Abul Hasnat Muhammad Qamaruzzaman (1926 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician, government minister and a leading member 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 ...

. A member 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 ...

, Kamaruzzaman was murdered along with

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 ...

Muhammad Mansur Ali Muhammad Mansur Ali (16 January 1917 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician who was a close confidant of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding leader of Bangladesh. A senior leader of the Awami League, Mansur also served as the Prime ...

and

Tajuddin Ahmed 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 ...

in the jail killings in Dhaka Central Jail on 3 November 1975.

Early life

Qamaruzzaman was born in 1926 in the city of

Bagatipara Upazila Bagatipara ( bn, বাগাতিপাড়া) is an upazila of Natore District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Geography Bagatipara is located at . It has an area of 139.37 km2 and is bounded by Natore Sadar Upazila on the no ...

Natore Natore district is a district of Rajshahi Division located in northern Bangladesh. It borders the metropolitan city of Rajshahi, and used to be part of Rajshahi district. History Natore was the District Headquarters of Rajshahi from 1769 to 182 ...

in the province of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

(now in Bangladesh). He obtained degrees in economics from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every yea ...

in 1946, and a law degree from the

Rajshahi University The University of Rajshahi, also known as Rajshahi University or RU ( bn, রাজশাহী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়), is a public co-educational research university in Bangladesh situated near the northern Bangladeshi ci ...

in 1956. He began practising law after his induction in the

Rajshahi District Rajshahi District ( bn, রাজশাহী জেলা) is a district in mid-western Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rajshahi Division. The metropolitan city of Rajshahi is in Rajshahi District. Geography Rajshahi district is bounded by Naoga ...

bar association. As a student, Qamaruzzaman became active in 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 ...

and worked for the

Pakistan movement The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...

Political career

Kamaruzzaman joined the

in 1956. He was elected to the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower legislative house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which also comprises the Senate of Pakistan (upp ...

in 1962, 1965 and again in 1970. He rose to national party leadership posts in the late 1960s, becoming a close ally of Mujib. During 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 armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

, Kamaruzzaman served as the minister of relief and rehabilitation in the provisional government of Bangladesh formed at

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 ...

. After the creation of Bangladesh, he won election to the national parliament from Rajshahi in 1973. He resigned on 18 January 1974, to serve as president of the Awami League. In 1975, Kamaruzzaman was appointed minister of industries and a member of the executive committee of

BAKSAL 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 ...

Death and legacy

After the

assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman The first president of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most of his family were killed during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of young Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Dhanmondi 32 residence as part of a coup d ...

on 15 August 1975, Qamaruzzaman was arrested by the regime of the new president

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 ...

and imprisoned in the Dhaka Central Jail with

and Mansur Ali. These four senior Awami League politicians were killed on 3 November 1975, by army officers who were responsible for Mujib's death. His son, A. H. M. Khairuzzaman Liton, is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and the mayor of Rajshahi City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qamaruzzaman, Abul Hasnat Muhammad 1926 births 1975 deaths People from Rajshahi District University of Calcutta alumni Awami League politicians Presidents of the Awami League Disaster Management and Relief ministers of Bangladesh Industries ministers of Bangladesh Home Affairs ministers of Bangladesh Bangladesh Liberation War Bangladeshi people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Bangladeshi detention Recipients of the Independence Day Award Pakistani MNAs 1965–1969 Pakistani MNAs 1962–1965 Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League executive committee members Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League central committee members