Ahmed, Abul Mansur (1898-1979)  lawyer, journalist, politician, litterateur. Born at the village of Dhanikhola in mymensingh district, Abul Mansur Ahmed was particularly noted for his witty and satirical writings.

He passed the Matriculation Examination in 1917 and the Intermediate Examination in 1919. This was a time when the khilafat and non-cooperation movements were attracting the younger generation of the Muslim educated class. Like many other students of the time, Abul Mansur Ahmed got involved in these movements. He studied Law at Ripon College, Calcutta, between 1926 and 1929. From 1929 to 1938 he practised law in Mymensingh. He then moved to Calcutta and worked there as a professional journalist and a political activist until the 1947 partition. Among the periodicals that he worked for were the Krsak, Navayug, Ittehad, Soltan and the Mohammadi.

Abul Mansur was involved in the Non-cooperation and Khilafat Movements and also joined the Congress movement under Netaji subhas chandra bose. He became an active member of the Bengal muslim league after the elections of 1937 and became an activist of the Pakistan movement since 1940. He was a minister for Education in the United Front Government of East Pakistan in 1956 and minister for Commerce and Trade in 1956-1957. He was the founder-secretary of the awami league. He was imprisoned when Martial Law was declared by General Ayub Khan in 1958 and was released in 1962.

Though Abul Mansur Ahmed was actively involved in politics of various brands at different times, he was better known as a witty writer. His major works include his satires Aina (1936-1937) and Food Conference (1944); novels, Satya Mithya (1953), Jiban Ksudha (1955) and Ab-e-Hayat (1964); his book of reminiscence, Amar Dekha Rajnitir Panchash Bachhar (1969) and Sher-e-Bangla haite Bangabandhu (1972) and his autobiography Atma Katha (1978). For his contribution to literature, he was awarded the Bangla Academy Prize (1960), the Independence Day Medal (1979) and the Nasiruddin Gold Medal. He died in 1979. [Rana Razzaq]