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Ahmed, Abul Mansur (1898-1979) lawyer,
journalist, politician, litterateur. Born at the village of Dhanikhola
in mymensingh
district, Abul Mansur Ahmed was particularly noted for his witty and satirical
writings.
He passed the Matriculation Examination in 1917 and the
Intermediate Examination in 1919. This was a time when the khilafat
and non-cooperation
movements were attracting the younger generation of the Muslim
educated class. Like many other students of the time, Abul Mansur Ahmed
got involved in these movements. He studied Law at Ripon College, Calcutta,
between 1926 and 1929. From 1929 to 1938 he practised law in Mymensingh.
He then moved to Calcutta and worked there as a professional journalist
and a political activist until the 1947 partition. Among the periodicals
that he worked for were the Krsak, Navayug, Ittehad,
Soltan and the Mohammadi.
Abul Mansur was involved in the Non-cooperation and Khilafat
Movements and also joined the Congress movement under Netaji subhas
chandra bose. He became an active member of the Bengal
muslim
league after the elections of 1937 and became an activist
of the Pakistan movement since 1940. He was a minister for Education
in the United Front Government of East Pakistan in 1956 and minister
for Commerce and Trade in 1956-1957. He was the founder-secretary
of the awami
league.
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Abdul Mansur Ahmed |
He was imprisoned when Martial Law was declared by General
Ayub Khan in 1958 and was released in 1962. Though Abul Mansur Ahmed was
actively involved in politics of various brands at different times, he
was better known as a witty writer. His major works include his satires
Aina (1936-1937) and Food Conference (1944); novels, Satya
Mithya (1953), Jiban Ksudha (1955) and Ab-e-Hayat (1964);
his book of reminiscence, Amar Dekha Rajnitir Panchash Bachhar
(1969) and Sher-e-Bangla haite Bangabandhu (1972) and his autobiography
Atma Katha (1978). For his contribution to literature, he was awarded
the Bangla Academy Prize (1960), the Independence Day Medal (1979) and
the Nasiruddin Gold Medal. He died in 1979. [Rana Razzaq]
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