Abdul Hoque (; 1930–1971) was a

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

politician, lawyer and teacher. He was elected as an

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

candidate at the

1970 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 7 December 1970 to elect members of the National Assembly. They were the first direct general elections since the independence of Pakistan and ultimately the only ones held prior to the independence o ...

, although the assembly was not inaugurated. He participated as a freedom fighter during the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

Early life and education

Abdul Hoque was born in 1930, to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

family in the village of Bhatgaon in

Chhatak Chhatak (; formerly known as Chhatak Bazaar) is a town in northeastern Bangladesh, on the Surma River in Chhatak Upazila of Sunamganj District in the division of Sylhet. References Further reading * {{cite book , last=Hossain , first=Ash ...

(then under

Sylhet district Sylhet District (), located in north-east Bangladesh, is one of the four districts in Sylhet Division, which contains Sylhet, the regional capital. History Sylhet District was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Benga ...

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

). He was the eldest of the three sons of Moulvi Abdul Wahid and Mahebun Nesa. His younger brother, Abul Hasnat Md. Abdul Hai, was a three-time member of the

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

. In 1951, Abdul Hoque passed his matriculation from the

Government Jubilee High School Government Jubilee High school, Sunamganj, is a public secondary school in Sunamganj District, Bangladesh. It was established in 1887 by Prassana –Kumar Dey, son of Pran Krishna Nath Roy Choudhury, Zamindar of Kajalshah and the first person to g ...

Sunamganj Sunamganj (, is a town in the Sylhet Division of northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative headquarters and largest town of Sunamganj District. It is located on the banks of the Surma River, approximately west-northwest of Sylhet, the ...

. Abdul Hoque enrolled at the Sunamganj College from where he completed his

Intermediate of Arts Intermediate Arts (IA) is an academic diploma awarded by a high school or junior college after the completion of 12th grade or equivalent in some countries like India and Nepal. However, as for Nepal, the usage of IA, ISc, and the like has become o ...

. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

. During his studies in Dhaka, he was elected as the G.S. of Salimullah Muslim Hall.

Career

Abdul Hoque began his career as a lawyer in the

Dhaka High Court The High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh (), popularly known as High Court, is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate Division. It consists of the Chief Justice of Bangla ...

. He then became a teacher at the West End High School until 1968.

Political career

Abdul Hoque first entered politics during the

Bengali Language Movement The Bengali language movement was a political movement in East Bengal (modern-day Bangladesh) in 1952, advocating the recognition of the Bengali language as a co-lingua franca of the then-Dominion of Pakistan to allow its use in government ...

of 1952, where he is credited for assembling the Sunamganj Student Society in favour of the Bengali language. During the

1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election Legislative elections were held in East Bengal between 8 and 12 March 1954, the first since Pakistan became an independent country in 1947. The opposition United Front led by the All-Pakistan Awami League and Krishak Sramik Party won a landslide ...

, Abdul Hoque became an activist for the

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...

. He was imprisoned the following year for thirteen months. During the

, Abdul Hoque ran as an

candidate from the NE-128 (Sylhet-IX) constituency which covered the

thana Thana means " station" or "place" in South Asian countries. The word ''thana'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''sthana'' or "sthanak", meaning "place" or "stand", which was anglicized as ''thana'' by the British. * Thanas of Bangladesh, forme ...

s of

(which then included both Dowarabazar and Companiganj) and Jagannathpur. He was successful in this election and set to become a member of the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

, but the assembly was not inaugurated as it was protested by West Pakistani party leaders who did not want an Awami League government. The events eventually led to the

Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence The Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence (), refers to the declaration of independence of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971, at the onset of the Bangladesh Liberation War by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On that day, Awami League leader M. ...

on 26 March 1971 by

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

. On the same night, a meeting was held involving the senior politicians of Sunamganj subdivision at the home of Dewan Obaidur Raja Chowdhury. The All-Parties Independent Bengal Council was formed by Chowdhury as a result of the meeting, and its members included

Abdus Samad Azad Abdus Samad Azad (; 15 January 1922 – 27 April 2005) was a Bangladeshi diplomat and politician. He was elected to Bangladesh's parliament five times from 1970 to 2001. He was also elected Member of Lower Assembly in the Parliament of the then ...

, Abdul Hoque,

Suranjit Sengupta Suranjit Sengupta (5 May 1945 – 5 February 2017) was a Bangladesh Awami League politician. He resigned in 2012 as the first Railway Minister of Bangladesh. He was the member of parliament from Sunamganj-2 constituency in the Jatiya Sangsad ...

, Abdur Raees, Abduz Zahur, Shamsu Mia Chowdhury, Awami League leader Husayn Bakht,

NAP A nap is a short period of sleep, typically taken during daytime hours as an adjunct to the usual nocturnal sleep period. Naps are most often taken as a response to Somnolence, drowsiness during waking hours or as a means to supplement before ...

leader Ali Yunus, Abdul Quddus and Alfatuddin Ahmad. Among Abdul Hoque's activities during the war was serving as a Civil Adviser of Sector Five and the Chief Co-ordinator of the Chhatak-Jagananthpur- Derai area.

Death

Three days after the Bangladeshi victory, Abdul Hoque died in a road accident at the Sylhet-Sunamganj road on 19 December 1971. The accident occurred in Tuker Bazar on his way back to Sunamganj in a private car from a Sangram Committee meeting at the

Sylhet Circuit House Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

. Alongside him was

Bir Protik Bir Protik (, ) is the fourth highest gallantry award in Bangladesh. Recipients This award was declared on 15 December 1973. A total of 426 people have received the award so far, all for their actions during the Bangladesh Liberation War, liber ...

Idris Ali who survived the accident. Some of Abdul Hoque's demanded that he be buried in

town. His

janaza Islamic funerals () follow fairly specific Ritual#Islam, rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia (Islamic religious law) calls for burial of the body as soon as possible. T ...

was performed the next day, and was attended by Bangladesh Armed Forces founder

M. A. G. Osmani Muhammad Ataul Gani Osmani (1 September 1918 – 16 February 1984) was a Bangladeshi Officer (armed forces), military officer, revolutionary and politician. His military career spanned three decades, beginning with his service in the Briti ...

, Comrade Manik Mia, Mudarris Ali BA, Shafiqul Hoque, MCA Shamsu Mia Chowdhury, Abdul Wadud, Commander Abdus Salam, Angur Mia Chowdhury, Mudarris Mia Chowdhury, Taimus Raja, Muqit Chowdhury, Moyna Mia, Shamsher Ali, Lutfur Rahman Pradhan, Accha Mia, Amir Ali Badshah and others. He was then buried in the Bagbari cemetery of

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

city.

Legacy

In 1972, the Abdul Hoque Memorial Degree College was established in Govindaganj, Chhatak. Through the efforts of politician Mohibur Rahman Manik, a memorial was made at Banshtala, the headquarters of Liberation Sector Five, and the area was renamed to Hoqnagar (City of Hoque) in 1996. The Hoqnagar-Banshtala area has now become a tourist attraction due to the presence of the memorial and more work is being done there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoque, Abdul Awami League politicians People from Chhatak Upazila Politicians from Sylhet Division 1930 births 1971 deaths University of Dhaka alumni Candidates in the 1970 Pakistani general election Members of the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh