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Abdul Kader Siddique

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Bangabir
Abdul Kader Siddique
Bir Uttom
বঙ্গবীর আব্দুল কাদের সিদ্দিকী
Siddique in 2017
Member of the Bangladesh Parliament
In office
28 October 2001 – 27 October 2008
Preceded byShawkat Momen Shahjahan
Succeeded byShawkat Momen Shahjahan
ConstituencyTangail-8
In office
12 June 1996 – 1999
Preceded byHumayun Khan Panni
Succeeded byShawkat Momen Shahjahan
ConstituencyTangail-8
Personal details
Born (1947-06-14) 14 June 1947 (age 79)
Tangail, Bengal Presidency, British India
PartyKrishak Sramik Janata League
Other party
Bangladesh Awami League
Spouse
Nasrin Siddique
​
​
(m. 1984; died 2025)​
Children2
RelativesAbdul Latif Siddiqui (brother)[1]
Government Maulana Mohammad Ali College
Awards
Bir Uttom
Military service
Allegiance
Branch/service
UnitEast Bengal Regiment
Kaderia Force
CommandsCommander-in-Chief of Kaderia Force
Battles/warsBangladesh Liberation War
1972–1975 Bangladesh insurgency

Bangabir Abdul Kader Siddique[a] is a Bangladeshi politician. He served as a Mukti Bahini commander, and organizer of the Bangladesh War of Independence. He fought with an estimated 17,000-strong guerrilla force in the Tangail region against the Pakistan Army.[2] The army was called Kaderia Bahini (Kader's Army).[3][4][5] At the end of the war in 1971, Siddique's forces entered Dhaka along with the Indian forces, signaling the end of the war.[6] He was awarded Bir Uttom by the government of Bangladesh. Since 1999, he has been serving as the leader of his newly formed party, the Krishak Sramik Janata League.[7]

Early life and education

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Abdul Kader Siddique's ancestral home is located in the village of Chhatihati, within the Kalihati Upazila of Tangail District. He was born to Abdul Ali Siddique and Latifa Siddique. Siddique received his primary education at his local village school and the Tangail PTI Training School. He completed his secondary education at Shibnath High School and Vivekananda High School. He later attended Government Maulana Mohammad Ali College in Kagmari for his higher secondary and undergraduate studies. Although he studied at M.M. Ali College, his student political activities were primarily centered around Government Saadat College in Karatia Union.[8]

Military career

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East Bengal Regiment

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While still a student, he enlisted in the East Bengal Regiment of the Pakistan Army. Following the completion of his training and a brief period of service, he resigned from the military in 1967 to resume his formal education.[8]

Bangladesh Liberation War

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During the Bangladesh Liberation War, he formed the Kaderia Force and fought against the Pakistani military. The Kaderia Force, as it is said, had approximately 17 thousand personnel. He was loyal to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.[9]

Political career

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After independence

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Siddique (left) with Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (centre) in 1972

After the independence of Bangladesh, Siddique went back to his hometown of Tangail, where he enjoyed considerable patronage from the Awami League, the party of Prime Minister Mujibur Rahman.[10]

Insurgency against Khondakar Mushtaq and Ziaur Rahman

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After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, Siddiqui and his followers organised attacks on the authorities of Khondakar Mushtaque's government. Elements loyal to Siddiqui operated from bases in Assam province in India and were actively supported by India's Border Security Force.[10] In the insurgency against the government of Ziaur Rahman, 104 rebels were killed and more than 500 were injured. The insurgency lasted more than two years.[11] In 1976, the Janata Party government ended its support for him, stating, "no shelter shall be given to criminal elements across the border" and promised non-interference in Bangladeshi affairs.[12]

He was tried by a military court on 24 July 1978 and sentenced to 7 years in jail. He was accused of killing a major and a number of soldiers of the Bangladesh Army.[13] On 6 December 1990, he returned to Bangladesh from self-imposed exile in India.[citation needed]

Post-exiled life

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Siddique was elected member of the parliament of Bangladesh from different constituencies of Tangail.

Siddique at the National Martyrs' Memorial

In 1996, Siddique was elected to Parliament as a Bangladesh Awami League candidate from Tangail-8.[14] In 1999, Siddique quit Awami League. He then resigned from the parliament and formed his own party, the Krishak Sramik Janata League.[7] This triggered a by-election, which he lost to the Bangladesh Awami League candidate, Shawakat Momen Shahjahan. Siddique was elected to parliament from Tangail 8 in the 2001 Bangladesh general election as a candidate of the Krishak Sramik Janata League.[14] On 17 October 2006, his rally was attacked by Bangladesh Chhatra League activists, leaving 11 injured in Jamalpur District.[15]

In 2017, the Bangladesh High Court disqualified Siddique from contesting a by-election from Tangail-4 because he had defaulted on a loan. He tried to contest the 2018 Bangladeshi general election from Tangail-4 and Tangail-8, but his candidacy was rejected by the Bangladesh Election Commission.[16] He, along with his party, joined the Jatiya Oikyafront to contest the election against the Bangladesh Awami League alliance.[17][18] His daughter, Kuri Siddique, also applied for nomination from Tangail-8 in case his candidacy was rejected.[19] The Election Commission rejected the appeal filed by Siddique, challenging the cancellation of his nomination on 8 December.[20]

In the controversial 2024 election, he lost the constituency of Tangail-8 to Awami League candidate Anupam Shahjahan Joy.[21]

Krishak Sramik Janata League

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He is currently the president of the Krishak Sramik Janata League. On 8 November 2018, he joined the Jatiya Oikyafront under the leadership of Kamal Hossain to participate in the 11th National Parliament election in an alliance. The main partner of the Oikyafront was the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Through this alliance, his party and he participated in the national election under the symbol of a sheaf of rice.[18][17]

Personal life

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Siddique is married to Nasrin Siddique.[22] His elder brother, Abdul Latif Siddiqui, is also an Awami League politician who served as the member of parliament and the minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology.[1] Their other two younger brothers are Murad Siddiqui and Azad Siddiqui.[23] He has been widely discussed and criticized for writing newspaper columns. In 2013, he regularly wrote columns in the daily Amar Desh and the daily Naya Diganta. In addition, he discussed the country's ongoing political, social, and contemporary issues as a presenter on Diganta Television.[24] He was criticised for these media roles by his brother Abdul Latif Siddiqui as "arrogant" and "new-Razakar."[24]

Notable books written by Quader Siddiquie

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  • Maulana Bhashani Ke Jemon Dekhechi
  • Meghe Dhaka Tara
  • Swadhinata'71
  • Bajrakathon
  • Tara Amar Boro Bhai-Bon
  • Na Bola Kotha
  • Pita-Putra

Notes

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  1. ^ Bengali: আবদুল কাদের সিদ্দিকী

References

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  1. ^ a b "Kader Siddique's nomination cancelled, his party calls Tangail shutdown for Wednesday". bdnews24.com. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  2. ^ Brian May, "Indian Army Arrests 'Tiger of Tangail' After Dacca Bayoneting", The Times, 21 December 1971, pg. 4.
  3. ^ Shakil, Mirza (13 December 2021). "In pictures: Kader Siddique and his 'Kaderia Bahini' during Liberation War". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  4. ^ Shakil, Mirza (26 March 2021). "Operation Jahajmara: A turning point in the Liberation War history". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Tangail freed on this day". The Daily Star. 11 December 2020. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  6. ^ Ahmed, Helal Uddin (2012). "Mukti Bahini". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). 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 28 June 2026.Archived from the original on 7 March 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Quader holds talks with Kader Siddique". The Daily Star. 26 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  8. ^ a b তোমাদের এ ঋণ শোধ হবে না [Your debt will never be repaid]. Prothom Alo. 25 December 2012. Archived from the original on 24 January 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  9. ^ De, Barun; Samāddāra, Raṇabīra (1997). State, development, and political culture: Bangladesh and India. Har-Anand Publications. p. 137. ISBN 9788124104552.
  10. ^ a b Lifschultz, Lawrence (1979). Bangladesh: The Unfinished Revolution. Zed Press. p. 64. ISBN 0-905762-07-X. Kader Siddiqui appalled both Bengalis and foreigners when, in public, shortly after the liberation of Dacca, he personally bayoneted three alleged collaborators to death. The entire incident was filmed from start to finish by foreign film crews whom he had invited to the spectacle. He returned to Tangail after independence and became the recipient of substantial Awami League patronage. Following the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in August 1975, Siddiqui and his followers began to offer resistance to the post-coup authorities headed by Khondakar Mustaque. Elements identifying themselves with Siddiqui gradually withdrew to India and, with the active and direct assistance of the Indian Government's Border Security Force, set up training camps in the Assam border area.
  11. ^ "Those who protested that day". Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  12. ^ Pandey, Punam (26 November 2016). India Bangladesh Domestic Politics: The River Ganges Water Issues. Springer. ISBN 978-981-10-2371-2.
  13. ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "Refworld | Bangladesh: Information on Mr. Abdul Kader Siddiqi (Siddique/Siddiqui)". Refworld. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  14. ^ a b "4 Siddique brothers to contest from Tangail constituencies". Dhaka Tribune. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  15. ^ "Kader Siddiqui's rallies attacked in Jamalpur". The Daily Star. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Kader Siddique's candidacy rejected". Dhaka Tribune. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Kader joins Oikyafront". The Daily Star. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  18. ^ a b "Kader Siddique joins Oikya Front". Daily Sun. November 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  19. ^ "Kader Siddique and daughter submit nomination forms in Tangail 8". Dhaka Tribune. 28 November 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  20. ^ "EC rejects Kader Siddique's appeal". Dhaka Tribune. 8 December 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  21. ^ "Kader Siddique defeated by AL candidate Anupam Joy in Tangail-8". The Business Standard. 7 January 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  22. ^ "Wanted Kader Siddiqui waiting for police at home". bdnews24.com. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  23. ^ "Four Siddiqui brothers to run in Tangail-3,4,5,8". The Daily Star. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  24. ^ a b "Kader draws flak from sibling". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
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