Muzaffar Ahmed (14 April 1922 – 23 August 2019) was a Bangladeshi politician and professor. He was an advisor of

Provisional Government of Bangladesh The Provisional Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, popularly known as the Mujibnagar Government, was established following the Bangladeshi Declaration of Independence, declaration of independence of East Pakistan as Banglades ...

during war time in 1971. He was the president of Bangladesh National Awami Party (Pro-Moscow).

Early life

Ahmed was born at Elahabad village of Debidwar Upazila in

Comilla District Comilla District, officially known as Cumilla District, is a district of Bangladesh located about 100 kilometres south east of Dhaka. Comilla is bordered by Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj districts to the north, Noakhali and Feni districts to t ...

in 1922. He passed HSC from

Comilla Victoria College Comilla Victoria Government College is a college in Comilla, Bangladesh. It is one of the oldest and renowned colleges in Comilla as well as in Chittagong division. The college is located beside of Ranir Dighi on 32 acres of land including its in ...

and graduated from

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

. He taught at the same university and also participated in the Bengali Language Movement.

Career

Ahmed started his political career in 1937 by joining the

Student Federation A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

, a leftist students’ organisation. In 1954, he defeated

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 ...

leader Mofiz Uddin in the East Bengal Legislative Election. In 1957, Ahmed formed the

National Awami Party The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...

(NAP) under the leadership of

Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani (12 December 1880 – 17 November 1976), often shortened as Maulana Bhashani, was a Bengali politician. His political tenure spanned the British colonial India, Pakistan and Bangladesh periods. Maulana Bhashani was pop ...

. In 1967, Ahmed became the president of the-then East Pakistan NAP (Pro-Moscow), as the main NAP was divided on the question of following pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese lines. In 1971, Ahmed served as an adviser of the

Mujibnagar Government The Provisional Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, popularly known as the Mujibnagar Government, was established following the declaration of independence of East Pakistan as Bangladesh on 10 April 1971. Headed by prime minis ...

, the government of Bangladesh in exile, during the Bangladesh Liberation war. He spoke in favor of Bangladesh during the war at the General Assembly of the United Nations. Ahmed founded a special guerrilla force comprising the members of National Awami Party (NAP), Communist Party of Bangladesh, and Bangladesh Chhatra Union in 1971. After the

Independence of Bangladesh Independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day, from Pakistan. The Independence Day of Bangladesh is celebrated on 26 March when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the Independence of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh ...

, he was offered a ministry position but refused. In 2015, Ahmed was nominated for the

Independence Day Award The Independence Day Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পদক), also termed Independence Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পুরস্কার), Swadhinata Padak, and Swadhinata Puroskar, is the highest state award given by t ...

, the highest civilian award in Bangladesh, in 2015. He refused the award on principle because he believed politics should be for the people not position or power.

Personal life and death

Ahmed's wife

Amina Ahmed Amina Ahmed ( bn, হোছনে আরা বেগম) is a Bangladesh Awami League Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, w ...

was elected to parliament in 2008 from a women's reserve seat as a Bangladesh Awami League candidate. Together they had a daughter, Ivy Ahmed. Ahmed died on 23 August in 2019 in Dhaka. His funeral was attended by Prime Minister of Bangladesh,

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister ...

, and took place at the National Parliament. He was buried in Debidwar Upazila,

with full state honours.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Muzaffar 1922 births 2019 deaths People from Comilla District Bangladeshi politicians Bangladeshi communists University of Dhaka alumni Academic staff of Dhaka College Academic staff of the University of Dhaka National Awami Party (Muzaffar) politicians