Shawkat Ali (politician)

Col. Shawkat Ali (27 January 1937 – 16 November 2020)[1] was a Bangladeshi politician who served as a deputy speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad. He was a member of the Awami League.[1] He was one of the accused in the historic Agartala Conspiracy Case and a freedom fighter in the Liberation War of Bangladesh.

For other people named Shawkat Ali, see Shawkat Ali (disambiguation).

Shawkat Ali
শওকত আলী
Ali in 2012
Deputy Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad
In office
25 January 2009 – 24 January 2014
Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina
Preceded byAkhtar Hameed Siddiqui
Succeeded byFazle Rabbi Miah
Personal details
Born(1937-01-27)27 January 1937
Naria, Faridpur, Bengal Presidency, British India (Now, Shariatpur, Bangladesh)
Died16 November 2020(2020-11-16) (aged 83)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Political partyAwami League
Alma materUniversity of Dhaka
ProfessionArmy officer, politician
Military service
Allegiance Pakistan (Before 1969)
 Bangladesh
Branch/service Pakistan Army
 Bangladesh Army
Years of service1959-1975
Rank Colonel
UnitOrdnance Corps
Commands
Battles/warsBangladesh Liberation War

Early life

Ali was born in Shariatpur, British India (now in Bangladesh), to Munshi Mobarak and Maleka Begum. He was the eldest son among nine children. Shawkat completed his LL.B. from Comilla Law College under the University of Dhaka in 1958 before he joined the Pakistan Army as a commissioned officer the following year.[1]

Agartala Conspiracy Case

Ali was a captain in 1968 when he was Accused No. 26 of the 35 implicated in the Agartala Conspiracy Case as a conspirator to secede East Pakistan from Pakistan.[2] Initially, he was supposed to be tried before a court-martial, but the Government of Pakistan felt they would benefit more from a civil trial.[2] The charges were dropped the next year amidst public protest;[2] Ali was still forced to retire in 1969.[1]

Although it was largely thought that the case was only meant to frame Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and others,[2] in 2010, and on the anniversary of the withdrawal of the case on 22 February 2011, Ali confessed to the Parliament at a point of order that the charges read out to them were accurate, stating that they formed a Shangram Parishad (action committee) under Rahman for the sedition and secession of East Pakistan.[3][4]

Time in the Bangladesh Army

After Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan and the war broke out, Ali was reinstated into the army after the formation of the Bangladesh Forces in 1971 to fight the Bangladesh Liberation War.[1] He was forced to retire the second time when he was a colonel in 1975 working as the Director of Ordnance Services following the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, since he was close to Mujib.[1]

Political career

Ali was elected to parliament in the 1979, 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2008 general elections.[1][5] During his time in office, he has served in various parliamentary committees, including the Standing Committee on Ministry of Shipping and Committee on Private Members Bills and Resolutions as their chairman between 1996 and 2001.[1] He was also a lawyer registered under the Supreme Court.[5]

Ali was selected the Deputy Speaker of the ninth parliament on 25 January 2009, following a landslide Awami League victory.[5] When Speaker Abdul Hamid was acting President and later elected President, Ali was Acting Speaker of National Parliament.

During his time as the Deputy Speaker, Ali chaired many sessions of the parliament when the Speaker Abdul Hamid was absent.[6][7][8]

Personal life

Ali authored two books, one in English and the other in Bangla, both about the Agartala Conspiracy Case.[1] He was married and had two sons, Firoze Shawkat Ali, Khaled Shawkat Ali, and a daughter, Marina Shawkat Ali.[1]

Death

Ali died on 16 November 2020 at the age of 83.[9][10][11]

References
  1. "Biography Deputy Speaker" (PDF). Bangladesh Parliament. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  2. Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir, eds. (2012). "Agartala Conspiracy Case". Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  3. "'Agartala conspiracy case was not false'". bdnews24.com. 23 February 2011. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  4. "Textbook 'incorrectly' describes Agartala Case: Shawkat". The Daily Star. 12 June 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2011.
  5. "Hold ruling party accountable". The Daily Star. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  6. "Power outages to continue until Nov". bdnews24.com. 7 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  7. Mahbub, Sumon; Chowdhury, Moinul Haque (29 June 2011). "55 amendments proposed in report". bdnews24.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  8. "EC planning to put EVM in place: info minister". bdnews24.com. 23 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  9. "Col (retd) Shawkat Ali, one of the accused in Agartala Conspiracy Case, no more". The Daily Star. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  10. সাবেক ডেপুটি স্পিকার শওকত আলী আর নেই. Jago News 24 (in Bengali). Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  11. সাবেক ডেপুটি স্পিকার শওকত আলী আর নেই. bdview24.com (in Bengali). 16 November 2020. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
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