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Abdul Kader Siddique ( bn, আবদুল কাদের সিদ্দিকী) is a Bangladeshi politician. He is popularly known under the title of Bangabir. He served as a Mukti Bahini member and organizer of the Bangladesh Liberation War. He fought with an estimated 17,000-strong guerrilla force in the Tangail region against the Pakistan Army.Brian May, "Indian Army Arrests 'Tiger of Tangail' After Dacca Bayoneting", ''The Times'', December 21, 1971, pg. 4. The army was called '' Kaderia Bahini'' (Kader's Army). At the end of the war, on 16 December 1971, Siddique's forces entered
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
along with the Indian forces, signaling the end of the war. He was awarded
Bir Uttom Bir Uttom ( bn, বীর উত্তম, lit=Great Valiant Hero) is the second highest award for individual gallantry in Bangladesh after the Bir Sreshtho and the highest gallantry award for a living individual. Since the independence of Bang ...
by the
Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Co ...
. Since 1999, he has been serving as the leader of his own-formed party
Krishak Sramik Janata League The Krishak Sramik Janata League () is a political party in Bangladesh. Bangabir Kader Siddique is the president of the party, and Habibur Rahman Talukdar the general secretary. In the 2001 parliamentary election, the party won 1 out of 300 elect ...
.


Career

During the Bangladesh Liberation war, he formed
Kader Bahini Kader may refer to: * ''Kader'' (film), a 2006 Turkish drama film *Kader Group, a toy manufacturer of Hong Kong People with the given name * Kader Abdolah (born 1954), Iranian-Dutch writer, poet and columnist. *Kader Asmal (1934–2011), South Af ...
to fight against the Pakistan military. The Kader Bahini, as it is said, had 17 thousand personnel. He was loyal to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He and his unit fought mostly in Tangail District. After the Independence of Bangladesh, Siddique went back to his home town of
Tangail Tangail ( bn, টাঙ্গাইল, ), is a major city within the Dhaka Division in central Bangladesh. It sits on the bank of the Louhajang River, north-west of Dhaka, the nation's capital. It is considered to be the main urban area of ...
where he enjoyed considerable patronage from the Awami League, the party of Prime Minister Mujibur Rahman. After the assassination of Mujibur Rahman in 1975, Siddiqui and his followers organised attacks on the authorities of Khondakar Mushtaque's government. Elements loyal to Siddiqui operated from bases in
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
province in India and were actively supported by India's
Border Security Force The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...
. In the insurgency against the military government of Bangladesh 104 rebels were killed and more than 500 were injured. The insurgency lasted more than two years. He was tried by a military court on 24 July 1978 and sentenced to 7 years in jail. He was sentenced to life imprisoned on revolt and murder charges. He was accused of killing a major and a number of soldiers of
Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army is the land warfare branch and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to deliver the Bangladeshi government's security and defe ...
after the Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman following the
15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music * Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak alb ...
. On 16 December 1990, he returned to Bangladesh from self imposed exile in India. He was arrested in Bangladesh on 17 January 1991. Siddique was elected member of the parliament of Bangladesh from different constituencies of Tangail. In 1996, Siddique was elected to Parliament as a Bangladesh Awami League candidate from Tangail-8. In 1999, Siddique was expelled from Awami League. He then resigned from the parliament and formed his own party
Krishak Sramik Janata League The Krishak Sramik Janata League () is a political party in Bangladesh. Bangabir Kader Siddique is the president of the party, and Habibur Rahman Talukdar the general secretary. In the 2001 parliamentary election, the party won 1 out of 300 elect ...
. This triggered a by-election, which he lost to the Bangladesh Awami League candidate, Shawakat Momen Shahjahan. Siddique was elected to parliament from Tangail 8 in 2001 Bangladesh General Election as a candidate of Krishak Sramik Janata League. On 17 October 2006 his rally was attacked by Bangladesh Chhatra League activists leaving 11 injured in
Jamalpur District Jamalpur ( bn, জামালপুর জেলা, ''Jamalpur Jela'' also ''Jamalpur Zila'') is a district in Bangladesh, part of the Mymensingh Division. It was established in 1978. Geography Jamalpur occupies 2031.98 km2. It is locat ...
. A court in Dhaka issued an arrest warrant for Siddique on 11 November 2014 over a defamation case for calling Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir Alamgir, Minister of Home Affairs, a Razzakar. In 2017, Bangladesh High Court disqualified Siddique from contesting a by-election from Tangail-4 because he had defaulted on a loan. He tried to contest the
2018 Bangladesh General Election General elections were held in Bangladesh on 30 December 2018 to elect 300 directly-elected members of the Jatiya Sangsad. The result was a landslide victory for the Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina. According to political scientist Ali Riaz ...
from Tangail-4 and Tangail-8 but his candidacy was rejected by
Bangladesh Election Commission The Bangladesh Election Commission ( bn, বাংলাদেশ নির্বাচন কমিশন), abbreviated and publicly referred to as EC, is an independent constitutional body that operates the legal functions of election laws in ...
. He, along with his party, joined the Jatiya Oikyafront to contest the election against the Bangladesh Awami League alliance. His daughter, Kuri Siddique, also applied for nomination from Tangail-8 in case his candidacy was rejected. The Election Commission rejected the appeal filed by Siddique, challenging the cancellation of his nomination on 8 December 2018.


Controversy

According to a report in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'', Siddique and his guerrillas beat up and subsequently bayoneted and shot to death a group of prisoners (who they claimed were members of the Razakars) after a rally held near Dhaka Stadium on 19 December 1971. Siddique personally bayoneted three prisoners to death and the entire incident was filmed by foreign film crews whom Siddique invited to witness the spectacle. Siddique was subsequently arrested by the Indian Army. Siddique discussed his involvement in the murders in an interview with Yasmin Saikia, the author of ''Women, War and Making Bangladesh: Remembering 1971''. After describing an event in which Siddiqui shot a Mukti Bahini soldier for stealing a shawl from a civilian, Saikia states, referring to the Dhaka stadium incident, that 'at the time he did not think of his act as a crime against humanity, being swayed by the Bengali public sentiment for revenge. Today he knows that both...were violent acts, and he is pained by his past'.


Personal life

Siddique is married to Nasrin Siddique. His elder brother
Abdul Latif Siddiqui Abdul Latif Siddiqui (born 1943) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician. He represented the Tangail-4 constituency for two terms in the Bangladesh Parliament. He served as the Minister of Textiles and Jute in the second Hasina ministry and ...
is also an Awami League politician who served as the member of parliament and the minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology. He, too, was expelled from the party in 2015. Their other two younger brothers are Murad Siddiqui and Azad Siddiqui.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siddique, Abdul Kader Living people Mukti Bahini personnel Recipients of the Bir Uttom 8th Jatiya Sangsad members Awami League politicians Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) 7th Jatiya Sangsad members People from Tangail District