Khandakar Mohammad Obaidur Rahman (5 May 1940 – 21 March 2007) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was a 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 1973 representing

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 ...

and in 1979, 1996 and 2001 representing 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 ...

(BNP).

Early life

Khandakar Mohammad Obaidur Rahman was born into 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 of Khandakars on 5 May 1940 at Laskardia,

Nagarkanda Upazila Nagarkanda () is an upazila of Faridpur District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. In this upazila, in the village of Kodalia, the Pakistani Army killed at least 22 people including women and children on 1 June 1971. The incident is also reco ...

Faridpur District Faridpur District () is a district in south-central Bangladesh. It is a part of Dhaka Division. It is bounded by the Padma River to the northeast. The district was named for its headquarters, the city of Faridpur, Bangladesh, Faridpur, which its ...

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

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 ...

. His father was Khandakar Mohammad Atiqur Rahman. He earned his MA degree in 1964 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 ...

Career

Obaidur Rahman was elected as general secretary of Dhaka University Central Students Union (DUCSU) during 1962–63. In 1963 he was elected President of East Pakistan Students League. He supported the 1966 Six Point movement of Awami League and participated in the

1969 Mass uprising in East Pakistan The 1969 East Pakistan mass uprising () was a democratic political uprising in East Pakistan. It was led by the students backed by various political parties such as the Awami League, National Awami Party, and Communist party of East Pakistan and ...

. He joined

in 1964 and had served as the social welfare secretary during 1966–1971. In 1970 he was elected to 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 ...

. He worked with the

Non-cooperation movement Non-cooperation movement may refer to: * Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule * Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan * Non-cooperatio ...

and was the convener of the Co-ordination and Resistance Committee in Faridpur District. After the start of Bangladesh Liberation war he moved to India and worked in the Purulia Freedom Fighters Training Camp as the "political motivator". He temporarily administered the Awami League office in Kolkata. In 1973, Obaidur Rahman was elected a member of the first Jatiya Sangsad. He served as the deputy minister in charge of Post and Telegraph from 1973 to 1975. After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, President of Bangladesh, he joined with Khondokar Moshtaque Ahmed. He was an accused in the 1975

Jail Killing The Jail Killing () refers to the murder of four leaders of the Awami League political party in Bangladesh by army officers who carried out a coup d'état there on 15 August 1975. The four killed were former president Syed Nazrul Islam, former pr ...

case in which four national leaders of Bangladesh Awami League were killed. Obaidur Rahman joined the

(BNP) in 1978. He was elected to parliament as a candidate of Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He was a member of the cabinet in charge of the Ministry of Fishery and Livestock and later of the Ministry of Aviation and Tourism. From 1986 to 1988 he served as the

General Secretary of Bangladesh Nationalist Party The secretary general of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is the executive officer of the Nationalist Party, a political organization in Bangladesh. The secretary general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person ...

. He was elected to parliament in 1996 and in 2001. He was acquitted in the Jail Killing case in 2004. He formed the Janata Party in the 1980s with a ship as its symbol.

Personal life

Obaidur Rahman was married to Professor Shaheda Obaid, who had a daughter named, Shama Obaid. Obaidur Rahman became her adopted father. On 18 March 2008 Shahida Obaid was sued by

Bangladesh Anti Corruption Commission The Anti Corruption Commission (; ''often abbreviated:'' ACC, ) is the principal government agency against corruption in Bangladesh. History The Anti-Corruption Commission was formed through an act promulgated on 23 February 2004 that came ...

on graft allegation relating to her chairmanship of

Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka is an autonomous organization and responsible for holding public examinations ( JSC, SSC and HSC) in Dhaka Division and for providing recognition to the newly established non-government ed ...

. Shama Obaid contested the

Faridpur-2 Faridpur-2 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Nagarkanda and Saltha upazilas, and one union parishad of Sadarpur Upazila: Krishnapur. History Th ...

parliamentary election in 2008 as a Bangladesh Nationalist Party candidate. Shama is the Organizing Secretary of Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Death and legacy

Obaidur Rahman died on 21 March 2007 in Apollo Hospital, Dhaka,

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. He was buried in Laskardia, Nagarkanda Upazila, Faridpur District. Obaidur Rahman Smriti Sangsad and KM Obaidur Rahman Foundation are two organisations dedicated to his memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obaidur Rahman, KM 1940 births 2007 deaths People from Faridpur District Politicians from Dhaka Division University of Dhaka alumni Awami League politicians Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians General secretaries of Bangladesh Nationalist Party 8th Jatiya Sangsad members Ministers of posts, telecommunications and information technology of Bangladesh Ministers of fisheries and livestock of Bangladesh Ministers of civil aviation and tourism of Bangladesh Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League central committee members Candidates in the 1970 Pakistani general election Members of the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh