Karim Uddin Ahmed (; 19 March 1923 – 28 August 1991) 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 representing the

Rangpur-6 Rangpur-6 is a constituency in the Jatiya Sangsad. Since 6 August 2024, the constituency is vacant. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Pirganj Upazila. History The constituency was created for the first general elections in newly indep ...

constituency during 1973–1979.

Early life and education

Ahmed was born on 19 March 1923 to a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

family in the village of Kashiram in Kaliganj,

Lalmonirhat Lalmonirhat () is a town and district headquarters of Lalmonirhat District in the Rangpur Division, division of Rangpur, Bangladesh. Demographics According to the 2022 Bangladeshi census, 2022 Bangladesh census, Lalmonirhat city had a populat ...

Rangpur district Rangpur District () is a district in northern Bengal, It is a part of Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. Geography Under the Rangpur Division (one of eight divisions) composed of eight districts of northern Bangladesh, the District of Rangpur is bo ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. He was a son of Moulvi Azim Uddin Ahmad and Nesabi Bewa. He completed his primary education at the ''pathshala'' of Nilambar Pandit in Madanpur-Bairati. After that, he studied at the Chilakhal-Paikan ''

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

'' in Gangachara, before proceeding to be educated at the Tushbhandar High School until tenth grade.

Career

Ahmed began his career as an employee of a local

Marwari Marwari may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the Marwar region of Rajasthan, India, largely in the Thar Desert ** Marwari people, an Indian ethnic group originating in the Marwar region ** Marwari language, the language of the Marwari ...

-owned business in 1945. He later established his own

jute Jute ( ) is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be Spinning (textiles), spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ...

business. Among his philanthropic contributions is the establishment of various institutions across the Kaliganj thana such as the Kaliganj Karim Uddin Public Pilot High School, Kaliganj Karim Uddin Public Degree College, Karim Uddin Primary School and Karimpur Nesaria Dakhil Madrasa. He also contributed to literary and cultural activities. Ahmed's entry into politics began with the Quit India Movement, and he was arrested for assisting

Mukunda Das Mukunda Das (; 22 February 1878 – 18 May 1934) was a Bengali poet, ballad singer, composer and patriot, who contributed to the spread of Swadeshi movement in rural Bengal. He was commonly referred to as "Charankabi" (The Writer of Ballads) du ...

. In 1954, he was elected chairman of the Union Board and served in this position for sixteen years. He was elected to the

East Pakistan Provincial Assembly The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...

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 for

constituency but this assembly was not formed and later 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 ...

happened in 1971. During the war, Ahmed presided over the Kaliganj Sangram Council and contributed to the formation of the Kaliganj branch of the

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 ...

. His home served as a Mukti Bahini headquarters where the local youth would be provided training. Ahmed hoisted the flag of independent Bangladesh in a public meeting organised at Kaliganj ground. When the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

entered Kaliganj, Ahmed fled to

Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), also known as Koch Bihar, is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal and it stands on bank of the Torsa river. The city is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. During the British Raj, Cooch Behar was the seat of the ...

where he established two Mukti Bahini camps, serving as an organiser of the northern Mukti Bahini. After independence, Ahmed was elected to the first

as a Rangpur-6

candidate at the

1973 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in newly independent Bangladesh on 7 March 1973. A total of 1,078 candidates and 14 political parties contested the elections. Though the Awami League was already the clear favourite before the elections, the governme ...

Death

Ahmed died in

Rangpur Medical College Hospital Rangpur Medical College (RpMC) () is a government medical college in Bangladesh, established in 1970. It is located in the northern city of Rangpur. It is affiliated with Rajshahi Medical University. It offers a five-year medical education course ...

on 28 August 1991. He is survived by his son, Nuruzzaman Ahmed, who was the former Minister of Social Welfare.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Karim Uddin 1923 births 1991 deaths Awami League politicians 1st Jatiya Sangsad members People from Lalmonirhat District