Ahsanullah Master (9 November 1950 – 7 May 2004) was a

Bangladesh 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 ...

politician and a

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 ...

member from the Gazipur-2 constituency. He was a notable trade union leader who was assassinated in May 2004. He was awarded

Independence Award The Independence Award (), formally known as the Independence Day Award or Swadhinata Padak (), is the highest state award given by the government of Bangladesh. Introduced in 1977 by President Ziaur Rahman, this award is bestowed upon Banglades ...

in 2021 posthumously.

Early life and career

Master completed his bachelor's 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 ...

and started his career in teaching profession. During 1983–1988, he led the Pubail Union Parishad in the

Gazipur District Gazipur District () is a district in central Bangladesh, that is part of the Dhaka Division. It has an area of 1806.36 km2. It is the home district of Tajuddin Ahmad, the first Prime Minister of Bangladesh and has been a prominent centre o ...

. He later served as the chairman of Gazipur Upazila Council. Master was a member of

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

and fought in 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 ...

. He was elected to parliament form Gazipur-2 constituency in 1996 and 2001.

Death

Master was shot dead in a conference along with Omar Faruq Ratan in

Tongi Tongi () is a major township in Gazipur, Bangladesh, with a population of 350,000. It hosts the Biswa Ijtema and features a BSCIC industrial area, which produces BDT 1500 crore of industrial products annually, and marks the northern border of D ...

Gazipur Gazipur () is a city in central Bangladesh. Located in Gazipur District in Dhaka Division, it is a major industrial city north of Dhaka. It is a hub for the textile industry in Bangladesh, with 75% of all garment industries situated there. ...

on 7 May 2004. In April 2005, Dhaka Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 convicted Nurul Islam Sarkar, a leader of

Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Jubo Dal The Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Jubodal () commonly known as the Jubodal or Jubo Dal, is the youth wing of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). History Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Jubodal was established on 27 August 1978. On 23 November 2003, the gr ...

, the youth wing of the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...

, and 27 others for the killing, quoting "the lawmaker was killed out of political vindictiveness and for establishing supremacy in the locality". Among the 28 convicted, the court sentenced 22 to death and 6 to life term imprisonment. In June 2016, the High Court, on appeals, confirmed the death penalty of 6, commuted 7 others to life imprisonment, upheld life term sentence of 2 and acquitted 11 of the charges against them. The other 2 had died during the trial.

Personal life

Master's son Zahid Ahsan Russell is the incumbent

member from the same Gazipur-2 constituency since Master's death.

References

1950 births 2004 deaths People from Gazipur District Politicians from Dhaka Division University of Dhaka alumni Awami League politicians 7th Jatiya Sangsad members 8th Jatiya Sangsad members Assassinated Bangladeshi politicians People murdered in Bangladesh Place of birth missing Deaths by firearm in Bangladesh Recipients of the Independence Award 2004 murders in Bangladesh Asian politicians assassinated in the 2000s Politicians assassinated in 2004 {{Dhaka-AL-politician-stub