Muhammad Mansur Ali (16 January 1917 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician who was a close confidant of

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 ...

, the founding leader of Bangladesh. A senior leader 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 ...

, Mansur also served as the

Prime Minister of Bangladesh The Prime Minister of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Bangladesher Prodhanmontri), officially Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজা� ...

in 1975.

Early life

Muhammad Mansur Ali was born on 16 January 1917 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 of Sarkars in the village of Kuripara in

Qazipur Qazipur () is one of the 44 union councils, administrative subdivisions, of Haripur District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country ...

Sirajganj Sirajganj ( bn, সিরাজগঞ্জ) is a city in north-western Bangladesh on the right bank of the Jamuna River. It is the administrative headquarters of Sirajganj District, and with a population of 167,200 is the fourteenth most populo ...

(then under

Pabna District Pabna District ( bn, পাবনা জেলা) is a district in central Bangladesh. It is an economically important district in Bangladesh. Its administrative capital is the eponymous Pabna town. History Archeologist Cunningham conjectured ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

. His father's name was Haraf Ali Sarkar. Mansur pursued his education in Kolkata Islamia College (now

Maulana Azad College Maulana Azad College, formerly Islamia College, is a public institute of liberal arts, commerce and science in India, located in central Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The college is fully government-administered. It is located near the junction of ...

). He would pursue a MA degree in economics and law from the

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 ...

. During this period Mansur became an active member of the

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 ...

, which under

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

demanded a separate

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

state of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. He served as the vice-president of the

Muslim League from 1946 to 1950. During this time, in 1948, he joined the newly formed volunteer force

National Guard of Pakistan The National Guard of Pakistan ( ur, ) is a reserve military force and the component of the Pakistan Army that is designed to act as a "second line of defense" in Pakistan. together with the Pakistan Army Reserve, the Frontier Corps and the ...

, received training at

Jessore Cantonment Jashore Cantonment is a cantonment located in the southern part of Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a popu ...

and got the rank of P.N.G.

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Deciding to practise law, he enrolled in the Pabna District Court in 1951.

Political career

He would soon be elected member of Awami League's central executive committee and president of its Pabna District unit. Mansur was arrested by police in 1952 for helping to organise protests against the declaration of

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Language Movement. Mansur and his party demanded that

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

also receive recognition and the provinces be granted

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

. After his release, Mansur was elected a member of the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly in 1954 as a candidate of the

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political a ...

alliance of various political parties. In the cabinet headed by

Ataur Rahman Khan Ataur Rahman Khan ( bn, আতাউর রহমান খান; 1 July 1907 – 7 December 1991) was a Bangladeshi lawyer, politician and writer, and served as Chief Minister of East Pakistan from 1 September 1956 – March 1958, and as the P ...

, Mansur served in different periods as the province's minister of law, parliamentary affairs, food, agriculture, commerce and industry. Mansur was re-arrested in the aftermath of the coup détat led by

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

, who became

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

. He would remain incarcerated from 1958 to 1959. Mansur Ali played an important role in the

Six point movement The six point movement was a movement in East Pakistan, spearheaded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which called for greater autonomy for East Pakistan. The movement's main agenda was to realize the six demands put forward by a coalition of Bengali na ...

led by

, who demanded substantial regional autonomy and opposed the military regime. In the 1970 elections, he was elected member of the legislative assembly. At 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 ...

in 1971, Mansur went underground to organise a

government in exile A government in exile (abbreviated as GiE) is a political group that claims to be a country or semi-sovereign state's legitimate government, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile us ...

. Mansur became the minister of finance in the

Mujibnagar Mujibnagar ( bn, মুজিবনগর), formerly known as Baidyanathtala (Boiddonathtola) and Bhoborpara, is a town in the Mujibnagar Upazila of Bangladesh. The Provisional Government of Bangladesh was formed on 10 April 1971, however, swor ...

government. After the independence of Bangladesh, Mansur was the minister of communications and later home affairs. After the introduction of a one-party, presidential system in 1975, Mujib became the

President of Bangladesh The president of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের রাষ্ট্রপতি — ) officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশে ...

. Mansur was appointed the prime minister. He helped Mujib organise the

Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BaKSAL) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ কৃষক শ্রমিক আওয়ামী লীগ "Bangladesh Worker-Peasant's People's League"; বাকশাল) was a political front comprising B ...

Personal life

He married Begum Amina the daughter of a District Judge from the area of Rangpur. They had five sons and one daughter. His eldest son Dr

Mohammad Selim Mohammad Selim (1940 – 20 January 2015) was a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a former Jatiya Sangsad member from Sirajganj-1 constituency. Early life and family Selim was born in 1940 to a Bengali Muslim family of Sarkars hailing from K ...

became an advocate from Bangladesh and studied for the BAR at Lincoln's Inn, he is a prominent political figure and became Presidium member for Awami League and held the position of Chairman of Bangladesh Foreign affairs committee as well as being an MP representing his fathers constituency Kazipur in Sirajganj District. His second son Mohammad Nasim also became a leader of prominence and was MP and held ministerial posts of Telecoms and Home for Awami League government between 1996 and 2001.

Death

On 15 August 1975, Mujib was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

along with his family by a group of military officers. The 15 August coup d'état was masterminded by

Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (also spelled Khandakar Mushtaq Ahmed; – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the President of Bangladesh from 15 August to 6 November 1975, after the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was part ...

, a disgruntled member of Mujib's regime who would become president. Mansur went into hiding immediately after the killing. When Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad invited Awami League leaders such as Mansur Ali,

Syed Nazrul Islam Syed Nazrul Islam ( bn, সৈয়দ নজরুল ইসলাম, Soiyod Nozrul Islam; 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and a senior leader of the Awami League. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he was declared a ...

A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman Abul Hasnat Muhammad Qamaruzzaman (1926 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician, government minister and a leading member of the Awami League. A member of the Mujibnagar Government, Kamaruzzaman was murdered along with Syed Nazrul Islam ...

and

Tajuddin Ahmad Tajuddin Ahmad ( bn, তাজউদ্দীন আহমদ; ; 23 July 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and statesman. He led the Provisional Government of Bangladesh as its prime minister during the Bangladesh Liberatio ...

to join his government, they refused. They were arrested by the army on 23 August 1975. Refusing to support Ahmad's regime, they were murdered while incarcerated in the

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 ...

Central Jail on 3 November, which was one of the key points for the 3 November coup, which already ousted Ahmad from power again.

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Muhammad Mansur 1917 births 1975 deaths Bangladeshi Muslims Aligarh Muslim University alumni Maulana Azad College alumni Awami League politicians Bangladesh Liberation War Bangladeshi people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Bangladeshi detention University of Calcutta alumni Recipients of the Independence Day Award Finance ministers of Bangladesh Communications ministers of Bangladesh Prime Ministers of Bangladesh Home Affairs ministers of Bangladesh Road Transport and Bridges ministers of Bangladesh Pakistan Army officers 20th-century Bengalis 20th-century Muslims People from Sirajganj District Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League executive committee members Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League central committee members