Khan (1940). Pakistan: The Heart of Asia. Thacker & Co. Ltd. ISBN 978-1-4437-2667-2. `{{cite book}}`: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
7. ^ Harun-or-Rashid (2003) [First published 1987]. The foreshadowing of Bangladesh: Bengal Muslim League and Muslim politics, 1906–1947 (Rev. and enl. ed.). University Press. pp. 170–171\. ISBN 978-984-05-1688-9.
8. ^ Oldenburg, Philip (August 1985). ""A Place Insufficiently Imagined": Language, Belief, and the Pakistan Crisis of 1971". The Journal of Asian Studies. 44 (4): 711–733\. doi:10.2307/2056443. ISSN 0021-9118. JSTOR 2056443. S2CID 145152852.

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Origins of the Bangladeshi Revolution

| Philosophy|

* Bengali Renaissance
* Muslim nationalism in South Asia
* Two-nation theory
* Bengali nationalism
* Bengal studies
* Bangamata
* Joy Bangla

|

Pakistan Movement|

* Partition of Bengal (1905)
* Eastern Bengal and Assam
* All-India Muslim League
* Indian independence movement
* Pakistan Movement
* Lahore Resolution
* United Bengal
* Muslim National Guard
* Direct Action Day
* Noakhali riots
* Partition of India
* Partition of Bengal (1947)

East Pakistan|

* Dominion of Pakistan
* East Bengal
* Pakistan Muslim League
* Objectives Resolution
* All Pakistan Awami Muslim League
* Awami League
* United Front
* Bengali language movement
* One Unit
* East Pakistan
* Constitution of Pakistan of 1956
* 1958 Pakistani coup d'état
* Constitution of Pakistan of 1962

Bengali self-determination|

* Swadhin Bangla Biplobi Parishad
* Six point movement
* Agartala Conspiracy Case
* 1969 uprising in East Pakistan
* 1970 Bhola cyclone
* 1970 Pakistani general election

Declaration of war|

* Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's speech of 7 March
* Non-cooperation movement
* Rodionov message
* Admiral Ahsan Mission
* Operation Searchlight
* Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence

* Combatants
* Campaigns
* Theaters
* Battles
* Events
* Massacres

| Combatants|

| Bangladesh|

* Provisional Government of Bangladesh
* Mukti Bahini
* Bangladesh Army
* K Force
* S Force
* Z Force
* Bangladesh Navy
* Bangladesh Air Force
* Bangladesh Rifles
* Bangladesh Ansar
* Bangladesh Police

* Special Guerrilla Forces
* Gono Bahini
* Mujib Bahini
* Kader Bahini
* Baten Bahini
* Afsar Bahini
* Hemayet Bahini
* Crack Platoon

|

Pakistan|

* Pakistan Armed Forces
* Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines
* Jamaat-e-Islami
* Central Peace Committee
* Razakars
* Al-Badr
* Al-Shams

Indian allies|

* Parliament of India
* Indian Armed Forces
* Army, Navy, Air Force
* Mitro Bahini (Indo-Bangali group)

Campaigns and
theaters

* Pakistan Eastern Command
* Operation Searchlight
* Order of Battle
* Operation Barisal
* Cable 1971
* Sectors in the Bangladesh Liberation War
* Military plans of the Bangladesh Liberation War
* Eastern Command (India)
* Meghna Heli Bridge
* Operation Jackpot
* Mutiny on PNS Mangro in Toulon
* Operation Python
* Operation Trident
* Pakistan Army order of battle, December 1971
* Mitro Bahini Order of Battle December 1971
* Sinking of PNS Ghazi
* East Pakistan Air Operations, 1971
* Operation Chengiz Khan
* Operation Cactus-Lilly

Major battles|

* Battle of Daruin
* Battle of Rangamati-Mahalchari waterway
* Battle of Goalhati
* Battle of Dhalai Outpost
* Battle of Dhalai
* Battle of Ajmiriganj
* Battle of Garibpur
* Battle of Hilli
* Battle of Longewala
* Battle of Basantar
* Battle of Kushtia
* Battle of Boyra
* Battle of Atgram

Other events|

* Blood Telegram
* Bangladesh genocide
* 1971 killing of Bengali intellectuals
* Rape during the Bangladesh Liberation War
* Refugees in India
* Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra
* Shadhin Bangla Football Team
* The Concert for Bangladesh
* Album
* Film

List of massacres|

* 1971 Dhaka University massacre
* Shankharibazar massacre
* Ramna massacre
* Sutrapur massacre
* Jinjira massacre
* Akhira massacre
* Jathibhanga massacre
* Demra massacre
* Chuknagar massacre
* Madhyapara massacre
* Bakhrabad massacre
* Burunga massacre
* Sohagpur massacre
* more

Related conflicts|

* Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
* Indo-Pakistani Naval War of 1971

Leaders

| Bangladesh|

| Military|

* M. A. G. Osmani
* Ziaur Rahman
* Khaled Mosharraf
* K M Shafiullah
* Shafaat Jamil
* A. K. Khandker
* Muhammad Hamidullah Khan
* Matiur Rahman

|

Civilian|

* Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
* Syed Nazrul Islam
* Tajuddin Ahmad
* AHM Qamaruzzaman
* Muhammad Hamidullah Khan
* Serajul Alam Khan
* Dhirendranath Datta
* Kazi Nuruzzaman
* Chitta Ranjan Dutta
* Muhammad Mansur Ali
* Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad
* M. A. Hannan
* Abu Sayeed Chowdhury

Pakistan|

| Military|

* Yahya Khan
* Tikka Khan
* S.M. Ahsan
* A.K. Niazi
* Yaqub Ali Khan
* Mohammad Shariff
* Rao Farman Ali
* A.O. Mitha
* Khadim Hussain
* Mitty Masud
* Ahmad Zamir
* Inamul Haque
* Siddique Salik
* K.M. Arif

|

Civilian|

* Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
* Dr. Abdul Motaleb Malik
* Nurul Amin
* Shah Azizur Rahman
* Ghulam Azam
* Motiur Rahman Nizami
* J.A. Rahim
* Tridev Roy

Indian allies|

| Military|

* Sam Manekshaw
* S. M. Nanda
* P. C. Lal
* Jagjit Singh Aurora
* K. P. Candeth
* Gopal Gurunath Bewoor
* Sourendra Nath Kohli
* Nilakanta Krishnan
* Minoo Merwan Engineer
* Hari Chand Dewan
* Sagat Singh
* T. N. Raina
* Khem Karan Singh
* Sartaj Singh
* Inderjit Singh Gill
* J. F. R. Jacob
* E. C. Kuruvila
* S. H. Sarma

|

Civilian|

* Indira Gandhi
* V. V. Giri
* Gopal Swarup Pathak
* Rameshwar Kao
* Swaran Singh
* Jagjivan Ram
* Dilip Mahalanabis

Aftermath

* Pakistani Instrument of Surrender
* International recognition of Bangladesh
* Simla Agreement
* Delhi Agreement
* Stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh
* Hamoodur Rahman Commission
* War Report
* 1971 Prisoners of War Investigation
* Bangladeshi nationalism
* Bangladesh–India relations
* Indira-Mujib Treaty
* 2001 Indo-Bangla skirmishes
* Deaths along the Bangladesh–India border
* Bangladesh–Pakistan relations
* 2013 Pakistan Embassy siege
* 2015 Expulsion of Pakistani diplomats from Dhaka

* Related topics
* Categories

| Commemoration|

| Monuments and memorials|

* National Martyrs' Memorial
* Martyred Intellectuals Memorial
* Swadhinata Stambha
* Liberation War Memorial Trust
* Liberation War Museum
* Bangladesh Police Liberation War Museum
* Aparajeyo Bangla
* Shabash Bangladesh

|

Anniversaries|

* Bengali Genocide Remembrance Day
* Independence Day (Bangladesh)
* Armed Forces Day (Bangladesh)
* Martyred Intellectuals Day
* Victory day of Bangladesh
* Vijay Diwas (India)

Decorations and depictions|

* Muktijuddho e-Archive
* Artistic depictions
* Awards and decorations

Trials|

* 2013 Shahbag protests
* Movement demanding trial of war criminals
* International Crimes Tribunal
* timeline
* War Crimes Fact Finding Committee

Categories|

* Liberation War
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* Films
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* Battles
* Peoples
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Pakistan Movement

History of Pakistan (timeline: 1947–present)

History|

* East India Company
* Indian Rebellion of 1857
* Deobandi movement
* Barelvi movement
* Aligarh Movement
* Urdu movement
* Partition of Bengal
* Lucknow Pact
* Khilafat Movement
* Shuddhi movement
* Nehru Report
* Fourteen Points of Jinnah
* Allahabad Address
* Now or Never pamphlet
* World War II
* Two-nation theory
* Round Table Conferences
* Lahore Resolution
* Direct Action Day
* Muslim nationalism in South Asia
* Cabinet Mission
* Indian Independence Act
* Partition of India
* Partition of Bengal
* Partition of Punjab
* Radcliffe Line
* Durand Line
* Objectives Resolution
* Independence
* Monarchy of Pakistan
* Pakistan Day
* Kashmir conflict
* National symbols
* Constitution of Pakistan
* British influence
* Protestant Islam

The leaders of the Muslim League, 1940. Jinnah is seated at centre.
Flag of Pakistan
State emblem of Pakistan

Organisations|

* Muslim League
* Punjab Branch
* Bengal Branch
* Unionist
* Student Federations
* Khaksar movement
* Renaissance Society
* Philosophical Congress
* Print media
* Dawn
* Daily Jang
* Nawa-i-waqt
* Contractor

Leaders|

* Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
* Aga Khan III
* Khwaja Salimullah (Nawab Salimullah)
* Syed Ameer Ali
* Mohammad Ali Jauhar
* Maulana Shaukat Ali
* Hakim Ajmal Khan
* Muhammad Iqbal
* Muhammad Ali Jinnah
* Fatima Jinnah
* Liaquat Ali Khan
* Sadeq Mohammad Khan V
* Mian Muhammad Shafi
* Mian Abdul Rashid
* Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk Kamboh
* Mohsin-ul-Mulk
* Bahadur Yar Jung
* Baba-e-Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haq
* Abdul Qayyum Khan
* Abdur Rab Nishtar
* Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman
* Choudhry Rahmat Ali
* A. K. Fazlul Huq
* Jamaat Ali Shah
* G. M. Syed
* Ghazanfar Ali Khan
* Mir Jaffar Khan Jamali
* Ghulam Bhik Nairang
* Hasrat Mohani
* Nawab Mohammad Ismail Khan
* Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
* Jogendra Nath Mandal
* K. H. Khurshid
* Khawaja Nazimuddin
* Mahmud Husain
* Mohammad Amir Ahmed Khan (Raja Saheb of Mahmudabad)
* Muhammad Zafarullah Khan
* Qazi Muhammad Isa
* Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan
* Ashraf Ali Thanwi
* Shabbir Ahmad Usmani
* Zafar Ali Khan
* more

Activists|

* Hamid Nizami
* Abdullah Haroon
* Yusuf Haroon
* Mahmoud Haroon
* Altaf Husain
* Adamjee Haji Dawood
* Muhammad Shafi
* Zafar Ahmad Usmani
* Abul Hassan Ispahani
* Ahmed Ali Lahori
* Malik Barkat Ali
* Aslam Khattak
* Yusuf Khattak
* Mian Iftikharuddin
* M.A. Zuberi
* Shahnawaz Khan Mamdot
* Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot
* Sikandar Hayat Khan
* Shaukat Hayat Khan
* Muhammad Asad
* Ziauddin Ahmad
* Abu Bakr Ahmad Haleem
* Maulana Ghulam Rasool Mehr
* Hakeem Muhammad Saeed
* Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas
* Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan
* Sardar Ibrahim Khan
* Fida Mohammad Khan
* Sheikh Sir Abdul Qadir
* M. M. Sharif
* Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum
* Jalaludin Abdur Rahim
* Z. A. Suleri
* G. Allana
* Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi
* Jalal Baba of NWFP
* Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi
* Karam Shah al-Azhari
* Amin ul-Hasanat (Pir of Manki Sharif)
* Syed Wajid Ali
* Hafeez Jalandhari
* Jahanara Shahnawaz
* Lady Abdullah Haroon
* Muhammad Ismail Zabeeh
* Fatima Begum
* Naseer Ahmad Malhi
* Ahmed Saeed Nagi
* Niaz Ali Khan
* Amir Habibullah Khan Saadi
* Habib Rahimtoola
* Sharif al Mujahid
* Fatima Sughra Begum
* Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi
* Viqar-un-Nisa Noon
* Amir Abdullah Khan Rokhri
* Abdul Hamid Qadri Badayuni
* Sardar Aurang Zeb Khan
* Abdullah Ropari
* Muhammad Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti
* more

Literature|

* Allahabad Address (Idea of Pakistan)
* Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence
* Notes on Afghanistan and Baluchistan
* Pakistan: A Personal History
* The Myth of Independence
* Pakistan: A Hard Country
* Pakistan Declaration (Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever?)
* Causes of Indian Mutiny of 1857

Architecture|

* Minar-e-Pakistan
* Bab-e-Pakistan
* Pakistan Monument
* Mazar-e-Quaid
* Quaid-e-Azam / Ziarat Residency
* Iqbal's Tomb
* Wazir Mansion
* National Library
* Khaliq Dina Hall
* Bab-e-Khyber
* Jinnah Terminal

In Memory|

* Youm-e-Pakistan (23 March)
* Youm-e-Dastur (10 April)
* Youm-e-Takbir (28 May)
* Youm-e-Azadi (14 August)
* Youm-e-Difah (6 September)
* Youm-e-Tasees (24 October)
* Youm-e-Iqbal (9 November)
* Youm-e-Viladat (25 December)

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