Ohidur Rahman () is a Bangladeshi

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

political leader, freedom fighter and writer. He is a former member of parliament for

Naogaon-6 Naogaon-6 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh . Since 6 August 2024 the constituency is vacant. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Atrai Upazila, Atrai and Raninagar Upazila, Raninagar up ...

Early life and education

Ohidur Rahman was born in 1943, into 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 in Atrai,

Naogaon Naogaon () is the district headquarters and most populous town of Naogaon District in northern Bangladesh. It is located on the banks of the Little Jamuna river. As of 2011, the area of the municipality was and the population was 150,549. The ...

Rajshahi District Rajshahi District () is a district in mid-western Bangladesh. It is a part of Rajshahi Division. The metropolitan city of Rajshahi is in Rajshahi District. Geography Rajshahi District is bounded by Naogaon District to the north, Natore Distric ...

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 ...

. He completed his education at the

University of Rajshahi The University of Rajshahi (), also known as Rajshahi University (RU), is a public research university located in Rajshahi, Bangladesh. It is the second oldest and third largest university in Bangladesh. The university's 59 departments are or ...

where he studied

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 ...

, and was associated with the Writers Students League.

Career

Prior to Bangladesh's independence, Ohidur Rahman had been a part of

Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani (12 December 1880 – 17 November 1976), also known reverentially as Maulana Bhashani, was a Bangladeshi politician and statesman who was one of the founder of the Awami League, the oldest and main political party in B ...

National Awami Party The National Awami Party (NAP) was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Yar Mohammad Khan, through th ...

and

Purbo Banglar Communist Party The Purbo Banglar Communist Party (, abbreviated: PBCP) is an outlawed communist party and militant far-left organization in Bangladesh. The PBCP formed in 1968 following a split in the Bangladesh Communist Party. It is mainly active in the are ...

. 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 ...

of 1971, he set up resistances in 9 areas across

Rajshahi Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...

. 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 ...

, he became the leader of the

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 ...

's Atrai branch and later the greater Rajshahi branch. Not long after, he was arrested after being injured in an armed brawl as part of a Naxalite uprising. He was released from prison in 1977. During the

1986 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in Bangladesh on 7 May 1986. A total of 1,527 candidates contested the elections. The result was a victory for the Jatiya Party, which won 153 of the 300 directly elected seats. Voter turnout was 61%. Bangladesh Nati ...

s, Ohidur Rahman successfully won a seat in the newly created

constituency as an independent candidate. He stood up again as a Communist Party candidate during the

1991 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in Bangladesh on 27 February 1991. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) emerged as the largest party in parliament, winning 140 of the 300 directly elected seats. The BNP formed a government with the support of Jamaa ...

s but lost to

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...

politician Alamgir Kabir. He stood up as an

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 ...

candidate in the 1996 Bangladeshi general elections, but lost again to BNP politician Kabir. Ohidur Rahman has written several works relating to the

and

politics of Bangladesh The politics of Bangladesh operate in a framework of a parliamentary system, parliamentary representative democracy, representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Prime Minister is the head of government and of ...

. Two of his notable books are ''Mukti Shongrame Atrai'' (Atrai in the Liberation struggle) and ''Gontobbohīn Pothe'' (In a path with no destination).

References

Communist Party of Bangladesh politicians Living people 3rd Jatiya Sangsad members 1943 births People from Naogaon District Politicians from Rajshahi Division University of Rajshahi alumni Communist writers Awami League politicians {{Rajshahi-AL-politician-stub