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Tajuddin Ahmad (তাজউদ্দীন আহমদ; 23 July 1925 – 3 November 1975) was a Bengali statesman. He led the Provisional Government of Bangladesh as its Prime Minister during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, for which he is regarded as one of the most instrumental figures in the birth of Bangladesh.

Tajuddin started as a youth Muslim League worker, in British India. He belonged to the Dhaka-based pro-democracy, secular Muslim League faction who broke with Muslim League's reactionary party line after the partition of India and birth of Pakistan. As a member of the short-lived youth organization Jubo League, he actively participated in the Language Movement in 1952. In 1953, he joined Awami Muslim League (later Awami League), a dissident offshoot of Muslim League. The following year, he got elected as member of the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly. As a close confidante, he assisted Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in revitalizing Awami League into a secular political party, during Ayub Khan's martial law regime in the late 1960s.

As the General Secretary of Awami League from 1966, Tajuddin coordinated the party during the tumultuous late 1960s and early 1970s, suffering imprisonment on several occasions. Drawing inspiration from some early sources, He formulated the early draft of the historic six-points demand that would eventually lead to the birth of Bangladesh. He coordinated Awami League's election campaign for the 1970 Pakistani general election, in which the League gained a historic parliamentary majority. He also coordinated the non-cooperation movement of March 1971 precipitated by President Yahya Khan's delay in transferring power to the elected legislators. Tajuddin was among the Sheikh Mujib delegation in the Mujib-Yahya talks to settle the constitutional disputes between East and West Pakistan and transfer power to the elected National Assembly.

Following the Pakistani army crackdown on the Bangladeshi population on 25 March 1971, Tajudddin escaped to India. In the absence of Sheikh Mujib, he took the initiative to set up the provisional government of Bangladesh in 1971. He headed the provisional government, operating in exile in India, as its Prime Minister. As the Prime Minister of the provisional government, he coordinated among various bodies.

In the independent Bangladesh, Tajuddin served as the Minister of Finance and Planning in the Sheikh Mujib cabinet from 1972 to 1974. He was also member of the committee for drafting the Constitution of Bangladesh. He resigned from the cabinet in 1974 and left to live a quiet life. He refused to join the one-party system, called BAKSAL, introduced by Sheikh Mujib in 1975.

Following Sheikh Mujib's assassination in a coup d'état, Tajuddin was arrested and assassinated on 3 November 1975 along with three other senior Awami League leaders in prison.

Late British India
With British rule in India nearing its end and communal tension on the rise, in 1940 (?), the political party Muslim League brought about the Pakistan Movement, which demanded a separate state for the Muslims of India. Founded in 1906, in Dhaka, Muslim League's leadership came mostly from the feudal elites, detached from the mass, with conservative stance on peasant issue. The party had little organization and activity in Bengal for a long time. As Abul Hashim, a popular politician, got elected as the president of Bengal Provincial Muslim League, in 1943, Pakistan Movement gained momentum in Bengal. Tajuddin, campaigned for Hashim's election and then joined Muslim League in 1943. Muslim League's office in Dhaka, 150 Moghultuli Lane, founded by Hashim in 1944 (?), became a haunt for progressive young dissidents of the party, including Tajuddin. The group held liberal views.

The Pakistan Movement intensified after the communal riots in Bengal. The British rule in India ended in 1947, partitioning India into two states, as the Pakistan Movement demanded. Pakistan was born as a result, consisting of two geographically non-contiguous wings, thousands of miles apart: the more enormous West Wing (current Pakistan), adjacent to the western border of India, consisted of four provinces and the much smaller East Wing, adjacent to the eastern edge of India, consisted of only one province, namely East Pakistan.

Even though it was leading the Pakistan cause, Muslim League's inadequacy to lead Pakistan as a nation was apparent to factions within it. A faction of the 150 Moghultuli Lane-based Muslim League skeptics, lead by Kamruddin Ahmed, a lawyer, formed Gano Azadi League, a civil rights organization with a small following, in July 1947, a month before the partition of India. In contrast to Muslim League, the organization took progressive views on many issues, like economy, culture, and education. Outside Tajuddin, among other founding members of Gano Azadi League were Oli Ahad, and Mohammad Toaha.

On 4 January 1948, Tajuddin joined East Pakistan Student League as a founding member.

Bangladesh Liberation War
Though Yahya Khan promised to resume talks on 25 March, everybody were apprehending that an armed conflict was imminent. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman kept ordering his workers to escape to safety. Despite repeated insistence, by Tajuddin and others, until 25 March, Mujib himself refused to escape fearing massacre of the innocent by Pakistanis using his escape as pretext. Tajuddin stayed in Dhaka until 25 March 1971, the night Yahya secretly left Dhaka and the Pakistan Army cracked down on the Bangladeshi population in Dhaka, killing thousands of people. Just as the entire nation, Awami League leadership was also taken by surprise; they became scattered, each busy finding their own paths to safety, thereby losing contact with each other for few days. On the night of 25 March, Tajuddin and his trusted long-time comrade Amir-ul Islam left home, leaving their families behind, and went into hiding for the next day. The duo secretly left Dhaka on 27 March for neighbouring India.

Sheikh Mujib got arrested on the 25 March night, what Tajuddin came to know days later. Before his arrest, Mujib declared independence of Bangladesh over a radio message.

After a perilous journey, mostly on foot, through Kushtia and Chuadanga Tajuddin and Amir-ul Islam crossed the Indian border on 30 March. At the border outpost Tajuddin and Islam were received by the regional head of the Indian border security force (BSF), Golok Majumdar. Majudmar transported them to Kolkata with him immediately. In Kolkata, on 30 March night and the next day Tajuddin and Islam had discussions with BSF chief Rustamji, who had arrived from Delhi upon learning about their arrival. On 1 April, Tajuddin and Islam, accompanied by Majumdar, left for Delhi from Kolkata aboard a military cargo plane.

Formation of Bangladesh Government in Exile
Tajuddin's first meeting with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi took place on 4 April. On their second meeting next day, Gandhi informed him that Sheikh Mujib had been arrested and transported to Pakistan though Pakistan didn't make it official yet. Being asked about the Bangladesh government, he replied, as consulted with Amir-ul Islam the day before, that a provisional government has been formed, with Sheikh Mujib as its President and all the senior Awami League leaders who attended the Mujib-Yahya talk as cabinet members; moreover, except for Sheikh Mujib's arrest, all other members' whereabouts being unknown until then, Tajuddin presented himself as the Prime Minister of the Government. Two crucial resolutions were reached in that meeting: firstly, India opened its borders for Bangladeshi refugees, thereby saving millions of lives in the upcoming days when Pakistani aggression reached outside major cities; secondly, India allowed the Bangladesh Government to operate within Indian territories. Indian government also promised to help the liberation war of Bangladesh by all possible means.

While Tajuddin was in Delhi, part of the Awami League leadership congregated in Kolkata. Many of them, notably the youth and student leaders, viewed Tajuddin's meeting with the Indian Prime Minister as an outrageous act sidelining them. Upon returning to Kolkata, on 8 April, Tajuddin found out and met the group of leaders, including A H M Qamaruzzaman, and informed them about the Delhi meeting outcomes, including the provisional government. Some of the leaders questioned Tajuddin's legitimacy as prime minister. Moreover, the youth leader Sheikh Mani rejected the idea of the cabinet outright. He rather proposed setting up a revolutionary council, dedicated to conducting armed resistance only. Amir-ul Islam explained the inadequacy of the revolutionary council and a legal government's necessity for mustering the international support necessary for the liberation war. After that, at Qamaruzzaman's mediation, most of the leadership present there accepted Tajuddin's proposal.

Tajuddin, remained committed to the idea of provisional government, believing that only a legitimate government can muster the international support necessary for the liberation war. On 10 April, he, accompanied by Amir-ul Islam, Sheikh Mani, and others, boarded an old plane, borrowed from the Indian government, and set off in search of other cabinet members scattered around the borders. Picking up cabinet members Muhammad Mansur Ali, Abdul Mannan, and Syed Nazrul Islam from various places on the way, on 11 April the entourage arrived in Agartala, capital of the Indian state of Tripura, where many other Awami League leaders had taken refuge in the meantime, including Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and Colonel M A G Osmani.

On 10 April, Tajuddin's speech as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh was broadcast over radio. The address, prepared by Amir-ul Islam and Rehman Sobhan in Delhi, briefed about the resistance and provided guidance to the nation.

Reunited after a while, in Agartala, the key Awami League leadership pondered over the cabinet agenda and distributing offices. In the absence of President Sheikh Mujib, Syed Nazrul Islam served as acting President, Khondaker Mostaq took the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qamarauzzaman was given State Minister's office, Mansur Ali Finance Minister's, and Colonel Osmani, a retired veteran of the Pakistan army turned Awami League politician, was appointed commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The whole cabinet returned to Kolkata on 13 April, set to take oath at some yet unoccupied place in Bangladesh.

The oath taking ceremony took place on 17 April 1971, at a village along the India-Bangladesh border, called Baidyanathtala, in Kushtia district (currently Meherpur district), on the soil of Bangladesh. While answering a journalist during the ceremony, Tajuddin named the place Mujibnagar, after Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, capital of Bangladesh until victory. Later the government-in-exile came to be popularly known as the Mujibnagar Government. Mujibnagar was abandoned quickly after the oath ceremony fearing raid by Pakistani forces. Thereafter the government headquarter settled in Kolkata, in exile, for the rest of the war months: at first briefly at a house on Ballyganj Circular Road and then on 8 Theatre Road.

On 15 April, Tajuddin secretly met the then Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan in Kolkata, Hossain Ali and persuaded him to switch allegiance to the Bangladesh government along with his Bengali staff just the day after the cabinet takes oath. As promised, Ali along with 70 other employees at the Deputy High Commission swore allegiance to the Bangladesh Government on time, overturning the Pakistan High Commission on 9 Circus Avenue into the Bangladesh Mission in Kolkata for good. The mission would also house part of the government offices, most importantly the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Organizing the Liberation War
Starting from Dhaka and other major cities from 25 March, the Pakistani forces occupied most of Bangladesh by late April, creating an influx of refugees into the bordering states of India, most notably in West Bengal and Tripura. The number of refugees would eventually reach to ten million.

As the war broke out, Bengali soldiers serving in various Pakistani battalions revolted and put up armed resistance against the Pakistani force all over Bangladesh. Armed resistance was also put up by youths at various places. Unable to sustain the Pakistani forces' onslaught, owing mainly to lack of heavy arms and manpower, both soon retreated into Indian territory. Additionally, as Pakistani forces spread around the country, thousands of youths from occupied Bangladesh crossed border into India, seeking arms and training to join the fight against the Pakistani occupation force.

The war was taking place at the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. During Ayub Khan's presidency, Pakistan secured military agreements with the United States and China. India, on the other hand, subscribed to the Non-Aligned Movement.

Tajuddin's government sought to organize the armed resistance and also to address the refugee crisis. Moreover they set out to gain recognition for the newly established government.

War effort
Commanders of the battalions, unaware of Tajuddin's developments in Delhi, met themselves along with Colonel M A G Osmani on 4 April. On that meeting, Bangladesh Forces (BDF, popularly called Mukti Bahini) was formed, with Osmani as its commander-in-chief, and provisional command structure and operation plan was adopted until a government is formed. Among Tajuddin Government's top priorities was coordinating those ongoing war efforts. Tajuddin's support was vital for Osmani in maintaining the Bangladesh Army as a professional body out of direct political influence.

Despite initial vigor, the BDF's activity faltered within couple of months, mainly due to lack of logistics and manpower. In order to salvage the situation, in mid July (10 to 15) the Sector Commanders of BDF met at a conference at Bangadesh Government Headquarter at Theatre Road in Kolkata. Initially, the Sector Commanders proposed a War Council, consisting of the Sector Commanders, promoting Osmani from commander-in-chief of the forces to the Minister of Defense, leaving the field operations up to the War Council. Osmani treated the idea as an attempt to sideline him and resigned immediately. At Tajuddin's intervention, Osmani resumed command the next day and the discussion continued. The conference set course for the conduct of war in the upcoming months. The irregular guerrilla warriors were named Gono Bahini (popularly called Muktijoddha or Freedom Fighter) and the regular force was named Regular Force (popularly called Mukti Fouj).

Administration
Under Tajuddin's premiership, many Bengali bureaucrats, diplomats and military officers serving Pakistan defected to the new Government of Bangladesh. The Government soon established a capable civil administration. Amidst occasional pressures from within his party, Tajuddin played the key role in keeping the administration from becoming politicized.

Diplomacy
Tajuddin employed a number of capable diplomats into his government. In early April, he commissioned economist Rehman Sobhan to stop the economic advisor to the Pakistani President Yahya Khan, economist M M Ahmad, from acquiring fresh foreign aids for Pakistan and persuade Bangladeshi officials serving at Pakistani foreign missions to switch allegiance to Bangladesh.

Tajuddin appointed his assistant Muyeedul Hasan, a journalist, to establish contact with the Soviet Union.

The India-Bangladesh joint winter offensive and victory
After the Soviet-India Pact, training was intensified. The number of guerilla freedom fighters grew to ?. Mukti Bahini was put under the command of the Indian armed forces on 21 November (?).

India declared war with Pakistan on 3 December(?). It also recognized Bangladesh as a state on 6 December (?). US president Nixon ordered the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise into the Bay of Bengal, ostensibly to provide air cover to the Pakistani forces. On 16 December the Pakistani forces surrendered in Dhaka.

Issues
Outside organizing the liberation war, over the nine months, Tajuddin had to deal with various problems originating from within his party. As Sheikh Mujib didn't name his successor in his absence explicitly, a faction within Awami League denounced his premiership from the beginning; they continued relentless efforts to discredit him. Lack of coordination among various government bodies showed up at occasions.

India won't recognize the Government of Bangladesh until December. India's supply of arms and aid to the Bangladesh Forces was also non-committal until the Soviet-India pact in August (?). As a result, progress of war was poor in the early months of the war. These caused widespread suspicion and frustration among the Awami League leadership. In the first party council in June(?) in Shiliguri Tajuddin came under strong criticism.

The youth leaders of Awami League, mostly from Chhatra League, set up a separate armed force, initially called Bangladesh Liberation Force (BLF) and later Mujib Bahini. Though initially commissioned by the c-in-c Osmani for recruiting youths for the regular Freedom Fighter force, they eventually emerged as an independent armed force, under the auspice of the Indian intelligence agency RAW. Mujib Bahini clashed with Mukti Bahini at various places. Sector Commanders of Mukti Bahini as well as its c-in-c Osmani urged the government to bring them under the same command. Tajuddin himself expressed his concern about Mujib Bahini to Indian officials at occasions and to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on their meeting on 22 October. The situation, however, never improved.

By August, Minister of Foreign Affairs Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and his cohorts at his ministry were able to secretly establish a liaison with the United States, key ally to Pakistan, without the Government's knowledge. With Sheikh Mujib under trial in Pakistan for high treason, the same group was also spreading the 'either freedom or Mujib' doctrine. Indian intelligence agencies discovered the fact, just before Mostaq was scheduled to lead the Bangladesh delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Tajuddin removed Mostaq from the UN delegation and sacked him later in December, after the war.