Shajahan Siraj (1 March 1943 – 14 July 2020) was a Bangladeshi politician who served as the vice chairman of the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the major ...

(BNP). As a student, he was involved with 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 ...

. He was one of the founders of

Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal ( bn, জাতীয় সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল, 'National Socialist Party of Bangladesh', JSD or 'জাসদ', JASAD) is a List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangla ...

. He was a member of

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of ...

representing the

Tangail-4 Tangail-4 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2017 by Hasan Imam Khan of the Awami League. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Kalihati Upazila Kalihati ( bn, কালিহা� ...

constituency.

Early life

Siraj attended

Government Saadat College Government Saadat College ( bn, সরকারী সা'দত কলেজ) is an old public college in Karatia, Tangail, Bangladesh. It is often referred to as Karatia College.It was established in July 1926. The college is located at Karatia ...

, where he was twice elected vice president of the student council. He served as the general secretary of the

Bangladesh Chhatra League The Bangladesh Chhatra League ( bn, বাংলাদেশ ছাত্রলীগ; translation: Bangladesh Students' League; BSL), formerly known as the East Pakistan Student League, often simply called the Chhatra League, is a students' po ...

, the student organization 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 ...

, from 1970 to 1972. He was a leader of the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

and one of the leaders of Bangladesh liberation. Siraj was one of the designers of the

Bangladesh flag The national flag, national flag of Bangladesh, was adopted officially on 17 January 1972. It consists of a red disc or sun on top of a dark green banner. The red disc is offset slightly toward the hoist so that it appears centered when the flag i ...

. Siraj read the manifesto of Bangladesh independence on March 3, 1971, in front of millions of people in the presence 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 ...

. He served as the acting General Secretary and also the president of

(JSD).

Career

Siraj won election to parliament five times from

constituency. He served as a minister, for the Government of Bangladesh, during 1991 and 2001 BNP's tenure. During his tenure as the environment minister, the use and production of

plastic shopping bag Plastic shopping bags, carrier bags, or plastic grocery bags are a type of plastic bag used as shopping bags and made from various kinds of plastic. In use by consumers worldwide since the 1960s, these bags are sometimes called single-use bags, r ...

s (polythene bags) were banned in Bangladesh, 3-stroke scooters were withdrawn from the road, and social tree plantation turned into a movement. In 2007, arrest warrants were issued for Siraj in connection with thirteen charges of tax evasion. He was sentenced to thirteen years in jail, and his wife three. That conviction was overturned in 2010.

Personal life

Siraj was married to Rabeya Siraj, a women's movement leader, president of the BNP's Dhaka city women's front, and a member of the BNP national executive committee. Together they have a daughter, Sarwat Siraj, and, Rajiv Siraj, a son. Sarwat is a practising advocate at the

Bangladesh Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশ সুপ্রীম কোর্ট) is the highest court of law in Bangladesh. It is composed of the High Court Division and the Appellate Division, and was created by Part VI C ...

. Rajiv is a member of board of directors of One Group.

Death

Siraj died on 14 July 2020 at a hospital in Dhaka after suffering from cancer.

Early life

Career

Personal life

Death

References

Further reading