Ahsanullah Master
Master, Ahsanullah (1950-2004) teacher, labour leader, Freedom Fighter and Member of Parliament. He was born on 9 November 1950 at Hyderabad village of Pubail Union in Gazipur district. He is popularly known as Ahsanullah Mater. His father’s name is Shah Md. Abdul Quader, mother’s name is Ruchmaternesa. He was the eldest among 3 brothers and 3 sisters. Ahsanullah Master’s education started in Hyderabad Primary School at his own village. He passed Matriculation from Tongi High School in 1965. After that, he got admitted in Government Suhrawardy College. After completing his education in 1970, he joined MA Majid Mia High School, Noagaon, Tongi as an assistant teacher. Later, he served as Assistant Headmaster (1977-1984) and then Headmaster (1984-2004) in the same school.
Ahsanullah Master was involved in the politics of Chhatra League from his student life. He played an active role in the movement against the Hamidur Rahman Education Commission Report in 1962, the six-point movement of 1966, the 11-point movement of 1969 and the 1969 mass uprising. Responding to Bangabandhu’s call in 1971, he participated in the Liberation War. On 5 March, a labour movement took place in Tongi against the Pakistani occupation forces. Some workers were wounded by the firing of the army. He played a leading role in this movement. On 19 March, Ahsanullah Master played a special role in mobilizing people to stop the Pakistani army coming from Dhaka to disarm the Bengali soldiers in the Joydebpur Cantonment. When the Liberation War started after Bangabandhu’s declaration of independence on 26 March, Ahsanullah Master was detained and tortured by the invading forces. After his return, he went to India for higher training. He took guerrilla training at Tandua in Dehradun and participated in guerrilla warfare in various places including Pubail, Tongi, Chaidana in Gazipur.
After the War of Liberation, Ahsanullah Master was involved in local Awami League and Jatiya Sramik League politics. He was elected Chairman of Pubail Union Parishad in 1983 and 1988. In 1990, he was elected chairman of Gazipur Sadar upazila. Later, Ahsanullah Master was elected Member of Parliament from Gazipur-2 constituency in 1996 and 2001. He served as President and General Secretary of Jatiya Sramik League, a front labour organization of Awami League. He also served as Chairman of Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies (BILS), President of Tongi Teachers’ Association and President of Bangladesh Upazila Chairmen’s Association.
Ahsanullah Master, fondly called ‘Bhawalbir’, was killed by terrorists in broad daylight on 7 May 2004 in a brushfire. Valiant Freedom Fighter Ahsanullah Master was posthumously awarded the ‘Swadhinata Padak’ (independence award) 2021 by the Government of Bangladesh for his contribution to the Liberation War. His wife is Mrs. Farida Ahsan. They have two sons and one daughter. His eldest son, Zahid Ahsan Russel is currently Member of Parliament and State Minister for Youth and Sports, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. [Maniruzzaman Shahin]
