Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani

Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani was a prominent Bangladeshi politician and statesman who helped found the Awami League. His extensive political career spanned the British colonial India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh periods. He earned the honorary title Mozlum Jananeta because he advocated for the poor throughout his life.

Early life and education

Bhashani was born Mohammad Abdul Hamid Khan at Dhangara, a village in the Sirajganj mahakuma of the Pabna district. His parents were Hajji Mohammad Sharafat Khan and Mazirannesa Bibi. Although his exact birth year is disputed between 1880 and 1885, biographer Syed Abul Maksud suggests 1885 is the most accurate estimate. He was the second child in a family that included an elder brother named Amir Ali Khan, a younger brother named Ismail Khan, and a sister named Kulsum Khanam.

His father worked as a village grocer and a farmer. Sharafat Khan died when Bhashani was a young child. Between 1894 and 1895, a cholera epidemic in Sirajganj claimed the lives of his remaining family members. His uncle, Ibrahim Khan, eventually took custody of him. Because his father died while his grandfather was still alive, Bhashani could not inherit property under Muslim custom.

Bhashani attended a traditional village paathshala for his primary education. He later studied at a madrasa in Sirajganj under Mawlana Abdul Bari Chishti. In 1904, the Sufi preacher Syed Nasir ud-din Baghdadi took Bhashani as a disciple and moved him to Jaleswar in the Goalpara district of Assam. While living in Jaleswar, Bhashani studied Arabic, Urdu, Quran, Hadith, and Fiqh. He eventually traveled to northern India to attend Darul Uloom Deoband for higher studies in Islamic theology.

He spent two years at the seminary from 1907 to 1909. During this time, he studied under Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani. The institution served as a center for anti-British ideals. Bhashani traveled extensively through northern India, but his interest in politics eventually superseded his theological studies.

Career

After returning from Deoband in 1909, Bhashani worked as a primary school master at Kagmaree in Tangail. He briefly joined an extremist anti-British organization and participated in raids against oppressive zamindars. By 1913, he moved away from extremist politics to pursue direct political engagement. A meeting with Chittaranjan Das in 1917 inspired this shift. He became a member of the Congress in 1919 and was imprisoned that same year.

Bhashani participated in the Khilafat Movement and joined the Swaraj Party in 1922. He gained mass popularity among peasants and helped establish the East Pakistan Peasant Association. Due to his left-leaning political views, people often called him "The Red Maulana." He also founded and presided over the Pakistan Awami Muslim League (AML), which later transformed into the Awami League (AL).

Political disagreements led him to form the National Awami Party (NAP) after he clashed with Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy regarding East Pakistan autonomy. Bhashani also opposed Pakistan's decision to join US-led defense pacts such as CENTO and SEATO. The NAP later split into pro-Moscow and pro-Beijing factions. Following the 1965 war with India, he briefly supported the regime of Field Marshal Ayub Khan due to its China-leaning foreign policy. However, he eventually led a mass uprising against the regime between 1968 and 1969.

Journalist Dan Coggin reported that Bhashani instigated the 1969 Mass uprising in East Pakistan. This movement resulted in the collapse of the Ayub Khan regime and the release of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. According to author S. Akhtar Ehtisham, Bhashani's decision to boycott the 1970 general elections helped Mujibur Rahman achieve a landslide victory. The Awami League won 160 of the 162 seats in the province during that election.

Awards and recognition

Bhashani received the Independence Award. He was also honored with the Ekushey Padak.