Tajuddin Ahmad

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Tajuddin Ahmad

তাজউদ্দীন আহমদ

1st Prime Minister of Bangladesh

In office

11 April 1971 – 12 January 1972

President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Syed Nazrul Islam (Acting)

Succeeded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Personal details

Born 23 July 1925

Dardaria, Bengal Presidency, British India

(now Kapasia, Bangladesh)
 Died 3 November 1975 (aged 50)

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Political party Awami League (1949–1975)

Other political All-India Muslim League (Before 1949)

affiliations

Alma mater Dhaka College

University of Dhaka

Tajuddin Ahmad (Bengali: তাজউদ্দীন আহমদ; 23 July 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a

Bangladeshi statesman and freedom fighter. He served as the first Prime Minister of
Bangladesh and led the wartime provisional government during the Bangladesh
Liberation War in 1971. Ahmad is regarded as one of the most influential and
instrumental figures in the birth of Bangladesh, due to his leadership of the provisional
government in 1971, in which he united the various political, military and cultural forces
of Bengali nationalism.
A close confidante of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Ahmad was the general secretary of
the Awami League in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He coordinated the League's
election campaign for the 1970 Pakistani general election, in which the League gained a
historic parliamentary majority to form a government. Ahmad, along with Mujib
and Kamal Hossain, led negotiations with President Yahya Khan and Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto for the transfer of power to the elected National Assembly.

Contents

 1Early life
 2East Pakistan
 3Bangladesh Liberation War
 4Post-independence career
 5Assassination
 6Family
 7Legacy
 8See also
 9References
 10External links

Early life[edit]
Ahmad was born at Kapasia in Gazipur on 23 July 1925 to Maulavi Muhammad Yasin
Khan and Meherunnesa Khanam.[1] He went to Saint Gregory High school. In 1944, he
stood 12th on the matriculation examination. In 1948, he placed 4th in the Higher
Secondary Certificate Examination. He obtained BA with honours in Economics from
Dhaka University. In 1943, he joined the Muslim League. On 4 January 1948, Ahmad
joined East Pakistan Student League as a founding member. [2]

East Pakistan[edit]
He organized protests and other activities during the Language Movement of 1952.[3] He
was arrested by police and imprisoned for several months. [citation needed] In 1954, on a
nomination from Jukta Front, he defeated the then general secretary of Muslim League
to join East Pakistan Provincial assembly. He was arrested following the dismissal of
the A. K. Fazlul Huq-led government. In jail, Tajuddin took the law examination and got
a BA degree in law.[2] He would be arrested again following the imposition of martial
law by Ayub Khan in 1958 after taking power in a military coup. Ahmed worked in the
pro-democracy campaign led by the Awami League and other political parties in
Pakistan. From 1953 to 1957, he was the general secretary of Dhaka District Awami
League. In 1955, Tajuddin was the social welfare and cultural secretary. In 1964, he
became the organising secretary of Awami League. Tajuddin along with Sheikh Mujib,
took part in the Lahore Conference of the opposition parties in 1966, and declared the
six-point demand. He worked with Sheikh Mujib's in the preparing historical six-points.
Pakistan police arrested him on 8 May 1966 for supporting Mujib's six-points demand.
[2]
 He participated at the round table conference in Rawalpindi convened by Ayub Khan
to resolve the crisis between the government and the opposition parties. He was elected
member of the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1970.[2]

Bangladesh Liberation War[edit]

After the Pakistan Army launched Operation Searchlight in East Pakistan in March
1971, Ahmad made his way into neighbouring India, upon the instructions of Sheikh
Mujib. The Pakistan Army arrested Sheikh Mujib himself in East Pakistan. Ahmad
named the capital Mujibnagar, after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The government-in-exile
came to be known as the Mujibnagar government. Along with senior Bengali political
and military leaders, he formed the first Government of Bangladesh. The oath taking
ceremony of the first government of Bangladesh took place on the soil of Bangladesh, in
Meherpur, Kushtia on 17 April 1971. He presided over the significant Bangladesh
Sector Commanders Conference 1971 that created and formed the entire Bangladesh
Armed Forces under the command of General M. A. G. Osmani. As the first Prime
Minister, he led efforts to organize a guerilla insurgency of Bengali civilians and armed
forces and win international support. Ahmad sought the alliance of Indian Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi in the fight for Bangladesh's independence. The war
administration subsequently moved to Calcutta as a government-in-exile. Under his
premiership, the majority of Bengali bureaucrats, diplomats and military officers serving
Pakistan defected to the new Government of Bangladesh. [4]
He was a key figure in supervising and mandating war efforts; and initiated numerous
diplomatic and cultural missions which toured world capitals advocating the Bangladesh
cause. Ahmad would regularly visit the liberated regions of Bangladesh and inspire
the Mukti Bahini and other freedom and raise moral. During this period, Ahmad
encountered some intra party conflict led by Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad who conspired
to harm the national struggle for independence through a failed attempt to form a
confederacy with Pakistan. Among Ahmad's great diplomatic achievements were to win
international support and recognition of Bangladesh as a sovereign nation by the
government of India.

Post-independence career[edit]
After the Liberation of Bangladesh, Ahmad returned to Dhaka on 22 December 1971. In
the subsequent cabinet formed under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Ahmad was given
charge of the ministries of finance and planning. [5] He was also appointed member of the
committee in charge of writing the Constitution of Bangladesh. A rift developed between
Mujib and Ahmad. They differed on a number of issues. Mujib declared a general
amnesty for many war criminals and collaborators which Ahmad disagreed on. Ahmed
wanted to create a militia with freedom fighters but Mujib created one with the members
of the Mujib Bahini, it was the Jatiyo Rakkhi Bahini. Ahmad did not want to accept aid
from the World Bank. He was against Mujib forming the BAKSAL. He resigned from the
cabinet in 1974 and fell out with Mujib after the creation of the one-party system of
BAKSAL.[6] On April 1975, members of the government travelled to Mujibnagar to
commemorate the anniversary of the forming of Mujibnagar Government. Tajuddin
Ahmad was not invited, even though he played a crucial role in the formation of the
Mujibnagar Government. Tajuddin remained loyal to Mujib and on July 1975, he having
heard rumours of plots against Mujib rushed to warn him. Mujib did not take the threat
seriously.[7] After the Mujib assassination in August 1975, Ahmad was arrested by the
martial law government. Along with four other top League leaders, he was killed by
some officers of the Bangladesh Army in Dhaka Central Jail on 4 November 1975.[3]

Assassination[edit]
In 1974 Ahmad lost his cabinet post.[8] When Mujib assumed the title of President and
banned other political parties in 1975, Ahmad became the odd man out, [8] declining and
opposing the formation of a one-party system known as BAKSAL. When Mujib
was assassinated by a group of army officers on 15 August 1975, Ahmad was
immediately placed under house arrest.[9] On 22 August, he was arrested with other
political leaders by the regime of the new president Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed and
imprisoned at the Dhaka Central Jail. On 3 November, in what became infamously
known as the "Jail Killing Day",[10] Ahmad along with Syed Nazrul Islam, A. H. M.
Qamaruzzaman and Muhammad Mansur Ali were killed inside the jail by a group of
army officers on the instruction of President Khondaker Mostaq Ahmed. [11]

Family[edit]
Tajuddin was born in a middle class conservative Muslim family. His father
was Maulavi Muhammad Yasin Khan and mother Meherunnesa Khanam. He had nine
siblings— three brothers and six sisters. He had four children, three daughters Sharmin
Ahmad (Reepi), Simeen Hussain Rimi, Mahjabin Ahmad (Mimi) and one son Tanjim
Ahmad Sohel Taj.[12] After the assassination of Sheikh Mujib and the jail killings,
Tajuddin's wife Syeda Zohra Tajuddin reorganized and led the Awami League from
1975 to 1981. She died on 30 December 2013. [13] Tajuddin's son Tanjim Ahmad Sohel
Taj was the Minister of State for Home Affairs in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's cabinet
in 2009. Ahmad's second daughter Simeen Hussain was elected as a Member of
Parliament from Awami League in 2012.[9][9][14]

Legacy[edit]
On 25 March 2007 a documentary on Tajuddin Ahmad was released, Tajuddin Ahmad:
An Unsung Hero (directed by Tanvir Mokammel). Shahid Tajuddin Ahmad Medical
College in Gazipur was named after him.[15]

See also[edit]
 List of Prime Ministers of Bangladesh

References[edit]
1. ^ "Reminiscing a true patriot". The Daily Star. 25 July 2013.
Retrieved 13 July  2015.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Hai, Muhammed Abdul (23 July 2010).  "In memory of
Tajuddin Ahmed".  The Daily Star. Retrieved  13 July 2015.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b "Enlighten youths with Tajuddin's thoughts".  The Daily
Star. 24 July 2012. Retrieved 13 July  2015.
4. ^ Ahsan, Syed Badrul (23 July 2014). "Tajuddin Ahmed: Our history
maker". The Daily Star. Retrieved 13 July  2015.
5. ^ Rashid, Mamun (9 July 2015). "To be a good finance
minister".  Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved  12 July 2015.
6. ^ "Mujib Bahini sowed rift between Bangabandhu, Tajuddin". The
Daily Star. 7 September 2014. Retrieved  12 July 2015.
7. ^ Ahsan, Syed Badrul (5 May 2014). "Restoring Tajuddin in
history".  The Daily Star. Retrieved  12 July 2015.
8. ^ Jump up to:a b Chowdhury, Serajul Islam (14 December 2013). "The
commitment of the martyred intellectuals".  The Daily Star.
Retrieved 31 December 2013.
9. ^ Jump up to:a b c Khan, Tamanna (12 November 2010).  "Justice for an
Undisclosed Chapter".  Star Weekend. The Daily Star.
10. ^ Habib, Haroon (4 November 2006).  "Hasina extends deadline".  The
Hindu. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
11. ^ Dasgupta, Sukharanjan (1978). Midnight Massacre in Dacca. New
Delhi: Vikas. pp. 77–78. ISBN 0-7069-0692-6.  Khondakar also knew
that the situation was bound to be grave once Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin
Ahmed, Kamaruzzaman and Mansur Ali were released ... Khondakar
had had them arrested under various pretexts shortly after Mujib's
assassination, and they were still rotting in Dacca Jail. So,
Khondakar ... managed to allow the associates of the "killers" [the
seven Majors who assassinated Sheikh Mujibur Rahman] inside the
jail to brutally kill these four leaders.
 12. ^ "Biography of Tajuddin Ahmad". tajuddinahmad.com. Retrieved 30
November 2011.
13. ^ "Zohra Tajuddin's anniversary of death today".  The Daily Star. 20
December 2014. Retrieved 12 July  2015.
14. ^ "Life and times of Tajuddin Ahmed". The Daily Star. 23 July 2009.
Retrieved 30 November 2011.
15. ^ "Man found dead in Gazipur".  The Financial Express. Dhaka. 9 July
2015. Retrieved  12 July 2015.

External links[edit]
 Miah, Sajahan (2012). "Ahmad, Tajuddin". In Islam, Sirajul;
Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National
Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society
of Bangladesh.
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ntities: lccn-n89292310
Categories: 
 1925 births
 1975 deaths
 Bangladesh Awami League politicians
 Bangladeshi Muslims
 Bangladeshi people who died in prison custody
 Bengali Muslims
 Bengali politicians
 University of Dhaka alumni
 People of the Bangladesh Liberation War
 Prime Ministers of Bangladesh
 Prisoners who died in Bangladeshi detention
 Recipients of the Independence Day Award
 Independence activists
 Heads of regimes who were later imprisoned
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