Nawajesh Ahmed (1916–2000) was a lawyer, politician, and civil servant. He served as food and agriculture minister of the then

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

during 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.

Early life

Ahmed was born in 1916 in Shyamnagar,

Ranaghat Ranaghat is a city and a municipality in Nadia district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Ranaghat subdivision. It is known for its handloom industry, various types of flowers and floriculture. History After the ...

Nadia district Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influe ...

in the

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 ...

of British India. After passing the matriculation examination from Majdia Rail Bazar High School in 1928, he passed the intermediate examination two years later from

Krishnagar Government College Krishnagar Government College, established in 1846, is the oldest college in Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It offers undergraduate courses in arts and sciences and also some postgraduate courses. At first, the college was un ...

and obtained his bachelor's degree. He then earned his B.A. and a LL.M. degrees from Ripon College.

Career

He began practicing as a lawyer at the Ranaghat court from 1938. In the

1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election Legislative assembly elections for the Bengal Legislative Assembly were held in January 1946 as part of the 1946 Indian provincial elections. Seats The allocation of 250 seats in the assembly was based on the communal award. It is illustrated in ...

, he participated as a politician of the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslims, Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim L ...

and elected as a member of the legislative assembly from the Nadia East constituency. Before the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, he relocated with his family to Chuadanga subdivision's Bastupur in Nadia district (which later became part of

Kushtia District Kushtia District (; ) is a district in the Khulna Division, Khulna administrative division of western Bangladesh. Kushtia is the second largest municipality in Bangladesh and the eleventh largest city in the country. Kushtia has existed as a sepa ...

). After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, he served as the first chairman of Kushtia District in the newly formed province of

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

(part of Pakistan), president of the Kushtia District School Board, and joint secretary of

Pakistan Muslim League The Pakistan Muslim League (; known as PML), is the name of several different Pakistani political parties that have dominated the centre-right platform in the country. The ''Muslim League'' (the original successor of the All-India Muslim ...

parliamentary group. In the 1960s, he became a member of the

Council Muslim League The Council Muslim League was a faction of the Pakistan Muslim League that divided from the Convention Muslim League that was supportive of the military regime of the President of Pakistan Gen. Ayub Khan. Sardar Muhammad Zafarullah, Mian Mu ...

. During the

in 1971, he was appointed as a minister in the

Malik ministry The Malik ministry was an interim cabinet formed in East Pakistan, Pakistan's former eastern province, during the Bangladesh War of Independence. This cabinet, characterized as a civilian form of military rule, was established on 17 September 1971 ...

. After the

independence of Bangladesh The independence of Bangladesh was Proclamation of Bangladeshi Independence, declared from Pakistan on 26 March 1971, which is now celebrated as Independence Day (Bangladesh), Independence Day. The Bangladesh Liberation War started on 26 March ...

, on 24 December 1971, he was arrested by the government for collaborating with Pakistan during the war. On 30 November 1973, the government announced a general amnesty for detained cabinet members, and he was released. later, he served as the vice-president of the

Bangladesh Muslim League The Bangladesh Muslim League () is a political party in Bangladesh that traces its origins to the All-India Muslim League, established in 1906. Convention Muslim League, Council Muslim League and Muslim League (Qayyum), Qayyum Muslim League, bre ...

. He worked at the Chuadanga court and was elected president of the Chuadanga Bar Association.

Personal life and death

His father's name was Monir Uddin. He had a zamindari estate comprising nine villages in Chuadanga. He was awarded the title of

Khan Sahib Khan Sahib - a compound of Khan "Leader" and Sahib "Master" - was a formal title of respect and honour, which was conferred mainly on Muslim, and also on Parsi, Irani, and Jewish subjects of the British Indian Empire. It was a title one deg ...

by the British authorities, which he renounced in 1946 at the call of

Mohammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...

, leader of the All-India Muslim League. Among his three sons and two daughters, the eldest son served as the chairman of the Housing and Public Works Department. His residence was situated at Court Road in

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 ...

, where he passed away on 13 March 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Nawajesh 1916 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Bangladeshi lawyers Provincial ministers of East Pakistan People of the Bangladesh Liberation War East Bengal MLAs 1947–1954 Bengal MLAs 1946–1947 Bangladesh Muslim League politicians Pakistan Muslim League politicians All-India Muslim League politicians Bengali zamindars People from Nadia district Krishnagar Government College alumni Surendranath College alumni