Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan

Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan ( pronunciation  ahb-DOOL mah-NAHN BWEE-yah; 3 January 1943, Shibpur, Narsingdi – 28 July 2010) was a Bangladeshi politician who was part of the cabinet of political party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) during 1991–1996 and again in 2001–2006.

Political career

Inspired by Maulana Bhashani, Bhuiyan started his political career with the then Communist Party in 1962. He was an organiser of 1971 Liberation War.In 1980 and won all the parliamentary elections between 1991 and 2001. In total he was Member of parliament for 15 years and served as a Mannan Bhuiyan was BNP's longest serving secretary general. He was GS for 11 years before expelled by Khaleda Zia in September, 2007. He served as Labor & Manpower minister (1991–2005) and the LGRD and Cooperatives minister (2001–2006) of the BNP-led government. Mannan Bhuiyan had a different approach to the view of politics although his profession is Business, he believes the country needs to develop a culture where they are politicians, and not businesspeople – who use political power to be billionaires, which dominates the political system.^[1] He was a member of the Jatiya Sangshad at seat number 199, and local government of Narsinghi (3).

Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan is mostly admired for his galant participation in the liberation movement and his passion for democracy. Of his 67-year lifetime, he spent around 48 years as a political activist and struggled long for the freedom of the country's farmers and workers.The veteran politician had played a leading role in all pro-democracy movements since 1962, when he joined anti-Ayub movement. He was elected Member of Parliament four times back to back since the 5th Jatiya Sangsad in 1991.Bhuiyan was also popular with the media people, who thought of him as an extraordinarily interesting individual with an amazing memory and encyclopaedic information about regional and global politics, history, economy and biographies of famous people.

Mannan Bhuiyan was born on January 3, 1943, at his maternal grandfather's house at Asad Nagar village under Mashimpur union of Shibpur upazila in Narsingdi district.

His elementary education commenced at a village primary school. He passed Matriculation from Shibpur High School and the Higher Secondary Certificate examination from Narsingdi College. His graduation and post-graduation degrees came in History from Dhaka University. He also obtained an LLB degree.

After he had finished study, Bhuiyan was briefly involved in teaching.Bhuiyan started his political life as an activist of Chhatra Union (Students' Union). Due to his involvement in left-oriented student politics he was imprisoned before his degree examination.

He was elected social welfare secretary of Narsingdi College Student Union in 1960. He played the role of a pioneer in the anti-Ayub movement in 1962 as one of the organisers of the then East Pakistan Chhatra Union. He was elected organising secretary of East Pakistan Chhatra Union in 1964 and held the post of its general secretary for the next two years.

Bhuiyan was elected executive member of Dhaka University Central Students' Union (DUCSU) in 1964-65. After completion of his student life he joined the National Awami Party (NAP) led by Maulana Bhashani. He played a significant role in the mass upsurge in 1969.

During the Liberation War in 1971, Bhuiyan put up resistance against the Pakistani occupation forces by organising thousands of local freedom fighters. He announced a vast area including Shibpur of Narsingdi free and operated from there as a commander.

Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan had a colourful life and was very popular among the farmers and working class. He was general secretary of Krishak Samity for a long time under the leadership of Maulana Bhashani. The movement for improving the condition of deprived farmers commenced under Bhuiyan's leadership.

He left NAP and became general secretary of United People's Party (UPP) in 1978. Later on request of the then president Ziaur Rahman he joined BNP in 1980. Zia nominated Bhuiyan as the convenor of Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal. He also became the agriculture secretary of BNP central committee.

A senior BNP leader, Mannan Bhuiyan was also an organiser of the movement against autocratic Ershad. He acted as the BNP joint secretary for eight and a half years since 1988.

Bhuiyan was appointed as state minister for Labour and Manpower in 1991 and then as a cabinet minister given the charge of food and agriculture.

On June 26, 1996, Khaleda Zia nominated him as the secretary general of the party. His foremost task was to reorganise the party, which he successfully carried out. Bhuiyan was the longest serving secretary general of BNP—for 11 years.

He faced the toughest time during his secretary general tenure in BNP as the hardliners and anti-liberation elements within and outside the party strongly opposed a communist leader's becoming BNP's second man.

Against all odds and oppositions, he reorganised BNP across the country, which awarded the party a landslide victory in 2001 general elections. His popularity increased as he took over the charge of a party that lost in 1996 parliamentary polls and came out with around two-thirds majority within a span of five years of his dynamic and constructive leadership. He was then appointed as the minister for local government, rural development and cooperatives.

Bhuiyan emerged as a top-ranking politician and the key person in BNP who worked as a liaison with other political parties. He was considered as a liberal politician.

He had always opposed BNP's association with anti-liberation and autocratic forces, particularly Jamaat, and strove for BNP's alliance with progressive political parties. However, he failed to do so as the BNP chief was influenced by the majority right wing figures within the party to forge alliance with Jamaat.

The major slide in his long political career came about when he sided with political reformers during the military-backed caretaker government tenure in 2007. Although most of the party MPs and leaders supported him in bringing a real change and democracy in the party, Khaleda Zia stood firm against him and expelled Bhuiyan from the party on September 3, 2007.

Mannan Bhuiyan left his wife, two sons and many well-wishers behind. His elder son Bhuiyan Anindya Mohaimen Rajon works for a multinational company in Australia while his younger son Bhuiyan Nandito Nahiyan Swajon for Citi Bank NA. Bhuiyan's wife Prof Mariam Begum retired as the principal of Dhaka College

Expelled from secretary role

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia has expelled the party Secretary Mannan Bhuiyan and Joint General Secretary Ashraf Hossain from their respective posts in September, 2007. Khandaker Delwar Hossain has replaced Mannan Bhuiyan and will serve the party as acting secretary general, Khaleda’s lawyer Barrister Rafiqul Islam made the declaration emerging from the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s (CMM) Court, Dhaka quoting his client. Rafiqul Islam said Khaleda made the announcement after the court ordered to send her to jail on graft charges rejecting her bail prayer.^[2]

Death

Mannan Bhuiyam died at 12:01am on 28 July 2010.square hospital.

References

• Member of Parliament: Profile (Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan)^[3]