AL pays homage to Sheikh Kamal

Bangladesh Awami League (AL) paid homage to Sheikh Kamal, the eldest son of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, marking his 72nd birth anniversary on Thursday. On behalf of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and later along with the party’s central leaders, Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader paid the tributes by placing floral wreaths at his grave at Banani Graveyard this morning.

Awami League praesidium members Begum Matia Chowdhury, Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Abdur Rahman, Joint General Secretary Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif, AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Organizing Secretary Ahmed Hossain, Mirza Azam, SM Kamal Hossain, Office Secretary Barrister Biplab Barua, Deputy Office Secretary Sayem Khan and other leaders and activists of the Central Committee were present on the occasion. Earlier, AL and its associate bodies paid homage to Sheikh Kamal by placing floral wreaths at his portrait on the premises of Abahani Club at Dhanmondi.

Born on August 5, 1949, at Tungipara in Gopalganj, Sheikh Kamal was a former executive member of the central committee of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of Awami League. After passing secondary examination from Shahin School and higher secondary exam from Dhaka College, Sheikh Kamal obtained his Bachelor of Arts from Social Science Department of the Dhaka University. He was also a student of Setar musical department of Chayanat, a reputed cultural entity in the country.

Kamal was not only the founder of Abahani Krira Chakra, one of the best sports organizations in the subcontinent and pioneer of modern football in Bangladesh, he was also a founder-member of Dhaka Theatre. He was well known as an actor in Dhaka University’s drama arena. Since his childhood, Kamal was very much enthusiastic about different sports including football, cricket, hockey and basketball.

Sheikh Kamal was commissioned in the Muktibahini after receiving training from first war course in the independent Bangladesh and served as ADC of General MAG Osmani, the commander-in-chief of the Liberation War in 1971. After the country’s independence, Sheikh Kamal went to retirement from the army and paid attention to the study.

Kamal was a Master’s (final year) examinee and a member of the Jatiya Chhatra League central committee, a wing of Bangladesh Krishak, Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL), when he embraced martyrdom on August 15 in 1975 at the age of 26.