Khoka, Sadeque Hossain
Khoka, Sadeque Hossain (1952-2019) a valiant freedom fighter, politician, former Minister and Mayor of the undivided Dhaka City Corporation.
He was born on 12 May 1952 in Gopibagh, Dhaka. His ancestral home was at Syedpur of Munshiganj district. He received his master's degree in Psychology from the University of Dhaka. During his student life, he was actively involved in politics, belonging to a student organization named Chhatra Union (Student union). In 1971, he participated in the Liberation War of Bangladesh while still a university student. He returned to Dhaka after receiving training on guerilla warfare in Agartala, India. As Commander of a guerilla group, he led several successful guerilla operations in Dhaka against the invading Pakistani forces.
After the independence of Bangladesh, Sadeque Hossain Khoka got involved in national politics by joining Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani's National Awami Party (NAP). He then joined the United People's Party (UPP) led by Kazi Zafar Ahmed. He later joined the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He served as the President of Jatiyatabadi Muktijoddha Dal and President and Convenor of Dhaka Metropolitan branch of BNP for a long time. Later, he became the Vice Chairman of Central BNP.
Khoka was elected a Member of Parliament for the first time from the Dhaka-7 constituency in 1991 in the fifth national parliament election. When BNP formed the government immediately after the election headed by Begum Khaledia Zia, he was made the State Minister for Youth and Sports. He also won the seventh and eighth parliamentary elections in 1996 and 2001, respectively. In 2001, he was appointed Minister for Fisheries and Livestock in the BNP government. In 2002, he was elected the Mayor of the undivided Dhaka City Corporation. He resigned from the post of Minister in 2004. In 2011, when Dhaka City Corporation was divided into Dhaka North and Dhaka South, Sadeque Hossain Khoka resigned from the Mayoral position of on 29 November of that year.
Sadeque Hossain Khoka was also a dedicated and successful sports organizer. He took charge of the Brothers Union in 1972 after returning from the Liberation War. Under his leadership, the club rose from the position of third division to the first division within three years. He was the founder of Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra. He served as Chairman of the governing body of Dhaka Wonderers and Farashganj Club. He also served as General Secretary of Dhaka Metropolitan Football Association and later on as Joint General Secretary of Bangladesh Football Federation. He was awarded the ‘National Sports Award’ in 2004 in recognition of his contribution to the field of sports.
Sadeque Hossain Khoka died on 4 November 2019, while undergoing treatment at the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, New York, USA. On 7 November he was buried at Jurain Graveyard in Dhaka. [Mohammad Siddiqur Rahman Khan]
