Syed Mir Nisar Ali, who came to be known as Titu Mir, was a follower of Syed Ahmed. He was born in 1782. He organized Muslim farmers against oppressive Hindu landlords in Bengal. He advised farmers to refuse to pay beard tax. Titu Mir set up his own rule and gathered a small army. Titu Mir was killed by the British in 1831. Titu Mir group was known as Hajjis.
While assuming charge as Prime Minister, Muhammad Ali Bogra declared that the formulation of the Constitution was his main target. He worked hard on this project and within six months of assuming power, came out with a constitutional formula. His constitutional proposal, known as the Bogra Formula, was presented before the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on October 7, 1953.
The plan consisted of a Bicameral Legislature with equal representation for all the fiveprovinces of the country in the Upper House. A total of 50 seats were reserved for the Upper House. The 300 seats for the Lower House were to be allocated to the provinces on the basis of proportionate representation. 165 seats were reserved for East Pakistan, 75 for Punjab,24 for Sindh,24 for NWFP tribal areas, and the states located in NWFP, and 17 for Baluchistan, Baluchistan States Union, Bhawalpur and Karachi.
In this way, East Pakistan was given more seats in the Lower House than the combined number of seats reserved for the federal capital, the four provinces, and the princely states of the Western Wing. So in all, both the wings were to have 175 seats each in the two houses of the Legislative Assembly. Both the houses were given equal power, and in case of a conflict between the two houses, the issue was to be presented before a joint session.
In order to prevent permanent domination by any wing, a provision was made that if the head of the state was from West Pakistan, the Prime Minister was to be from East Pakistan, and vice versa. The two houses of the Legislative Assembly formed the Electoral College for the presidential elections and the President was to be elected for a term of 5 years. In place of the Board of Ulema, the Supreme Court was given the power to decide if a law was in accordance with the basic teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah or not.
Unlike the two reports of the Basic Principles Committee, the Bogra Formula was appreciated by different sections of the society. There was great enthusiasm amongst the masses as they considered it as a plan that could bridge the gulf between the two wings of Pakistan and would act as a source of unity for the country. The proposal was discussed in the Constituent Assembly for 13 days, and a committee was set to draft the constitution on November 14, 1953. However, before the constitution could be finalized, the Assembly was dissolved by Ghulam Muhammad, the then Governor-General of Pakistan.
