Haji Mohammad Danesh
Encyclopedia
Haji Mohammad Danesh was a Bangladesh
i politician and communist
activist.
Muslim
peasant family in the village of Sultanpur in the Dinajpur district
of what was then the Bengal Presidency
of British India, and now a part of Bangladesh. Danesh studied at the Aligarh Muslim University
, where he obtained a masters degree in history in 1931. He also earned a degree in law in 1932 and joined the bar of the Dinajpur district court.
. He was arrested twice in 1938 by the government of Bengal for his participation in the Tebhaga movement
, an agitation in northern Bengal against zamindars landlords for landless peasants and share-croppers who sought a greater share of the yield, most of which was surrendered to the zamindars. Danesh was one of the few Muslim communist leaders of the struggle, and worked to mobilise the Muslim peasantry in favor of the movement. In 1945, he joined the All India Muslim League, but was later expelled for his participation in the continuing Tebagha movement, and re-arrested by the Bengal government in 1946. After the partition of India and Bengal in 1947, Danesh remained in his home district of Dinajpur, which fell in Muslim-majority East Bengal
, which became part of the newly-created Muslim state of Pakistan
. Danesh briefly left active politics, to work as a professor of law at the Dinajpur Surendranath College.
) by forming the Ganatantri Dal
(Democratic Party) in 1952. The party joined the multi-party United Front
under the leadership of A. K. Fazlul Huq
, which swept the provincial elections in East Bengal, defeating the ruling Muslim League. Danesh was elected to the East Bengal legislature. After the cental government dismissed the United Front government, Danesh was arrested by police and released in 1956. In 1957, he merged the Ganatantri Dal into the new National Awami Party
(NAP), formed by veteran socialist leader Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani. He was elected vice-president and later the general secretary of the NAP.
In 1958, Danesh was arrested after martial law was declared by the military regime of Ayub Khan. Danesh became a prominent critic of the Ayub Khan regime, attacking its suppression of democracy and for what he saw to be its pro-United States
policies. As vice-president of the NAP, Danesh opposed the six-point demand for autonomy
for East Bengal put forth by the leader of the Awami League, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
. He criticised the six-points for autonomy as not addressing the issues and concerns of the peasants of East Bengal, and also claimed the existence of separatist designs aimed to separate East Pakistan from West Pakistan
. Danesh later resigned from the NAP, protesting against the leadership of Maulana Bhashani and specifically criticising what Danesh perceived to be Bhashani's reluctance to agitate against the Ayub military regime. Danesh's resignation was followed by the departure of many other leading NAP activists.
In post-independence Bangladesh, Danesh formed the Jatiya Ganamukti Union
(JGU) in 1973. However, when all political parties except the ruling Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL) of president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were banned, he joined BAKSAL and became a member of the central committee. He revived the JGU in 1976, but abolished it again in 1980 to form the Ganatantrik Party. This party was amalgamated with the Jatiya Party of the then-president Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986.
.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
i politician and communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
activist.
Early life
Haji Mohammad Danesh was born to a BengaliBengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
peasant family in the village of Sultanpur in the Dinajpur district
Dinajpur District, Bangladesh
Dinajpur is a district in Northern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Rangpur Division.- Geography :Dinajpur is bounded by Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts in the north, Gaibandha and Joypurhat districts in the south, Nilphamari and Rangpurdistricts in the east, and the state of West Bengal, India...
of what was then the Bengal Presidency
Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency originally comprising east and west Bengal, was a colonial region of the British Empire in South-Asia and beyond it. It comprised areas which are now within Bangladesh, and the present day Indian States of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Meghalaya, Orissa and Tripura.Penang and...
of British India, and now a part of Bangladesh. Danesh studied at the Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...
, where he obtained a masters degree in history in 1931. He also earned a degree in law in 1932 and joined the bar of the Dinajpur district court.
Communist activism
In the 1930s, Danesh became active in the communist organisations of Bengal, especially the Bengal provincial organisation of the Communist Party of IndiaCommunist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
. He was arrested twice in 1938 by the government of Bengal for his participation in the Tebhaga movement
Tebhaga movement
The Tebhaga movement was a militant campaign initiated in Bengal by the Kisan Sabha in 1946. At that time share-cropping peasants had to give half of their harvest to the owners of the land...
, an agitation in northern Bengal against zamindars landlords for landless peasants and share-croppers who sought a greater share of the yield, most of which was surrendered to the zamindars. Danesh was one of the few Muslim communist leaders of the struggle, and worked to mobilise the Muslim peasantry in favor of the movement. In 1945, he joined the All India Muslim League, but was later expelled for his participation in the continuing Tebagha movement, and re-arrested by the Bengal government in 1946. After the partition of India and Bengal in 1947, Danesh remained in his home district of Dinajpur, which fell in Muslim-majority East Bengal
East Bengal
East Bengal was the name used during two periods in the 20th century for a territory that roughly corresponded to the modern state of Bangladesh. Both instances involved a violent partition of Bengal....
, which became part of the newly-created Muslim state of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Danesh briefly left active politics, to work as a professor of law at the Dinajpur Surendranath College.
Political career
In 1952, Danesh rejoined mainstream politics of East Bengal (also known as East PakistanEast Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
) by forming the Ganatantri Dal
Ganatantri Dal
The Ganatantri Dal was a socialist political party in East Pakistan . It was founded in 1952 by Haji Mohammad Danesh, a veteran communist activist of the Tebhaga movement. It became part of the United Front coalition under the leadership of A. K. Fazlul Huq, which routed the ruling Muslim League...
(Democratic Party) in 1952. The party joined the multi-party United Front
United Front (East Pakistan)
The United Front was a coalition of mainly political parties from East Pakistan, organized and led by A. K. Fazlul Huq, Maulana Bhashani and Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy of the Awami League. The coalition demanded greater provincial autonomy, the United Front had claimed during their 1954 election...
under the leadership of A. K. Fazlul Huq
A. K. Fazlul Huq
Not to be confused with the cricket ground in Dhaka Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium Sher-e-Bangla Abul Kashem Fazlul Huq was a well-known Bengali statesman in the first half of the 20th century...
, which swept the provincial elections in East Bengal, defeating the ruling Muslim League. Danesh was elected to the East Bengal legislature. After the cental government dismissed the United Front government, Danesh was arrested by police and released in 1956. In 1957, he merged the Ganatantri Dal into the new National Awami Party
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party was a leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded in Dhaka in erstwhile East Pakistan in July 1957 through the merger of several leftist and progressive groups. It advocated provincial autonomy, rights on the basis of ethnicity, recognition of ethinicities...
(NAP), formed by veteran socialist leader Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani. He was elected vice-president and later the general secretary of the NAP.
In 1958, Danesh was arrested after martial law was declared by the military regime of Ayub Khan. Danesh became a prominent critic of the Ayub Khan regime, attacking its suppression of democracy and for what he saw to be its pro-United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
policies. As vice-president of the NAP, Danesh opposed the six-point demand for autonomy
Six point movement
The 6 Point Movement was a Bengali nationalist movement in East Pakistan spearheaded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which eventually led to the liberation of Bangladesh. The movement's main agenda was to realize the six demands put forward by a coalition of Bengali nationalist political parties in 1966,...
for East Bengal put forth by the leader of the Awami League, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a Bengali nationalist politician and the founder of Bangladesh. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its...
. He criticised the six-points for autonomy as not addressing the issues and concerns of the peasants of East Bengal, and also claimed the existence of separatist designs aimed to separate East Pakistan from West Pakistan
West Pakistan
West Pakistan , common name West-Pakistan , in the period between its establishment on 22 November 1955 to disintegration on December 16, 1971. This period, during which, Pakistan was divided, ended when East-Pakistan was disintegrated and succeeded to become which is now what is known as Bangladesh...
. Danesh later resigned from the NAP, protesting against the leadership of Maulana Bhashani and specifically criticising what Danesh perceived to be Bhashani's reluctance to agitate against the Ayub military regime. Danesh's resignation was followed by the departure of many other leading NAP activists.
In post-independence Bangladesh, Danesh formed the Jatiya Ganamukti Union
Jatiya Ganamukti Union
The Jatiya Ganamukti Union was a Bangladeshi political party created in 1973 by veteran communist leader Haji Mohammad Danesh, who had been a major activist in the Tebhaga movement...
(JGU) in 1973. However, when all political parties except the ruling Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL) of president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were banned, he joined BAKSAL and became a member of the central committee. He revived the JGU in 1976, but abolished it again in 1980 to form the Ganatantrik Party. This party was amalgamated with the Jatiya Party of the then-president Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986.
Death and memorial
Haji Mohammad Danesh died on June 28, 1986 in Dhaka. The Agricultural Extension Training Institute was renamed in his honour as the Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology UniversityHajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University
Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University is a government-financed public university of Bangladesh. This is the largest university of the north Bengal at Rangpur division.-History:...
.