Ahmad, Mozaffar1: Difference between revisions

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Ahmad, Mozaffar² (1922-2019) politician, President of NAP (Mozaffar), organizer of the Liberation War, one of the prominent members of the Advisory Council of the Government of Bangladesh (mujibnagar government) during the Liberation War, former Member of Parliament. He was born on 14 April 1922 at Alahabad village of Devidwar upazila in Comilla district. His father's name is Kayam Uddin Bhuiyan. Mother’s name is Afzar Nessa.

Mozaffar Ahmad studied up to class 5 at Hossaintala Primary School in Devidwar. After studying at Jafarganj Raja Institution for some time, he was admitted to Devidwar Riaz Uddin Pilot High School. From there he passed matriculation in 1939. He got involved in student politics while studying in high school. He passed Intermediate from Comilla Victoria College in 1941. After that, he obtained BA (Honours) and MA in Economics from Dhaka University. Then he taught in Chittagong and Dhaka Colleges for a few years. He joined the teaching profession in the Department of Economics of Dhaka University in 1952. He played an important role in the language movement. Quitting teaching as Professor in 1954, he got fully involved in politics. Professor Mozaffar Ahmad contested the 1954 elections from Devidwar constituency in Comilla on the nomination of the united front and was elected a member of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly, defeating the influential candidate of the Muslim League, Mofiz Uddin Ahmad, by a large margin.

In 1957, when the new political party in the name of Pakistan National Awami Party (NAP) was founded under the leadership of maulana abdul hamid khan bhasani, Mozaffar Ahmad was elected joint secretary of the central committee of NAP. An order of arrest on sight called ‘hulia’ was issued against him by the Ayub government in 1958 for playing an important role in the anti-regime movement and a reward was announced for his arrest. Anyway, risked his life, he continued the movement against the military government from hide-out. In 1966, when the Ayub government lifted hulia, Professor Mozaffar Ahmad returned to open politics. At that time, as bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahman announced the Six-point charter of Bengalis’ liberation, he had his support for it.

In 1967, the National Awami Party (NAP) split into two factions, pro-Peking and pro-Moscow. Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani became the President of the pro-Peking NAP and Khan Abdul Wali Khan of Frontier Province became the President of the pro-Moscow NAP. Professor Mozaffar Ahmad became the President of pro-Moscow NAP of East Pakistan. He was arrested on 29 January 1969 for leading anti-Ayub movement and was released a few days later.

The Awami League under the leadership of Bangabandhu won the majority seats in the 1970 National Assembly elections. On 1 March 1971, resorting to conspiracy, Yahya Khan announced the postponement of the National Assembly session scheduled to be held in Dhaka 3 March. On that night both Bangabandhu and Professor Mozaffar Ahmad sat in a closed-door meeting at the house 32, Dhanmondi. They discussed the prevailing political situation and future plan. In order to get moral support to the mass movement, Bangbandhu called upon Professor Mozaffar Ahmad to take up the matter with West Pakistani NAP leaders. Till 25 March, Mozaffar Ahmad had intimate contact with Bangabandhu. After the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh took oath at Meherpur in Kushtia district on 17 April 1971, he gave his full support to this government.

Professor Mozaffar Ahmad played an important role as one of the organizers of the Liberation War. He inspired many leaders and activists of NAP and its student front to participate in the Liberation War. The house in his native Alahabad village was a training camp for Freedom Fighters. During the Liberation War, the Bangladesh government formed an 8-member Advisory Council consisting of leaders of various political parties. Professor Mozaffar Ahmad was one of its members. On behalf of his party, he sent a letter to the leaders of the like-minded political parties of the socialist countries in the world, highlighting the massacre and destruction by the Pakistani invading forces inside Bangladesh, seeking immediate intervention of their governments against it. He visited different countries of the world to garner international support and build public opinion for the Liberation War. He represented the government of Bangladesh in the United Nations. A weekly newspaper named ‘Natun Bangla’ was published from 19 July 1971 under his leadership. The magazine contained war news as well as NAP’s assessment of the Liberation War. Thus, he played an important role in the national liberation struggle of the Bengalis.

In 1979, Professor Mozaffar Ahmad was elected a member of the Parliament. In 1981, he participated in the Presidential election on the ‘cottage’ symbol but was defeated. He was very active in the movement against the Ershad regime for which he was put behind bars. He established a research center named ‘Social Science Parishad’ in Madanpur, Dhaka in 1983 under the patronage of academician Principal Saidur Rahman with the aim of involving party workers into nation building and progressive politics. Professor Mozaffar Ahmad was a calligrapher.

He is the author of a number of books, mainly on politics and his thought, which included ‘Samajtantra Shomporke Janar Katha’, first volume (1978) and second volume (1980), ‘Kichu Katha’ (1991), ‘Muktir Path’ (2007), ‘Shomoyer Konthosshor’ (2017), etc. In 2015, the Government of Bangladesh announced the award of ‘Swadhinata Padak’ for him. But he did not accept it.

Veteran politician Professor Mozaffar Ahmad passed away on 23 August 2019. He was buried at his home graveyard in Allahabad village. His wife Amina Ahmed is a women leader, a former Member of Parliament from reserved seat in the Jatiya Sangsad and currently the President of NAP. The only daughter of this couple is Ivy Ahmed. [Shafiuddin Talukder].

References Harun-or-Rashid (ed.), Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation (in Bengali), 1st, 7th and 8th volumes, (Bangladesh Asiatic Society, Dhaka, 2020); HT Imam, Government of Bangladesh 1971 (in Bengali), (Bangla Academy, Dhaka, 2012); Interview with Paritosh Debnath, International Affairs Secretary of National Awami Party (Mozaffar).

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-'''Ahmed, Mohiuddin<sup>1</sup>''' (1944–2021)  journalist, writer, editor, publisher, and founder of Bangladesh’s leading publishing house, The [[University Press Limited, The|university press limited]] (UPL). The approach and thoughtfulness he has brought to the selection and presentation of books are not only unique in the publishing industry at the national level but also measurable by global standards.
+[[Image:AhmadMozaffar.jpg|right|thumbnail|200px|Mozaffar Ahmad]]
+'''Ahmad, Mozaffar<sup>2</sup>''' (1922-2019)  politician, President of NAP (Mozaffar), organizer of the Liberation War, one of the prominent members of the Advisory Council of the Government of Bangladesh ([[Mujibnagar Government|mujibnagar government]]) during the Liberation War, former Member of Parliament. He was born on 14 April 1922 at Alahabad village of Devidwar upazila in Comilla district. His father's name is Kayam Uddin Bhuiyan. Mother’s name is Afzar Nessa.
-[[Image:AhmedMohiuddin2.jpg|right|thumbnail|200px|Mohiuddin Ahmed]]
+Mozaffar Ahmad studied up to class 5 at Hossaintala Primary School in Devidwar. After studying at Jafarganj Raja Institution for some time, he was admitted to Devidwar Riaz Uddin Pilot High School. From there he passed matriculation in 1939. He got involved in student politics while studying in high school. He passed Intermediate from Comilla Victoria College in 1941. After that, he obtained BA (Honours) and MA in Economics from Dhaka University. Then he taught in Chittagong and Dhaka Colleges for a few years. He joined the teaching profession in the Department of Economics of Dhaka University in 1952. He played an important role in the language movement. Quitting teaching as Professor in 1954, he got fully involved in politics. Professor Mozaffar Ahmad contested the 1954 elections from Devidwar constituency in Comilla on the nomination of the [[United Front|united front]] and was elected a member of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly, defeating the influential candidate of the Muslim League, Mofiz Uddin Ahmad, by a large margin.
-Mohiuddin Ahmed was born on 2 December, 1944 in Parashuram of the Feni district. His father was a senior officer in the British Indian Postal Service. He spent his youth at his father’s workplace in Sargodha. From 1956 to 1960, he attended the PAF Public School for his secondary education. He completed his higher secondary education at Notre Dame College in Dhaka. After receiving a mass communication and journalism diploma from the University of Dhaka, he went to the Punjab University on a Pakistan Council scholarship. He received his MA in Journalism from there. He participated actively in the Punjab University’s student politics. He was elected General Secretary and, later, President of the University Central Students’ Union. Mohiuddin Ahmed was the first and only General Secretary of the Punjab University Students’ Union elected from among the Bengali students.
-After finishing his studies, Mohiuddin Ahmed started his professional career in journalism. It is noted that his association with writing developed while he was a student at Notre Dame College. He served as the managing editor of the college magazine 'Blue and Gold'. After doing his MA from the Punjab University, Mohiuddin Ahmed joined ''Pakistan Times'' as an apprentice journalist. AD Chowdhury, the then editor of the ''Pakistan Times'', was a teacher at Punjab University. He was impressed by Mohiuddin Ahmed’s work and success as a reporter and offered him to join the Department of Journalism at the Punjab University as an Assistant Lecturer.
+In 1957, when the new political party in the name of Pakistan National Awami Party (NAP) was founded under the leadership of [[Bhasani, Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan|maulana abdul hamid khan bhasani]], Mozaffar Ahmad was elected joint secretary of the central committee of NAP. An order of arrest on sight called ‘hulia’ was issued against him by the Ayub government in 1958 for playing an important role in the anti-regime movement and a reward was announced for his arrest. Anyway, risked his life, he continued the movement against the military government from hide-out. In 1966, when the Ayub government lifted hulia, Professor Mozaffar Ahmad returned to open politics. At that time, as [[Rahman, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur|bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahman]] announced the Six-point charter of Bengalis’ liberation, he had his support for it.
-Mohiuddin Ahmed gladly accepted this offer, and for almost four years, he taught journalism at the Punjab University. In 1969, he got an opportunity to do PhD with a scholarship at Stanford University, USA. He was appointed editor at Oxford University Press (OUP) Pakistan. Hence he could not enroll into Stanford University’s PhD program. Mohiuddin Ahmed served as the Executive Editor of Oxford University Press Pakistan until 1972. He had the chance to receive in-depth professional training in several areas of publishing during this time.
+In 1967, the National Awami Party (NAP) split into two factions, pro-Peking and pro-Moscow. Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani became the President of the pro-Peking NAP and Khan Abdul Wali Khan of Frontier Province became the President of the pro-Moscow NAP. Professor Mozaffar Ahmad became the President of pro-Moscow NAP of East Pakistan. He was arrested on 29 January 1969 for leading anti-Ayub movement and was released a few days later.
-Mohiuddin Ahmed returned to Bangladesh in 1972 and served as Oxford University Press, Dhaka Branch’s Chief Executive Officer for two years. In 1974, when the Dhaka office was closed, Mohiuddin Ahmed was offered to join the Karachi branch as ‘Editor-at-Large’ or Roving Editor. But he did not accept the offer. Instead, he established his own publishing company ‘The University Press Limited’, in 1974 utilizing his acquired knowledge and experience.
+The Awami League under the leadership of Bangabandhu won the majority seats in the 1970 National Assembly elections. On 1 March 1971, resorting to conspiracy, Yahya Khan announced the postponement of the National Assembly session scheduled to be held in Dhaka 3 March. On that night both Bangabandhu and Professor Mozaffar Ahmad sat in a closed-door meeting at the house 32, Dhanmondi. They discussed the prevailing political situation and future plan. In order to get moral support to the mass movement, Bangbandhu called upon Professor Mozaffar Ahmad to take up the matter with West Pakistani NAP leaders. Till 25 March, Mozaffar Ahmad had intimate contact with Bangabandhu. After the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh took oath at Meherpur in Kushtia district on 17 April 1971, he gave his full support to this government.
-The UPL mainly publishes text and academic research-based books in Bengali and English. Over nearly half a century, UPL has published more than eight hundred books written by Bangladeshi and foreign scholars. Not only the number but also the diversity of the subjects of books is noteworthy in this regard. Numerous research works on Bangladesh have been published in book form by UPL. It has published many books on various disciplines, including the [[War of Liberation, The|war of liberation]] of Bangladesh, Administration, Politics, Economics, Language and Literature, Society and Culture, Contemporary World History, Science, International Relations, and World Literature. The UPL published not only basic also Bengali translations of many valuable books written in English. Mohiuddin Ahmad has placed the publishing sector of Bangladesh at a unique height by maintaining the standard of selection of the subject of book, editing, and publication. Through UPL, Mohiuddin Ahmed has introduced the works being done on Bangladesh by Bangladeshi authors and researchers to the world readerships. At the same time, he has presented the research work on Bangladesh in abroad to Bangladeshi readers.
+Professor Mozaffar Ahmad played an important role as one of the organizers of the Liberation War. He inspired many leaders and activists of NAP and its student front to participate in the Liberation War. The house in his native Alahabad village was a training camp for Freedom Fighters. During the Liberation War, the Bangladesh government formed an 8-member Advisory Council consisting of leaders of various political parties. Professor Mozaffar Ahmad was one of its members. On behalf of his party, he sent a letter to the leaders of the like-minded political parties of the socialist countries in the world, highlighting the massacre and destruction by the Pakistani invading forces inside Bangladesh, seeking immediate intervention of their governments against it. He visited different countries of the world to garner international support and build public opinion for the Liberation War. He represented the government of Bangladesh in the United Nations. A weekly newspaper named ‘Natun Bangla’ was published from 19 July 1971 under his leadership. The magazine contained war news as well as NAP’s assessment of the Liberation War. Thus, he played an important role in the national liberation struggle of the Bengalis.
-One of the most important publications of the UPL is the ‘অসমাপ্ত আত্মজীবনী’ (The Unfinished Memoirs) of [[Rahman, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur|bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahman]]. Mohiuddin Ahmed had published this book in 2012. In addition to publishing this unfinished autobiography in Bengali. Mohiuddin Ahmed also arranged to publish the book in multiple languages, including English and Urdu. With his initiative and efforts, the 'Unfinished Memories' was translated into English and published by Penguin Publishing India and Oxford University Press Pakistan in Urdu.
+In 1979, Professor Mozaffar Ahmad was elected a member of the Parliament. In 1981, he participated in the Presidential election on the ‘cottage’ symbol but was defeated. He was very active in the movement against the Ershad regime for which he was put behind bars. He established a research center named ‘Social Science Parishad’ in Madanpur, Dhaka in 1983 under the patronage of academician Principal Saidur Rahman with the aim of involving party workers into nation building and progressive politics. Professor Mozaffar Ahmad was a calligrapher.
-Mohiuddin Ahmed was not only a publisher but also a writer. He edited collections of contemporary stories, poems, and essays published by UPL. In addition, realizing the lack of accurate and adequate preservation of history in Bangladesh in the early 1990s, he published a series called ‘Road to Bangladesh’. Notable among the books written and edited by Mohiuddin Ahmed are ''বাংলাদেশে পুস্তক প্রকাশনা'' (Book Publishing in Bangladesh); ''ইউপিএল নির্বাচিত বাংলাদেশের কবিতা'' (২ খণ্ড, ১৯৯৯ ও ২০০১) [UPL Selected Poems of Bangladesh (Volume 2, 1999 and 2001)]; ''ইউপিএল সাহিত্য সংগ্রহ'' (২ খণ্ড, ২০০২ ও ২০০৩) [UPL Literature Collection (Volume 2, 2002 & 2003)]; ''ইউপিএল নির্বাচিত বাংলাদেশের প্রবন্ধ'' (৩ খণ্ড ১৯৯৯, ২০০১, ২০০২) [UPL Selected Essays on Bangladesh (Volume 3 1999, 2001, 2002)]; ''ইউপিএল নির্বাচিত বাংলাদেশের ছোটগল্প ২০০০'' (UPL Selected Short Stories of Bangladesh 2000); ''ইউপিএল নির্বাচিত বাংলাদেশের কবিতা ২০০০'' (UPL Selected Poems of Bangladesh 2000), etc. Through these books, Mohiuddin Ahmed has familiarized the readers with creative ideas as a writer. Mohiuddin Ahmed published a weekly newspaper called The Sunday Star in 1977-78. He was the editor of this newspaper. However, this weekly did not continue for long.
+He is the author of a number of books, mainly on politics and his thought, which included ‘Samajtantra Shomporke Janar Katha’, first volume (1978) and second volume (1980), ‘Kichu Katha’ (1991), ‘Muktir Path’ (2007), ‘Shomoyer Konthosshor’ (2017), etc. In 2015, the Government of Bangladesh announced the award of ‘Swadhinata Padak’ for him. But he did not accept it.
-Mohiuddin Ahmed was an ideal and exemplary publisher in Bangladesh. He has shown a form of modern and quality publishing through his publishing house, UPL. Mohiuddin Ahmed is an example setter of how much the publishing world can shine in the realm of quality publications. He shaped publishing not only as a means of literature, culture, and entertainment but also as an instrument of building a knowledge-based, intellectual society.
+Veteran politician Professor Mozaffar Ahmad passed away on 23 August 2019. He was buried at his home graveyard in Allahabad village. His wife Amina Ahmed is a women leader, a former Member of Parliament from reserved seat in the Jatiya Sangsad and currently the President of NAP. The only daughter of this couple is Ivy Ahmed. [Shafiuddin Talukder].
-Mohiuddin Ahmed has received numerous honors and awards in recognition of his works as a creative publisher and for elevating the publishing sector of Bangladesh to an international standard. In May 1988, Mohiuddin Ahmed was awarded a Cultural Doctorate in Publishing Management by the World University’s international secretariat at Benson, Arizona. Later, Bangladesh Academic and Creative Publishers’ Association bestowed upon him the title of Emeritus Publisher. Under the leadership of Mohiuddin Ahmed, UPL has won the National Text Book Center’s award for 16 times since 1981. In 1991, Mohiuddin Ahmed was awarded the gold medal for outstanding contribution to the publishing industry. Mohiuddin Ahmed was among the 17 publishers from around the world, who were invited to Norway by the country’s prime minister in recognition of their works on environmental issues. The Bangla Academy also elected him an Honorary Fellow.
+'''References''' Harun-or-Rashid (ed.), ''Encyclopedia of Bangladesh War of Liberation'' (in Bengali), 1st, 7th and 8th volumes, (Bangladesh Asiatic Society, Dhaka, 2020); HT Imam, ''Government of Bangladesh 1971'' (in Bengali), (Bangla Academy, Dhaka, 2012); Interview with Paritosh Debnath, International Affairs Secretary of National Awami Party (Mozaffar).
-He passed away on 22 June 2021 at the age of 77. [Mohammad Siddiqur Rahman Khan]
+[[bn:আহমদ, মোজাফ্ফর২]]
-[[bn: আহমেদ, মহিউদ্দীন২]]