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Ahmed Hossain

Hossain, Ahmed (1896 - 1961), Minister for Agriculture, Forest and Fisheries department in Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy’s Cabinet 1946/47, Chairman of Rangpur District Board (Undivided Bengal) , Minister for Agriculture in East Pakistan in Abu Hossain Sarkar‘s cabinet 1955/56 [2]. Represented his constituency as MLA and MP from 1937 to 1958. .

Family and Education

Born to a respectable family in the village of Jalaltair, Mohimaganj, Rangpur district on March 7, 1896. His father Amanullah Hossain died when he was 7 years old and he was raised by his mother Shakina Begum. Hossain married Begum Meher Afia Khanum, the eldest daughter of Khawaja Sadaruddin, of Bogra. Hossain obtaining excellent results in his Matriculation examination from Sonatola High School enabling him to obtain a scholarship to study law at Aligarh Muslim University.

Mohimaganj High School built in 1945

Independence movement

Hossain was actively involved in politics even from a young age at school. He joined the All India Congress Party and was fully committed to Mohatma Ghandi’s non-cooperation movement (1920), canvassing support for the Congress Agenda all over north Bengal, particularly in the Rangpur district.

He later joined the Muslim League and contested the 1937 General Election as a Muslim League candidate. After winning, he became an elected member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly.

Mohimaganj Madrasa built by Ahmed Hossain in 1939

He was elected Chairman of the Rangpur District board 1944 /1945.

He ran in the Indian General Election of 1946 as a Muslim League candidate and became a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly. He was given the ministerial post for the Agriculture, Forest and Fisheries department under the Chief Minister-ship of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.

During the 1946 Calcutta riots Hossain lost his eldest son, Mahmood, at the tender age of 14 years old, killed by rioters while innocently playing with friends. At the time Hossain was on an official visit championing the Muslim cause for the Sylhet referendum on behalf of the Muslim League. Following Mahmood’s death, Ahmed Hossain took a step back from politics, returning to his beloved village Jalaltair, where he remained a Muslim league MLA.

It was during the 1952 Language movement that Hossain resigned from the Muslim League and joined the newly formed United Front Party led by Fazlul Huq, Maulana Bhashani and Hueyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. In 1954, Hossain was elected to the East Pakistan national assembly as a United Front Member. In 1956 he joined the cabinet of Abu Hossain Sarkar as Agriculture minister.

Legacy

Mohimaganj Mosque in 1945

Ahmed Hossain was a philanthropist and devoted a great deal of time and energy to the promotion and improvement of Muslim education in Rangpur. He established an Alia Madrasa at Mohimaganj in 1939, which was particularly significant as at the time there were only three other Alia madras in the whole of undivided Bengal. A newly built student hall, the “Ahmed Hossain Student Hall” has been dedicated in his honour.

Hossain was also responsible for building a modern high school and a big and beautiful Mosque in Mohimaganj in 1945.

In 1950 Ahmed Hossain introduced Laws against catching fish eggs, small and spawning fish to provide for the conservation and development of propagation of fish stock. [3]

Ahmed Hossain dedicated his life to his native village Jalaltair. He continued to represent his constituency as an MP until Ayub Khan declared Martial Law in 1958. Ahmed Hossain died at the age of 65 on Friday 19th of May 1961.

Bibliography

Begum, Jahanara (1994) "The last decades of undivided Bengal" ISBN 81-85195-60-9

Rahim, Enaytur and Rahim, Joyce L, (2000). "Bengal politics the documents of the Raj (1944/47)", University Press Limited, Dhaka. ISBN 9840515004

Tarique21 (talk) 16:59, 5 August 2012 (UTC)