Moulvi Abdus Salam ( bn, আবদুস সালাম; 11 January 1906 – 10 May 1999) 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 member of the

Assam Legislative Assembly The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present Western Assam region. The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Me ...

. He was later a member of the East Bengal Provincial Assembly and the Revenue Minister in

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

from 1954 to 1962.

Early life and education

Abdus Salam was born on 11 January 1906 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 Sonapur in

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 ...

Sylhet District Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট), located in north-east Bangladesh, is the divisional capital and one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division. History Sylhet district was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Pro ...

. His father's name was

Munshi Munshi is a Persian word, originally used for a contractor, writer, or secretary, and later used in the Mughal Empire and India for native language teachers, teachers of various subjects, especially administrative principles, religious texts, ...

Hazir Ali and mother's name was Alekjan Begum. He completed his primary education from Birdal Primary School in 1918, before proceeding to join the Kanaighat Government Middle English School in 1922. In 1931, he passed first class from Jhingabari Alia Madrasa. He received 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 1933 and

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 1936, both from the

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 ...

Sylhet 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 an ...

. Abdus Salam received his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...

Career

Abdus Salam was elected as a member of the

on 19 January 1937, during his days as a student. In 1954, he was appointed as the president of the Sylhet District

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. **Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...

. He successfully won a seat in the

East Bengal Legislative Assembly The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...

in 1954 as a

politician as well as becoming the Revenue and Land Administration Minister for East Bengal. During the

1979 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in Bangladesh on 18 February 1979. The result was a victory for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which won 207 of the 300 seats. Voter turnout was 51.3%. The Awami League became the main opposition party after winnin ...

, he competed as a

Bangladesh Muslim League The Bangladesh Muslim League ( bn, বাংলাদেশ মুসলিম লীগ) is a political party in Bangladesh that traces its origins to the All-India Muslim League, established in 1906. The party was banned along with other Islam ...

candidate but was unsuccessful. He was elected as the president of the Bangladesh Muslim League's Sylhet District branch in 1976.

Death

Abdus Salam died in

on 10 May 1999.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salam People from Kanaighat Upazila Politicians from Sylhet Division 1906 births 1999 deaths Pakistan Muslim League politicians Bangladesh Muslim League politicians All India Muslim League members Aligarh Muslim University alumni Murari Chand College alumni Assam MLAs 1937–1946 East Pakistan MLAs 1954–1958