 | ||
Muslim National Guard (Bengali: মুসলিম ন্যাশনাল গার্ড) also known as the Muslim League National Guard was a quasi-military associated to the All-India Muslim League that actively took part in the Pakistan movement. In East Bengal, the Muslim National Guard was popularly known as the Azrail Bahini.
Contents
Foundation
The Muslim National Guard was founded in the United Provinces in 1931, apparently in reaction to the foundation of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. 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.
Revival
The Muslim National Guard was revived at a meeting of the Committee of Action of the Muslim League held at Lahore in 1944. The organization was revamped in all the provinces of British India.
In Bengal, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, at the inauguration of a training center in 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 with 100,000 volunteers and became the Salar-i-Zilla or the commander-in-chief of the district.
Role in Partition violence
On 24 January 1946, the Coalition Government declared both the Muslim National Guard and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh illegal organizations. 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 Muslim League. 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 A.M. in the morning. During the violence in the Punjab, the Muslim National Guards worked closely with the Khaksars and the Ahrars.
Criticism
Evan Meredith Jenkins, the last British Governor of the Punjab compared the Muslim National Guard to Nazi storm troopers. Historian Rakesh Batabyal draws parallels between fascist methods and the creation of paramilitary forces such as the Muslim National Guard. He observes that Juan José Linz's analysis of fascist organizations applies: elected political parties using violence against opponents instead of political campaigning was a tragic innovation.