Hakeem, Abdul

Hakeem, Abdul (1901-1968) lawyer, politician. He was born on 17 August 1901 at village Tona in Kalia Upazila of Jessore district. His father was Maulavi Nazimuddin Molla and mother Mosammat Rabbani Begum. Abdul Hakeem got his early education from his village School. He passed matriculation examination from Kalia High School in Khulna. He obtained his BA, MA (English) and LLB degrees from Calcutta University.

Abdul Hakeem began legal practice in Kolkata. During his stay in Kolkata he came in contact with huseyn shaheed suhrawardy, A.K. Fazlul Huq, asutosh mookerjee and subhas chandra bose. Under the influence of these leaders he joined the political movement against British rule. He was elected a member of the bengal legislative assembly in 1937.

After the partition of India in 1947 Abdul Hakeem migrated to East Bengal and joined the Khulna district bar. He was elected secretary of Khulna Bar Association in 1947. Abdul Hakeem was elected a member of the East Bengal Provincial Assembly in 1954 as a candidate of the united front. He was elected Speaker of the East Bengal Provincial Assembly.

Abdul Hakeem was active in welfare activities in Khulna. He established Khulna Pallimangal High School in Khulna town in 1940 and Khulna City Law College in 1965. He was the founder Principal of Khulna City Law College, and continued to serve the college till his death.

Abdul Hakeem was a poet. He composed a good number of poems on his colleagues. He translated a number of poems of Qazi Nazrul Islam into English and compiled in a book titled The Fiery Lyre of Nazrul Islam. He contributed articles to journals like The Pakistan Observer Holiday, The Wave and some newspapers of the day. He died on 13 January 1968 in Khulna. [Shamima Akhter]