Mosharraf Hossain (Jessore Politician)

Mosharraf Hossain ( bn, মোশাররফ হোসেন; 7 March 1925 – 3 February 1974) was a politician and lawyer from Jessore, Bangladesh. He was actively involved in the Bengali nationalist movement in East Pakistan and the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.

He was elected as a member of the Provincial Assembly of East Pakistan in the 1970 election, and was a member of the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh from April 1971 to September 1972. In 1972, he resigned from the Constituent Assembly, left the ruling party Awami League, and joined the left-wing opposition party Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (abbr. JSD or JASAD or 'জাসদ') as one of its founding vice presidents. Mosharraf was assasignated in 1974.

Early life

Born in the Sabhaipur village of Bangaon (which was then a Mahakuma of the greater Jessore district), Mosharraf studied in Jessore Zilla School and Michael Madhusudan College (known at that time as Jessore College) of today's Jessore. He received his law degree (LL.B.) from Ripon College (under the University of Calcutta).

Political career

Post British India

After completing his education, Mosharraf made a brief foray into the state politics of West Bengal. In the Legislative Assembly Election of West Bengal in 1951/52, he contested in the Bangaon constituency as an independent candidate against Jibon Ratan Dhar of the Indian National Congress and Ajit Kumar Ganguly of the Communist Party of India. In 1953, due to his continued opposition to the ruling party, Congress, the Indian government accused him of treason and issued him a 24-hour ultimatum to leave the country.

East Pakistan

Afterwards, Hossain returned to Jessore city and continued developing his political career in East Pakistan with Awami League. His elder brother lawyer Habibur Rahman already lived in Jessore and was the first president of Jessore district Awami League. Mosharraf was the secretary of the central relief committee that was formed in Jessore to help the refugees fleeing into Pakistan during the 1964 Calcutta riots.

In 1967, when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was in jail, the Awami League split into two groups due to disagreements over the Six-point demand. Many of Mosharraf's political compatriots, including Mashiur Rahman and Raushan Ali of Jessore, joined the pro-PDM faction of the Awami League that opposed the Six-point. However, Mosharraf remained in the mainstream Awami League, with the Six-pointers. In January 1968, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, accused in the Agartala Conspiracy Case and imprisoned in Dhaka Jail, was arrested from the jail gate and taken to Dhaka Cantonment. His whereabouts were kept secret by the Pakistani government. Advocate Mosharraf Hossain made a statement in February demanding the release of information regarding the physical condition and location of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. In the statement, he also demanded that Sheikh Mujib be allowed to communicate with his family members and lawyers.

The pro-PDM leaders eventually returned to the mainstream Awami League during the anti-Ayub movement. An avid political supporter of both the Six-point movement and the 1969 East Pakistan mass uprising, Advocate Mosharraf won in the 1970 Pakistani provincial election from Jessore. On 18 March 1971, in a joint press statement, Mosharraf Hossain, along with Mashiur Rahman and Raushan Ali, alleged that the local military was trying to create panic among the people and demanded punishment for those involved.

Bangladesh Liberation War

During the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971, Pakistan's military government brought several charges against Mosharraf for his activities against the state. The charges included - opposing the state of Pakistan, arms procurement, arms distribution, and arms training. Witness reports from Jessore published in Indian sources mention that the Pakistan army tried fanatically to apprehend Mosharraf Hossain. A reward was announced for the capture of him, dead or alive. Though he evaded capture during Operation Searchlight, his house in Jessore city was raided on 25 March and later seized by the Pakistan army to be used as a camp. At the very early stage of the war, when the Indian government was hesitant to get involved, he met Indian leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and others, requesting equipment and initiating support for the refugees.

Mosharraf became a member of the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh in April. The Provisional Government of Bangladesh appointed him as the head of the Bangaon regugee camp, where food and shelter were provided to incoming refugees from the east. Arms training was also arranged there in a nearby school field. His activities during the war was not confined to administrative duties in the camp. In May 1971, amid heavy artillery fire from the Pakistan army, he accompanied prime minister Tajuddin Ahmed in inspecting the field operation of the Bangladesh army inside Jessore. In November 1971, Bangladesh Awami League, operating the Provisional Government of Bangladesh in exile, tasked him with setting up local administration in the Jessore district and restoring Awami League's organizational capabilities in the area.

Independent Bangladesh

Though Mosharraf was a central committee member of Awami League, his political differences with the party leadership grew over time. During the April 1972 conference of the Awami League, Mosharraf was dismissed from the central committee and succeeded by Raushan Ali from Jessore. Raushan, a former pro-PDM leader, had previously opposed Mujib's Six-point demand and faced a three-year expulsion from the Awami League in 1967. In 1972, a division within the student wing of the Awami League resulted in Mosharraf's elder daughter, Sathi, aligning with Serajul Alam Khan's faction, which espoused the philosophy of Scientific Socialism and opposed Mujibism. Furthermore, in August of the same year, Mosharraf resigned from the vice-president position of the Jessore district Awami League, objecting the inclusion of political opportunists and sympathizers of the Muslim League within the committee..

On September 10, 1972, the Awami League temporarily suspended Mosharraf's primary membership, citing allegations of violating party orders, acting against the party's interest, and involvement in corruption. Subsequently, Mosharraf received a notice from the party ordering him to explain his conduct or face permanent expulsion. In response, Mosharraf refuted all allegations of corruption, challenged the authority of the Awami League committee to issue such a notice, and expressed concerns about the party's ideological disintegrity, pervasive corruption, and nepotism. Furthermore, he characterized the Awami League's post-liberation politics as more menacing in terms of deceit and betrayal than that of conspirators like Ayub Khan and Abdul Monem. Simultaneously, he announced his resignation from the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh. The acting speaker accepted his resignation on September 22, and the official cessation notice was published on September 26 of the same year.

Following his departure from Awami League, Mosharraf assumed the role of founding vice-president of the newly established opposition party Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), and also became the president of the Jessore district JSD. Notably, JSD was founded on October 31.

Mosharraf Hossain went on to participate in the 1973 Bangladeshi general election as a JSD candidate in the (now defunct) Jessore 9 constituency but lost to Raushan Ali of Awami League. In total, only three candidates from the opposition parties, JSD, NAP (M), and Jatiya League, were able to win across the country. The margin of Awami League's victory came as a surprise to many observers.

Following the election, Mosharraf's personal safety became precarious amid an increasingly violent political struggle between Awami League and JSD, plus other left-wing insurgents. Soon he was arrested by the Rakkhi Bahini, a paramilitary force formed by the Bangladesh government to curb the insurgency. He was released on bail after two months.

Assassination

Mosharraf Hossain was assassinated by a gang of unknown armed operatives on 3 February 1974. He was gunned down to death at his residence by masked assailants while talking with two political associates. At least one of those who were present with him that night got seriously injured in the attack. At that time, Mosharraf was the vice president of Bangladesh JSD. The party organized a general strike in Jessore, demonstrations in Dhaka, and nationwide protests decrying the brutal killing.

Political leaders, including Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, expressed their shock and condolences. In a message to the deceased's family, the Prime Minister wrote - "His contribution to our liberation struggle will be remembered by everyone."

Mosharraf Hossain's daughter Raoshan Jahan Sathi was a member of the 9th Parliament of Bangladesh. His son-in-law Kazi Aref Ahmed was one of the organizers of the Bangladesh Liberation war.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hossain, Mosharraf
1925 births
1974 deaths
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD politicians
1974 murders in Bangladesh
Jashore Zilla School alumni
Asian politicians assassinated in the 1970s
Bangladeshi politicians assassinated in the 20th century
20th-century Bangladeshi politicians
Politicians assassinated in 1974
People from Jessore District