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Provincial autonomy, decolonization, war and nationalism: Fazlul Huq’s chief ministerial tenure, 1937–1943

ABSTRACT The Government of India Act 1935, the colonial legislation that failed, has received relatively scant scholarly attention. By association, the best-known feature of the Act, a decade-long practice of provincial autonomy has fallen into disregard. Decolonization literature has studied the unravelling of the empire from the centre, overshadowing the significance of a narrative from the provinces. This article studies the working of provincial autonomy in Bengal between its start in 1937 to its first suspension in 1943. By focusing on the two tenures of Bengal’s first elected chief minister Fazlul Huq, now a forgotten figure, and the British Governors he worked with, it offers new ways of understanding how provincial decolonization was shaped by war and nationalism. It also demonstrates how between 1937 and 1943, imperial intent, colonial relations and techniques of governance underwent remarkable changes. The central argument is that the grant of provincial autonomy incapacitated the British to turn back the tide of events that eventually led to India’s decolonization.