M Amir-ul Islam (born 2 February 1936) is a Bangladeshi lawyer and politician. He drafted the proclamation of independence of Bangladesh in 1971 and was a member of the drafting committee of Bangladesh Constitution in 1972. He served as the State Ministers of Food of the

Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

during 1973–74.

Education and career

Islam passed his matriculation in 1952 from Kushtia Muslim High School and intermediate exam in 1954 from

Jagannath College Jagannath University (JnU) () is a public university located in Sadarghat, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Founded as ''Dhaka Brahma School'' in 1858 and renamed ''Jagannath School'' in 1872, and later renamed ''Jagannath College'' in 1884, the institution w ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

. Islam completed his bachelor's degree in political science, economics and general history 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 ...

in 1956. He was called to the bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

, London in 1961.

Bangladesh Liberation War

The 1970 general election, the first of its kind in Pakistan after years of military rule, was held on 7 December 1970. The

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 ...

, led by

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

, secured 160 out of 300 seats, becoming the majority in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. On 1 March, Yahya Khan postponed the inaugural session of the National Assembly on 3 March, indefinitely. According to him, "it was imperative to give more time to the political leaders to arrive at a reasonable understanding on the issue of Constitution making". Awami League president Sheikh Mujib immediately called for non-cooperation by his people, effectively taking control of East Pakistan. Mujib kept issuing regular directives to people and party workers. Amir-ul Islam, along with

Tajuddin Ahmad Tajuddin Ahmad (23 July 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician. He led the Provisional Government of Bangladesh, 1st Government of Bangladesh as its Prime Minister of Bangladesh, prime minister during the Bangladesh Liberation W ...

, the general secretary of Awami League, and

Kamal Hossain Kamal Hossain (born 20 April 1937), better known as Dr. Kamal, is a founding leader, lawyer and politician of Bangladesh. He is known as the "Father of the Bangladeshi Constitution" and regarded as an icon of secular democracy in the Indian subc ...

, were put in charge of drafting the directives. On the night of 25 March, Islam and Tajuddin Ahmad left their homes and families and went into hiding. They secretly left Dhaka on 27 March for neighbouring India. After a perilous journey, mostly on foot through

Kushtia Kushtia () is a city located on the banks of the Gorai River in Bangladesh. It serves as the headquarters of Kushtia District and is considered the cultural capital of Bangladesh. The city is known for its Tiler Khaja (sesame sweets), kulf ...

and

Chuadanga Chuadanga () is a city in western Bangladesh. It is the headquarters of Chuadanga Sadar Upazila and Chuadanga District. Located on the Mathabhanga River, Mathabhanga river, Chuadanga was the first capital of Bangladesh. It was the sub-district of ...

, they crossed the Indian border on 30 March. At the border outpost the regional head of the Indian border security force ( BSF), Golok Majumdar received them. Majudmar immediately transported them to Kolkata with him. There, on the night of 30 March and the next day, Islam and Tajuddin had discussions with BSF chief Rustamji, who had come from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

after learning of their arrival. On 1 April, Islam and Tajuddin, accompanied by Majumdar, left for Delhi aboard a military cargo plane. In Delhi, Tajuddin met with India's Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

, on 4 April. At their second meeting the following day, Gandhi informed him that Sheikh Mujib had been arrested and transported to Pakistan though Pakistan had not made this official yet. Asked about the Bangladesh government, he replied, as Amir-ul Islam advised the day before, that a provisional government had been formed with Sheikh Mujib as its president with the senior Awami League leaders who had attended the Mujib-Yahya talks as cabinet members. Islam drafted the proclamation of independence. Islam described the proclamation as the “birth certificate” of Bangladesh. The proclamation was read out at the oath-taking ceremony of the Mujibnagar Government on 17 April 1971. After the ceremony, Barrister Amir-ul-Islam showed the document to

Subrata Roy Chowdhury Subrata Roy Chowdhury is an Indian lawyer in the Supreme Court of India and in the Calcutta High Court. He is known for his works on international human rights law. He reviewed the proclamation of independence of Bangladesh written by M Amir- ...

, an Indian jurist of international law. Chowdhury found the document to be perfect and flawless, commenting that not a single word, comma or semi-colon needs to be changed and that the content of the proclamation was consistent with the recognized principles of international law. Inspired by the liberation of Bangladesh, Chowdhury later wrote the book ‘The genesis of Bangladesh’ in which he talked about Amir-ul-Islam's flawless drafting of the document.

Personal life

Islam is married to Jahanara Amir, daughter of M Osman Ali. They have three children - one daughter, Barrister

Tania Amir Tania Amir is a Bangladeshi barrister and rights activist. Early life Amir was born on 27 September 1964. Her father is Barrister M Amir-ul Islam. She studied at the Holy Cross Girls School, United Nations International School, St Francis Xavier ...

(b. 1964) and two sons, Adil Islam, a banker, and Zaid Islam, a photojournalist.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Islam, M Amir-ul Living people 1936 births People from Kushtia Politicians from Khulna Division University of Dhaka alumni 20th-century Bangladeshi lawyers Awami League politicians State ministers of food of Bangladesh 1st Jatiya Sangsad members 20th-century Pakistani lawyers Candidates in the 1970 Pakistani general election Members of the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh