Muhammad Mansur Ali (16 January 1917 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician who was a close confidant of

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 ...

, the founding leader of Bangladesh. A senior leader of 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 ...

, Mansur also served briefly as the

Prime Minister of Bangladesh The prime minister of Bangladesh (, : Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), officially prime minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (, : Gôṇôprôjātôntrī Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), is the head of government of the Ba ...

in 1975 until he was

assassinated Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

while incarcerated on 3 November 1975.

Early life

Muhammad Mansur Ali was born on 16 January 1917 to 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 Sarkars in the village of Kuripara in Qazipur,

Sirajganj Sirajganj is a city in north-western Bangladesh on the right bank of the Jamuna River, located in Rajshahi Division. It is the administrative headquarters of Sirajganj District, and with a population of 500000, it is the 14th largest city in Ba ...

(then under

Pabna District Pabna District () is a district in west central Bangladesh. It is a geographically and economically important district. Its administrative capital is the eponymous Pabna town. The main five rivers of this district are: Padma, Jamuna, Baral, Atra ...

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 ...

. His father's name was Haraf Ali Sarkar. Mansur pursued his education in Kolkata Islamia College (now

Maulana Azad College Maulana Azad College is a government college of liberal arts, commerce and science in India, located in central Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The college is fully government-administered. It is located near the junction of Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road an ...

). He would pursue a MA degree in economics and law from the

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

. During this period Mansur became an active member of the

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties British India *All-India Muslim League, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan ** Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organization above **Unionist Muslim L ...

, which under

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

demanded a separate

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

state of

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# ...

. He served as the vice-president of the Pabna District Muslim League from 1946 to 1950. He received training at Jessore Cantonment as a captain in PLG (Pakistan Lancers Group) in 1948. Since then he was widely known as Captain Mansur. Deciding to practise law, he enrolled in the Pabna District Court in 1951.

Political career

He would soon be elected member of Awami League's central executive committee and president of its Pabna District unit. Mansur was arrested by police in 1952 for helping to organise protests against the declaration of

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

as the sole official language, in what became known as the Language Movement. Mansur and his party demanded that

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 ...

also receive recognition and the provinces be granted

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...

. After his release, Mansur was elected a member of the East Pakistan Legislative Assembly in 1954 as a candidate of the

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...

alliance of various political parties. In the cabinet headed by

Ataur Rahman Khan Ataur Rahman Khan (; 6 March 1905 – 7 December 1991) was a Bangladeshi lawyer, politician and writer, who served as the Chief Minister of East Pakistan, chief minister of East Pakistan from 1 September 1956 – March 1958, and as the prime mi ...

, Mansur served in different periods as the province's minister of law, parliamentary affairs, food, agriculture, commerce and industry. Mansur was re-arrested in the aftermath of the coup d'état led by

Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...

, who became

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

and imposed

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

. He would remain incarcerated from 1958 to 1959. Mansur Ali played an important role in the Six point movement led by

, who demanded substantial regional autonomy and opposed the military regime. In the 1970 elections, he was elected member of the legislative assembly. At the outbreak of 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 ...

in 1971, Mansur went underground to organise a

government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovereign state or semi-sovereign state, but is unable to exercise legal power and instead resides in a foreign country. Governments in exile usu ...

. Mansur became the minister of finance in the

Mujibnagar Mujibnagar (), formerly known as Baidyanathtala (Boiddonathtola) and Bhoborpara, is a town in the Mujibnagar Upazila of Meherpur District in Khulna, Bangladesh. The Provisional Government of Bangladesh was formed on 10 April 1971, however, swo ...

government. After the independence of Bangladesh, Mansur was the minister of communications and later home affairs. After the introduction of a one-party, presidential system in 1975, Mujib became the

President of Bangladesh President of Bangladesh (POB), officially the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is the head of state of Bangladesh and commander-in-chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The role of the president has changed three times since ...

. Mansur was appointed the prime minister. He helped Mujib organise the

Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League The Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (), abbreviated as BaKSAL, was the sole legal ruling party of Bangladesh from January to August 1975. The party comprised politicians from the Awami League, the Communist Party of Bangladesh, the Na ...

Personal life

He married Begum Amina the daughter of a District Judge from the area of Rangpur. They had five sons and one daughter. His eldest son Dr Mohammad Selim became a lawyer and studied for the BAR at Lincoln's Inn. He is a politician and became Presidium member for Awami League and held the position of Chairman of Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Committee as well as being an MP representing his fathers constituency Kazipur in Sirajganj District. Mansur's second son Mohammad Nasim also became a leader of prominence and was MP and held ministerial posts of Telecoms and Home for Awami League government between 1996 and 2001.

Death

file:Monsur ali.jpg, Statue of Muhammad Mansur Ali at

On 15 August 1975, Mujib was Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, assassinated along with his family by a group of military officers. The 15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état, 15 August coup d'état was masterminded by

Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad (; 27 February 1919 – 5 March 1996) was a Bangladeshi politician. He was the Minister of Commerce in the third Mujib Rahman ministry under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and assumed the presidency of Bangladesh after the A ...

, a disgruntled member of Mujib's regime who would become president. Mansur went into hiding immediately after the killing. When Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad invited Awami League leaders such as Mansur Ali,

Syed Nazrul Islam Syed Nazrul Islam (1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and a senior leader of the Awami League. During the Bangladesh War of Independence, he was declared as the Acting President of Bangladesh by the Provisional Government. ...

, A. H. M. Qamaruzzaman and

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 ...

to join his government, they refused. They were arrested by the army on 23 August 1975. Refusing to support Ahmad's regime, they were murdered while incarcerated in the

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 ...

Central Jail on 3 November, which was one of the key points for the 3 November coup, which already ousted Ahmad from power again.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Muhammad Mansur 1917 births 1975 deaths Bangladeshi Muslims Aligarh Muslim University alumni Maulana Azad College alumni Awami League politicians People of the Bangladesh Liberation War Bangladeshi people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Bangladeshi detention University of Calcutta alumni Recipients of the Independence Award Ministers of finance of Bangladesh Ministers of communications of Bangladesh Prime ministers of Bangladesh Ministers of home affairs of Bangladesh Ministers of road transport and bridges of Bangladesh Pakistan Army officers 20th-century Bengalis 20th-century Muslims People from Sirajganj District Politicians from Rajshahi Division Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League executive committee members Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League central committee members Bangladesh independence activists