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{{Short description|Paramilitary organization in the Indian subcontinent}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
The '''Muslim League National Guard''',{{sfnp|Hansen, The Punjab 1937-47 – A Case of Genocide?|2003|p=95}} also called '''Muslim National Guard''',{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} was a quasi-military organization, associated [[All-India Muslim League]] that took part in the [[Pakistan Movement]]. It actively took part in violence that ensued during the [[Partition of India]].

In [[East Bengal]], the Muslim National Guard was popularly known as the ''Azrail Bahini''.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}}

== History ==

===Foundation===
[[File:Muslim National Guard Identity Card.jpg|thumb|A Muslim National Guard Identity Card issued in Karachi in 1950.]]
The Muslim National Guard was founded in the [[United Provinces of British India|United Provinces]] in 1931. The stated goal of the organization was to organize the Muslim youths in order to cultivate among them a spirit of tolerance, sacrifice and discipline.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

===Revival===
The Muslim National Guard was revived at a meeting of the Committee of Action of the [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]] held at [[Lahore]] in 1944.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} The goals were to strengthen the social and physical development of Muslims and to create a spirit of self-sacrifice and service. A uniform for the guards was created, turning it into a quasi-military organisation.{{sfnp|Hansen, The Punjab 1937-47 – A Case of Genocide?|2003|p=95}} The organization was revamped in all the provinces of [[British India]].{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

By the end of 1946, the MLNG had 22,000 members. But lagged behind its Hindu counterpart, the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]], which had twice as many. In Punjab, it had to also reckon with the Sikh force, ''Akal Fauj''.{{sfnp|Ahmed, The Punjab Bloodied|2012|loc=Chapter 4}}

== Presence throughout the Regions ==
=== Punjab ===
{{expand section|date=January 2021}}

=== Bengal and Bihar ===
In [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]], at the inauguration of a training center in [[Faridpur District|Faridpur]], stated that those who were getting training at the center would act as the soldiers for the achievement of [[Pakistan]] and would save the Muslims from enemy attacks. In 1946, [[Abdul Monem Khan]] organized the Muslim National Guard in [[Mymensingh district|Mymensingh]] with 100,000 volunteers and became the ''Salar-i-Zilla'' or the commander-in-chief of the district.<ref>{{cite book |last=Salam |first=Muhammad Abdus |year=2012 |chapter=Khan, Abdul Monem |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Khan,_Abdul_Monem |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>

The members of the National Guard wore distinctive green uniforms with green hats and carried green flags.<ref name="Chakrabarty2004">{{cite book |last=Chakrabarty |first=Bidyut |year=2004 |title=The Partition of Bengal and Assam, 1932-1947: Contour of Freedom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YRyAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA99 |publisher=Routledge |page=99 |isbn=978-1-134-33275-5}}</ref>

====Role in Partition violence====
{{see also|Noakhali riots}}
On 24 January 1946, the Coalition Government declared both the Muslim National Guard and the [[Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh]] illegal organizations.{{citation needed|date=February 2017}} The private armies were considered a menace to the State and hence won't be tolerated. Ghazarfar Ali opposed the Government decision contending that a ban on the Muslim National Guard was a ban on the most important activities of the [[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]].<ref name="talib50">{{cite book |title=Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947 |editor-last=Talib |editor-first=S. Gurbachan Singh |orig-year=1950 |year=1991 |publisher=Voice of India |location=New Delhi |page=50 }}</ref> On 14 August 1946, two days before the [[Direct Action Day]] started in [[Kolkata]], the members of the Muslim National Guards were called upon to assemble at the Muslim Institute at 8:30{{nbsp}}a.m.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Sickle & the Crescent: Communists, Muslim League and India's Partition |last1=Sanyal |first1=Sunanda |last2=Basu |first2= Soumya |year=2011 |publisher=Frontpage Publications |location=London |isbn=978-81-908841-6-7 |page=4 }}</ref> During the violence in the Punjab, the Muslim National Guards worked closely with the [[Khaksars]] and the Ahrars.<ref name="talib141">{{cite book |title=Muslim League Attack on Sikhs and Hindus in the Punjab 1947 |editor-last=Talib |editor-first=S. Gurbachan Singh |orig-year=1950 |year=1991 |publisher=Voice of India |location=New Delhi |page=141 }}</ref>

== Criticism ==
[[Evan Meredith Jenkins]], the last British Governor of the Punjab compared the Muslim National Guard to Nazi [[Sturmabteilung|storm troopers]].<ref name="bbb44">{{cite book|last=Biswas|first=Bipad Bhanjan|title=Bharat Bibhajan: Jogendranath O Dr. Ambedkar|year=2003|language=bn|page=44}}</ref> Historian Rakesh Batabyal draws parallels between fascist methods and the creation of paramilitary forces such as the Muslim National Guard. He observes that [[Juan Linz|Juan José Linz]]'s analysis of fascist organizations applies: elected political parties using violence against opponents instead of political campaigning was a tragic innovation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Batabyal |first=Rakesh |date=2005 |title=Communalism in Bengal: From Famine to Noakhali, 1943-47 |location=New Delhi |publisher=Sage Publications |pages=385–386 |isbn=81-7829-471-0 |quote=Communalism strongly resemble[s] Fascist ideology and methods. These included the creation of paramilitary forces, such as the Muslim National Guards and the Hindustan National Guard ... What Linz writes about Fascist organizations to an extent was true of these organizations. He says: 'The discovery of the parliamentary political organisation ready to use violence against its opponents, rather than electioneering or conspiring, was a tragic innovation ...' (Juan J. Linz, 'Comparative Study of Fascism', in Walter Laqueur ed., ''Fascism'', p.15.)}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[National Guard of Pakistan]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{citation |last=Ahmed |first=Ishtiaq |year=2012 |title=The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed: Unravelling the 1947 Tragedy through Secret British Reports and First-Person Accounts |publisher=OUP Pakistan|isbn=978-0-19-906470-0 |ref={{sfnref|Ahmed, The Punjab Bloodied|2012}} }}
* {{citation |first=Anders Bjørn |last=Hansen |chapter=The Punjab 1937-47 – A Case of Genocide? |editor=Steven L. B. Jensen |title=Genocide: Cases, Comparisons and Contemporary Debates |publisher=Danish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies |year=2003 |pages=83–122 |chapter-url=https://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/ebooks/files/dchf_genocide.pdf#page=83 |isbn=978-87-989305-0-1 |ref={{sfnref|Hansen, The Punjab 1937-47 – A Case of Genocide?|2003}}}}

{{IslamismSA}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Muslim League]]
[[Category:Military wings of political parties]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1931]]
[[Category:Paramilitary organisations based in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Pakistan Movement]]

Muslim National Guard - Revision history

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