Mahmud Ali was a Bengali-Assamese politician in British India, in East Bengal/East Pakistan, and then in modern Pakistan. He was the secretary-general of the All-India Muslim League (Assam) with Bhashani as its president. During the Freedom Movement he worked towards making Assam a part of the eastern wing of Pakistan but a referendum was not giving in the province. He later concentrated his efforts to make Sylhet a part of Pakistan and the referendum was a success..After the creation of Pakistan, and after Jinnah and Liaquat passed away, he left the Muslim League as he saw the government drifting away from the needs of the people. He then founded Pakistan's first secular political party the Ganatantri Dal. The Dal demanded equal rights for all citizens regardless of their religion, abolition of feudalism, rights for women, and the demand for Bangla as a national language along with Urdu. He also published a Bangla language newspaper the Nao Belal which played an important role in propagating Bengali rights. The Dal later merged with the United Front and it won the elections defeating the Muslim League in 1954. He was the sole member of the assembly to speak out against the 'One-Unit' scheme which divided Pakistan into two provinces - East and West Pakistan. After Ayub Khan and the bureacracy imposed military rule in 1958 he spent the next decade fighting for the restoration on parliamentary democracy. He also supported Miss Jinnah in the Presidential elections against Ayub. Ali believed that Bengalis were more politically advanced and wanted a united Pakistan where Bengalis would guide the country with their majority and often said that "the western provinces need Bengal politically and Bengal needs the western provinces economically." He did not approve of Mujib's politics but argued for his release after the Fall of Dacca.
Bangla Language and Script
Mahmud Ali was strongly against any effort to impose Arabic as a language in Pakistan, and did not favour any attempt to change or "Islamasize" the language.
I'm of the same opinion. I think it betrays a degree of insecurity and an inferiority complex when speaking in favour of this absurd change. Also, those advocating the adoption of the Arabic/Farsi script are undermining both their culture and heritage, and the tolerant nature of Islam. Do we hear of Indonesians or Malaysians arguing in favour of this?
Another thing I don't understand is this half-baked attempt to adopt something which religion has nothing to do with. I mean why just change the script? Is the language itself not Indo-Aryan? Either way, I think this childish idea should be tossed away.
Arabic has nothing to do with Islam itself.
Lastly, just in case you were wondering, I'm an ethnic Bengali who grew up in Pakistan.