Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
(1917-1975)
|
The
sovereign and independent People's Republic of Bangladesh,
as it stands today, is indebted to Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman for his outstanding role. He served
as the ethos that shaped a long chapter of the history
and aspirations of his people. |
 |
He rejuvenated them with the indomitable and unbending spirit
of what he described as Bengalee Nationalism, charged them
with courage, valour, resilience and unity and triggered
off a people's struggle against the colonial attitude of
the Pakistani rulers. His attachment with his people was
deep and abiding. The chronology of the events of his life
was the turning point in the history of the nation.
He first fought against the British colonial overlords and
then directed his wrath against the then Pakistani neocolonialists.
Stage by stage he prepared his people for their eventual
destination. He was in the forefront of mass movements.
From his imprisonment in 1949 he gave active support to
the formation of the first mass-based opposition political
party, the Awami League, under the leadership of Maulana
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani, which subsequently spearheaded
the struggle for independence. In the 1954 provincial elections,
the Bengalees overwhelmingly voted the Awami League-led
United Front to power. The victory was, however, short-lived.
In order to maintain their sway and dominance, the rulers
in the western wing of Pakistan through coercive means,
imposed military rule in 1958. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and
other nationalist leaders put up stiff resistance against
it and were detained for years together. In 1966 he gave
his famous 6-Point Formula seeking autonomy for East Pakistan.
People rallied round him and a strong mass movement was
built up in the country. In a futile bid to quell the movement,
Sheikh Mujib was hauled back into jail and subsequently
a charge of secession and high treason was brought against
him. It was known as the infamous Agartala Conspiracy Case.
Sensing
the ulterior motive of Pakistani Military Junta the people
stood in defiance and, the mass upsurge that followed in
1969 under the leadership of Maulana Bhasani washed away
their very edifice. Sheikh Mujib emerged stronger than before
and in the elections of 1970 his party had a landslide victory
capturing 167 out of 169 parliamentary seats in the fray.
When the Pakistani rulers refused to honour the mandate
of the people and transfer power to him as their lawful
leader, on March 7, 1971, he asked the people to get ready
for the impending independence struggle. The marauding Pakistani
troops cracked down on the unarmed people of Bangladesh
(then East Pakistan) on the night of March 25, 1971.
A
provisional revolutionary government was formed on April
17, 1971 in Mujibnagar, the temporary capital, with Sheikh
Mujib as the President in absentia. The people of Bangladesh
organised one of the most effective guerilla wars of modern
time. The nine-month-long liberation war, which cost three
million lives, was the most glorious chapter of gallantry
and patriotism in the long and checkered history of Bangladesh.
On December 16, 1971 the war came to a victorious end and
independent Bangladesh was born.
On January 10, 1972 Sheikh Mujib came back to his jubilant
people from Pakistani dungeon. To free his people from the
colonial yoke he spent more than sixteen years of his life
in confinement. Responding to the wishes and aspirations
of his people, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took the charge of
the new-born country and directed all his energies towards
the reconstruction and rebuilding of the war-ravaged impoverished
country. His prime goal and long-cherished dream were to
restore the legendary prosperity and glory of Sonar Bangla
or the land of gold, as it was known in the days of yore.
In the early hours of August 15, 1975 Sheikh Mujib was killed
along with his family members except his two daughters Sheikh
Hasina (who later became Prime Minister of Bangladesh) and
Sheikh Rehana who were then staying abroad.
Ziaur Rahman
(1936-1981)
Valiant
freedom fighter Ziaur Rahman was brought to the centre
stage of Bangladesh national life after the political
changeover of 1975 by the masses as well as the soldiers
in an unprecedented popular upsurge.
He
spent no time to restore multi-party democracy and
press freedom denied by Awami League by its introduction
of a draconian but short lived one-party rule in January
1975. In less than three years of power Awami League
safely forgot its pledge as well as mandate to rule
the country through parliamentary democracy and to
suit its exigency swiftly amended the Constitution
of the Republic vesting all powers in the Presidency.
|
 |
Zia
founded BNP and allowed all the other parties including
Awami League to restart functioning.
Strangely
enough, the then Awami League leadership, to monopolise
power, had banned all but a new party they had introduced
at the outset of 1975 in the name of centralised socialist
economy, prohibited criticism as well as publication of
all but four newspapers owned by the government.
Zia's
tolerance of criticism and the vision for a new Bangladesh
added to the popularity he had earned with his historic
declaration of independence from Pakistan soon after the
Pakistan Army cracked down on unarmed Bangladeshis on the
midnight of March 25, 1971, as the country was in a political
turmoil, in the quest for long cherished democracy, following
the elections of the previous year. Zia as a Major in the
army became famous over night. The subsequent Liberation
War made him a hero of the people.
To
the masses Zia remains the visionary who put Bangladesh
on the path of modernity and development. It was he who
infused self confidence in national life. The people of
Bangladesh got the self confidence that they could do something
on their own beginning from the village up to the national
level. The nation got a sense of direction.
'Village
government', the lowest tier of local government he had
introduced with opportunities for the local population to
solve local problems and develop life, still remains a popular
concept across the Bangladesh countryside though the system
was discontinued after him.
He
undertook the construction of the Teesta Barrage, during
his rather short tenure of office, to tackle the problems
of the river Teesta mobilising local resources and depending
on engineering talents within the country to design it.
It was the biggest project of Bangladesh until the country
undertook in early 1994 the construction of Jamuna Bridge.
It only demonstrates Zia's leadership characterised by vision
and determination.
Another example of his farsightedness is demonstrated by
his mooting the very idea of regional cooperation in South
Asia, SAARC, and taking the initiative to launch it when
few could even imagine of such cooperation in a region thriving
in mutual suspicion. Though he did not live long enough
to see the launching of the regional cooperative forum his
vision only disproved the numerous skeptics.
Born
in the district of Bogra, Bangladesh, in 1936, he joined
the Pakistan Army in 1953 and was commissioned in 1955.
During the Indo-Pak war of 1965, Ziaur Rahman, as a Captain,
was commander of a company of the First East Bengal Regiment
and fought gallantly in the Khemkaran sector. He did his
staff college in 1966 and the same year was appointed instructor
at the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul.
Following
the Pakistan Army's crackdown on the unarmed people of Bangladesh
on the night of March 25,1971, he made history as a Major
in the East Bengal Regiment in Chittagong with his declaration
of independence from the make-shift Transmission Centre
of Chittagong Radio at Kalurghat ending the paul of gloom
that had then descended upon the besieged nation.
In
June 1971, during the Liberation War of Bangladesh he raised
the first brigade of the Bangladesh Army which was named
after him 'Z' force. After liberation of Bangladesh, he
commanded the same brigade at Comilla . In June 1972 he
was appointed Deputy Chief of Army Staff. In August 1975
Major General Zia became the Chief of Army Staff.
His
appointment as Deputy Chief Martial law Administrator following
the change of government and popular upsurge of November
7, 1975 brought to him to the centre stage of national life.
Lieutenant General Ziaur Rahman was sworn in as the President
of Bangladesh on 21 April 1977. He was elected the President
of the Republic on 3 June 1978.
Zia
infused dynamism in the foreign policy of Bangladesh. He
also discarded cetralised system of socialism to introduce
moderation and liberalism in national life. This policy
of Zia made Bangladesh an active player in the international
arena.
No
wonder in a short time, under Zia's leadership, Bangladesh
was elected a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council
and to numerous international forums including the Chairman
of the Group of 77. Zia
took initiative to promote international understanding by
resolving bilateral disputes through negotiations and peaceful
means.
He
took the initiative to industrialise Bangladesh and develop
its agricultural system for a better tomorrow for an overpopulated
country. He organised and led a countrywide movement for
tree plantation and pisciculture among many other such gainful
economic programmes for the benefit of the common people
as well as the ecology. President
Zia had keen interest in games and sports and took great
initiatives to develop such positive pursuits in national
life.
He
is survived by his wife, Begum Khaleda Zia and their two
sons and a host of grand children. He was assassinated by
a group of misguided army officers on May 30, 1981 in Chittagong.
But
death could not diminish his popularity. People rallied
and gathered in unprecedented numbers to protest his death.
Over two million gathered in the capital city to bid farewell
to their leader and hero. Never before or since so many
had gathered in the history of Bangladesh to mourn their
leader.
The
road to freedom for the people of Bangladesh was arduous
and tortuous smeared with bloods, toils and sacrifices.
In the contemporary history perhaps no nation paid so dearly
as the people of Bangladesh did for their emancipation.
Begum Khaleda Zia
(1956- )
Thrice
Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Begum Khaleda Zia entered
into politics after the assassination of her husband
President Ziaur Rahman on May 30, 1981. As sudden
as it was, her entry into politics made a tremendous
impact on the national politics of Bangladesh in no
time. |
 |
Third
among her parents' five children, Begum Zia was born on
August 15, 1945. She had her education at Dinajpur Government
Girls' High School and Surendranath College. She was married
to Ziaur Rahman, then a Captain in Pakistan Army, in August
1960.
Khaleda
Zia entered politics not because she wanted to but due to
popular demand as well as repeated persuasions from the
workers and leaders of Bangladesh Nationalist Party [BNP],
to lead the party at a time the country had just fallen
into the hands of an autocratic ruler.
Thus
she was automatically put in the role to lead a nationwide
mass movement for restoration of democracy in Bangladesh.
Nine
years of mass movement participated by many political parties
ended in December 1990 with the downfall of the autocratic
regime of General H. M. Ershad and restoration of democracy
in Bangladesh. In those elections, her party BNP spearheading
a 7-party alliance, was voted to power and she was elected
Bangladesh's first woman Prime Minister.
It
was during her first tenure in office, from 1991 to 1996,
that Bangladesh took to total economic liberalisation and
free market economy - a process that had been initiated
by her husband, President Zia. Her election as Prime Minister
also saw an amendment to the Constitution of the Republic
so that Bangladesh could restore parliamentary system of
government after a lapse of 16 years.
Begum Zia was elected Prime Minister for the second time
after the mid-February elections in 1996. However, the government
was short-lived.
She
was elected Prime Minister, for the third time in October
2001, in a free and fair election conducted by a neutral
and non-partisan caretaker government and monitored by observers
from all over the world. She led a four-party alliance to
win a landslide two-thirds majority in the parliamentary
polls.
From
1996 to 2001 Begum Zia was the Leader of the Opposition.
She led the biggest parliamentary opposition, so far, in
Bangladesh history, winning 116 of a 300-seat parliament.
Whether
in opposition or in power Begum Zia, as a public leader,
enjoys immense personal popularity among the people. She
was elected from as many as five parliamentary seats in
each of the three general elections since 1991.
By
her own admission she never aspired to be in politics. But
once in it, people saw a different Begum Zia, determined
and uncompromising to pursue the cause of democracy and
the masses for which millions rallied round her. Out of
love and affection the masses gave her the title, 'Desh
Netri' [Leader of the Country], though she never uses it.
She
still remains the biggest crowd puller as her public meetings
are thronged by thousands.
During
her first tenure as the Prime Minister she brought about
a major education sector reform making primary education
compulsory, free education for girl students, introduced
the incentive of stipends for girl students as well as food
for education programme. She initiated bold reforms to revitalise
the national economy by accelerating production and growth
in all economic sectors for poverty alleviation.
Begum
Zia's government pursued a dynamic and positive foreign
policy promoting good neighbourly relations, bolstering
regional cooperation in South Asia, strict adherence to
the UN Charter and furthering world peace and amity, peaceful
and negotiated settlement of all international disputes,
renunciation of use of force in international relations.
It was also during her tenure that Bangladesh's involvement
began to increase rapidly in international peacekeeping
efforts under the UN blue helmets.
Sheikh Hasina Wajid
(1947-
)
Former
Prime Minister of Bangaldesh is the daughter of Founder
of the Nation and heads Awami League. Now the Opposition
Leader in Parliament, Sheikh Hasina was born on 28
September, 1947 at Tungipara under Gopalgonj district.
She is the eldest of five children of Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. |
 |
She
graduated from the University of Dhaka in 1973. She was
elected Vice President of the Students Union of Government
Intermediate Girls’ College. She was a member of the
Student league unit of Dhaka University and Secretary of
the Student league unit of Rokeya Hall. She actively participated
in movements since her student life.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman along with the members of his family
was killed on the night of 15 August 1975. Sheikh Hasina
and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana were the only survivors
as they were in West Germany at that time. Later she went
to the United Kingdom. Sheikh Hasina lived in self-exile
in New Delhi. Ending six years in exile, she returned home
finally on 17 May 1981 when Ziaur Rahman was President.
In the parliamentary election held in 1986, she won three
seats. She was elected Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.
Her party took part in the historic mass movement against
autocratic rule in 1990.
Following the election of 1991 Sheikh Hasina became Leader
of the Opposition in the country’s Fifth Parliament.
She also played an active role in the Parliament towards
changing the Presidential system into the Parliamentary
one. Sheikh
Hasina steered a movement for Non-party Caretaker Government.
The provision for Non-Party Caretaker Government was eventually
incorporated in the Constitution in March 1996.
At
the call of Sheikh Hasina a large number of people of all
walks of life expressed solidarity with the movement centering
“Janatar Mancha”. In the parliamentary election,
held on 12 June 1996, Awami League emerged as the majority
party and she assumed the office of the Prime Minister of
Bangladesh on 23 June 1996.
Her government signed the 30- year Ganges Water Sharing
Treaty with India, Peace Accord on Chittagong Hill Tracts
and inaugurated the Bangabandhu Bridge on the River Jamuna.
Sheikh Hasina was conferred on Doctor of Law by the Boston
University of the USA on 6 February 1997 and the Waseda
University of Japan on 4 July 1997, Desikottama (Doctor
of Liberature, honoris causa) by Visva-Bharati University
of West Bengal, India on 28 January 1999. Dhaka University
conferred Honorary ‘Doctor of Laws’ on her on
18 December, 1999.
Sheikh Hasina was awarded UNESCO’s Houphouet-Biogny
Peace Prize for 1998 for the agreement on Chittagong Hill
Tracts.
Sheikh Hasina received Pearl S. Buck Award ’99 on
9 April 2000 by Randolph Macon Women’s College of
USA. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) awarded
her the ‘CERES’ medal on 2 August, 1999. The
All India Peace Council awarded her ‘Mother Teresa
Award’ for 1998 and the Mahatma M K Gandhi Foundation
of Oslo, Norway ‘M. K. Gandhi Award’ for 1998.
She has authored several books. She performed Haj and Umrah
several times. She is married to Dr. Wajed Mia, a nuclear
scientist, having one son and one daughter.
Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani
(1885-1976)
Maulana
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, popularly known as Mozloom
Jananeta - the leader of the oppressed - was born
in 1885 at village Dhangara of the then Sirajganj
Sub-division of Pabna district into a middle-class
family.
|
 |
He
lost his father Haji Sharafat Ali Khan, a small shop owner,
in 1889. His
mother Maziran Nesa Bibi, grand mother, two brothers and
a sister died in an epidemic in 1894. His elementary schooling
took place at a madrasa in Sirajganj.
A saint, Peer Nasiruddin Baghdadi, sent Abdul Hamid, an
orphan, to Deoband Darul Ulum in 1907 for Islamic studies.
There he came in contact with some prominent Islamic scholars
and anti-British freedom fighters including Shaikh-ul-Hind
Mahmudul Hasan. He imbued with their anti-imperialist spirit
and ideology.
On return from Deoband, he taught at a primary school at
Tangail for about two years. At that time he was associated
with an extremist political organisation and worked with
them for about four years.
He became a member of the Indian National Congress in 1917
but mainly worked among the peasants in Pabna-Mymensingh
areas. As an earnest worker of the Congress and the Khilafat
Movement, he was jailed for a short period in 1919.
He actively participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement
of Mahatma Gandhi in 1921 and was imprisoned.
A great admirer of Deshbandhu Chitta Ranjan Das, Abdul Hamid
joined his Swarajya Dal in 1923. But as an unconventional
peasant leader, he went to the root causes of their problems.
At that time the vast majority of the peasantry were at
the mercy of the Hindu Mahajans. He, not as a member of
any organization but as an individual, began movement against
the rural money-lenders. He seized every opportunity that
he found suitable to organize peasants against the oppressors.
Bhasani's popularity and his infernal zeal to fight for
peasants against the colonial rulers and zaminders made
him the most detested man in the ruling class. Following
a tussle with the Moharaja of Santosh, he was extradited
from Mymensingh under the pretext of preserving peace in
the area. In 1926, he was declared persona non grata in
Bengal.
The largest ever peasants rally held in Bengal during British
rule was organized by Maulana Bhasani at Kawakhola Maidan
in Sirajganj district in December 1931. The rally adopted
several strongly worded resolutions in the interest of farmers
including abolition of Zamindari system.
Moving to Assam, he fathered a movement to amend the Line
System to allow Bengali peasants to settle in that province.
Official axe descended on the Maulana in various forms including
frequent imprisonment.
In 1937 Mohammad Ali Jinnah invited him to join Muslim League.
The same year he was elected a member of the Assam Provincial
Constituent Assembly.
Bhasani valiantly fought for the establishment of Pakistan
in the 1940's.But his concept of Pakistan was different
from that of other Muslim League leaders. After the independence
of Pakistan, he was released from the jail in Assam and
returned to East Bengal now Bangladesh..
He was elected a member of the East Pakistan Legislative
Assembly from Tangail in 1947, but resigned after a few
months in early 1948.The
Maulana founded the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League in
June 1949. He was the first president of the party.
He took leading part in the historic Language Movement and
after 21st February 1952 he was arrested and suffered one
year imprisonment.Maulana
Bhasani , A.K. Fazlul Huq and H.S. Suhrawardy formed a united
front against the ruling Muslim league in 1954. The Front
won all the seats save nine in the first ever general elections
in East Bengal.
Bhasani left Awami League and formed the National Awami
Party in July 1957.General
Ayub Khan seized power in a coup in October 1958. With other
opposition leaders, Bhasani was arrested and suffered four
years imprisonment.
The Maulana initiated the mass upsurge in December 1968
against the Ayub regime, as result Ayub handed over power
to General Yahia in March 1969. Bhasani engaged all his
energies in the movement for the independence of Bangladesh
from December 1970. During the War of Liberation in 1971,
he was the chairman of the All Party Consultative Committee
of the Bangladesh Government in exile.
After the independence of Bangladesh, the Maulana played
a great role as an opposition leader in the establishment
of democratic rule in the country. Contribution of Bhasani
in the field of education is immense. Althrough his life,
he was active in establishment of educational institutions
such as moktabs, schools and colleges in the then provinces
of Bengal and Assam of British India.
He established at Santosh in Tangail, on a campus of over
800 acres of land, a number of institutions including a
primary school for boys and girls, a high school for girls,
a high school for boys and intermediate technical college
for boys and girls, a school of Talimat-e-Quran, an orphanage
and several vocational training units.
Immediately before the Liberation War, Bhasani established
Santosh Islamic University in 1970. But he did not have
time and resource to implement his dream of establishment
of a full-fledged university before his death.
The Maulana led historic Farakka March in May 1976. After
a few days he was admitted to PG Hospital. The medical board
advised him to send him abroad and he left Dhaka for London
on August 14. He was admitted to St Peters Hospital where
he was operated upon on August 27. The Maulana returned
home from London on September 12.
He addressed a conference of Khoda-i-Khidmatgar at Santosh
on November 13. After the conference, the same day he was
rush to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
The great leader breathed his last at 8:20 BST on November
17, 1976 at DMCH. His mortal remains was buried at Santosh
with full state honour.
Prof. A Q M Badruddoza Choudhury
(1932- )
A
renowned physician by profession, Prof. A Q M Badruddoza
Choudhury, the second son of late Kafil Uddin Choudhury
(several times minister in the then East Pakistan and an
architect of the United Front), had his education in St.
Gregory High School, Dhaka College, Dhaka Medical College
and University of Wales in U.K. He received his Post Graduate
Medical Training in London, Cardiff and Edinburg.
Prof. Choudhury, who was althrough a brilliant student,
secured second position in the Matriculation Examination
and first position in MBBS (Medicine) Examination.
He did his M R C P from Royal College of Physicians at Edinburgh
and Glassgow and T D D from Wales University. He was elected
FCPS (Bangladesh) as the Honorary Fellow. In 1978, he was
elected Fellow to the Royal College of Physicians from Edinburgh
and later from Glassgow.
Author of a large number of research papers in national
and international journals, Prof. Choudhury was also the
President of the National Anti-Tuberculosis Association
of Bangladesh (NATAB) for several times. He is ex-president
of International Union against Tuberculosis of LUNA Disease
(IUATLD) of Asia Pacific Zone Headquarters in Paris.
Well-known for his aptitude towards, and liaison with, the
cultural movement of the country, Prof. Choudhury is also
a prolific author, essayist, playwright and an orator of
distinction. He received the National Television Award in
1976. Prof. Choudhury was appointed Deputy Prime Minister
on April 15, 1979 and held the portfolio of the Ministry
of Health and Family Planning, while Ziaur Rahman was President
of Bangladesh.
As leader of Bangladesh delegation he attended several international
conferences. As an envoy of the Bangladesh President he
went for lobbing for the Security Council seat in UN, which
ultimately led to the withdrawal of Mongolia's candidature
and contributed to win the seat for Bangladesh against Japan.
He met the Russian Vice-President and President of Mongolia
and succeeded in winning the seat of Security Council in
1978 for Bangladesh for the first time.
Prof. Choudhury led the delegation to international conferences
on tuberculosis and chest diseases in New Delhi (1974),
Seoul, Korea (1976), Istanbul, Turkey (1977), Brussels,
Belgium (1978) and Brighton in U K (1978). He was the head
of the Bangladesh delegation to the World Health Conference
in Geneva in 1978 and 1979.
He was the alternate leader of Bangladesh delegation to
the UN General Assembly session in 1981, and member of Bangladesh
delegation on UN's 50th anniversary.
He was the first Secretary General of Bangladesh Nationalist
Party (BNP) founded by President Ziaur Rahman in 1978. He
was the Deputy Leader of the BNP Parliamentary Party and
the House after 1979 election.
He has been elected member to the parliament five times
including the 8th Parliament. He was the Deputy Leader of
the House in the sixth parliament. He was allocated the
portfolio of Ministry of Education along with Science and
Technology and Culture.
He was also the Foreign Minister of the present government.
He was elected President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
on November 14, 2001 and resigned on June 21, 2002.
Prof. Choudhury is married to Mrs Hasina Choudhury. They have
two daughters - Moona and Saila and a son Mahi Choudhury who
is a member of parliament.
Sattar, (Justice) Abdus (1906-1985) President of Bangladesh.
Born in 1906 at village Daraka of Bolpur in Birbhum district
of West Bengal Abdus Sattar obtained his MA in Political Science
(1928) and B.L degree (1929) from Calcutta University, and
joined the Calcutta Judge Court Bar. At the same time he joined
politics as an activist of Krishak Praja Party of ak fazlul
huq. He joined Calcutta High Court Bar in 1941. He was the
councillor of Calcutta Corporation (1939), Assessor-member
of Calcutta Improvement Tribunal (1940-42), and Chief Executive
Officer of Calcutta Corporation (1945). After the partition
of India he moved to Dhaka (1950), and joined the Dhaka High
Court Bar. After the floating of krishak sramik party (1953)
headed by AK Fazlul Huq he joined the party. He was elected
a member of the Pakistan constituent assembly in 1955. He
was the Minister of Home and Education in the central cabinet
of Pakistan headed by I. I. Chundrigarh (1957), Justice of
Dhaka High Court (1957-68), Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court
(1968-69), and Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan (1969-72).
Abdus Sattar
(1906 - 1985)
Justice Abdus Sattar repatriated from Pakistan at the end
of 1973 and joined in government service. He was the chairman
of the Board of Directors of Bangladesh Jiban Bima Corporation
(1973-74), chairman of Journalist Wage Board (1974-75) and
chairman of bangladesh institute of law and international
affairs. Abdus Sattar was appointed special adviser to the
President and Chief Martial Law Administrator abusadat mohammad
sayem (1975), and was vested with the charge of the Ministry
of Law and Parliamentary Affairs. In 1977, he was appointed
Vice President of Bangladesh by President ziaur rahman.
Under the patronage of President Ziaur Rahman a political
party called Jatiyatabadi Ganatantrik Dal was floated in
1978 of which he was the convenor. Within a few months he
abolished the party only to include himself as vice president
into a newly floated political party called bangladesh nationalist
party headed by President Ziaur Rahman. After the assassination
of Ziaur Rahman in 1981 Abdus Sattar took over as Acting
President of the country. He was elected President of Bangladesh
in 1981, and chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party in
1982. President Sattar was removed from power by a coup-d'etat
led by the army chief hussain muhammad ershad on 24 March
1982. He died in Dhaka on 5 October 1985.
Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed
(1930 - )
Ahmed,
(Justice) Shahabuddin President of Bangladesh. Shahabuddin
Ahmed was born at village Pemal under Kendua thana
of Netrakona district. His father Talukdar Resat Ahmed
Bhuiyan was a renowned social worker and philanthropist
of the locality. Shahabuddin obtained B.A (Hons) in
Economics in 1951 and M.A in International Relations
in 1952 from Dhaka University. He entered the Civil
Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1954 through a competitive
examination, successfully completed training at the
Lahore Civil Service Academy and attended a special
course on Public Administration in the University
of Oxford. |
 |
Shahabuddin Ahmed was appointed a Judge of the Appellate
Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh on 7 February
1980. A great number of his verdicts have been reported
in the Dhaka Law Reports, Bangladesh Legal Decisions and
Bangladesh Case Reports. Some of his judgements on service
matters, election disputes and labour-management relations
have been highly appreciated. His verdict on the 8th Amendment
of the Constitution of Bangladesh was hailed as a landmark
in the constitutional development of the country. Here,
among other things, he criticised the tendency of the Third
World dictatorships to abrogate the constitutions for self-aggrandisement
and coterie-rule under the thin veneer of democracy, for
curtailing fundamental human rights, violation of human
rights, challenge to people's sovereignty, denial of the
independence of the judiciary, and substituting rule by
fiat in place of rule of law. He also deplored the curtailing
of the traditional powers of the High Court in matters like
appointment, promotion, transfer, leave and control of subordinate
judiciary by the executive branch of the state.
Shahabuddin Ahmed was appointed Chief Justice of Bangladesh
on 14 January 1990. A peaceful revolution took place in
the country in early December 1990 following public agitation
led by opposition political parties for changing the autocratic
system of government and for resignation of the government
headed by President h m ershad. Consequently on 6 December
1990 the then Vice-President Moudud Ahmed resigned and Chief
Justice Shahabuddin was appointed Vice-President. On that
very day H M Ershad resigned and handed over power to Shahabuddin
Ahmed who became the head of the government as acting President
of the country. He formed a caretaker government with neutral
non-political persons and held a free and fair election
in the country in February 1991. During this period, he
gave back freedom of the press by amending a number of law
including the Special Powers Act. Thereafter on the election
and entering into office of the new President, Shahabuddin
Ahmed resumed his duties on 10 October 1991 as the Chief
Justice from which office he retired on 1 February 1995.
Justice
Shahabuddin was elected the President of the country unopposed
on 23 July 1996 having been nominated by the Awami League
government. He was sworn-in as the President on 9 October
1996. Although a mere figurehead in a parliamentary form
of government, he earned the love, respect and admiration
of all segments of population of Bangladesh due to his neutral
and conscientious role in all state affairs during the five
years of his Presidency. He retired from the Presidency
on 14 November 2001.
Tajuddin Ahmed,
(1925-1975)
Ahmed, Tajuddin (1925-1975) lawyer, politician, and the
first Prime Minister of Bangladesh. Tajuddin Ahmed was born
in 1925 at village Dardaria in Kapasia thana of Gazipur
District. He obtained Matriculation in 1942, I.A in 1948,
and B.A (Hons) in Economics from Dhaka University in 1953.
He obtained Law degree in 1964.
Tajuddin
Ahmed joined politics very early in his life. He represented
the liberal section of the muslim league since 1943 and
took active part in the Pakistan Movement. He was involved
in all progressive movements of the country, including the
language movement, the movement for economic emancipation
of the people, and anti-communal movement. He resigned from
the Muslim League in protest against its anti-people politics.
He was one of the founders of the East Bengal Chhatra League
founded in 1948, and was amongst those who floated the Awami
Muslim League in 1949. He was a member of the All Party
Language Movement Committee, and was arrested and detained
during the movement.
The Awami League got overwhelming majority in the general
election in 1970. But the rulers of Pakistan denied the
verdict of the people. Consequently, an unprecedented non-cooperation
began in East Pakistan under the leadership of sheikh mujibur
rahman. Tajuddin Ahmed was one of the organisers of the
movement. He left Dhaka for India on 25 March 1971 when
the Pakistan army started its mass killing. He became the
Prime Minister of the Bangladesh government in exile at
Mujibnagar and organised the war of liberation. After the
liberation of Bangladesh Tajuddin Ahmed returned on 22 December
1971 and became Prime Minister of the newly independent
state. In the subsequent cabinet formed under Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, Tajuddin Ahmed was in charge of the Ministry of
Finance, and then of Finance and Planning. As a member of
the constitution framing committee he played a vital role
in framing the constitution of Bangladesh. He was elected
member of the jatiya sangsad in 1973 and was included in
the cabinet. However, he resigned from the cabinet in 1974
as per direction of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. With the assassination
of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975,
the political situation changed and Tajuddin Ahmed was arrested
on 23 August. He was brutally killed inside Dhaka Central
Jail on 3 November, along with three other national leaders
namely syed nazrul islam, ahm qamaruzzaman, and m mansur
ali.
Tajuddin
Ahmed was a close associate of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman, the architect of Bangladesh, and played a significant
role in the establishment of independent and sovereign Bangladesh.
Himself an ardent follower of non-sectarian progressive politics,
Tajuddin Ahmed played a significant role in the Bangali nationalist
movement. He devoted himself to the service of distressed
humanity throughout his life having been connected with the
Boy Scout Movement.
Abul Hashim
(1905-1974)
Abul Hashim was a Muslim nationalist politician and intellectual.
Born in the village Kashiara in Burdwan district, West Bengal,
Abul Hashim obtained his graduation degree from the Burdwan
Raj College in 1928. His father Abul Kasem (1872-1936) was
a noted public figure of contemporary Bengal, particularly
of Burdwan district. Hashim obtained law degree in 1931 and
began legal practice in Burdwan district court in the same
year. Sustaining the family tradition Hashim joined public
life in 1936 with his election to the Bengal Legislative Council
from Burdwan. As the President of Burdwan Muslim League Hashim
participated in the All India muslim league annual conference
held in Allahabad (1938?) and also attended the Lahore conference
of All India Muslim League in 1940. He was elected General
Secretary of Bengal Muslim League in 1944. In strengthening
the Muslim League in Bengal organisationally, he had played
crucial role. In fact, the great success of the Muslim League
in the elections of 1946 is largely to be attributed to his
dynamic leadership. Hashim was one of the architects of the
failed scheme of the united bengal movement in early 1947.
After
the Partition (1947), Abul Hashim was elected the parliamentary
leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Provincial Assembly.
In 1950, Hashim migrated to East Bengal and settled in Dhaka.
In
the language movement Hashim had participated very actively.
Being unable to share the political views with the current
political parties, he set up a new party — Khilafat-i-Robbani
Party with Islamic political ideas to materialise. Till 1956
he was the president of the party. Unfortunately, from the
late 1940s Hashim was losing his eyesight and by the 1950s,
he lost it totally. But in spite of this physical limitation
he pursued his intellectual and public activities vigorously.
In 1960, Abul Hashim was appointed the first Director of the
'Islamic Academy'. He wrote several books in English and Bangla.
Among his works, The Creed of Islam, In Retrospection, Let
us go to War and As I see it are most prominent.
Abul Kashem Fazlul Huq
(1873-1962)
AK Fazlul Huq was a statesman, public leader and holder
of many high political posts including those of the Mayor
of Calcutta (1935), Chief Minister of undivided Bengal (1937-1943)
and East Bengal (1954), Home Minister of Pakistan (1955)
and Governor of East Pakistan (1956-58). Abul Kashem Fazlul
Huq, popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla or Hak Saheb, was
born on 26 October 1873, at his maternal uncle's house at
Saturia, a prosperous village in the Southern parts of the
district of Bakerganj. But his ancestral house was at Chakhar,
a village 14 miles away from Barisal town. He was the only
son of Muhammad Wazid and Saidunnissa Khatun. Huq's father
was a reputed civil and criminal lawyer of the Barisal Bar,
and his grandfather Kazi Akram Ali, a good Arabic and Persian
scholar, was a prominent muktear of Barisal.
Obtaining the BL degree in 1897 from the University Law
College, Calcutta, Fazlul Huq started legal practice as
an apprentice under Sir asutosh mookerjee.
In 1913 Huq became the Secretary of the Bengal Provincial
Muslim League and continued in this post till 1916. He also
served as a Joint Secretary of the All India Muslim League.
Huq was the president of the All India Muslim League from
1916 to 1921. As a member of the indian national congress
he was also actively connected with that organisation. Huq
was one of those who were instrumental of formulating the
Lucknow pact of 1916 between the Congress and the Muslim
League. In 1917 Huq was a Joint Secretary of the Indian
National Congress and in 1918-1919 he served this organisation
as its General Secretary. In 1918 Fazlul Huq presided over
the Delhi Session of the All India Muslim League. In 1919
Fazlul Huq was chosen as a member of the Punjab Enquiry
Committee along with Motilal Nehru, chitta ranjan das and
other prominent leaders set up by the Indian National Congress
to go into the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre. Huq was the president
of the Midnapore Session of the Bengal Provincial Conference
in 1920.
Huq joined the khilafat movement in 1919. But he had difference
with the congress leaders on the question of Non-cooperation.
In 1920 Huq brought out a daily paper nabajug along with
kazi nazrul islam and muzaffar ahmad. The deposit of this
paper was confiscated several times due to its anti-government
policy. So, he could not run this daily for a longer period.
He devoted his time to the cause of Muslim education and
became a leading figure of the Muslim Educational Conference.
In 1924 Huq became the Education Minister for about six
months under the dyarchy in Bengal.
Huq had good following in the newly formed constituent Assembly
of Pakistan. They acted as a pressure group for which in
August 1955 Huq was invited to join the central cabinet
as the Home Minister. In 1956 he became the Governor of
East Pakistan and was removed from that post in 1958. Since
then he retired from politics. On 27 April 1962 he died
in Dhaka. His funeral drew a crowd of about half a million
to mourn his death. His mausoleum is situated at the southern
end of the Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, to the west of the
Shishu Acacemy.
For
almost half a century Fazlul Huq was a prominent political
figure of the subcontinent. He was an extra-ordinary orator.
He could fluently speak in English, Bangla and Urdu. As
Islamic identity, Bengali identity and Indian identity simultaneously
moulded his mind, contradictory ingredients were manifested
through his thought and action. He had to think about the
development of backward Muslim community, he was absorbed
with the thought of the progress of the entire Bengali nation
and at the same time he had to carefully nurture the dream
of united independent India. Naturally, it was not possible
for him to pursue a consistent policy throughout his long
political career. He, therefore, remained a political enigma.
Huq
was very simple in his private and public life. Even during
his lifetime the people, irrespective of caste and creed,
adored him for his generous and charitable disposition. He
ran into debts for helping the distressed and the needy. People
of Bengal remember Huq not for his craftiness or for erratic
political behaviour but for his sincere efforts for the upliftment
of the backward Muslim community, for the removal of poverty
of vast peasant masses and for his generous nature.
Nawab khwaja Salimullah
(1871-1915)
Khwaja Salimullah was the Nawab of Dhaka, Muslim nationalist,
an architect of the muslim league, patron of education.
Son of Nawab khwaja ahsanullah and grandson of Nawab khwaja
abdul ghani, he was born at the ahsan manzil on 7 June 1871.
Following the family tradition Salimullah learnt at home
Urdu, Arabic, Persian and English.
Nawab Salimullah got involved in politics in 1903-04 by
way of giving opinion on the government's plan for the partition
of bengal. On 11 January 1904 he opposed certain aspects
of the partition plan in an assemblage of Hindu and Muslim
leaders at Ahsan Manzil. Viceroy lord curzon, while on a
tour of East Bengal, accepted Nawab Salimullah's hospitality
on 18-19 February 1904. As a result of their discussion
some changes took place in the partition plan. The partition
came into effect on 16 October 1905 and Dhaka became the
capital of the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam.
This increased Nawab Salimullah's prestige. He played a
very important role in creating public opinion in favour
of the new province in the face of strong opposition of
the indian national congress.
Nawab
Salimullah was a philanthropic person. He used to contribute
generously to socio-economic development activities. He
donated in 1902 one lakh twelve thousand rupees that had
been promised by his father for the establishment of Dhaka
Engineering School (now bangladesh university of engineering
and technology). He patronised projects in the agricultural
and industrial sectors; and also for the construction of
mosques, madrasas, hospital, and student dormitories as
well as other works of social upliftment. He used to arrange
exhibitions to promote development of Dhaka handicrafts.
His efforts gave this industry a new life. He was a member
of the Committee formed by the East Bengal Government in
1909 in order to promote development of handicrafts.
After
the annulment of the partition of Bengal, Salimullah was
struck with a deep sense of disappointment and fell seriously
ill. He died on 16 January 1915 in his house at Chaurangi,
Calcutta. His body was brought to Dhaka in state honour
and was buried in the family graveyard at Begam Bazar.
