Pakistan Socialist Party
Encyclopedia
The Pakistan Socialist Party was a political party
in Pakistan
. It was formed out of the branches of the India
n Socialist Party
in the areas ceded to the new state of Pakistan. The PSP failed to make any political breakthrough in Pakistani politics. Being a secular socialist
party, which had strongly opposed the creation of the state Pakistan, the PSP found itself politically isolated and with little mass appeal. The party was labelled as traitors and kafir
s by its opponents. The PSP found it difficult to compete with the Islamic socialism
that Liaquat Ali Khan
professed to in 1949.
As of 1956, the party claimed that have 3,000 members. A more realistic account, however, would lie somewhere around 1,250. PSP was a member of the Asian Socialist Conference
. The PSP youth wing was called 'Pakistan Socialist Party Youth', which was recognised by the International Union of Socialist Youth
as a 'co-operating organisation'.
, wanted to retain its organization in the areas that were to become parts of Pakistan. A Socialist Party convention in Ludhiana held in July 1947 decided that an autonomous party organization would be formed in Pakistan. Prem Bhasin, a Rawalpindi
Hindu member of the party National Executive, was designated to organize the party structure in Pakistan. Mobarak Sagher, another National Executive member who was imprisoned at the time, was designated to organize the party in the North-West.
Once Partition, and the communal violence it brought along, was a fact the idea of a united Indo-Pakistani party was abandoned. The majority of party members in West Pakistan
, including Prem Bhasin, fled to India. The Socialist Party had few Muslim members before Partition, and when many Hindu cadres left Pakistan it effectively drained the party of much of its organizational capacity.
Sagher was released from jail in September 1947, and was sent to Lahore
. In November 1947 he convened a conference in Rawalpindi
, which attracted around fifty participants. The conference decided to break the links to the Indian Socialist Party and that socialists in Pakistan would work to form an independent party of their own. The conference resolved that the goal of the party was to transform Pakistan into a democratic and socialist republic. On the question of Kashmir
, the conference called for a referendum to decide the future of the area. Furthermore, the Rawalpindi meeting stated that the Pakistani socialists would advocate Kashmiri integration with Pakistan ahead of such a plebiscite. The declaration on Kashmir illustrated the definitive break with the Indian Socialist Party, and the issue would remain a bone of contention between the Indian and Pakistani socialists.
The Rawalpindi meeting appointed a board which would oversee the preparations for the foundation of the new political party. Mohamed Yusuf Khan was the convener of the board. Other board members were Mobarak Sagher, Munshi Ahmad Din, Siddique Lodhi and Amir Qalam Khan. In December 1947 the board held a meeting in Lahore, at which it was decided to convene a founding conference of the party on January 29–31, 1948, in Karachi
. Moreover, the board decided to publish Socialist Weekly (a continuation of Sindhi Socialist Weekly) as the party organ. The Urdu
-language Socialist Weekly was published from Karachi. It had a circulation of around 2,500.
The Executive didn't last long, though. Two months later, at Munshin Ahmad Din was elected to the Executive of the Indian Socialist Party at its national conference in Nasik. After the Nasik conference, he didn't return to Pakistan. Soon afterwards, Sinha left Pakistan for India. In a short span, the Executive suffered yet another defection, as Lodhi resigned due to ill health. This left only two members of the original Executive, Khan and Sagher. Khan became general secretary and Sagher took the combined offices of secretary, treasurer and editor of the party organ. Two additional persons, Syed Mohammad Yusuf Rizvi and Khwaja Zahoor Din, were inducted in the Executive. But the leadership of the party was virtually limited to Khan and Sagher.
, and a party member was elected secretary of the organisation. Finally, the PSP was able to capture the Pakistan Trade Union Federation from the communists
in 1951. Mobarak Sagher became President of PTUF and Khan Vice-President. Once in control of PTUF, the socialists renamed the organisation as Pakistan Mazdoor Federation and disaffiliated the organisation from the World Federation of Trade Unions
. The communists moved to reconstitute the PTUF again.
, the party membership was predominately Hindu. In March 1950, during the language riots, the party office in Dacca was attacked by a mob. The office secretary was killed. In its aftermath, around 300 party members left East Pakistan for India. Amongst those who remained in East Pakistan, several were jailed by Pakistani authorities.
Just ahead of the 1954 elections to the East Bengal Assembly, the jailed party members from East Pakistan were released. The party contested the elections as part of the United Front
. Four party members were elected to the Assembly. Three of them were elected from seats reserved for religious minorities, contesting as part of the Minorities United Front. The three Hindu legislators elected were Maharaj Trilok Nath Chakravarty, Pulin De and Deben Ghosh. One Muslim party member, Moulana Altaf Hussain, was elected on an Awami League ticket.
Whilst the electoral fortunes of the party in East Pakistan was highly dependent on the reservations for minority communities, the party politically opposed communal reservation of assembly seats.
, who had just been released from jail, assisted the conference. The conference decided, along the line of the shifts in the Indian party, to open party membership for anyone who paid the membership fee. This reform was intended to increase the party membership, but in West Pakistan the few newcomers were generally communist infiltrators who were soon expelled. In East Pakistan, the open membership policy was never really implemented.
The running of an all-Pakistan party provided enormous logistical challenges. The Executive Committee could only rarely meet. Effectively a political gap between West and East Pakistani wings of the party grew. In East Pakistan, the party supported the Awami League-led coalition government formed in East Pakistan in 1954. But the West Pakistani socialists opposed an Awami League-led coalition government at the centre.
Other divisions also emerged in the party. In East Pakistan the party was divided along the Hindu-Muslim divide. In West Pakistan, Sagher and Khan clashed with each other. In the end, Mohammed Yusuf Khan was expelled from the party in February 1957. In 1958, all political parties were banned in Pakistan.
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. It was formed out of the branches of the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Socialist Party
Socialist Party (India)
Socialist Party has been the name of several political parties in India, all of which have their roots in the Congress Socialist Party formed during the freedom struggle...
in the areas ceded to the new state of Pakistan. The PSP failed to make any political breakthrough in Pakistani politics. Being a secular socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
party, which had strongly opposed the creation of the state Pakistan, the PSP found itself politically isolated and with little mass appeal. The party was labelled as traitors and kafir
Kafir
Kafir is an Arabic term used in a Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as "unbeliever" or "disbeliever"...
s by its opponents. The PSP found it difficult to compete with the Islamic socialism
Islamic socialism
Islamic socialism is a term coined by various Muslim leaders to describe a more spiritual form of socialism. Muslim socialists believe that the teachings of the Qur'an and Muhammad are compatible with principles of equality and the redistribution of wealth....
that Liaquat Ali Khan
Liaquat Ali Khan
For other people with the same or similar name, see Liaqat Ali Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan was a Pakistani statesman who became the first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Defence minister and Commonwealth, Kashmir Affairs...
professed to in 1949.
As of 1956, the party claimed that have 3,000 members. A more realistic account, however, would lie somewhere around 1,250. PSP was a member of the Asian Socialist Conference
Asian Socialist Conference
The Asian Socialist Conference was an organization of socialist political parties in Asia, that existed between 1953 and 1960. It had its headquarters in Rangoon, Burma, and the Burmese socialist leader Ba Swe served as the Chairman of the organization. Two Asian Socialist Conferences were held, in...
. The PSP youth wing was called 'Pakistan Socialist Party Youth', which was recognised by the International Union of Socialist Youth
International Union of Socialist Youth
The International Union of Socialist Youth encompasses socialist, social democratic and Labour Party youth organizations from more than 100 states of the world...
as a 'co-operating organisation'.
Background
Initially the Indian Socialist Party, which was fiercely opposed to the Partition of IndiaPartition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, wanted to retain its organization in the areas that were to become parts of Pakistan. A Socialist Party convention in Ludhiana held in July 1947 decided that an autonomous party organization would be formed in Pakistan. Prem Bhasin, a Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
Hindu member of the party National Executive, was designated to organize the party structure in Pakistan. Mobarak Sagher, another National Executive member who was imprisoned at the time, was designated to organize the party in the North-West.
Once Partition, and the communal violence it brought along, was a fact the idea of a united Indo-Pakistani party was abandoned. The majority of party members in West Pakistan
West Pakistan
West Pakistan , common name West-Pakistan , in the period between its establishment on 22 November 1955 to disintegration on December 16, 1971. This period, during which, Pakistan was divided, ended when East-Pakistan was disintegrated and succeeded to become which is now what is known as Bangladesh...
, including Prem Bhasin, fled to India. The Socialist Party had few Muslim members before Partition, and when many Hindu cadres left Pakistan it effectively drained the party of much of its organizational capacity.
Sagher was released from jail in September 1947, and was sent to Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
. In November 1947 he convened a conference in Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
, which attracted around fifty participants. The conference decided to break the links to the Indian Socialist Party and that socialists in Pakistan would work to form an independent party of their own. The conference resolved that the goal of the party was to transform Pakistan into a democratic and socialist republic. On the question of Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
, the conference called for a referendum to decide the future of the area. Furthermore, the Rawalpindi meeting stated that the Pakistani socialists would advocate Kashmiri integration with Pakistan ahead of such a plebiscite. The declaration on Kashmir illustrated the definitive break with the Indian Socialist Party, and the issue would remain a bone of contention between the Indian and Pakistani socialists.
The Rawalpindi meeting appointed a board which would oversee the preparations for the foundation of the new political party. Mohamed Yusuf Khan was the convener of the board. Other board members were Mobarak Sagher, Munshi Ahmad Din, Siddique Lodhi and Amir Qalam Khan. In December 1947 the board held a meeting in Lahore, at which it was decided to convene a founding conference of the party on January 29–31, 1948, in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. Moreover, the board decided to publish Socialist Weekly (a continuation of Sindhi Socialist Weekly) as the party organ. The Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
-language Socialist Weekly was published from Karachi. It had a circulation of around 2,500.
Founding
On January 29, 1948, the founding party conference was opened in Karachi. Around 150 persons attended the conference as delegates, although it wasn't clear who the delegates represented. At one point the conference was interrupted, as police entered the premisses. The conference could be continued after negotiations with the police. The Karachi conference, constituted the Pakistan Socialist Party and elected a National Executive Committee. The Executive consisted of Munshi Ahmad Din (general secretary), Mohammed Yusuf Khan (secretary), Mobarak Sagher (treasurer), Siddique Lodhi and Ram Mohan Sinha.The Executive didn't last long, though. Two months later, at Munshin Ahmad Din was elected to the Executive of the Indian Socialist Party at its national conference in Nasik. After the Nasik conference, he didn't return to Pakistan. Soon afterwards, Sinha left Pakistan for India. In a short span, the Executive suffered yet another defection, as Lodhi resigned due to ill health. This left only two members of the original Executive, Khan and Sagher. Khan became general secretary and Sagher took the combined offices of secretary, treasurer and editor of the party organ. Two additional persons, Syed Mohammad Yusuf Rizvi and Khwaja Zahoor Din, were inducted in the Executive. But the leadership of the party was virtually limited to Khan and Sagher.
West Pakistan
In West Pakistan, the party did not contest Assembly elections. It did have some impact in mass organisations, though. The Punjab Pind Committee was a front of the party. The party also managed to gain some influence in the Sindh Hari CommitteeSindh Hari Committee
The Sindh Hari Committee was a leftist and Sindhi nationalist political organization in Sindh, Pakistan that sought to promote the interests of the haris of Sindh. It was founded in 1930 by G. M. Syed. In 1947, Hyder Bux Jatoi took over as president of the committee until his death in 1970. In...
, and a party member was elected secretary of the organisation. Finally, the PSP was able to capture the Pakistan Trade Union Federation from the communists
Communist Party of Pakistan
The Communist Party of Pakistan is a communist party affiliated with Communist Party of the Russia. Before the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the party had long association and ties with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ....
in 1951. Mobarak Sagher became President of PTUF and Khan Vice-President. Once in control of PTUF, the socialists renamed the organisation as Pakistan Mazdoor Federation and disaffiliated the organisation from the World Federation of Trade Unions
World Federation of Trade Unions
The World Federation of Trade Unions was established in 1945 to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions. Its mission was to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...
. The communists moved to reconstitute the PTUF again.
East Pakistan
In East PakistanEast Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
, the party membership was predominately Hindu. In March 1950, during the language riots, the party office in Dacca was attacked by a mob. The office secretary was killed. In its aftermath, around 300 party members left East Pakistan for India. Amongst those who remained in East Pakistan, several were jailed by Pakistani authorities.
Just ahead of the 1954 elections to the East Bengal Assembly, the jailed party members from East Pakistan were released. The party contested the elections as part of the United Front
United Front (East Pakistan)
The United Front was a coalition of mainly political parties from East Pakistan, organized and led by A. K. Fazlul Huq, Maulana Bhashani and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy of the Awami League. The coalition demanded greater provincial autonomy, the United Front had claimed during their 1954 election...
. Four party members were elected to the Assembly. Three of them were elected from seats reserved for religious minorities, contesting as part of the Minorities United Front. The three Hindu legislators elected were Maharaj Trilok Nath Chakravarty, Pulin De and Deben Ghosh. One Muslim party member, Moulana Altaf Hussain, was elected on an Awami League ticket.
Whilst the electoral fortunes of the party in East Pakistan was highly dependent on the reservations for minority communities, the party politically opposed communal reservation of assembly seats.
Decline
The party was able to hold a second national conference in April 1954. Khan Abdul Ghaffar KhanKhan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was an Afghan, Pashtun political and spiritual leader known for his non-violent opposition to British Rule in India...
, who had just been released from jail, assisted the conference. The conference decided, along the line of the shifts in the Indian party, to open party membership for anyone who paid the membership fee. This reform was intended to increase the party membership, but in West Pakistan the few newcomers were generally communist infiltrators who were soon expelled. In East Pakistan, the open membership policy was never really implemented.
The running of an all-Pakistan party provided enormous logistical challenges. The Executive Committee could only rarely meet. Effectively a political gap between West and East Pakistani wings of the party grew. In East Pakistan, the party supported the Awami League-led coalition government formed in East Pakistan in 1954. But the West Pakistani socialists opposed an Awami League-led coalition government at the centre.
Other divisions also emerged in the party. In East Pakistan the party was divided along the Hindu-Muslim divide. In West Pakistan, Sagher and Khan clashed with each other. In the end, Mohammed Yusuf Khan was expelled from the party in February 1957. In 1958, all political parties were banned in Pakistan.