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Mujibnagar Government On 10 April 1971, the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh was formed through a proclamation of independence issued from Mujibnagar. It confirmed the declaration of independence made earlier. Bangabandhu sheikh mujibur rahman, who was then interned in Pakistan, was elected President, syed nazrul islam Vice President and tajuddin ahmed Prime Minister. In the absence of the President, the Vice President was empowered to exercise the powers, duties and responsibilities of the President.
The Bangladesh
Government held a formal inauguration ceremony at the mango grove of village Baidyanathtala (renamed Mujibnagar) under the present Meherpur district on 17 April 1971. A few platoons of the then EPR and freedom fighters were deployed for presenting the Guard of Honour. The ceremony started at 11 am. When Syed Nazrul Islam hoisted the flag, a small group sang the national anthem Amar Sonar Bangla (My Golden Bangla) in a chorus. Syed Nazrul Islam announced the formation of a sovereign government of Bangladesh and introduced the ministers to the audience. The Acting President then delivered his speech. After that, Prime Minister Tajuddin Ahmed spoke at a press conference. Facts of the Mujibnagar Government
| President |
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Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (interned in Pakistani jail) |
| Vice President |
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Syed Nazrul Islam (served as the Acting President in the absence of the President). |
| Prime Minister |
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Tajuddin Ahmed. |
| Minister for Foreign
Affairs and Law |
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Khondakar Mostaq Ahmad |
| Finance Minister |
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M Mansur Ali |
| Minister for Home Affairs,
Relief and Rehabilitation |
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AHM Qamaruzzaman |
| Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces |
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General Mohammad Ataul Ghani Osmany |
| Chief of Staff |
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Major General Abdur Rab |
| Departmental Chiefs |
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Abdul Mannan (Press, Information, Radio and Film);
Professor Yusuf Ali (Relief and Rehabilitation); Matiur Rahman
(Commerce); Barrister Amirul Islam (Volunteer Corps) |
Chairmen in charge of various zones
Professor Nurul Islam Chowdhury, MNA and Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury, MPA (Southeast Zone); Dewan Farid Gazi, MNA and Shamsur Rahman Khan (Northeast Zone); Lt. Col. M A Rab, MNA (East Zone); Matiur Rahman and Abdur Rauf, MNA (North Zone); Azizur Rahman and Ashraful Islam (West Zone), MNA; M A Rauf Chowdhury, MPA and Phani Bhushan Majumdar, MPA (Southwest Zone). Officers in charge of zonal offices: Faiz Uddin Ahmed, S A Samad, Kazi Raquibuddin Ahmed, Abdur Rab Serniabat Mujibnagar government secretariat Principal Secretary: Ruhul Quddus; Establishment Secretary: Nurul Kader Khan; Home Secretary: Abdul Khaleque; Defence Secretary: Abdus Samad; Information Secretary: Anwarul Haque Khan; Foreign Secretary: Mahbubul Alam Chashi; Cabinet Secretary: Hossein Toufique Imam; Finance Secretary: Khondakar Asaduzzaman; Agriculture Secretary: Nuruddin Ahmed. Envoys Special Envoy: Justice Abu Sayeed Chowdhury; Chief of Mission at New Delhi: Humayun Rashid Choudhury; Chief of Mission at Calcutta: Hossain Ali. Planning Commission Chairman: Muzaffar Ahmed Chowdhury, Members: Dr. Mosharraf Hossain; Dr. Anisuzzaman, Dr. Khan Sarwar Murshid, Dr. Swadesh Ranjan Directorates Director, Youth Camp: Wing Commander S R Mirza; Director, Information and Publicity Department: M R Akhtar Mukul; Director, Department of Films: Abdul Jabbar Khan; Director, Arts and Design: Quamrul Hasan; Relief Commissioner: J G Bhowmik. Director, Health: Dr. T Hossain; Assistant Director, Health: Dr. Ahmed Ali. Personnel at Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra: Ashfaqur Rahman Khan, Shahidul Islam, T H Shikdar, Balal Mohammad, Taher Sultan. Kamal Lohani (Bangla news), Aly Zaker (English news), Alamgir Kabir (English news commentary), Zahid Siddiqui (In-charge of Urdu programme), Samar Das and Ajit Ray (Music), Hasan Imam, (In-charge of Drama), Ashraful Alam (Outdoor broadcasting and interviews), Syed Abdus Shakoor and Rezaul Karim Chowdhury (Engineering). [Helal Uddin Ahmed]
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