Muhammad Sayful Alam ( bn, মোঃ ছয়ফুল আলম; 7 March 1934 – 14 January 1997) 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 teacher. He was a member of the

East Pakistan 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 ...

. He had made extensive contributions to the overall development of

Gowainghat Upazila Gowainghat ( bn, গোয়াইনঘাট) is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. History The British Empire conquered the Jaintia Kingdom on 25 March 1835, finally incorporating Gowainghat in its Sylhet Dist ...

Early life and education

Sayful Alam was born on 7 March 1934, 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 Purnanagar,

Gowainghat Gowainghat ( bn, গোয়াইনঘাট) is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. History The British Empire conquered the Jaintia Kingdom on 25 March 1835, finally incorporating Gowainghat in its Sylhet Di ...

, located in the

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 ...

of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. The family may have originally been from the nearby village of Rautgram in West Alirgaon Union. He passed 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 1954, and earned his

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 ...

two years later.

Career

Alam began his career as a teacher at the Gowainghat High School for two years. His entrance to politics started at the Basic Democracy elections held in 1959 under

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 ...

's military rule. He became a member initially, and then later the uncontested chairman of the constituency. Alam participated in the May 1962 Basic Democracy elections, becoming a member of the

, representing the PE-113 (Sylhet-IV) constituency. According to Ehsanul Haq Jasim, Alam was convicted in a murder case eighteen months later and his seat became void. A by-election was held with

Khandakar Abdul Jalil Khondakar ( bn, খন্দকার, Khondokar) is a Bengali Muslim surname found in Bangladesh and neighbouring East Indian regions. Etymology and history The Bengali surname comes from the Old Persian Khandan ( fa, خواندن, Xwândan, To ...

being nominated. He was later found to be innocent. Gowainghat was made an

upazila An ''upazila'' ( bn, উপজেলা, upôzela, lit=sub-district pronounced: ), formerly called ''thana'', is an administrative region in Bangladesh, functioning as a sub-unit of a district. It can be seen as an analogous to a county or a ...

(sub-district) in 1983 as part of the

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

Hussain Muhammad Ershad Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( bn, হুসেইন মুহাম্মদ এরশাদ; 1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi Army Chief politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time ma ...

's decentralisation programme and Alam was appointed as the inaugural chairman of the

Council in 1985. Alam was also the elected founding chairman of the undivided Alirgaon Union.

Death and legacy

Alam died on 14 January 1967 and was buried in the Purnanagar Graveyard. He had several children including Muazzam Husayn Ripon. In 1999, the

visited Alam's grave along with Abdul Hannan and MP Nasir Ahmad of Derai- Sullah. The condition of the graveyard is presently not well preserved.

References

People of East Pakistan People from Gowainghat Upazila Bengali politicians 20th-century Bengalis 1997 deaths 1934 births {{Bangladesh-politician-stub