Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
March 17, 1920 –August 15, 1975
Politician, Writer
Lived 55 years
- Born in
- Tungipara Upazila
- Passed away in
- Dhaka
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman, activist, and diarist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangladesh, he led the country as its president and prime minister from 1972 until his assassination in a coup d'état in 1975.
Born in an aristocratic Bengali Muslim family in Tungipara, Mujib emerged as a student activist in the province of Bengal during the final years of the British Raj. He was a member of the All-India Muslim League, supported Muslim nationalism, and advocated for the establishment of Pakistan in his early political career. In 1949, he became part of a liberal, secular and left-wing faction which later became the Awami League. In the 1950s, he was elected to Pakistan's parliament where he defended the rights of East Bengal. Mujib served 13 years in prison during the British Raj and Pakistani rule. By the 1960s, Mujib adopted Bengali nationalism and soon became the undisputed leader of East Pakistan. He became popular for opposing West Pakistan's political, ethnic and institutional discrimination against the Bengalis of East Pakistan; leading the six-point autonomy movement, he challenged the rule of Pakistani president Ayub Khan.
In 1970, Mujib led the Awami League to win Pakistan's first general election. When the Pakistani military junta under President Yahya Khan refused to transfer power, he gave the 7 March speech in 1971 where he vaguely called out for the independence movement.
Source: Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Mujibur_Rahman