Abdur Razzaq (1 August 1942 – 23 December 2011) was a

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

politician and member of the

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

Advisory Council. He was the

Minister for Water Resources The Australian Minister for the Environment and Water is a position which is currently held by Murray Watt in the Albanese ministry since 13 May 2025, following the Australian federal election in 2025. In the Government of Australia, the mini ...

from 1996 to 2001 in the first Sheikh Hasina Cabinet. He was the chairman of the

Parliamentary In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Standing Committee for the Water Resources Ministry.

Early life and education

Razzaq was born in 1 August 1942 to a middle class business family of ''South Damudya'' village under Damudya Upazila of

Shariatpur District Shariatpur District () is a district in Dhaka Division of central Bangladesh. Shariatpur is named after the Islamic revivalist, Haji Shariatullah. Etymology Shariatpur was named after Haji Shariatullah (1781–1840), who was the founder of Faraiz ...

in the

province of Bengal The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

(now

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

) to father Alhaj Imamuddin and mother Begum Akfatun Nesa. His childhood dream was to develop his village into an ideal village where everyone would prosper and be solvent. Razzaq passed his

Secondary School Certificate Secondary School Certificate (SSC), Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) or Matriculation examination, is a public examination in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Maldives and Nepal conducted by educational boards for the successful completi ...

examination from Damudya Muslim High School in 1958 and

Higher Secondary School Certificate Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC), Higher Secondary School Certificate, Higher Secondary Education Certificate (HSEC) or Intermediate Examination is a secondary education qualification in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. It is equivalent to the f ...

examination from

Dhaka College Dhaka College (), informally known as DC, is a public educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the subcontinent. It offers Honours degree, honours and Master's degree ...

in 1960, he then enrolled at

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

and passed the BA (Honors) in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and in 1964 he enrolled and passed the MA in political science. Later he passed

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

and enrolled as a lawyer in 1973. Razzaq married Farida Razzaq in 1973 and is the father of Nahim Razzaq and Fahim Razzaq. Inauguration ceremony of Y Magazine

Political career

Razzaq started his political career in student life being elected as the secretary of Fazlul Haq Hall Students Union,

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

in 1963. A versatile charismatic leader with dynamic organising capacity Razzaq emerged as a popular parliamentarian, and took over the responsibilities of different ministries of the Government of Bangladesh. Razzaq was the member of the Provincial Assembly in 1970 and elected member of the parliament of the independent Bangladesh in 1973, 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2008. In 9th parliamentary election Razzaq was elected Member of Parliament from

Shariatpur-3 Shariatpur-3 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2012 by Nahim Razzaq of the Awami League. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Damudya and Gosairhat upazilas and the Bhedarganj Th ...

( Bhedarganj- Damudya- Gosairhat) constituency getting 102,925 votes while his nearest rival K M Hemayet Ullah Awrangajeb of BNP got 52,672 votes. Chronology of Razzaq's political career: * 1959–1960: Student union executive member. * 1960–1962: Central Member of East Pakistan Students League. * 1962–1963: Unopposed Assistant General Secretary of Fazlul Huq Hall (

). * 1963–1965: Assistant Joint Secretary (AGS) of

Bangladesh Chhatra League Bangladesh Chhatra League, simply Chhatra League (), is the student wing of the political party, Bangladesh Awami League, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 4 January 1948. The organisation is banned and listed as a terrorist organisation in B ...

and also the elected General Secretary of Fazlul Huq Hall Students Union. * 1965–1967: General Secretary of Bangladesh Chhatra League for two terms. * 1969–1972: Chief of Awami Volunteer Core. * 1972–1975: Organizing Secretary of Bangladesh Awami League. * 1975–1978: Secretary of

BAKSAL The Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (), abbreviated as BaKSAL, was the sole legal ruling party of Bangladesh from January to August 1975. The party comprised politicians from the Awami League, the Communist Party of Bangladesh, the Na ...

. * 1978–1981: Secretary-General of Bangladesh Awami League. * 1983–1991: General Secretary of post-1983 BAKSAL. * 1991–2008: Presidium member of Bangladesh Awami League. * 2008–2009: Member of Advisory council of Bangladesh Awami League.

Contribution in Liberation War 1971

Razzaq was the sector commander of Meghaloy (one of four sector commanders of Mujib Bahini) during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. He was also an organiser and trainer of

Mujib Bahini The Mujib Bahini, initially called the Bangladesh Liberation Force (BLF), was an politico-armed force formed during the Bangladesh Liberation War to fight against Pakistan in 1971. The force was mainly composed of activists drawn from the Awami ...

and was trained in

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

by General Uban of the Indian Army. Mujib Bahini or Bangladesh Liberation Force (BLF) was formed to oppose the Pakistani armed forces.

Imprisonment

Razzaq was arrested many times and jailed as a political prisoner. The first time he was sent to jail during 1964–65 by

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

Government where he appeared his masters examination. Later he was imprisoned from 1967 to 1969 for participating in the 6-Point Movement. After the Liberation War '71, during the Military Coup and the

Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh, was assassinated along with most of his family members during the early hours of 15 August 1975 by a group of Bangladesh Army personnel who invaded his Bangabandhu Memorial Museum, re ...

in 1975 to 1978; Razzaq was yet again arrested along with several other followers of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. During Ershad regime he was also imprisoned in 1987.

Achievements

* Struggle for the establishment of Six point movement during Pakistani regime. * One of the leading organizers of liberation war and participating liberation war. * As a minister of water resource 1996–2001, signing of

Sharing of Ganges Waters A long-standing dispute exists between India and Bangladesh over the appropriate allocation, and development, of the water resources of the Ganges River, which flows from northern India into Bangladesh. The issue had remained a subject of confl ...

Treaty between Bangladesh &

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. * Led a 10-member parliamentary team's fact-finding mission on

Tipaimukh Dam Tipaimukh Dam, officially "Tipaimukh Multipurpose Hydroelectric Dam Project", is a proposed dam on the Barak River at Sipuikawn (Tipaimukh) in Manipur, Manipur, India. The purpose of the dam is flood control and hydroelectric power generation. ...

project and visited India during July–August 2009. On return from India, Razzaq presented a report to the parliament where he said that the Indian ministers had assured them that they would not implement any project to harm Bangladesh.

Death

Razzaq died from kidney and liver damage on 23 December 2011 in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Razzaq, Abdur 1942 births 2011 deaths University of Dhaka alumni Dhaka College alumni Awami League politicians 8th Jatiya Sangsad members 5th Jatiya Sangsad members 7th Jatiya Sangsad members Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League executive committee members Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League central committee members Bangladesh independence activists