The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal ( bn, জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল, lit=National Socialist Party) is a political party in Bangladesh. The party was founded by

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 Counc ...

. The party was dominant during the

1972–1975 Bangladesh insurgency 1972–1975 Bangladesh insurgency refers to the period after the independence of Bangladesh when left-wing Communist insurgents, particularly the Gonobahini fought against the government of the Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The governmen ...

. The current party president is Hasanul Haque Inu, and General Secretary Nazmul Haq Prodhan MP.

History

The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASAD) was formed in 1972 when it split from Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the Bangladesh Awami League, under the leadership of

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 ...

, ASM Abdur Rab 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 of ...

. It had an armed wing,

Gonobahini Gonobahini ( bn, গণবাহিনী "''People's Army''") was the armed wing of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal. The group was mainly composed of former Mukti Bahini members from the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. History In 1972, a section ...

, led by Colonel Abu Taher and Hasanul Haq Inu, Kazi Aref Ahmed, Monirul Islam, Sharif Nurul Ambia that led a violent left-wing insurgency against the government of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Their aim was to form a new left wing democratic national government, for facilitating establishing a socialist state with Bangladeshi characteristics. This led the government to form the Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini, the aim of which was to counter insurgency by the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JASAD) activists.

Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Before the coup of 15 August 1975, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal had planned to organize a mass upsurge to form a democratic national government replacing Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. After Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family were assassinated on 15 August 1975, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal leader Abu Taher showed his support and remarked: "The corpse of Sheikh Mujib should have been thrown into The Bay of Bengal". Hasanul Huq Inu was also seen reportedly dancing above a army tank after the incident. On 7 November 1975, forces loyal to Colonel Abu Taher rescued army chief Ziaur Rahman from house arrest. When Ziaur Rahman realized that Abu Taher was moving the country into a direction of leftist communism which contradicted Zia's right wing views, Zia declared martial law, formed the right wing Bangladesh Nationalist Party and cracked down on the Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal by executing Abu Taher and sentencing other leaders to various prison terms.

Factions

During Ziaur Rahman's rule, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal split up twice. The party fragmented again during the regime of Hussain Muhammad Ershad in the 1980s, with ASM Abdur Rab and Shajahan Siraj heading two separate factions. Abdur Rab's faction,

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 ...

, became the opposition after taking part in the 1988 elections that were boycotted by all major political parties. After the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) came to power in 1991, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal allied itself with former rivals Bangladesh Awami League to counter growing BNP and right wing influence in the country. ASM Abdur Rab later served as a minister from 1996 to 2001 in the Awami League-led government. After the BNP returned to power in 2001,

merged his party with it. Meanwhile, Inu, who became MP after winning elections as a grand alliance nominee with the victorious Awami League's boat as his symbol in 2008, was made Information Minister. after another split The General Secretary of the Inu-led faction is Shirin Akhter.

Election results

Jatiya Sangsad elections

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1972 establishments in Bangladesh Political history of Bangladesh Awami League breakaway groups Political parties established in 1972 Political parties in Bangladesh Socialist parties in Asia Socialist parties in Bangladesh 21st-century Bangladeshi women politicians Women members of the Jatiya Sangsad