Shah Abdul Hamid (; 1900 – 1 May 1972) was a Bangladeshi political activist,

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 ...

politician, legislator and banker.

Early life and education

Shah Abdul Hamid was born in 1900 to

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 ...

parents Haji Abdul Ghaffar Shah and Rahima Khatun in the village of Khalshi in Gobindaganj, then part of the

Rangpur district Rangpur District () is a district in northern Bengal, It is a part of Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. Geography Under the Rangpur Division (one of eight divisions) composed of eight districts of northern Bangladesh, the District of Rangpur is bo ...

of 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 ...

(Now

Gaibandha Gaibandha () is a town and district headquarters of Gaibandha District in northern Bangladesh. It is a centre of commerce and trade of the Gaibandha District and is located under the Rangpur Division. The area of the city is approximately 10.54 ...

). He completed his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Carmichael College Carmichael College, Rangpur () is a public higher education institution in Bangladesh. Established in 1916 by the then Magistrate Collector of Rangpur, J.N. Gupta and was named after Lord Baron Carmichael. Currently, the college offers education ...

Rangpur Rangpur may refer to: Places In Bangladesh *Rangpur Division, one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. *Rangpur District, district of Bangladesh in Rangpur Division. *Rangpur, Bangladesh, metropolis and a major city in northern ...

in 1920. During his student life, Abdul Hamid participated in the

Non-cooperation movement Non-cooperation movement may refer to: * Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule * Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan * Non-cooperatio ...

initiated by

Chittaranjan Das Chittaranjan Das (5 November 1870 – 16 June 1925), popularly called ''Deshbandhu'' (friend of the country), was a Bengali freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian Independence Movement and the political guru of Indi ...

. In 1927, he obtained a law degree from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

and began practice at the Court of Gaibandha.

Professional life

After completion of his education, he returned to Gaibandha and started working as a sports organizer. He was the General Secretary of Gaibandha Town Club. He played the pioneer role in founding the Gaibandha College in 1947 of which he became the first Secretary of the Managing Committee. He was elected Chairman of the Rangpur School Board in 1949. He was actively associated with "Jeorge Coronation Dramatic Club" (now Gibandha Nattya Sangstha) and performed on stage. He was Director of the National Bank of Pakistan from 1951 to 1955.

Political life

Shah Abdul Hamid took part in the Law defying Movement in 1930. In 1936, he joined the Muslim League. In 1941, Hamid was elected Vice Chairman of Rangpur District Board, a post he was to hold for 12 years. In 1945, he was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly of India. He joined Bangladesh Awami League in 1956 and was the President of Rangpur Awami League up to 1966. In 1970, representing the Awami League, he was elected member of the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

for Rangpur V (Gobindaganj-Palashbari). At the very outset of the Liberation War, he went to India and played a vital role in organizing the resistance movement.https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Hamid,_Shah_Abdul Hamid was the first

Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad The Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Bangladesh. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the parliament following general elections by Members of Parliament. Serving for a term of ...

of the Gana Parishad (National Assembly), serving from 10 April to 1 May 1972. The Shah Abdul Hamid Stadium, Gaibandha, is named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamid, Shah Abdul Politics of Bangladesh Speakers of the Jatiya Sangsad 1900 births 1972 deaths Carmichael College alumni University of Calcutta alumni 20th-century Pakistani lawyers 20th-century Pakistani businesspeople Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India Members of the Constituent Assembly of Bangladesh People from Gaibandha District Politicians from Rangpur Division Candidates in the 1970 Pakistani general election