It is really unfortunate that to neglect own mother tongue just for learning a foreign language

Brief Biography of Professor Ghulam Azam

 Birth

  • November 7, 1922 at Laxmi Bazar Shah Shaheb Bari (the house of the spiritual leader of Laxmi Bazar), a well known hub of spritual practice, which was his maternal grandfather’s home in Dhaka, Bangladesh. His maternal grandfather Shah Sayed Abdul Monaem was the Shah Shaheb (spiritual leader) at that time.

Family Background

  • His ancestoral home is Maulvi Bari (house of religious scholars), Birgaon village, Nabinagor sub district, district of Brahminbaria, some 80 miles South/South East of the capital Dhaka.
  • For 5 generations before him, his family have been resident of Brahminbaria district and were well known as a family of religious scholars.
  • His great grandfather, Munshi Shahabuddin, was known as the most prominent religious scholar on the east of the Meghna River.
  • His first known ancestor was Shaikh Zaki, the great grandfather of his great grandfather, who is known to have migrated there from the Middle East.
  • Although his actual family name is Shaikh, his great grandfather Munshi Shabuddin dropped it from their name and it has never been used since then.
  • His maternal family has been known as a family of spiritual and religious scholars for generations. His maternal family home is still well respected by the locals for spiritual and religious guidance.

Education

Primary school:        Birgaon Primary School

Junior school  :         Junior New Scheme Madrasha, Barail and

                                    Hucha Miah High Madrasha, Comilla

                          

College          :           Govt. Islamic Intermediate College (currently Kabi Nazrul College),                                      Dhaka

                         

                                    Passed High Madrasha Exam (Equivalent to S.S.C.) in 1937 and                                        achieved 13th position in merit list.

                                                Passed H.S.C. from the same College in 1944 achieving 10th position.

University      :           Passed BA with Arabic, English and Political Science in 1946 from                                                 Dhaka University.

                                    Passed MA in Political Science in 1948 from Dhaka University.

Student Leadership

1944 – 1946 :            Assistant Secretary, Purbo-Pakistan Shahitto Shangsod (East                                              Pakistan Literary Society)

1946 – 1947 :            General Secretary, Hall Union, Fazlul Haq Muslim Hall, Dhaka                                            University.

1947 – 1948 :            General Secretary, Dhaka University Central Student’s Union                                              (DUCSU). He reportedly received the highest votes amongst all the                                    candidates.

1948            : As the DUCSU General Secretary, Ghulam Azam presented the                                          Historic Memorandum, demanding Bengali to be a state language, to                                 Mr. Liakat Ali Khan, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, on Nov 27,                              1948 at the Dhaka University Gymnasium ground, on behalf of all the                                     students.

1948 – 1949 :            Re elected as the General Secretary of DUCSU

1948 – 1949 :            General Secretary, Purbo-Pakistan Shahitto Shangsod (East Pakistan                               Literary Society)

 Other Involvements as a Student

  • Mid 1930s: Spoke at a rally as a school boy, organised in support of Palestine.
  • A scout leader in his school and in college (Islamic Intermediate College, Dhaka)
  • He was also a keen sportsman and was a very good volleyball and badminton player.
  • Champion in Badminton doubles. His team was called \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Hopeless\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\". But they always won
  • Also a good singer, he won the college competition for Naat-E-Rasul (songs to praise the prophet).

 Employment

1950 – 1955 :Lecturer, and later Professor, Dept. of Political Science, Rangpur                                        Carmichael College (now a university). This was his only employment before                   committing his life in full time politics and dedicating his entire life for the                          service of the people.

Other involvements:

1952 – 1954 : Founder Secretary, Tamuddon Mojlish, Rangpur District .

                      (a national socio-cultural organisation guided by Islamic principles)

1951 – 1954 : Ameer, Tabligh Jamayat, Rangpur, a worldwide religious organisation.

1958             : President, Editorial Board, The Daily Ittehad, Dhaka.

Political Involvement

1954           : Formally joined Jamaat-e-Islami, the leading Islamic political party in the                             country. Soon became the Founder President of the party’s unit at Rangpur                     Carmichael College.

1955            : Became full member of the party while in jail. Upon his release from jail,                             gave up his job as a Professor to engage with the party full time.

1955            : Secretary, Jamaat-e-Islami, Rajshahi Division

1957 – 1967 : General Secretary, Jamaat-e-Islami, East Pakistan

1967 – 1971 : Ameer (President), Jamaat-e-Islami, East Pakistan

1978 – 2001 : Ameer (President), Bangladesh Jamaat-E-Islami.

Political Imprisonment

1948            : DUCSU General Secretary Ghulam Azam was arrested on March 11, 1948                        for his role in the famous Language Movement.

1952            : Pakistan Government arrested him for his continued involvement in the                             Language Movement in Rangpur.

1955           : Pakistan Government arrested him again for activities in the Language                                Movement.

1964           : Following the banning of Jamaat-e-Islami by Pakistan government, he was                        arrested while attending party’s Central Committee meeting in the then West                    Pakistan. He was released after 6 months. When he flew back to Dhaka, he               was at Dhaka Airport upon got released through court after 2 months.

1992           : He was arrested by Bangladesh Government for becoming the leader of a                          Bangladeshi political party without the nationality of Bangladesh (which was                   wrongfully taken away by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1973), following the                                public announcement of his election as the Ameer (President) of Bangladesh                      Jamaat-e-Islami, after decades being the Ameer behind the scene.

   This was followed by a court case by his family to challenge the government,    demanding the restoration of his nationality as his birth right. In 1994, the             High Court ruled that there is no evidence to accuse or implicate him for any        crimes during 1971 war, the key reason used to strip him of his nationality by           the then Awami League led govt. The High Court also ordered the             government to immediately restore his nationality and release him from     prison. He was released, with full honour and right, after 16 months.

Key Political Roles

  • 1954 General Election: At an election rally in Rangpur in 1954, organised by Jukto Front (Combined Front), the main opposition political alliance, Prof. Ghulam Azam was introduced to Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, the Leader of Jukto Front (who later became the Prime Minsiter, following the victory of Jukto Front in the election).
  • The introducer was none other than Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, a friend of Prof. Azam during their student days, who later became the President of Awami League, the Father of the Nation, the Prime Minister and President of Bangladesh, and the man behind the independence of Bangladesh.
  • Member of Central Committee, Democtratic Action Committee (DAC), a combined opposition alliance formed against General Ayub Khan, the then President of Pakistan,during late 60s.
  • Participated in the Round Table Conference (RTC) held by the then President of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan in late 60s, with representatives of all political parties of the country. He represented Jamaat-e-Islami East Pakistan.
  • Secretary General, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a combined opposition alliance against Pakistani ruler.
  • During the mid 80s, under General Ershad’s Martial Law, he floated the idea of a non-party Caretaker Govt to conduct the National Parliamentary Elections.

 Author Ghulam Azam

Professor Ghulam Azam is not only a politician and Islamic thinker but also a prominent writer. He has authored 138 books, mainly in his native language, but some in English as well. These books are mainly on Islam and Bangladesh. He also authored a 9 volume series of his memoir titled ‘’Jibone Ja Dekhlam” (Reflections of My life). He is a prolific writer. The style of his writing is simple and lucid, useful to all classes of readers.

NOTE: For more details, read his memoire or see his interview with Dhaka Digest.

 

AN ADDRESS OF WELCOME

To The Hon’ble Janab Liaquat Ali Khan

Prime Minister of Pakistan

 

(This Memorandum was read out by Prof Ghulam Azam on 27th November 1948 as the General Secretary [GS] of Dhaka University Central Students’ Union [DUCSU] during the visit of the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, at a meeting in Dhaka University Gymnasium Ground)

 Sir,

It is with a heart, throbbing with joy and emotion that, we, the students of the University of Dacca, welcome you in our midst as the first Prime Minister of our new, free and sovereign State of Pakistan. Even in the midst of these joyful surrounding, our thoughts naturally go back to the day when only a few months back we had the honour and privilege of welcoming the beloved Quaid-e-Azam in our midst. Though he is no more with us his message and his work are our most precious heritage which shall continue to guide and inspire us in future. The most fitting homage that we can pay to his memory is to build up our State in accordance with the Islamic ideals of equality, brotherhood and justice.

 Sir, with the dawn of independence a great responsibility has developed on us. We can assure you that, we, who have contributed our mite to the national cause, are quite alive to the fact that the future wellbeing and stability of the state rest on us. Hence, the task of building up those, who will build up the state, should be given the utmost importance. We must revolutionise our outlook and reconstruct our thought to shape ourselves in the new order of life. The present system of education, which was introduced by the Britishers to suit their requirements, should be thoroughly reorganized in the light of the altered circumstances. The lamentable failure of our Provincial Government to give any lead in this matter till now and the present pitiable plight of primary, secondary and university education in our province have compelled us to draw your kind attention to the matter. The exodus of non-Muslim teachers, who formed the bulk of the teaching staff in pre-partition period in the secondary and the university stages, coupled with the dirth of efficient substitutes, has been a serious blow. The technical branches of education, viz, the Engineering, the Medical and the Agricultural, which should be given the utmost care are also badly suffering for want of efficient teachers and technical equipment. Steps should be taken to secure efficient teachers and technical employment, if necessary, from abroad, and more students from East Pakistan should be sent overseas for higher education and training. Female education is another subject which is also not receiving its due attention. More facilities and encouragement should be given to our sisters who are now coming forward in increasing number to avail themselves of every opportunity of education and serving the country. We also urge on you, Sir, to introduce compulsory free military training in all the colleges and the universities with facilities for our sisters too. The problem of accommodation is getting more and more acute since the partition. Both students and teachers are greatly suffering on this account and the authorities are also experiencing great difficulties in accommodating the growing number of students in different educational institution. We therefore appeal to you to use your good offices to remedy the present deplorable state of affairs affecting the growth and future wellbeing of the nation.

 Sir, the magnificent efforts that you are making to strengthen the defence of Pakistan has evoked the admiration of all. We however beg to impress upon you with all the emphasis at our command that to encourage our youth to join the armed forces we need Army, Naval and Air Academies in this province. The only cause for this rather slow response from our youth is not lack of enthusiasm or determination on their part but the absence of these facilities in this province. We pledge our whole-hearted support and can assure you that given proper facilities you shall have from amongst us the best in every branch of the armed forces.

Sir, the food problem is causing us a great concern. The prices of essential commodities and cloth have gone beyond the purchasing power of the average citizen and perhaps the cost of living here in East Pakistan is the highest in the world except in China. Steps should be taken to increase our food production to make ourselves self sufficient. This can only be made possible by abolishing the Permanent Settlement without compensation and thoroughly re-organizing our land tenure system and by the introduction of co-operative farming on a scientific basis.

Let us tell you, Sir, that we greatly appreciate your determination to ruthlessly deal with corruption and black marketing. Here in East Pakistan the anti-corruption department was doing splendid work. But unfortunately the department has been amalgamated with another department and the work has alarmingly slowed down though the corruption here is still as rampant as ever. We hope you will kindly see that the work and efficiency of the department is not allowed to be hampered by interested individuals however big they may be.

Sir, There cannot be any economic progress in the country unless it is industrialized. We hope, Sir, that in any industrial planning of the country, East Pakistan would legitimately get a major share.

Sir, though the two parts of our state happen to be separated by nearly one thousand miles we are one with our brethren of West Pakistan in their joys and sorrows, happiness and tribulations. Provincialism is a word unknown to us and quite foreign to our sentiment. We take this opportunity of conveying through you our best wishes and most sincere greetings to your brethren in West Pakistan and the youth in particular.

Sir, the policy of the Britishers to impart education through the medium of a foreign language accounts for the poor percentage of literacy amongst our people. The best way to impart education is through the mediumm of the mother tongue, and we are glad that our Provincial Government has already accepted this principle. The introduction of Bengali as the medium of instruction and as the official language has opened before us a great opportunity of educating our people and developing ourselves according to our own genius, We are happy to note that out Central Government, under your wise guidance, has given Bengali an honoured place. This is a step in the right direction which shall go a long way to further strengthen our cultural ties, with our brethren in West Pakistan. Interchange of thoughts and ideas and mutual understanding are essential if we have to develop a homogeneous and healthy national outlook. We have accepted Urdu as our Lingua Franca but we also feel very strongly that, Bengali by virtue of its being the official language of the premier province and also the language of the 62% of the population of the state should be given its rightful place as one of the state languages together with Urdu. Otherwise, we in East Pakistan shall always be under a permanent handicap and disadvantage. Thus alone we shall have full scope of development and forge closer affinity with our brethren of the other part and march forward hand in hand.

Sir, you are aware of the pitiable plight of the people of East Bengal and Muslims in particular, who were victims of the worst kind of political oppression and economic exploitations. We are confident, Sir, that our legitimate claim in our Armed Forces and the Central Services, on the basis of population-percentage shall be given effect to immediately.

Sir, we appreciate the tremendous odds that you had to surmount and we are also alive to the difficulties that face us today. We would however take this opportunity of requesting you most earnestly to see that the framing of our constitution is not delayed any further. The last general elections were in fact a plebiscite on the issue of Pakistan and now that we need more able men and fresh blood to come in and shoulder responsibility, we beg to impress upon you the necessity of having an early general election on a wider basis.

 Sir, we have been watching, with increasing grief and concern, the repressions to which nor student friends, most of who are tried Muslim League workers with admirable record of service and sacrifice, are being subjected. Many of us are being harassed and even put under detention without trial in our attempt to fight out corruption and injustice and bring them to the notice of the Government. The bogey of communism is raised to justify these injustices but we assure you most sincerely that, all other “isms” excepting Islamic message of peace, equality and social justice are quite foreign to our outlook.

 We hope, Sir, and we are confident that the points we have raised shall receive your earnest attention and sympathetic consideration.

 Sir, we are afraid that we have taxed you long enough but we could not help expressing our feelings. So, we have been frank to you even at the risk of being misunderstood only out of our sincere and intense love for the future wellbeing of the State. We are happy that the reins of administration of our State are in the able hands of one who enjoys the full confidence and love of all the Pakistanis. We have watched with admiration and regard your services and sacrifice to the cause of the nation. We pray to the Almighty for your sound health and long life to enable you to lead us through the critical times ahead. We thank you most cordially for the honour you have done to us in consenting to come and address us.

 

PAKISTAN ZINDABAD

 DACCA                                                                                                                                                              We beg to subscribe ourselves,

The 27th November, 1948.                                                                                                              h e Students of the University of   Dacca.