Mohammad Farhad

General secretary of Communist Party of Bangladesh

Mohammad Farhad (July 5, 1938 – October 9, 1987), popularly known as "Comrade Farhad", was a guerrilla force commander during the Bangladesh independence war, and the President of Communist Party of Bangladesh and a member of Bangladesh Parliament.

Early life[]

Mohammad Farhad was born in Khetripara of Dinajpur district in present Bangladesh to. His father's name was Ahmed Sadakatul Bari and mother's was Tayabunnesa. He was an Urdu-speaking Bangladeshi. He finished his matriculation from Dinajpur Jila School in 1953 and received his master's degree in political science from Dhaka University in 1961.

Politics[]

Comrade Farhad played a role during different movements in the Pakistan and Bangladesh, including the 1952 Bengali Language Movement, 1962 Education Movement, 1968–69 Pakistan Mass Upheaval, 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War and the post-71 Democracy movement.

During the 1971 war, he helped lead the guerrilla forces jointly formed by the Communist Party, NAP and Chhatra Union. A ‘Special Guerilla Force’ under the direct command of CPB-NAP-BSU fought against the Pakistani army. Moni Singh, the ex-President of CPB, was elected a member of the Advisory Council of the Provisional Government of Bangladesh.

He was imprisoned during the Pakistan period, as well as during the Zia and Ershad period of Bangladesh politics.^[1] Mohammad Farhad was elected as a member of Bangladesh Parliament in 1986 from his home district , which he held until his death.

Death[]

On October 8, 1987, while on an official visit to Moscow, Soviet Union, as a delegate from Bangladesh Parliament, Mohammad Farhad died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 49. He left behind his wife and two children. The Moni Singh-Farhad Memorial Trust^[2] was established, twinning his name with that of Communist Party founding member Comrade Moni Singh, now serves as a center for intellectuals in Bangladesh.

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