Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920–1975), widely known as Bangabandhu ("Friend of Bengal"), led the political movement that culminated in the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971. A founding member of the Awami League, he rose to national prominence in East Pakistan through opposition to the political and economic dominance of West Pakistan.

In 1966, Mujib articulated the Six-Point Movement, a programme demanding far-reaching autonomy for East Pakistan covering federal structure, taxation, foreign exchange, and a separate militia. He was a principal accused in the Agartala Conspiracy Case (1968), in which the Pakistani state charged him with collaborating with India to secede; mass protests forced the case to be withdrawn in 1969.

The Awami League won an absolute majority in Pakistan's general election of December 1970, taking 160 of 162 East Pakistan seats in the National Assembly. When the military government of Yahya Khan refused to transfer power, Mujib delivered his famous 7 March 1971 speech at the Ramna Race Course in Dhaka, signalling the move toward independence. He was arrested on the night of 25–26 March 1971 as the Pakistan Army launched Operation Searchlight. The independence of Bangladesh was proclaimed in his name, and the nine-month Liberation War followed, ending with the Pakistani surrender on 16 December 1971.

Released from Pakistani custody in January 1972, Mujib returned to Dhaka and became Prime Minister. His government oversaw the adoption of the 1972 Constitution, which enshrined nationalism, socialism, democracy, and secularism as state principles. Facing famine, insurgency, and economic collapse, in January 1975 he amended the constitution to create a one-party presidential system under BAKSAL. On 15 August 1975, he was assassinated along with most of his family in a military coup; his daughter Sheikh Hasina, abroad at the time, survived and later led the Awami League and the country.