U Raschid also Yar Shit (; 1912 — 1978), an Indian Myanmar Muslim politician, was the first chairman of the

All Burma Federation of Student Unions The All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) () is a left-wing umbrella organization for student unions in Burma (also Myanmar). It has played a prominent role in the country's political history, particularly in the struggle for independen ...

and active in the student movement against the ruling British.

U Nu Nu (; ; 25 May 1907 – 14 February 1995), commonly known as Burmese names#Honorifics, U Nu and also by the honorific name Thakin Nu, was a prominent Burmese people, Burmese statesman and the first Prime Minister of Union of Burma. He was ...

Early life and education

Rashid was born on November 5, 1912, in

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

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 ...

. In 1914, Rar Shit and his family moved to

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

from

when he was two years old. His father was Mr. M. A. Sakur and his mother was Ahmadi Begum. His father, Mr. M. A. Sakur, was an Indian-Burmese trader and opened a shop on Dalhousie Road (now Mahabandula Road) and was the first person to import and sell

Phonograph A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. He studied at ''Randaria High School'' in

Yangon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

. He graduated from

Yangon University The University of Yangon (also Yangon University; , ; formerly Rangoon College, University of Rangoon and Rangoon Arts and Sciences University), located in Kamayut Township, Kamayut, Yangon Region, Yangon, is the oldest university in Myanmar's m ...

with

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

University years

In 1929, Thahtay U Nyo donated the construction of the union building, which was completed in 1930. Although there is a union building, there is no union organization. Students, including Rashid, tried to form a Federation of Student Unions. In 1931 he was a member of the committee that drafted the Federation of Student Unions constitution, which was chaired by Kyaw Khin. 1931, which ratified the Federation of Student Unions constitution; From the student meeting held on 9 January, when nine executive members were elected, Raschid became the Secretary of the Federation of Student Unions. From 1935 to 1936,

was the chairman of the Yangon ‌University Students' Union and he was the vice-president. At the time,

Aung San Aung San (, ; 13 February 191519 July 1947), known honorifically as '' Bogyoke'' Aung San, was a Burmese politician, independence activist and revolutionary. He was instrumental in Myanmar's struggle for independence from British rule, but he w ...

was the secretary of the Yangon University Students' Union. He also was the leader of student strike in 1936. During the student strike, Thein Pe, Nyo Mya, Kyaw Nyein, Hla Mg, Tun Oh,

, and

participated. This was followed by the

and the Student Thanmani Army, National University and the student parliament movements have emerged. After that, he also co-founded the Red Dragon Book Club outside the university with them. Raschid was elected chairman of the student union, elected in June 1936. Secretary

was elected. He led the convening of the All Burma Students 'Conference and the establishment of the

. The first conference was chaired by

. He served as chairman of the reception committee. He was elected by that conference and became the first chairman of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions.

Political and other careers

After the war, he joined the

Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) was a broad popular front that ruled Burma (now Myanmar) between 1947 and 1958. It included both political parties and trade unions as members. The league evolved out of the anti-Japanese res ...

and was a member of the committee drafting the 1947 constitution. He also served on the Labor Legislative Committee. During the era of parliamentary democracy He was repeatedly elected as a Member of Parliament to the House of Representatives and Ethnic Parliament. In 1952

appointed him as Minister for Housing and Labour, later in 1954, Minister for Trade and Development, in 1956, Minister of Mines, in 1960 Minister of Commerce and Industry. In 1958 he was the Vice President of the Trade Union Council of Burma. In the 1960s, Burmese independence leader and 1st Prime Minister of Burma,

wanted to send Rashid as permanent representative to the United Nations in Burma, but he refused. In 1961, he was elected chairman of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

General Assembly. On March 2, 1962, General

Ne Win Ne Win (; ; 24 May 1911 – 5 December 2002), born Shu Maung (; ), was a Burmese army general, politician and Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974, and also President of Burma from 1962 to 1981. Ne Win was Burma's mili ...

arrested him for six years along with Prime Minister U Nu's cabinet ministers during the coup. In 1974, he was detained for a second time for 18 months. In 1978, he became chairman of the Muslim minority committee of the

Muslim World League The Muslim World League (MWL; ) is an international Islamic non-governmental organization based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate values. The NGO has been funded by the Saudi gov ...

Personal life

He married Daw Fatima (BA). They have two sons.

Death

In 1978, He died of prostate cancer on Friday, April 21, in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. The tomb of his is marked as Raschid of Burma.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rashid, U 1912 births Burmese Muslims Lists of Muslims Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League politicians State of Burma University of Yangon alumni 1978 deaths Indian emigrants Immigrants to Myanmar People from Prayagraj