| Sheikh Lutfar Rahman | |
|---|---|
| শেখ লুৎফর রহমান | |
 Sheikh Lutfar Rahman with his son Sheikh Mujibur Rahman | |
| Born | 1881 (1881) Tungipara, Bengal, British India |
| Died | (aged 94) Dacca, Bangladesh |
| Resting place | Mausoleum of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Nationality | Indian (1881–1947) Pakistani (1947–1971) Bangladeshi (1971–1975) |
| Occupation | Court officer |
| Known for | Being the father of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman |
| Spouse | Sheikh Sayera Khatun |
| Children | 6, including: |
| Family | Tungipara Sheikh family |
Sheikh Lutfur Rahman (Bengali: শেখ লুৎফর রহমান; 1881 – 30 March 1975) was a Bangladeshi serestadar, an officer responsible for record-keeping at the Gopalganj civil court in British India. His son Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the first president of Bangladesh. Lutfar was also the paternal grandfather of Sheikh Hasina.
Early life
Rahman was born in 1881 to the Bengali Muslim Sheikh family in the village of Tungipara located in Gopalganj, Faridpur district, Bengal Presidency. He had Iraqi Arab ancestry through his father Sheikh Abdul Hamid, who was a direct descendant of Muslim preacher Sheikh Abdul Awal Darwish of Baghdad in his 6th generation, who had arrived in the late Mughal era in Bengal.
Lutfar Rahman was married to his paternal first-cousin Sayera Khatun, the daughter of his father's brother Sheikh Abdul Majid. He left home to find a job and worked in the Dewani court, today Gopalganj civil court.
1971 Liberation War
During the Bangladesh Liberation War, Lutfar Rahman and his wife Sheikh Sayera Khatun, along with the family of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were put under arrest by the Pakistan Army. Initially, Lutfar Rahman and his wife were in Khulna at their younger son Naser's house in Khulna, but was later sent away to their ancestral home in Gopalganj. On 8 April 1971, the Pakistan Army looted ornaments and other valuables from the house and later bulldozed and set fire to it. The soldiers also shot dead four relatives and two servants of the household. The elderly couple were rendered homeless until the local Awami League activists built them a temporary shed which was also destroyed by the Pakistan Army after 20 days. They were then sent away to Dhaka where they were put under arrest with their elder son's family.
Death and legacy
Rahman died on 30 March 1975. He was buried in Tungipara, Gopalganj district, Bangladesh. Sheikh Lutfar Rahman Bridge over Madhumati River connecting Gopalganj-Pirojpur Highway. The foundation stone of the bridge was laid on 23 December 2000 by Sheikh Hasina. The construction was stopped in 2001 by the 4-party government. The construction work resumed in 2009 when Bangladesh Awami League returned to power in 2009. The bridge was inaugurated in January 2015 by Sheikh Hasina. Sheikh Lutfar Rahman Adarsha Government College is a government college in Kotalipara, Gopalganj.
Descendants
Main article: Sheikh-Wazed FamilyPopular culture
Actor Chanchal Chowdhury portrayed Rahman in the biopic Mujib: The Making of a Nation (2023), directed by Shyam Benegal.
References
- Tripathi, Salil (2016). The Colonel Who Would Not Repent: The Bangladesh War and Its Unquiet Legacy. Yale University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-300-21818-3.
Sheikh Lutfur Rahman, was an official in the district's civil court.
- "PM attends milad for her grandfather Sheikh Lutfar Rahman". Daily Sun. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- ^ "Bangabandhu's father remembered". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- "42nd death anniv of Sheikh Lutfur Rahman today". The Daily Observer. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- Haque Khoka, Mominul (1998). অস্তরাগের স্মৃতি সমুজ্জ্বল : বঙ্গবন্ধু, তাঁর পরিবার ও আমি (in Bengali). Dhaka: Shahitya Prakash. p. 24.
- "Early life of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman". The Independent. Dhaka. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- Women on the March, Volumes 15-16. Smt. Mukul Banerjee for the Women's Department, 1971. 1971. pp. 1971/18.
- "Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman | The Asian Age Online, Bangladesh". The Asian Age. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- "Sheikh Lutfar Rahman Bridge opens to vehicular movement". The Financial Express. Dhaka. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- "PM to inaugurate Sheikh Lutfur Rahman Bridge in Tungipara". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- "Kotalipara Upazila - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
- "Chanchal Chowdhury to play Sheikh Lutfar Rahman in Bangabandhu biopic". The Dhaka Star. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
