Abdul Hoque ( bn, আব্দুল হক; 1930–1971) was a
Bangladeshi
Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay.
Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...
politician, lawyer and teacher. He was elected as an
Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people.
The adjective appears in the following proper names:
*Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
*Awami Front, wa ...
candidate at the
1970 Pakistani general election
General elections were held in Pakistan on 7 December 1970 to elect members of the National Assembly. They were the first general elections since the independence of Pakistan and ultimately the only ones held prior to the independence of Bang ...
, although the assembly was not inaugurated. He participated as a freedom fighter during the
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...
.
Early life and education
Abdul Hoque was born in 1930, to a
Bengali Muslim
Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
family in the village of Bhatgaon in
Chhatak
Chhatak ( bn, ছাতক; formerly known as Chhatak Bazaar) is a town in northeastern Bangladesh, on the Surma River in Chhatak Upazila of Sunamganj District in the division of Sylhet.
Further reading
* {{cite book , last=Hossain , first=Ash ...
(then under
Sylhet district
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট), located in north-east Bangladesh, is the divisional capital and one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division.
History
Sylhet district was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Pro ...
,
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
). He was the eldest of the three sons of
Moulvi Abdul Wahid and Mahebun Nesa. His younger brother,
Abul Hasnat Md. Abdul Hai, was a three-time member of the
Jatiya Sangsad
The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of ...
.
In 1951, Abdul Hoque passed his matriculation from the
Government Jubilee High School
Government Jubilee High school, Sunamganj, is a public secondary school in Sunamganj District, Bangladesh. It was established in 1887 by Prassana –Kumar Dey, son of Pran Krishna Nath Roy Choudhury, Zamindar of Kajalshah and the first person to g ...
in
Sunamganj
Sunamganj ( bn, সুনামগঞ্জ) is a town in the Sylhet Division of northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarters and largest town of Sunamganj District. It is located on the banks of the Surma River, approximately ...
. Abdul Hoque enrolled at the
Sunamganj College from where he completed his
Intermediate of Arts
Intermediate Arts (IA) is an academic diploma awarded by a high school or junior college after the completion of 12th grade or equivalent in some countries like India and Nepal. However, as for Nepal, the usage of IA, ISc, and the like has become o ...
. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
and
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
from the
University of Dhaka
The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...
. During his studies in Dhaka, he was elected as the G.S. of
Salimullah Muslim Hall
Salimullah Muslim Hall is a residential hall at Dhaka University, named after Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur. It was inaugurated on 11 August 1931. Among the residential halls of Dhaka University, Salimullah Muslim Hall holds a special stat ...
.
Career
Abdul Hoque began his career as a lawyer in the
Dhaka High Court
The High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh ( bn, হাইকোর্ট ডিভিশন) popularly known as the 'High Court' is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate D ...
. He then became a teacher at the
West End High School until 1968.
Political career
Abdul Hoque first entered politics during the
Bengali Language Movement of 1952, where he is credited for assembling the Sunamganj Student Society in favour of the Bengali language. During the
1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election
Legislative elections were held in East Bengal between 8 and 12 March 1954, the first since Pakistan became an independent country in 1947. The opposition United Front led by the Awami League and Krishak Sramik Party won a landslide victory wit ...
, Abdul Hoque became an activist for the
United Front
A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political a ...
. He was imprisoned the following year for thirteen months.
During the
1970 Pakistani general election
General elections were held in Pakistan on 7 December 1970 to elect members of the National Assembly. They were the first general elections since the independence of Pakistan and ultimately the only ones held prior to the independence of Bang ...
, Abdul Hoque ran as an
Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people.
The adjective appears in the following proper names:
*Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
*Awami Front, wa ...
candidate from the
NE-128 (Sylhet-IX) constituency which covered the
thana
Thana means "police station" in South Asian countries, and can also mean the district controlled by a police station.
* Thanas of Bangladesh, former subdistricts in the administrative geography of Bangladesh; later renamed ''upazila''
* in (Briti ...
s of
Chhatak
Chhatak ( bn, ছাতক; formerly known as Chhatak Bazaar) is a town in northeastern Bangladesh, on the Surma River in Chhatak Upazila of Sunamganj District in the division of Sylhet.
Further reading
* {{cite book , last=Hossain , first=Ash ...
(which then included both
Dowarabazar and
Companiganj
Companiganj ( bn, কোম্পানীগঞ্জ) is an upazila of Noakhali District. The area is famed for ''water buffalo doi (curd)''.
History
The Port of Jugdia (presently in Sirajpur Union) gained relevance as an important commercial s ...
) and
Jagannathpur. He was successful in this election and set to become a member of the
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...
,
but the assembly was not inaugurated as it was protested by West Pakistani party leaders who did not want an Awami League government. The events eventually led to the
Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence
The independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971 at the onset of the Bangladesh Liberation War by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; the following day the declaration was broadcast by Major Ziaur Rahman in a radio broadcast. On 1 ...
on 26 March 1971 by
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengalis, Beng ...
. On the same night, a meeting was held involving the senior politicians of Sunamganj subdivision at the home of
Dewan Obaidur Raja Chowdhury. The
All-Parties Independent Bengal Council was formed by Chowdhury as a result of the meeting, and its members included
Abdus Samad Azad
Abdus Samad Azad ( bn, আব্দুস সামাদ আজাদ; 15 January 1922 – 27 April 2005) was a Bangladeshi diplomat and politician. He was elected to Bangladesh's parliament five times from 1970 to 2001. He was also elected Mem ...
, Abdul Hoque,
Suranjit Sengupta
Suranjit Sengupta (5 May 1945 – 5 February 2017) was a Bangladesh Awami League politician. He resigned in 2012 as the first Railway Minister of Bangladesh. He was the member of parliament from Sunamganj-2 constituency in the Jatiya Sangsad an ...
,
Abdur Raees
Abdur Raees (Born: 1 May 1931 – died: 18 December 1988) was a politician of Bangladesh and a member of the East Pakistan Provincial Council and the National Parliament. He was elected a member of parliament from the previous Sylhet-3 (now Suna ...
,
Abduz Zahur,
Shamsu Mia Chowdhury, Awami League leader
Husayn Bakht,
NAP
A nap is a short period of sleep, typically taken during daytime hours as an adjunct to the usual nocturnal sleep period. Naps are most often taken as a response to drowsiness during waking hours. A nap is a form of biphasic or polyphasic sl ...
leader
Ali Yunus, Abdul Quddus and
Alfatuddin Ahmad. Among Abdul Hoque's activities during the war was serving as a Civil Adviser of
Sector Five and the Chief Co-ordinator of the Chhatak-Jagananthpur-
Derai area.
Death
Three days after the Bangladeshi victory, Abdul Hoque died in a road accident at the Sylhet-Sunamganj road on 19 December 1971. The accident occurred in
Tuker Bazar on his way back to Sunamganj in a private car from a Sangram Committee meeting at the
Sylhet Circuit House. Alongside him was
Bir Protik
Bir Protik ( bn, বীর প্রতীক ''Bīr Pratīk'', "Symbol of Bravery or Idol of Courage") is the fourth highest gallantry award in Bangladesh.
Recipients
This award was declared on 15 December 1973. A total of 426 people have rece ...
Idris Ali who survived the accident. Some of Abdul Hoque's demanded that he be buried in
Chhatak
Chhatak ( bn, ছাতক; formerly known as Chhatak Bazaar) is a town in northeastern Bangladesh, on the Surma River in Chhatak Upazila of Sunamganj District in the division of Sylhet.
Further reading
* {{cite book , last=Hossain , first=Ash ...
town. His
janaza
Funerals and funeral prayers in Islam ( ar, جنازة, Janazah) follow fairly specific rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia (Islamic religious law) calls for burial o ...
was performed the next day, and was attended by Bangladesh Armed Forces founder
M. A. G. Osmani
Muhammad Ataul Goni Osmani ( bn, মুহাম্মদ আতাউল গণি ওসমানী; 1 September 1918 – 16 February 1984), also known as ''Bangabir'' (the Hero of Bengal), was a Bengali military leader. Osmani's career ...
, Comrade Manik Mia, Mudarris Ali BA, Shafiqul Hoque, MCA Shamsu Mia Chowdhury, Abdul Wadud, Commander Abdus Salam, Angur Mia Chowdhury, Mudarris Mia Chowdhury, Taimus Raja, Muqit Chowdhury, Moyna Mia, Shamsher Ali, Lutfur Rahman Pradhan, Accha Mia, Amir Ali Badshah and others. He was then buried in the Bagbari cemetery of
Sylhet
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...
city.
Legacy
In 1972, the Abdul Hoque Memorial Degree College was established in
Govindaganj, Chhatak. Through the efforts of politician
Mohibur Rahman Manik, a memorial was made at Banshtala, the headquarters of
Liberation Sector Five, and the area was renamed to Hoqnagar (City of Hoque) in 1996. The Hoqnagar-Banshtala area has now become a tourist attraction due to the presence of the memorial and more work is being done there.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoque, Abdul
Awami League politicians
People from Chhatak Upazila
1930 births
1971 deaths
University of Dhaka alumni