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{{Short description|Fourth and last cabinet of British Bengal}}
{{distinguish|Suhrawardy government}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2026}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}}
{{Infobox government cabinet
| cabinet_name = Ministry of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
| cabinet_type = [[Cabinet of Bengal Province|Cabinet]]
| cabinet_number = [[List of Bengal cabinets|4th]]
| jurisdiction = [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]]
| flag = Flag of British Bengal.svg
| flag_border =
| incumbent = 1946–1947
| image =
| caption =
| date_formed = {{Start date|1946|04|24|df=y}}
| date_dissolved = {{End date|1947|08|13|df=y}}

| governor = [[Frederick Burrows]]
| chief_minister = [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]]

| members_number = 11
| former_members_number = 1
| total_number = 12

| political_party =
{{ubl
| {{Color box|{{party color|All-India Muslim League}}|border=darkgray}} [[All-India Muslim League|AIML]]
| {{Color box|{{party color|Independent (politician)}}|border=darkgray}} [[Independent (politician)|Independent]]
}}

| legislature_status = [[Minority government|Minority]] {{Composition bar|113|250|{{party color|All-India Muslim League}}|background-color=|border border-color=darkgray|width=|per=1}}

| opposition_cabinet = [[First Ghosh ministry|Ghosh I]]
| opposition_party = {{Color box|{{party color|Indian National Congress}}|border=darkgray}} [[Indian National Congress|INC]]
| opposition_leader = [[Kiran Shankar Roy]]

| election = [[1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election|1946]]
| last_election = [[1937 Bengal Legislative Assembly election|1937]]
| legislature_term = [[2nd Bengal Legislative Assembly]]

| budget =
| advice_and_consent1 =
| advice_and_consent2 =

| incoming_formation =
| outgoing_formation =
| predecessor = [[First Nazimuddin ministry|Nazimuddin I]]
| successor = [[Second Nazimuddin ministry|Nazimuddin II]]
}}
The '''Suhrawardy ministry''', the fourth and last cabinet of [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal Province]] in British India, formed on the eve of the [[partition of India]]. It was constituted in 1946 under the leadership of [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]], the leader of the [[Bengal Provincial Muslim League]] (BPML) and the chief minister of Bengal, and lasted until 1947.<ref name=b>{{cite book|chapter=6 The Politics of Exclusion: 1936–46|title=The Defining Moments in Bengal: 1920–1947|first=Sabyasachi|last=Bhattacharya|year=2014|pages=226|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=9780199083039|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198098942.003.0006}}</ref> Following the [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|partition of Bengal]], the ministry was succeeded by the [[First Ghosh ministry]] in the [[West Bengal|western part]] and the [[Second Nazimuddin ministry]] in the [[East Bengal|eastern part]].

== Background ==
In 1943, under the leadership of [[Khawaja Nazimuddin]], the parliamentary leader of the [[Bengal Provincial Muslim League]] (BPML), a branch of the [[All-India Muslim League]] (AIML), a [[First Nazimuddin ministry|provincial cabinet]] was formed in [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal Province]] of British India. Around the same time, the [[Lahore Resolution|Pakistan Resolution]] of the AIML was gaining popularity among the Muslims of the province, and the political party itself was growing in influence. Simultaneously, Nazimuddin's cabinet was increasingly criticized by the opposition for administrative corruption and failure to address the [[Bengal famine of 1943]]. As a result, Nazimuddin's influence within the BPML began to wane, while the influence of [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]] started to rise. Although Nazimuddin's ministry enjoyed support from the British authorities, the party lost a no-confidence motion after losing 21 assembly members in 1945. Consequently, [[Syed Nausher Ali]], the Speaker of the [[Bengal Legislative Assembly]], declared the dissolution of the cabinet after a parliamentary vote. Although the BPML won in the [[1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election]], it failed to secure an absolute majority. Despite attempting to form a coalition cabinet with the Bengal Provincial Congress (BPC), the provincial branch of the [[Indian National Congress]] (INC), the effort was unsuccessful. Eventually, on 24 April 1946, a cabinet was formed under the leadership of Suhrawardy with seven ministers.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=মুসলিম লীগ মন্ত্রিসভা ও সাম্প্রদায়িক রাজনীতি (১৯৪৩-১৯৪৭) : ১৩৫০-এর দুর্ভিক্ষ, ১৯৪৬-এর দাঙ্গা|title=বাংলার বিধানসভার একশো বছর রাজানুগত্য থেকে গণতন্ত্র|language=bn|first=Satya Brata|last=Dutta|year=2002|pages=161–173|publisher=Progressive Publishers|place=Kolkata}}</ref> Later, on 21 November 1946, with the removal of one and the addition of four members, the cabinet was expanded and responsibilities were redistributed.<ref name=য>{{cite thesis|title=A.K. Fazlul Huq and Bengal Politics Between the Two Partitions (1905–1947): Currents and Cross-Currents|first=Dhananjoy|last=Bhattacharya|year=2017|page=277|publisher=[[University of North Bengal]]|place=[[Siliguri]]|url=https://ir.nbu.ac.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/55e54e9d-d575-4fe2-93df-84e39d76ea3e/content|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250601152224/https://ir.nbu.ac.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/55e54e9d-d575-4fe2-93df-84e39d76ea3e/content|archive-date=1 June 2025|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Dissolution ==
In 1947, the INC and the AIML agreed to the [[partition of India]], leading to the creation of the modern states of India and Pakistan. In 20 June of the same year, when an election was held regarding the [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|second partition of Bengal]], the majority of votes in the Bengal Legislative Assembly were in favor of the partition. However, at that time, Suhrawardy's cabinet remained in Calcutta, the capital of Bengal Province. In 27 June, an emergency session of the Working Committee of the BPML decided to establish the capital of the proposed Pakistani Bengal in Dacca.<ref name=ম/> In 3 July, under the leadership of [[Prafulla Chandra Ghosh]], the leader of the BPC, a [[First Ghosh ministry|shadow cabinet]] was formed for the future state of [[West Bengal]].<ref name=ছ/> In 18 July, the [[Indian Independence Act 1947|Indian Independence Act]] was passed in the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] and received royal assent, clearing the way for the partition of Bengal Province into the Indian state of West Bengal and the Pakistani province of [[East Bengal]].<ref name=ম>{{cite book|chapter=অখণ্ড বাংলা গঠনের প্রয়াস ও উপমহাদেশের বিভক্তি, ১৯৪৭|title=স্বাধীন বাংলাদেশের অভ্যুদয়ের ইতিহাস|language=bn|first1=Muntassir|last1=Mamun|first2=Md. Mahbubar|last2=Rahman|pages=49–50|year=2015|orig-year=2014|publisher=Suborna|isbn=9789849069447}}</ref> On 5 August 1947, Suhrawardy lost the parliamentary leadership election of the BPML by 36 votes, and Khawaja Nazimuddin was elected the new leader.<ref>{{cite news|title=পূর্ব্ব-বঙ্গ রাষ্ট্রের লীগ দলপতি বহু ভোটে মিঃ সুরাবর্দ্দীকে পরাজিত করিয়া মিঃ নাজিমুদ্দিন নির্ব্বাচিত|language=bn|page=1|date=6 August 2025|newspaper=[[Jugantar Patrika]]}}</ref> On 15 August 1947, the day after [[Pakistan's independence]], a [[Second Nazimuddin ministry|new cabinet]] was formed in Dacca, the capital of the newly created province of East Bengal, under the leadership of Nazimuddin.<ref>{{cite news|title=হিন্দু-মুশ্লিম সহযোগিতায় ঢাকায় স্বাধীনতা দিবসের উৎসব|language=bn|page=8|date=17 August 1947|newspaper=[[Jugantar Patrika]]}}</ref> On the other hand, following [[India's independence]] on 15 August 1947, the shadow cabinet of West Bengal became the state’s first official government.<ref name=ছ>{{cite journal|title=Role of Dr. Prafulla Chandra Ghosh as Head of the Shadow Ministry and First Ministry of West Bengal (3rd July 1947 - 22nd January 1948) - An Analytical Review.|first=Babulal|last=Bala|volume=10|issue=3|journal=Journal of People's History and Culture|publisher=Garia Society for Studies of Marginal People|place=Kolkata|url=https://gsmp.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/1-1.pdf}}</ref>

== Members ==
The cabinet was composed of the following ministers:<ref>{{cite document|title=Bengal Legislative Assembly Proceedings on Partition of Bengal (The 20th June 1947)|page=VII|orig-year=1947|year=2002|publisher=[[West Bengal Legislative Assembly]]}}</ref><ref name=য/>

{{Cabinet table start| hiderefcol = y | hidepartycol = y}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = Office of the Chief Minister
| minister1 = [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]]
| minister1_termstart = 24 April 1946
| minister1_termend = 13 August 1947
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = Department of Finance, Public Health, and Local Self-Government
| minister1 = [[Mohammad Ali Bogra]]
| minister1_termstart = 24 April 1946
| minister1_termend = 13 August 1947
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = Department of Education
| minister1 = [[Syed Muazzemuddin Hossain]]
| minister1_termstart = 24 April 1946
| minister1_termend = 13 August 1947
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = Department of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries
| minister1 = [[Ahmed Hossain]]
| minister1_termstart = 24 April 1946
| minister1_termend = 13 August 1947
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = Department of Civil Supplies
| minister1 = [[Abdul Gofran]]
| minister1_termstart = 24 April 1946
| minister1_termend = 13 August 1947
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = Department of Cooperation, Loans, and Relief
| minister1 = [[Abul Fazal Muhammad Abdur Rahman]]
| minister1_termstart = 24 April 1946
| minister1_termend = 13 August 1947
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = Department of Commerce, Labour, and Industry
| minister1 = [[Shamsuddin Ahmed (Pakistani politician)|Shamsuddin Ahmed]]
| minister1_termstart = 24 April 1946
| minister1_termend = 13 August 1947
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = Department of Irrigation and Waterways
| minister1 = [[Tarak Nath Mukherjee]]
| minister1_termstart = 21 November 1946
| minister1_termend = 13 August 1947
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = Department of Justice and Legislative Affairs
| minister1 = [[Nagendra Narayan Ray]]
| minister1_termstart = 21 November 1946
| minister1_termend = 13 August 1947
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = Department of Land, Land Revenue, and Prisons
| minister1 = [[Fazlur Rahman (politician, born 1905)|Fazlur Rahman]]
| minister1_termstart = 21 November 1946
| minister1_termend = 13 August 1947
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = Department of Public Works and Housing
| minister1 = [[Dwarikanath Barori]]
| minister1_termstart = 21 November 1946
| minister1_termend = 13 August 1947
}}
{{Cabinet table end}}

== Former members ==
The list of former members of the cabinet is given below:<ref>{{cite document|title=Assembly Proceedings Official Report Bengal Legislative Assembly Second Session, 1946|publisher=Bengal Government Press|page=i}}</ref><ref name=য/>
{{Cabinet table start| hiderefcol = y | hidepartycol = y}}
{{Cabinet table minister
| title = Department of Judicial and Legislative Affairs, and Public Works and Housing
| minister1 = [[Jogendra Nath Mandal]]
| minister1_termstart = 24 April 1946
| minister1_termend = 21 November 1946
}}
{{Cabinet table end}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Bengal Presidency]]
[[Category:Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]]
[[Category:Partition of India]]
[[Category:Cabinets established in 1946]]
[[Category:Cabinets disestablished in 1947]]
[[Category:1946 establishments in British India]]
[[Category:1947 disestablishments in India]]

Suhrawardy ministry - Revision history

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