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Syed Nazrul Islam

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Syed Nazrul Islam
সৈয়দ নজরুল ইসলাম
Minister of Industries of Bangladesh
In office
13 January 1972 – 26 January 1975
Prime MinisterSheikh Mujibur Rahman
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byAbul Hasnat Muhammad Qamaruzzaman
1st Vice President of Bangladesh
In office
17 April 1971 – 12 January 1972
PresidentSheikh Mujibur Rahman
Prime MinisterTajuddin Ahmad
Preceded byPosition established
In office
25 January 1975 – 15 August 1975
PresidentSheikh Mujibur Rahman
Prime MinisterMuhammad Mansur Ali
Succeeded byMohammad Mohammadullah
President of Provisional Government of Bangladesh
Acting
In office
17 April 1971 – 12 January 1972
Prime MinisterTajuddin Ahmad
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Personal details
Born18 February 1925
Kishoreganj, Bengal, British India
Died3 November 1975(1975-11-03) (aged 50)
Dacca Central Jail, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Political partyBangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (1975)
Other political
affiliations
All-India Muslim League (Before 1949)
Awami League (1949–1975)
Children6 Including Shafayet, Zakia & Ashraful
Alma materUniversity of Dhaka

Syed Nazrul Islam (Bengali: সৈয়দ নজরুল ইসলাম, romanizedSoiyod Nozrul Islam; 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and a senior leader of the Awami League. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he was declared as the Vice President of Bangladesh by the Provisional Government. He served as the Acting President in the absence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.[1]

Early life

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Syed Nazrul Islam was born in 1925, into a Bengali Muslim family of Syeds in the village of Bir Dampara, Jashodal Union in Kishoreganj (then Mymensingh District) of the Bengal Presidency.[2] He obtained degrees in history and law from the University of Dhaka and was an active student political leader in the Muslim League. Syed captained his college's cricket and hockey teams and participated in the Pakistan movement. He entered the civil service of Pakistan in 1949 but resigned in 1951 to work as a professor of history at the Ananda Mohan College in Mymensingh, where he also practised law.[3]

Political career

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Nazrul Islam's political career began when he joined the Awami Muslim League and participated in the Language Movement in 1952, for which he was arrested by police. He would rise to various provincial and central party leadership positions, becoming a close confidante of the party's leader Sheikh Mujib. He was jailed during the Six Point Demand movement.[4] He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1970, where he served briefly as deputy leader of the majority. Following the arrest of Mujib on 25 March 1971 by Pakistani forces, Syed escaped to Mujibnagar with other party leaders and proclaimed the independence of Bangladesh.[5] Sheikh Mujib was elected as the President of Bangladesh, and Syed stepped in as the acting President, with Tajuddin Ahmed as the government's prime minister. Syed played a key role in leading the nationalist cause, co-ordinating the Mukti Bahini guerrilla force and winning support from India and other nations.[3]

After the independence of Bangladesh, Syed was appointed minister of industries, the deputy leader in parliament and a member of the constitution committee. When Mujib banned other political parties and assumed sweeping powers as president in 1975, Syed was appointed vice-chairman of the BAKSAL, the renamed Awami League.[3]

Personal life

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Nazrul Islam married Syeda Nafisa Islam and had 4 sons and 2 daughters. His four sons were Sayed Ashraful Islam,Syed Manzurul Islam Manju, Syed Shariful Islam and Syed Shafayetul Islam, and his two daughters were Syeda Zakia Noor Lipi MP and Syeda Rafia Noor. Syed Nazrul Islam also had a younger brother, who was a Freedom Fighter, the late Syed Wahidul Islam, and he had three nephews and five nieces. His three nephews were Syed Tariqul Islam, Syed Ashfaqul Islam, and Syed Affaqul Islam. His five nieces were Syeda Nasima Islam, Laila Morshed Supa, Syeda Nazma Sheema, Syeda Farhana Islam, and Syeda Munalisa Islam.

Death

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Following the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 15 August 1975, Syed went into hiding with other Mujib loyalists such as Tajuddin Ahmad, A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman and Muhammad Mansur Ali, but was ultimately arrested by the regime of the new president Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad. The four leaders were imprisoned in the Dhaka Central Jail and assassinated on 3 November under controversial and mysterious circumstances known as the Jail Killing. This day is commemorated every year in Bangladesh as Jail Killing Day.[6] Captain (relieved) Kismat Hashem was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for the killings. He died due to cardiac arrest in Canada.[7]

Legacy

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Sculpture of Syed Nazrul Islam in Mujibnagar, Khulna

Government-run Shahid Syed Nazrul Islam Medical College in Kishoreganj is named in his memory.[8] Sayed Ashraful Islam is son of Sayed Nazrul Islam.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Documents between India and Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Remembering the Four Leaders". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir, eds. (2012). "Islam, Syed Nazrul". Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  4. ^ Badrul Ahsan, Syed. "Recalling Six Points". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  5. ^ Palma, Porimol. "On the road to freedom of Bangladesh". The Daily Star. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  6. ^ "Remembering the four national leaders on Jail Killing Day". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  7. ^ "Jail killing convict Kismat Hashem dies in Canada". The Daily Star. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  8. ^ "Medical college after Syed Nazrul Islam to be set up at Kishoreganj". The Financial Express. Dhaka. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Sheikh Hasina fires trusted Syed Ashraful as LGRD minister". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by President of Bangladesh
Acting

1971–1972
Succeeded by
Preceded by
none
Vice President of Bangladesh
1971–1972
Succeeded by