| 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.
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Tajuddin Ahmed |
Tajuddin Ahmed was a founder-member of the East Pakistan
Juba League, and was a member of its executive committee from 1951 to
1953. He was the general secretary of Dhaka district unit of Awami Muslim
League. Tajuddin Ahmed was elected a member of East Pakistan Provincial
Assembly in 1954 as a nominee of the united
front, but was arrested under section 92A in the same year.
In 1955, he was elected secretary for cultural affairs and social welfare
of the awami
league.
After the promulgation of martial law in the county in
1958, the Awami League was banned, and Tajuddin Ahmed was detained for
about a year. He participated in the democracy restoration movement organised
by the National Democratic Front headed by huseyn
shaheed suhrawardy against military rule of ayub
khan, and was imprisoned once again. He played a vital role
in reviving the Awami League in 1964, and was elected organising secretary
of the party. He was arrested again in April 1964, and was released the
following year. He actively participated in the election campaign of 1965
in favour of Fatema Jinnah, the presidential candidate of the combined
opposition party. Tajuddin Ahmed was elected general secretary of the
Awami League in 1966. He joined the convention of the opposition parties
held in Lahore as a member of the Awami League delegation (1966). During
the Six-point Movement he was arrested under the Safety Act and was kept
confined. The mass upsurge compelled the Pakistan government to release
him in 1969. He participated in the Round Table Conference at Rawalpindi
convened by Ayub Khan to resolve the crisis between the government and
the opposition parties, as a member of the Awami League delegation. He
was elected member of the National Assembly in 1970.
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.
[Sajahan Miah]
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