Habibur Rahman ( bn, হাবিবুর রহমান; 1919–1978), also known by his

daak naam Personal names in Bengali-speaking countries consist of one or several given names and a surname. The given is usually gender-specific. A name is usually cited in the " Western order" of "given name, surname". Personal names may depend genera ...

Tota Mia ( bn, তোতা মিঞা), 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 and lawyer. He was a part of the

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 ...

and was a former member of parliament for the Sylhet-9 constituency.

Early life and education

Habibur Rahman was born in 1919, 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 Ratanpur in Chatul Pargana,

Kanaighat Kanaighat ( bn, কানাইঘাট) is an upazila of Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. It is the second-largest upazila (sub-district) of Sylhet District after Gowainghat Upazila. It is named after the town of Kanaighat, which is also the only ...

, North Sylhet,

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 ...

. His father, Nazir Hatim Ali, was a member of the North Sylhet Board. His primary education began in his village and in 1932, he enrolled at the Kanaighat MA School. He passed his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

with scholarship from Jaintia High School in 1939. After joining

Murari Chand College Murari Chand College ( bn, মুরারিচাঁদ কলেজ) (usually referred to as MC College) was the first college in the Sylhet Division. It was established in 1892, making it the seventh oldest college in Bangladesh. Since then i ...

, he passed 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 ...

in 1941 and his

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 ...

in 1943. In 1945, he obtained his

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 ...

and came first in the exams at Dhaka Law College.

Career

In 1941, Habibur Rahman became a founding member of the Assam Provincial Muslim Students Federation. He was an active member of the Federation until 1945. He started a law business at the Sylhet District Bar in 1946. He was the first lawyer and member of the Sylhet Bar in the Jaintia constituency. At the

1946 Indian provincial elections Provincial elections were held in British India in January 1946 to elect members of the legislative councils of British Indian provinces. The consummation of British rule in India were the 1945/1946 elections. As minor political parties were el ...

, he stood up as an

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontin ...

candidate for the Jaintia constituency. He lost to Moulvi Ibrahim Ali Chatuli of the

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind or Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind () is one of the leading organizations of Islamic scholars belonging to the Deobandi school of thought in India. It was founded in November 1919 by a group of Muslim scholars including Abdul Bari F ...

. In 1954, Habibur Rahman joined the

and became the president of the party's Sylhet District Committee until his death. He competed in the by-elections of 1956 but was unsuccessful once more.

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 ...

appeared at Darbasta Bazar in Jaintiapur to make public connections for him in the service. Habibur Rahman successfully won a seat in 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 ...

s but did not 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 ...

due to the outbreak of 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 ...

. The

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

burnt down his residence in

Sylhet town 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 a ...

on 26 March 1971. He subsequently left for

Shillong Shillong () is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a Indian state, state in northeastern India, which means "The Abode of Clouds". It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the list of most populous cities in ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

where he assisted in organising the liberation of northern Sylhet. Following the

Surrender of Pakistan The Pakistani Instrument of Surrender ( bn, পাকিস্তানের আত্মসমর্পণের দলিল, translit=Pākistānēr Atmasamarpaṇēr Dalil) was a written agreement between India, Pakistan, and the Provisional ...

, he was elected as the administrator of Sylhet Sadar and played a role in re-establishing law and order in Sylhet. He was finally elected to parliament from Sylhet-9 as an Awami League candidate following the

1973 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in newly independent Bangladesh on 7 March 1973. The result was a victory for the Bangladesh Awami League, who won 293 of the 300 seats, including eleven constituencies where they were elected unopposed without a vote. ...

Death

Habibur Rahman died in 1978 at the age of 59.

References

Awami League politicians 1978 deaths 1919 births 1st Jatiya Sangsad members People from Kanaighat Upazila 20th-century Bengalis Murari Chand College alumni {{Sylhet-politician-stub