The Maker of History Now Part of History
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
Veteran political leader Tofail Ahmed has died (Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un).
Former Minister and veteran Awami League leader Tofail Ahmed breathed his last on Monday afternoon while undergoing treatment at Square Hospital in the capital. He was 82 at the time of his death. He had been receiving long-term treatment at the hospital for various age-related complications.
Tofail Ahmed took oath as Minister for Industries and Commerce in the government led by Sheikh Hasina on June 23, 1996. He was elected to the National Parliament nine times, winning from the Bhola-1 constituency. He also served for many years as a member of the Presidium of the Bangladesh Awami League.
He was born on October 22, 1943, in Koralia village of Dakshin Dighaldi Union under Bhola Sadar Upazila. His father was Maulvi Azhar Ali and his mother was Fatema Begum. He is survived by his wife, Anwara Begum, and their only daughter, Dr. Taslima Ahmed Zaman Munni.
In his academic life, he passed his Secondary School Certificate examination from Bhola Government High School in 1960 and his Higher Secondary Certificate examination from Barisal Brojomohun College in 1962. He completed his BSc in 1964 and later earned an MSc in Soil Science from the University of Dhaka.
Tofail Ahmed began his political career through the Bangladesh Chhatra League. While studying at the University of Dhaka, he served as the elected vice president of Iqbal Hall (now Shaheed Sergeant Zahurul Haq Hall) for the 1966–67 term.
During the mass awakening and student movement of 1968–69, he served as the convener of the All-Party Student Struggle Council in his capacity as DUCSU vice president. The 1969 mass uprising led the then Pakistani government to release all accused in the Agartala Conspiracy Case, including Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The Central Student Struggle Council organized a rally on February 23 of that year at the Racecourse Ground in Dhaka (now Suhrawardy Udyan) in honor of Sheikh Mujib. In front of a gathering of hundreds of thousands, Tofail Ahmed announced the title ‘Bangabandh’ for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the historic event.
He first contested and won a parliamentary seat in 1970 as an Awami League candidate. During the Liberation War in 1971, he served as one of the four regional commanders of the Mujib Bahini.
After independence, on January 14, 1972, he was appointed as the political secretary to Bangladesh’s first Prime Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with the rank of state minister.
Later, as an Awami League candidate, he won parliamentary elections from his home district of Bhola in 1973, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2008, 2014, 2018, and 2024.
He took oath as Minister for Industries and Commerce on June 23, 1996 in the government of Sheikh Hasina. He later served as Minister for Commerce for two consecutive terms from 2013 to 2018.
Due to political reasons, he served multiple terms in prison, including one continuous period of 33 months from 1975 onward.
