Sheikh Abu Naser (1928–1975) was a Bangladeshi politician and businessmen. He was the only brother of the founding

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 ...

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 ...

and the uncle of the former Bangladesh Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

Early life

Naser was Mujib's younger brother and he had 4 sisters.

Career

Naser had a prosperous clearing and forwarding agency in the erstwhile

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 ...

. He earned almost Rs. 40,000 per month and employed mostly Hindus. His business was destroyed by the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

, rendering him penniless, and Naser fled to neighboring

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

with nothing but the clothes on his back. He left his wife and children back in

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, whose whereabouts he was unaware of. The former communications minister and Muslim League leader

Abdus Sabur Khan Abdus Sabur Khan (10 October 1908 – 25 January 1982) was a Bangladeshi politician and lawyer from Khulna. He served as a minister in the government of Ayub Khan. During the Bangladesh Liberation War, Khan stood in favor of Pakistan and later l ...

reportedly attempted to bribe Naser to convince his brother Mujib to accept the 4-point program of

General Yahya Khan Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (4 February 191710 August 1980) was a Pakistani army officer who served as the third president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. He also served as the fifth commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army from 1966 to 1971. A P ...

. Abdus Sabur Khan promised Naser that if he could convince his brother, then Naser would get many lucrative contracts in

West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...

. Naser refused to accept the bribe and exclaimed that Mujib would rather die than sacrifice his principles. Naser was a member of

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

during

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 ...

and was formally recognized by the government of Bangladesh as a freedom fighter 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 ...

. In 1975, he was the largest contractor in Khulna.

Personal life

Naser was married to Sheikh Razia Dolly (1941-2020). He had five sons and two daughters named Sheikh Jalaluddin Rubel,

Sheikh Helal Uddin Sheikh Helal Uddin is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a former member of Jatiya Sangsad representing the Bagerhat-1 constituency during 1996–2024. He has been missing since the fall of his cousin Sheikh Hasina's government on 5 August ...

, Sheikh Jewel, and Sheikh Sohel, Sheikh Belal, Sheikh Tahmina and Sheikh Farhana Sheikh Sohel is a director of

Bangladesh Cricket Board The Bangladesh Cricket Board (; abbreviated as BCB), formerly known as Bangladesh Cricket Control Board, is the governing body of cricket in Bangladesh. It became an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1977, and a Lis ...

while Sheikh Helal and Sheikh Jewel are members of parliament. His grandson

Sheikh Tonmoy Sheikh Sharhan Naser Tonmoy best known as Sheikh Tonmoy is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and a former member of Jatiya Sangsad representing the Bagerhat-2 constituency. He is a grand-nephew of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, nephew of Sheikh Has ...

(son of Sheikh Helal) is also a member of parliament. Naser's granddaughter Sheikh Shaira Rahman (daughter of Sheikh Helal) is married to his grand-nephew Andaleeve Rahman (grandson of his sister Sheikh Asia Begum). Naser was said to have closely resembled his older brother

Death and legacy

Naser was killed on 15 August 1975 by mutinous

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army () is the land warfare branch, and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to defend the land of Bangladesh from any external attack. Control of personnel and operations is ad ...

officers at the residence Mujib in

Dhanmondi Dhanmondi () is an upscale residential and commercial neighbourhood and a Thanas of Bangladesh, thana (police jurisdiction) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, known for its central location, cultural vibrancy and being home to the country's founding president, ...

, during the course of the assassination of Mujib and many of his family members. He pleaded the assassins not to kill him as he was just a businessman and said to them, "I am not into politics, I do business for a living." Nevertheless, he was taken to a bathroom of the house where a soldier shot him. He was bleeding and begged for water when another soldier came in and shot him again, killing him. A number of Mujib's

family members Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as m ...

were killed by the assassins.

Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium Khulna Divisional Stadium, (, previously known as Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium and Bir Shrestha Shahid Flight Lieutenant Motiur Rahman Stadium) is a test cricket venue in Khulna, Bangladesh. History Khulna, situated in the south-western corner of ...

and Sheikh Abu Naser Specialised Hospital, both in

Khulna Khulna (, ) is the third-largest city in Bangladesh, after Dhaka and Chittagong. It is the administrative centre of the Khulna District and the Khulna Division. It is the divisional centre of 10 districts of the division. Khulna is also the seco ...

, were named after him, in 1996 and 2010, respectively, by the

Bangladesh 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 ...

government. In 2003 the

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 ...

renamed the stadium Birshreshtha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman stadium. The stadium's name reverted to Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in 2009 after Bangladesh Awami League returned to power. After the fall of the

led Awami League government, Sheikh Abu Naser Specialised Hospital was renamed to Khulna Specialized Hospital.

Criticism

Naser was accused of being a ringleader of syndicates smuggling jute to India during the presidency of Mujib. It is said that his rise from near poverty in 1971 to being the largest contractor in Khulna was through favoritism and illegal means.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abu Naser, Sheikh 1st Jatiya Sangsad members Awami League politicians Mukti Bahini personnel Tungipara Sheikh family 1928 births 1975 deaths