Mohammad Farhad (5 July 1938 – 9 October 1987), popularly known as "Comrade Farhad", was a Bangladeshi guerrilla force commander during the Bangladesh independence war, President of

Communist Party of Bangladesh The Communist Party of Bangladesh (, abbreviated: CPB) is a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Bangladesh. History After the partitioning of India in 1947, during the 2nd Congress of the Communist Party of India in Calcu ...

and a member of

Bangladesh Parliament 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 ...

Early life

Mohammad Farhad was an Urdu-speaking Bangladeshi born in Khetripara in the

Dinajpur Dinajpur ( ) is a city and the district headquarters of Dinajpur district situated in Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. It was founded in 1786. It is located 413 km north-west of Dhaka. It is bounded on the north by Suihari, Katapara, Bangi ...

district in present Bangladesh to parents Ahmed Sadakatul Bari and Tayabunnesa. He matriculated from

Dinajpur Zila School Dinajpur Zilla School is a public high school in Dinajpur District, Bangladesh, Dinajpur District, Bangladesh. About 2000 students study here from classes 3 to 10. The school's current Headmaster is Mr. Md Monjurul Kadir. It is one of the ancient s ...

in 1953 and received his master's degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from

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

in 1961.

Politics

Comrade Farhad played a role at different times in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

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 ...

, including the

1952 Bengali Language Movement Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 f ...

, 1962 Education Movement, 1968–69 Pakistan Mass Upheaval, 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and the post-1971 Democracy movement. During the 1971 war, he helped lead the guerrilla forces jointly formed by the Communist Party, NAP and Chhatra Union. A ‘Special Guerilla Force’ under the direct command of CPB-NAP-BSU fought against the

Pakistani 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 ...

Moni Singh Moni Singh (); 28 June 1901 – 31 December 1990) was a preeminent Bangladeshi communist politician popularly known as ''Comrade Moni Singh''. He was the founder of the Communist Party of East Pakistan. Singh operated a guerrilla wing of the Mukti ...

, the ex-President of CPB, was elected a member of the Advisory Council of the

Provisional Government of Bangladesh The Provisional Government of Bangladesh (), popularly known as the Mujibnagar Government (); also known as the Bangladeshi government-in-exile, was the first and founding government of Bangladesh that was established following the proclamatio ...

. He was imprisoned during the Pakistan period, as well as during the Zia and Ershad period of Bangladesh politics. Mohammad Farhad was elected as a member of

in 1986 from his home district

Panchagarh Panchagarh is a city in northwestern Bangladesh. It is the administrative center of Panchagarh District. Etymology There are two main beliefs associated with the name of the district. The first is that Panchargarh was named after an area called Pa ...

, which he held until his death.

Death

On 8 October 1987, while on an official visit to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, as a delegate from Bangladesh Parliament, Mohammad Farhad died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 49. He left behind his wife and two children. The Moni Singh-Farhad Memorial Trust was established, twinning his name with that of Communist Party founding member Comrade

, now serving as a center for intellectuals in Bangladesh.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farhad, Mohammad 1938 births 1987 deaths Communist Party of Bangladesh politicians 3rd Jatiya Sangsad members Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League central committee members