A. S. M. Abdur Rab (born 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician. He is the founder secretary general of the

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal ( bn, জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল, 'National Socialist Party of Bangladesh', JSD or 'জাসদ', JASAD) is a political party in Bangladesh. The party was founded by Serajul ...

. In 1985, Rab and his followers left the party and formed a new party

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal ( bn, জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল, 'National Socialist Party') is a political party in Bangladesh. It was formed in 2002, through a split from the original Jatiya Samajtantrik Da ...

, known as JSD (Rab). He served as 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 ...

Member from Lakshmipur-4 and the Minister of Shipping and later the Minister of Fisheries and Livestock during 1996-2001 of the first Sheikh Hasina Cabinet.

Early life

Rab was born in 1945. He was general secretary of the student political organization East Pakistan Chhatra League from 1969 to 1970. He was the leader of the 1969 mass uprising in East Pakistan. He was the first person to hoist the Flag of Bangladesh on 2 March 1971 as the vice president of

Dhaka University Central Students' Union Dhaka University Central Students' Union, also known by its acronym DUCSU, is the official students' union of the University of Dhaka. Called the second parliament of Bangladesh, DUCSU represents Dhaka University students in the university's decisi ...

Career

He is one of the organizers of the liberation struggle of Bangladesh. Under the leadership of Chhatra League leader Noor Alam Siddiqui, Abdul Kuddus, A S M Abdur Rab and Shajahan Siraj, the flag of independent Bangladesh was hoisted in Dhaka University on 2 March 1971. A flag of independent Bangladesh was first inaugurated by ASM Abdur Rab. In the historic Bot-tala of Dhaka University, A S M Abdur Rab handed over the flag of Bangladesh to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. After the independence of Bangladesh, Rab formed the left-wing

(National Socialist Party). He along with

Serajul Alam Khan Serajul Alam Khan (also known as "Dada" and "Dadabhai"; born January 6, 1941) is a Bangladeshi political analyst, philosopher and writer. He is one of the founders of Swadhin Bangla Biplobi Parishad (English: Independent Bengal Revolutionary C ...

and

Shajahan Siraj Shajahan Siraj (1 March 1943 – 14 July 2020) was a Bangladeshi politician who served as the vice chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). As a student, he was involved with the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was one of the founders o ...

, took a stand against the government led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He led the rally on 17 March 1974 towards the residence of the Home Minister at Ramna amid

Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini The Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini ( bn, জাতীয় রক্ষী বাহিনী, lit=National Defense Force) was a Bangladeshi para-military force formed in 1972 by the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman government. Initially formed to curb the insur ...

led firing upon the crowd. Rab is a survivor of the

1974 Ramna massacre 1974 Ramna Massacre was a massacre of Jatiyo Samajtantarik Dal supporters that took place on March 17, 1974. The incident took place when a demonstrators from the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal, who were blockading the residence of the Home Minister Mansu ...

. President

Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem Abu Sadat Mohammad Sayem (29 March 1916 – 8 July 1997) was a Bangladeshi jurist and statesman. He was first Chief Justice of Bangladesh from 1972 to 1975. He became the President of Bangladesh in the aftermath of counter-coups in November 19 ...

released

M. A. Jalil Mohammad Abdul Jalil was a freedom fighter and Mukti Bahini Sector Commander of Sector 9 of during the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971. He was also one of the founding members of political party Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal. Early years Mohammad ...

and Rab after taking power because of the involvement of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal in the coup d'état in November 1975. Rab became the leader of the opposition in 1988 and also served as a minister of Sheikh Hasina's cabinet from 1996 to 2001 as the Minister of Shipping and later the Minister of Fisheries and Livestock.

References

1945 births Living people Recipients of the Bir Uttom Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal politicians 7th Jatiya Sangsad members Fisheries and Livestock ministers of Bangladesh Shipping ministers of Bangladesh Mukti Bahini personnel Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) 3rd Jatiya Sangsad members Leaders of the Opposition (Bangladesh) {{Chittagong-politician-stub