Wadud Bhuiyan Explained

Wadud Bhuiyan
Native Name:ওয়াদুদ ভূইয়া
Native Name Lang:bn
Nationality:Bangladeshi
Office:Member of Parliament
Constituency:Khagrachari
Term Start1:25 February 1996
Term End1:30 March 1996
Predecessor1:Kalparanjan Chakma
Successor:Jotindra Lal Tripura
Constituency1:Khagrachari
Term Start:10 October 2001
Term End:29 October 2006
Predecessor:Kalparanjan Chakma
Successor1:Kalparanjan Chakma
Office2:Chairman of Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board
Term Start2:13 February 2002
Term End2:22 November 2006
Predecessor2:Taracharan Chakma
Successor2:Md. Feroz Kibria
Party:Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Birth Date:1965 1, df=y
Birth Place:Ramgarh, Hill Tracts, East Pakistan
Alma Mater:University of Chittagong (MSS)

Wadud Bhuiyan (born 5 January 1965) is a Bangladeshi politician. Bhuiyan was elected twice as the member of the Jatiya Sangsad from Khagrachari constituency respectively in the 6th and 8th National Parliamentary Elections.[1] In addition, he served as Chairman of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board from 2002 to 2006. He currently holds the posts of assistant employment secretary of Central Executive Committee of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)[2] and president of the opposition party's Khagrachari local unit as well.[3]

Early life and education

Bhuiyan was born on 5 January 1965 to the Bengali Muslim Bhuiyan family of Ramgarh in Khagrachari District, which was then a part of East Pakistan's Hill Tracts district. He obtained his M.S.S degree on Sociology from the University of Chittagong in 1986.

Political career

Student politics

Bhuiyan was active in student politics at Chittagong University. He was the convener, which was equivalent to the post of president, of the Chittagong University unit of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, the student wing of BNP, from 1987 to 1989. Concurrently, he served as the president of the Ramgarh unit of the student organization from 1980 to 1990.

Public office

In 1989, he was elected as the counselor of the Khagrachari Hill District Council with a majority of few thousands votes. He later resigned, along with another counselor, from the post, protesting the then-chairman Samiran Dewan's alleged corruption.[4] In the 6th parliamentary election, in 1996, he was nominated and elected as the candidate of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) from Khagrachari constituency.

In the 9th parliamentary election, in 2001, he was again nominated as the candidate of the BNP and elected by a significant margin.[5]

He had also participated in the 5th (1991) and 7th (1996) parliamentary elections as the sole candidate of BNP, only to have been defeated by comparatively close margins.[6]

In 2001, he was appointed as a member of the parliamentary standing committee on Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, with BNP chairperson and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia heading the committee.[7]

In 2002, he was appointed as the chairman of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board, a government agency established in 1978 by Ziaur Rahman, the founder of the BNP and then-President of Bangladesh.[8]

In the 10th parliamentary election, he couldn't participate due to his imprisonment during military influenced then-caretaker government's period for misappropriating public funds.[9] In the last parliamentary election held in 2018, his candidacy was revoked by the High Court as well.[10]

Political activism

He is known as the leader of the people with Bengali lineage living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. He was also known for his vocal position to the militant activities of Shanti Bahini, the rebellious military wing of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti (PCJSS) that operated until the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord was signed between the Bangladesh government and the PCJSS in 1997.

Bhuiyan was the architect[11] behind the foundation of Parbatya Chattagram Sama-Odhikar Andolon (Chittagong Hill Tracts Equal-Rights Movement), an organization which demanded an equal share for Bengali in any dispensation intended for ethnic people.[12]

Arrests

He was also arrested during the caretaker government's period in 2007. A special court in Chittagong sentenced him to 20 years in jail.[13] However, this conviction order, along with seven orders, was later stayed by the High Court,[14] and he was granted bail.[15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Members of Parliament : Profile.
  2. News: Cases, arrests worrying opposition candidates . New Age . en. 2020-04-12.
  3. News: Oppositions struggle to survive attacks, police raids . New Age . en. 2020-02-29.
  4. Web site: 1st Elected Members: Khagrachari Hill Districts Council.
  5. Web site: Bangladesh Parliament Election - Detail Results - Amar Desh Online. amardesh.com. 2020-04-12.
  6. Web site: Compare 1991, 1996, 2001 results - Amardesh.
  7. Web site: Standing Committee on Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts.
  8. Book: Amena Mohsin . The Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh: On the Difficult Road to Peace . Lynne Rienner Publishers . 2003 . 76 . 978-1-58826-138-0.
  9. Jamil. Dr Ishtiaq. Panday. Pranab Kumar. 2008-11-01. The Elusive Peace Accord in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and the Plight of the Indigenous People. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics. 46. 4. 464–489. 10.1080/14662040802461141. 154006067. 1466-2043.
  10. News: BNP's Wadud turned down in candidacy appeal. 2018-12-10. The Daily Star. en. 2020-02-29.
  11. News: Curfew clamped on Khagrachari town . Dhaka Mirror. 2020-04-12.
  12. Web site: Militarization in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. IWGIA.
  13. News: Ex-BNP MP Wadud Bhuiyan jailed for 20 years. bdnews24.com.
  14. News: Conviction order of seven stayed by HC. The Daily Star.
  15. News: HC grants bail to ex-BNP MP Wadud Bhuiyan for six months. The Daily Star.