Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was Bangladesh’s “Father of the Nation.” He was the architect of Bangladesh’s independence, and was known as ‘Mujib’ or ‘Sheikh Mujib’. He was a key figure in combating exploitation and other unlawful activities by West Pakistan’s power holders against the people of East Pakistan. He acquired notoriety as a fiery orator who advocated socialism and despised Pakistan’s structural and ethnic inequity. During the factional tensions in 1966, he drew up an autonomy proposal that included six principles. His political ideas regularly placed him in jail, but that didn’t stop him from vigorously opposing the military dictatorship of Ayub Khan, Pakistan’s Field Marshal at the time. Despite winning Pakistan’s first democratic election under his leadership, the ‘Awami League’ was not asked to form the government. Following huge protests against such discrimination and Mujib’s beginning of a civil disobedience movement, the Pakistan Army launched ‘Operation Searchlight,’ in which Mujib was apprehended and relocated from East Pakistan to West Pakistan. The ‘Bangladesh Liberation War’ ensued, and Pakistan was forced to surrender to the Allied Forces of Bangladesh and India. Mujib was set free and went on to become Bangladesh’s first Prime Minister. Mujib and the majority of his family were slain in a military coup orchestrated by traitorous army officers. Sheikh Hasina, Mujib’s eldest daughter, is Bangladesh’s current Prime Minister.
Childhood and Adolescence
On March 17, 1920, he was born in Tungipara village in the Gopalgunj subdivision of Faridpur district in the British Indian state of Bengal. Sheikh Luthfur Rahman and Saira Begum had six children, and he was one among them. His father worked as a civil court officer at Gopalgunj.
He began his education in 1927 at the ‘Gimadanga Primary School,’ and after two years, he transferred to the ‘Gopalganj Public School,’ where he was enrolled in class three. He enrolled in the ‘Madaripur Islamia High School’ in class four in 1931.
Due to eye surgery, he had to drop out of school in 1934, and his long recovery made it difficult for him to return to school, which he was able to do after four years.
His political career began in 1939, while he was a student at the ‘Gopalganj Missionary School.’ When A.K. Fazlul Haque, the Chief Minister of undivided Bengal, and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy visited the school campus, a group of students led by him asked that the school’s damaged roof be repaired.
He joined the ‘All India Muslim Students Federation’ in 1940 and was elected as a councillor for a one-year term.
He enrolled in Calcutta Islamia College (now ‘Maulana Azad College’) in 1942 after passing the admission exam and became interested in student politics.
In 1943, he joined the ‘Bengal Muslim League,’ and worked tirelessly to achieve the League’s goal of establishing a separate Muslim state in Pakistan.
In 1946, he was elected general secretary of the ‘Islamia College Students Union.’
He finished his degree in 1947 and became one of the Muslim MPs who worked under Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy’s leadership during the communal violence that occurred in Calcutta in 1946. He worked to prevent violence while ensuring the safety of Muslims.
Following India’s partition, he enrolled as a law student at the ‘University of Dhaka’ in East Pakistan, and on January 4, 1948, he created the ‘East Pakistan Muslim Students’ League.’
When East Pakistan’s chief minister, Khwaja Nazimuddin, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah stated in 1948 that Bengalis in East Pakistan would adopt Urdu as the state language, a wave of outrage swept the country. Mujib quickly began a wave of protests and began communicating with other political figures and students.
On March 2, 1948, many political groups met to discuss the language issue, and on March 11, the ‘Action Council’ organized a national strike to protest the ‘Muslim League’s’ conspiracy against Bengal. Mujib and other leaders were jailed that day, but a powerful student movement forced the ‘Muslim League’ administration to release him and others on March 15.
Career of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
He was expelled from university and arrested in 1949 for organizing an agitation with ‘Dhaka University’ clerical and other menial personnel on the question of workers’ rights.
On June 23, 1949, he formed the ‘East Pakistan Awami Muslim League’ with Bengali nationalists Suhrawardy, Maulana Bhashani, and others. During his incarceration, he was promoted to joint secretary and released at the end of June.
On July 9, 1953, he was elected as the party’s general secretary, and the following year, he was elected to the ‘East Bengal Legislative Assembly’ on the platform of the coalition ‘United Front.’
On May 15, 1954, he was appointed agricultural and forest minister for only a few days, until the ‘United Front’ ministry was quickly sacked by the Central Government on May 29. On May 30, he was detained for the second time and freed on December 23.
He was a member of the second ‘Constituent Assembly of Pakistan’ from 1955 to 1958. In 1956, the ‘One Unit’ plan was enacted, under which western provinces were amalgamated to form ‘West Pakistan,’ and East Bengal was renamed ‘East Pakistan.’ He was appointed minister of trade, industries, labor, village aid, and anti-corruption in 1956, but resigned the following year.
On October 7, 1958, General Ayub Khan declared martial law, suspending the constitution. Mujib was detained on October 11th. During this time, he founded the ‘Swadhin Bangla Biplobi Porishad,’ an underground organization dedicated to combating Ayub Khan’s abuses and achieving independence for Bangladesh.
After Suhrawardy’s death in 1963, he became the leader of the ‘Awami Muslim League,’ which was renamed the ‘Awami League.’
During a national convention of opposition groups convened in Lahore on February 5, 1966, he presented a six-point plan titled “Our Charter of Survival” before a select committee. It was a clear declaration of Bengal’s independence as a nation. On March 1, he was elected President of the ‘Awami League,’ and traveled the country to promote and win support for the six-point plan, despite being arrested multiple times.
Mujib and several others were charged in the infamous ‘Agartala Conspiracy Case’ in 1968. A huge insurgency erupted while they were imprisoned at the ‘Dhaka Cantonment,’ with agitation, protests, curfews, police shootings, and casualties. Mujib and others were finally liberated on February 22, 1969, after the central government caved in. On February 23, he was formally proclaimed ‘Bangabandhu’ at a huge reception. He stated on December 5 that East Pakistan will be known as Bangladesh from that point forward.
Despite winning an absolute majority in Pakistan’s democratic election on December 7, 1970, under his leadership, the ‘Awami League’ was not invited to form a government.
Following mass protests against such discrimination, Mujib launched a civil disobedience movement in 1971, calling for Bangladesh’s independence. The Pakistan Army carried out ‘Operation Searchlight,’ and Mujib was apprehended and sent to West Pakistan. The ‘Bangladesh Liberation War’ ensued, and Pakistan was forced to surrender to Allied Forces from Bangladesh and India.
Mujib was released on January 8, 1972, and met with Edward Heath, the then British Prime Minister, in London, where he addressed the international media. He then traveled to India to meet Indian President Varahagiri Venkata Giri, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and other cabinet members, before returning to Dhaka to a warm welcome.
He first served as President of Bangladesh’s temporary administration before taking over as Prime Minister. The aftermath of Pakistan’s army’s onslaught saw young Bangladesh caught in the heart of horror in every aspect. Bangladesh’s army was gradually built up. To return the country to normalcy, extensive rehabilitation and other measures were implemented.
Mujib was a key figure in Bangladesh’s admission to both the ‘Non-Aligned Movement’ and the ‘United Nations.’ He traveled to numerous nations, including the United Kingdom and the United States, in search of human and economic aid for Bangladesh. In order to achieve this goal, he signed a friendship pact with India.
Mujib played a key part in the nation’s recovery, but the devastating famine of 1974 in Bangladesh, as well as other national challenges, fueled rebellion against his leadership. While political and social upheaval continued, resulting in an increase in violence, he was accused of nepotism. His ‘Rakkhi Bahini’ accused him of killing forty thousand people. Eventually, a state of emergency was declared.
On August 15, 1975, Mujib and the majority of his family were massacred by traitorous army men and disgruntled ‘Awami League’ members in a military coup. Mujib’s daughters, on the other hand, evaded the murder plan since they were in Germany.
Personal History and Legacy
He married Begum Fazilatunnesa in 1938. Sheikh Kamal, Sheikh Jamal, and Sheikh Russel were the couple’s three sons, and Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana were their two daughters.
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Net Worth
Sheikh is one of the wealthiest politicians and one of the most well-known. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.