Tungipara Sheikh family () of

Tungipara Tungipara (Bengali language, Bangla: টুঙ্গিপাড়া) is a municipality in Tungipara Upazila of Gopalganj District, Bangladesh, Gopalganj District in Bangladesh. It is the birthplace of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is considered the ...

is one of the two most prominent

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

political families A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly electoral politics. Members may be related by blood or marriage; often several generations or multiple sibl ...

, other being the Zia family. The family primarily consists 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 ...

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 ...

Sheikh Rehana Sheikh Rehana Siddiq (born 13 September 1955) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician. She is the younger sister of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the daughter of the first President of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. She is also ...

and their relatives. Their political involvement has traditionally revolved around 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 ...

Family origin

Residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman front view

The first member of the Tungipara Sheikh family to come to

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

was Sheikh Abdul Awal Darwish. Sheikh Abdul Awal was born in a suburb of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, the capital of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. During the early eighteenth century, Sheikh Abdul Awal had travelled to

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

to pursue business and to promote

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

in the region of Bengal. Sheikh Abdul Awal had preached in Chittagong for many years, until he went to

Sonargaon Sonargaon (; ; Literary translation, lit. ''Golden Hamlet (place), Hamlet'') is a historic city in central Bangladesh. It corresponds to the Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj District in Dhaka Division. Sonargaon is one of the old capitals of ...

for business and started preaching there. He married into the Khandakar family of Kandirpar, Faridpur, later his son Sheikh Zahiruddin also married into this family. Many years later, Sheikh Zahiruddin moved to

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

with his son Sheikh Jan Mahmud, since their wholesale business was based there. Sheikh Jan Mahmud's son, Sheikh Borhanuddin, continued to run that wholesale business and eventually shifted back to

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 ...

. He married a girl from the Kazi family of

and permanently settled there. Sheikh Borhanuddin had a son named Sheikh Ekramullah, who in turn had two sons: Sheikh Wasimuddin and Sheikh Mohammad Zakir. Sheikh Mohammad Zakir had three sons: Sheikh Abdul Majid, Sheikh Abdul Hamid, and Sheikh Abdul Rashid. Sheikh Abdul Hamid was the father of

Sheikh Lutfar Rahman Sheikh Lutfur Rahman (; 1881 – 30 March 1975) was a Bangladeshi ''serestadar'', an officer responsible for record-keeping at the Gopalganj civil court in British India. His son Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the first president of Bangladesh. Lutfar ...

while his wife, Sayera Khatun, was the daughter of his father's brother, Sheikh Abdul Majid. Their son was

, who married his third-cousin

Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib Begum Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib (8 August 1930 – 15 August 1975), commonly known as Begum Mujib or Bangamata and also known by her nickname Renu was the wife of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding President of Bangladesh. She was the mother ...

, great-granddaughter of Sheikh Wasimuddin (his great-grandfather Sheikh Zakir's brother). Sheikh Mujib and Begum Mujib's daughter,

, married M. A. Wazed in 1968. During the era of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's great-grandfather Sheikh Mohammad Zakir, the family was a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

-speaking family.

Family tree

Family of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Family of Sheikh Fatema Begum

Family of Sheikh Asia Begum

Family of Sheikh Amena Begum and Abdur Rab Serniabat

Family of Sheikh Abu Naser and Begum Razia Naser Dolly

Family of Khadijah Hossain Lily and ATM Syed Hossain

Extended family & in-laws

*Qudratullah Sheikh: An early ancestor of the Sheikh family and ''

Zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

'' of Faridpur Mahakumar, he was a son of Sheikh Borhanuddin. His nickname was Kadu Sheikh. **Sheikh Abdul Jabbar: Son of Qudratullah Sheikh, father of Sheikh Nurul Haque, grandfather of

Sheikh Selim Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim (born 2 February 1949; known as Sheikh Selim) is a Bangladeshi politician who was a 9-term Member of Parliament representing the Gopalganj-2 constituency during 1980–2024. He is a presidium member of the Bangladesh ...

and Sheikh Mani. ***Sheikh Nurul Haque: Father of

and Sheikh Mani. He was married to Sheikh Asia Begum, granddaughter of his second-cousin Sheikh Abdul Hamid and sister of Sheikh Mujib. His grandsons are Liton Chowdhury, Nixon Chowdhury, Andaleeve Rahman, Sheikh Taposh, Sheikh Fahim. *Sheikh Abdul Rashid: He was the son of Sheikh Mohammad Zakir, brother of both Sheikh Abdul Majid and Sheikh Abdul Hamid, paternal uncle of both

and Sheikh Sayera Khatun, and paternal granduncle of both Sheikh Mujib and Begum Mujib. He was given 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 erstwhile ruling

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

. ** Sheikh Mosharraf Hossain (d. 1991): He was a son of Sheikh Abdul Rashid, a first-cousin of

, and an uncle of

. He was given the title of

by the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. He was a member of the legislative assembly of Pakistan in 1965 and 1970. . 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 ...

, he was accused of collaborating with 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 ...

. After independence he was arrested on charges of collaboration but later freed due to his nephew Sheikh Mujib's intervention. He died on 12 July 1991. *** Sheikh Kabir Hossain: Son of Sheikh Mosharraf Hossain and second-cousin of

. He founded the Fareast International University in

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 ...

. His only daughter, Rumpa Kabir, is married to Anindya Bhuiyan, son of Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan (former BNP secretary-general). ***Sheikh Nadir Hossain: Son of Sheikh Mosharraf Hossain and chairman of Milkvita Bangladesh. *Sheikh Zinnatunnesa Begum: Daughter of Sheikh Zahurul Haque and Sheikh Husne Ara Begum. Her sister was

and her third-cousin was

, making

her niece. She was married to her cousin Sheikh Mohammad Musa and had a son, Sheikh Shahidul Islam. ** Sheikh Shahidul Islam: Son of Sheikh Mohammad Musa & Sheikh Zinnatunessa Begum, nephew of both Sheikh Mujib & Begum Mujib, and first-cousin of

. He served as the Minister for Education, Public Works, Youth and Sports from 1984 to 1990 and is a former member of parliament from Madaripur-3. * Sheikh Hafizur Rahman: Son of Sheikh Habibur Rahman, youngest brother of

. He was a first-cousin of

and uncle of

. He served as a member of parliament from Narail-2 and is a member of the

Workers Party of Bangladesh The Workers Party of Bangladesh () is a communist party in Bangladesh. Rashed Khan Menon is the president of the Workers Party of Bangladesh and Fazle Hossain Badsha is the general secretary of the party. History WPB was founded in 1980 by ...

. His wife, Sheikh Anne Rahman, was a member of parliament from a women's reserved seat. Her father was politician Enayet Hossain Khan. * Khandaker Nurul Islam: He was also known as Nuru Mia. He was elected to the Pakistan parliament in the 1970 Pakistani general election. He was accused of being a collaborator of the

during the

. Later he was elected to the first

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

in the

1973 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in newly independent Bangladesh on 7 March 1973. A total of 1,078 candidates and 14 political parties contested the elections. Though the Awami League was already the clear favourite before the elections, the governme ...

. One of the early ancestors of the Sheikh family, Sheikh Zahiruddin, married a woman from the Khandakar family of Kandirpar, Faridpur. He was a distant cousin of

and grandfather-in-law of Saima Wazed. His brother, Hiru Mia, was married to the sister of Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu, mother-in-law of

Tarique Rahman Tarique Rahman (born 20 November 1965), better known natively as Tarique Zia, is a Bangladeshi politician and businessman who has been the acting chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since February 2018. He is the eldest son of fo ...

(son of

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

and

Khaleda Zia Begum Khaleda Zia (born August–September 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second fema ...

). ** Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain: Son of Nuru Mia, former minister and member of parliament from Faridpur. His son, Khandakar Masrur Hossain, was married to Saima Wazed, daughter of

. ***Khandakar Masrur Hossain: Son of Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain. He married his cousin Saima Wazed, making

his mother-in-law and Sheikh Mujib his grandfather-in-law. *** Md. Habibe Millat: Son-in-law of Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and former member of parliament from Sirajganj-2. * Kazi Zafarullah: Senior

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 and former member of parliament from Faridpur-4. One of the early ancestors of the Sheikh family, Sheikh Borhanuddin, married a woman from the Kazi family of Tungipara, making them cousins of the Sheikhs. His father, Kazi Mahbubullah, was a cousin and close friend of Sheikh Mujib, while Zafarullah himself was a cousin and close friend of Sheikh Kamal. He is married to Nilufer Zafarullah, chairman of Midland Bank Limited and former member of parliament from Faridpur-4. *Shahid Serniabat: He was the nephew of Abdur Rab Serniabat. He was killed along with his uncle and cousins in 1975. * General Mustafizur Rahman: He was married to a cousin of

. He served as the Chief of Army Staff from December 1997 to December 2000. General Rahman was one of the people involved in the

Mig-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twinjet, twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the large ...

corruption scandal, which also included his niece

. ** General Waker-uz-Zaman: He is the son-in-law of General Mustafizur Rahman and he is the 18th Chief of Army Staff. His wife, Sarahnaz Rahman, is a second-cousin of

. General Waker is noted to be the general who oversaw the resignation of his sister-in-law

on August 5th, 2024. * Jahangir Kabir Nanak: Former president of Jubo League, former secretary-general of

Chhatra League Bangladesh Chhatra League, simply Chhatra League (), is the student wing of the political party, Bangladesh Awami League, founded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 4 January 1948. The organisation is banned and listed as a terrorist organisation in B ...

, and senior

politician. He is a nephew of Abdur Rab Serniabat (brother-in-law of Sheikh Mujib) and cousin of Abul Hasanat Abdullah. * Amir Hossain Amu: Senior

politician and member of parliament from Jhalokati-2. He was married to Feroza Hossain (d. 2007), a cousin of Sheikh Mujib, making him an uncle to

and brother-in-law to Sheikh Mujib. * Mominul Haque Khoka: He was a first-cousin of

(his mother was the sister of

) and a freedom fighter. Khoka died in 2014 at the age of 81 in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, leaving behind a son and a daughter. **Farhana Haque: Daughter of Mominul Haque Khoka and a Bangladeshi businesswoman. She is a director of Bank Asia Limited and owner of DHS Motors (distributor of Honda vehicles in Bangladesh). She is married to businessman Romo Rouf Chowdhury (son of A. Rouf Chowdhury, the founder of Rangs Group). * Zillur Rahman & Ivy Rahman: Zillur Rahman was a senior

politician who served as 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 ...

from 2009 until his death in 2013. His wife, Ivy, was the maternal aunt of

Shafique Ahmed Siddique Shafique Ahmed Siddique (; born 27 August 1950) is a Bangladeshi Academic and Professor of University of Dhaka. He was the Chairperson of the Governing Body of Dhaka Commerce College. He was also the Chairperson of Bangladesh University of Bus ...

(husband of

) & Tarique Ahmed Siddique (former securty & defence advisor to

). She was the president of the Bangladesh Mohila Awami League. Her son is Nazmul Hassan Papon. She died in the 2004 Dhaka grenade attack. ** Nazmul Hassan Papon: First-cousin of

and brother-in-law of

. He is a former member of parliament from Kishoreganj-6 and president of the

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 ...

. He is married to the daughter of businessman, Hashem Ali, from the Ali family of Chittagong (owners of Hotel Agrabad). ** Tarique Ahmed Siddique: He is the brother of

and the brother-in-law of

. He is a nephew of Ivy Rahman and an uncle of

Tulip Siddiq Tulip Rizwana Siddiq (born 16 September 1982) is a British Bangladeshi politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hampstead and Highgate, previously Hampstead and Kilburn, since 2015. She served as Economic Secretary to the T ...

. He is a retired major general of the Bangladesh Army. He was the defense and security advisor to Prime Minister

. * AFM Bahauddin Nasim: He served as a member of parliament and APS to

. His paternal grandmother was a sister of

, making Sheikh Mujib his uncle and

his second-cousin. *

Abul Kalam Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin (11 November 188822 February 1958), better known as Maulana Azad and sometimes referred as Abul Kalam Azad, was an Indian politician, writer and activist of the Indian independence movement. A senior leader of t ...

: Former information and cultural affairs minister of Bangladesh. His wife is the sister of

's wife. * Moosa Bin Shamsher: Bangladeshi businessman and alleged arms dealer. His daughter, Nancy, is married to Sheikh Fazle Fahim, son of

. ** Bobby Hajjaj: He is a Bangladeshi poilitician, academic, writer and a professor at

North South University North South University (, also known as NSU) is a Private university, private research university in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was established in 1992 under the Private University Act, 1992 by the then Foundation for Promotion of Education and Resea ...

. He is the founder and leader of the National Democratic Movement. He is the brother-in-law of Sheikh Fazle Fahim, through his sister, Nancy. *

Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku Iqbal Hasan Mahmud (), also known as Tuku (), is a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician and a former state minister of power and agriculture during 2001–2006. Early life and background Mahmud was born into a Bengali Muslim family of Taluqda ...

: Former minister and BNP leader. His daughter, Sarah, is married to Sheikh Nayem, son of

. His close friend was Sheikh Kamal. * Mahbubul Alam Hanif: Senior

leader and former Special Assistant to

. His older brother was married to the sister of Abul Hasanat Abdullah (first-cousin of

). * Lal Mia and Mohan Mia: Zamindars of Faridpur and sons of Chowdhury Moyezuddin Biwshash. Lal Mia's eldest son, Raja Mia, was married to the daughter of Mosammat Begum ( Sheikh Mujib's cousin). Their son, Golam Gafur Chowdhury, was an established lawyer from Faridpur. Mohan Mia's son was married to the sister of Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain. * Anwar Hossain Manju: Bangladeshi politician and president of the

Jatiya Party (Manju) The Jatiya Party (Manju) () is a political party in Bangladesh, led by Anwar Hossain Manju. It is a splinter group of the original Jatiya Party, that was founded by military ruler Hussain Muhammad Ershad Hussain Muhammad Ershad (1 Febru ...

, a close family friend and in-law of the Sheikh family. He served as a minister several times in

's different cabinets. His father was Tofazzal Hossain Manik Miah, a journalist and owner of

The Daily Ittefaq ''The Daily Ittefaq'' (, Bangla pronunciation: ) is a Bengali-language daily newspaper. Founded in 1949 by Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Yar Mohammad Khan, it is the oldest and one of the most circulated newspapers in Bangladesh. The newspape ...

. Manik Miah was a close associate and mentor to

, making the two families close friends. Sheikh Mujib named the street in front of the

Manik Miah Avenue in his honor after independence. Manju's daughter, Tareen Hossain Manju, is married to Nixon Chowdhury, grandnephew of

Photo gallery

File:Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.jpg,

File:Sheikh Hasina in New York - 2018 (44057292035) (cropped).jpg,

File:Sheikh Rehana 2013.jpg,

File:Sheikh-Kamal-222-1167x660.jpg, Sheikh Kamal File:Sajeeb Wazed Joy (1) (cropped).jpg, Sajeeb Wazed File:Saima Hossain (3950177986).jpg, Saima Wazed File:Official portrait of Tulip Siddiq crop 2.jpg,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheikh-Wazed family Bangladeshi families Bengali families Muslim families Bangladeshi people of Iraqi descent