The 49th death anniversary of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani – the legendary leader of the oppressed across Asia, Africa and Latin America – is being observed today, Monday, 17 November, in Tangail’s Santosh.
Founder president of the Awami Muslim League and a towering political figure in Bengal, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani passed away on this day in 1976 while undergoing treatment at PG Hospital in Dhaka. He was later laid to rest in Santosh, Tangail.
Each year, his family, the Maulana Bhashani Science and Technology University, political activists, followers, cultural groups and various organisations commemorate the day with different programmes at his mausoleum. This year is no exception. A week-long fair and a seminar on his life and political philosophy have been organised at the Mazar premises.
Leaders of several political parties, including senior figures from BNP, are scheduled to visit Santosh to pay tribute.
Maulana Bhashani dedicated his life defending the rights of the poor, marginalised and working classes. He inspired mass movements during national crises and consistently prioritised public interest over personal gain.
Known for his simple lifestyle, he remained humble and free from the allure of power throughout his political career. His lifelong work for a progressive, democratic and non-communal Bangladesh left a deep imprint on Bengali nationalism.
Bhashani was born on 12 December 1880 in the then Pabna district of British India, now part of Sirajganj, Bangladesh. He was the youngest and only surviving child of Haji Sharafat Ali and Majiran Nessa. After losing both parents and siblings at a young age, he was raised as an orphan and was affectionately called “Chega Mia,” a name given by his father.
In 1893, he began working as a madrasa teacher at the estate of Shamsuddin Ahmad Chowdhury in Panchbibi. Later 1897 he traveled to Assam with spiritual leader Syed Nasiruddin. In 1903, he became involved in the revolutionary movement. Seeking Islamic education, he travelled to Deoband in 1907, where he studied for two years before returning to Assam. In 1917, during a visit to Mymensingh by Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, he was inspired by Das’s speech, which sparked his interest in politics.
When Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das formed the Swarajya Party in 1923, Bhashani played a key role in organising the party. In 1929, he organised the first peasant conference on Bhasan Char, a riverine island in the Brahmaputra in Dhubri district, Assam. It was there that the suffix “Bhashani” was added to his name for the first time.
A long-time president of the Bengal-Assam Muslim League, Bhashani was one of the key leaders behind the formation of the United Front in the 1954 elections.
In 1957, he presided over the historic Kagmari Conference in Tangail, where he signalled a break in relations between East and West Pakistan by greeting attendees with “Wa Alaikum Assalam” and vehemently condemned discrimination against East Pakistan. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he chaired the advisory council of the government-in-exile.
