Mohammad Abdul Jalil (; 9 February 1942 – 19 November 1989) was a

freedom fighter A freedom fighter is a person engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom, particularly against an established government. The term is typically reserved for those who are actively involved in armed or otherwise violent rebellion. Termi ...

and

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 ...

Sector Commander of Sector 9 during the 1971

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 one of the founding members of the political party

Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal () is a political party in Bangladesh. The party was founded by Serajul Alam Khan. The party was dominant during the 1972–1975 Bangladesh insurgency. The current party president is Hasanul Haque Inu. History Th ...

Early years

Mohammad Abdul Jalil was born on 9 February 1942 at his maternal home in

Wazirpur Wazirpur () is a municipality in Barisal, Bangladesh Barisal ( or ; , ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative ...

Backergunge District Backergunge, Backergunje, Bakarganj, or Bakerganj is a former district of British Bengal, East Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was the southernmost district of the Dacca Division. The district was located in the swampy lowlands of the vast river delta ...

. He was a son of Janab Ali Choudhury. He passed the matriculation examination from Wazirpur WB Union Institution in 1959,

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 ...

examination from Murry Young Cadet Institution.

Military Career

He joined the Pakistan army in 1963 as cadet of PMA. He obtained his graduation and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in History during his service in the army. Abdul Jalil was commissioned in September 1965. and was elevated to the position of Major in 1970. In February 1971, Major Jalil came to Barisal on leave from his place of posting in

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

, and joined the war of liberation in March.

JaSaD

Mohammad Abdul Jalil had pioneering role in floating the new political party

(JSD) in October 1972. At the inception of the party he was the joint convener, and was elected chairman of the party in the council session held on 26 December 1972. The JSD under his leadership endeavored to establish '"

scientific socialism Scientific socialism in Marxism is the application of historical materialism to the development of socialism, as not just a practical and achievable outcome of historical processes, but the only possible outcome. It contrasts with utopian social ...

" in the country and was altogether active in anti-government politics. Mohammad Abdul Jalil contested from seven constituencies in 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 ...

elections in 1973 with no return. Major Jalil was arrested while launching a program of the party activists to besiege the official residence of the then Home Minister on 17 March 1974. He was released on 8 November 1975. Major Jalil was again arrested on 25 November by the martial law government for his alleged conspiracy for the overthrow of the government and attempts at usurping the state power. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in a trial by the special military tribunal. He was, however, released on 24 March 1980. Major Jalil contested in the presidential election in 1981 as a nominee of the three-party alliance of JSD, Workers Party and Krishak-Sramik Samajbadi Dal. He was left chairmanship of the JSD in 1984. 16 days later, on 20 October 1984, he started a party called Jatiya Mukti Andolon. At this time he was active in creating Shommilito Shongram Parishad, under the leadership of Hafezzi Huzur. He was under house-arrest in January 1985 for one month. He was put in Dhaka Central jail from 30 December 1987 to March 1988, for joining the protest against autocrat Ershad. 12122009 Major M

Notable works

* ''Seemahin Samay'' (1976) * ''Dristibhangi O Jiban Darshan'' * ''Surjodoy'' (1982) * ''Arakshita Swadhinatayi Paradhinata'' (1989) * ''Bangladesh Nationalist Movement for Unity: A Historical Necessity''

Death and legacy

He died in

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, Pakistan on 19 November 1989. His body was brought to Dhaka on 22 November 1989, and buried at the Mirpur Graveyard for Intellectuals with full honor. A bridge in Barisal is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jalil, M. A. 1942 births Pakistani defectors People of the Bangladesh Liberation War 1989 deaths People from Wazirpur Upazila Bangladesh Army officers Mukti Bahini personnel Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal politicians Burials at Mirpur Martyred Intellectual Graveyard Bangladeshi anti-fascists 20th-century Bangladeshi politicians