Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani (4 December 1939 – 15 August 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the nephew of the founding father of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and founded the Mujib Bahini (Bangladesh Liberation Force-BLF) one of the major guerrilla forces 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 ...

. He also founded the

Jubo League The Bangladesh Awami Jubo League ( bn, বাংলাদেশ আওয়ামী যুবলীগ) commonly known as the Jubo League, is the first youth organization of Bangladesh founded by Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani. It is the youth wing o ...

, the youth wing of Bangladesh Awami League.

Early life

Mani was born in

Tungipara Tungipara ( bn, টুঙ্গিপাড়া) is an upazila of Gopalganj District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the birthplace of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of independent Bangladesh and his grave is also ...

, Gopalganj District on 4 December 1939. He studied in

Nabakumar Institution Nabakumar Institution is a historical education institute in Bakhsi Bazar of old Dhaka, Bangladesh. History Nabakumar Institution was established in 1916 by a zamindar called Nabakumar. It was operated as a school though it was named an institut ...

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 ...

. Later, he studied at

Jagannath College Jagannath University (JnU) ( bn, জগন্নাথ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় ''Jagannātha biśbabidyālaẏa'', University Acrostic : জবি or JnU) is a state-funded public university at 9–10, Chittaranjan Avenue in Sa ...

(HSC, 1958) and BM College (BA, 1960).

Career

Mani was the founding chairman of the

. Later he served as general secretary of the then East Pakistan Chhatra League from 1960 to 1964. His contribution to spearhead the historic student movement against autocratic ruler

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 regime produced an immense effect. He played a pivotal role during the six-point movement in 1966. He was a student leader and general secretary of Student League. In the first week of April 1971 he along with three other Awami League leaders escaped to

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. The leaders were

Tofael Ahmed Tofail Ahmed (born 22 October 1943) is a Bangladeshi politician. He is a 7-term Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Bhola-1, Bhola-2 and Bakerganj-1 constituencies since 1973. Previously he served as the Minister of Commerce and Minister of ...

, Abdur Razzak and

Shirazul Alam Khan Serajul Alam Khan (also known as "Dada" and "Dadabhai"; born January 6, 1941) is a Bangladeshi political analyst, philosopher and writer. He is one of the founders of Swadhin Bangla Biplobi Parishad (English: Independent Bengal Revolutionary Coun ...

. They organized 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 ...

in India to liberate Bangladesh. Mani and P. N. Banerji, then joint director of

Research and Analysis Wing The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, an ...

(east), set up the Mujib Bahini as a counterbalance to former

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...

army officers in the Mukti Bahini. Members of the Mujib Bahini would go on to form the Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini. He took part in the war of liberation in 1971 as the commander, without any military training, of the Bangladesh Liberation Front. He initially supported the formation of a revolutionary council instead of an interim government which was against the wishes of Tajuddin Ahmed. He eventually had to give up on that and the interim government was formed. He was considered part of the inner circle of President Mujibur and was seen as loyal to Mujibur. This was the reason given for his assassination. Mani was the author of several novels, one of which was later made into a film '' Obanchita''. Mani was the founder of the daily newspaper '' Dainik Banglar Bani''.

Death

Mani, along with his wife Arzu Moni, was killed during the Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in a military coup on 15 August 1975. He lived two kilometers away from Mujibur in

Dhanmondi Dhanmondi ( bn, ধানমন্ডি) is a residential area in Dhaka, Bangladesh, known for its central location, cultural vibrancy and being home to the country's founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The origins of Dhanmondi can be traced back to t ...

. The attack on his house was witnessed by Mahfuz Anam, who is the editor as well as the publisher of '' The Daily Star'', whose house was on the opposite side of the lake from Mani's house. His two sons -

Fazle Noor Taposh Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh (born 19 November 1971) is a Bangladeshi politician and current Mayor of South Dhaka. He previously served as a Member of the Jatiya Sangsad for Dhaka-10 and Dhaka-12 from the Bangladesh Awami League. Early life Taposh ...

, now the mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation, and Sheikh Fazle Shams Parash, an academician by profession - survived the attack, as they were hiding under a bed. His wife, who was thought to be pregnant, was also killed. Taposh was three years and eight months old then, while Parash was around five years. Taposh was elected to the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) in the

2008 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in Bangladesh on 29 December 2008. The two main parties in the election were the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), led by Khaleda Zia, and the Bangladesh Awami League Party, led by Sheikh Hasina. The Bangladesh Awa ...

from the Dhaka-12 constituency. He was elected Mayor of DSCC in the 2020 Dhaka South City Corporation election. Parash currently holds the position of chairman of the

Legacy

The Shahid Sheikh Moni Memorial International Chess Tournament, which was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2015, was named in his memory. An auditorium in

Gopalganj Gopalganj may refer to: Bangladesh *Gopalganj District, Bangladesh, a district of Dhaka Division **Gopalganj, Bangladesh, a town and headquarter of Gopalganj district **Gopalganj Sadar Upazila, an upazila of Gopalganj District ** Gopalganj-1, a pa ...

, Bangladesh was named after him.

Criticism

Mani was given lucrative positions in the government formed by

Sheikh Mujib Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

. When private trade with India was banned due to slow inflation, Mani actively engaged in it with Mujib's blessings. This was seen as an attempt by Mujib to form a dynasty.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haque Mani, Sheikh Fazlul 1939 births 1975 deaths Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Assassinated Bangladeshi politicians People murdered in Bangladesh Recipients of the Independence Day Award Sheikh Mujibur Rahman family Mukti Bahini personnel Deaths by firearm in Bangladesh Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League executive committee members Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League central committee members 1975 murders in Bangladesh