Veteran Awami League leader, a key figure in the mass uprising of 1969 and an organiser of the Liberation War Tofail Ahmed passed away yesterday. He was 82.
Square Hospital, where he had been admitted since September 24 last year, said in a press release that he had been suffering from multiple age-related complications.
Tofail came to the hospital with pneumonia-related respiratory distress, heart disease and physical weakness and was under the intensive care of ICU Senior Consultant Dr Raihan Rabbani. He died at 3:30pm, the release said.
His first namaz-e-janaza was held after Maghrib prayers at Taqwa Mosque in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi. The body was later kept at the mortuary of Square Hospital.
The body will be taken to Bhola today by a helicopter or refrigerated ambulance. Another janaza will be held there after Zuhr prayers, followed by burial at the family graveyard.
Alongside family members and well-wishers, former minister and veteran politician Abdul Latif Siddiqui; former minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury; Chairman of a faction of the Jatiyo Party Anisul Islam Mahmud; Secretary General of another faction of the Jatiyo Party Shameem Haider Patwari; former general secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) Ruhin Hossain Prince, attended the janaza.
Before the janaza, Prince told reporters: “We must forever remember Tofail Ahmed’s contribution to our politics, the Liberation War, and our independence. His courageous journey will continue to revitalise us. As long as Bangladesh exists, he will live on in the hearts of the people.”
“His demise is an irreparable loss. Even when he was ailing, there was a sense of encouragement among us that he was still with us. May his inspiration, glory, sacrifice, and courage guide the nation forward,” he added.
Terming Tofail a legendary politician, Shameem Patwary said: “As the DUCSU GS [general secretary] from 1967 to 1969, he was intrinsically involved in the political turbulence and the ups and downs of that era. He was a highly courageous and visionary leader, a fiery orator, and an extraordinary parliamentarian.”
“Everyone, irrespective of party affiliation, should pay their respects to him. We believe a janaza should have been held at the Jatiya Sangsad today (yesterday). The government should have taken that initiative,” he said.
Mentioning Tofail’s contribution as an organiser of the Liberation War, he demanded that he be buried with state honour. “There is no legal scope for an exception to this. If it is not done, the relevant individuals will be held accountable before history.”
Around 7:15pm, as the freezer van carrying the body departed for Square Hospital, Awami League leaders and activists outside the Taqwa Mosque chanted slogans, including “Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu” and “Tofail bhaiyer bhoy nai, rajpath chari nai”.
Police dispersed the crowd and detained seven people, according to Sheikh Zahidul Islam, deputy commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Ramna Division.
Jisanul Haque, additional deputy commissioner of the Dhanmondi zone, said: “Some people attempted to create chaos by putting up a barricade while the ambulance was heading towards Square Hospital. A few of those creating the disorder have been detained.”
“I do not think the troublemakers have any specific (political) identity. If any ordinary citizen has been detained, we will certainly release them after verification,” he added.
Several parties and organisations, including the Awami League, whose activities are now banned, Jatiyo Party, Bangladesh Workers Party, Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigosthi and Bangladesh Hindu-Bouddha-Christian Oikya Parishad, issued statements mourning his death.
Tofail Ahmed’s political life spanned more than six decades, closely tied to Bangladesh’s nationalist movement and the Liberation War.
From the fiery frontlines of student rebellion to the quiet dignity of giving away all he owned, Tofail’s journey is far more than a record of positions held or speeches delivered; it is the story of a heart that never stopped believing in Bangladesh.
Staring down at the Pakistani military dictators, he helped forge the Bangalee nationalist movement that culminated in the Liberation War of 1971 and walked alongside Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the struggle for independence.
He was elected to parliament in 1970 at the age of 27 and emerged as a key organiser of the Liberation War and one of the key leaders of the Bangladesh Liberation Front, widely known as the Mujib Bahini. He also participated in the Constituent Assembly in 1971 and the drafting of the 1972 Constitution.
In independent Bangladesh, he went on to serve as a member of parliament for eight terms.
He served as political secretary to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with the rank of state minister from 1972 to 1975. He was again elected to parliament in 1973 and in multiple subsequent elections, including in 1986, 1991, 1996, 2008, 2014, 2018 and 2024. Over the years, he served in the cabinet three times and chaired a parliamentary standing committee, earning recognition as one of the most seasoned voices in and outside parliament.
Tofail was born on October 22, 1943, in Koralia village of Bhola.
He was actively involved in student politics from his college days, elected sports secretary of the Brojomohun College Students’ Union and vice president of Ashwini Kumar Hall in 1962.
During his years at Dhaka University, he served as sports secretary of Iqbal Hall (now Shahid Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall) in 1964, vice president of the Soil Science Department in 1965, and vice president of the Iqbal Hall Students’ Union in 1966–67.
From 1967 to 1969, he was vice president of the Dhaka University Central Students’ Union (DUCSU) and a leader of the All-Party Student Action Committee.
By linking student demands with Bangabandhu’s Six-Point programme, the committee launched a mass movement based on an 11-point charter of demands.
Its sustained protest programmes culminated in the mass uprising of January 24, 1969, with Tofail emerging as one of its principal leaders.
In the face of the uprising, the Pakistan government was compelled to release Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and all other accused in the Agartala Conspiracy Case.
Later that year, on February 23, the Student Action Committee organised a rally at the then Racecourse Maidan in Dhaka (now Suhrawardy Udyan), where Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was conferred the title “Bangabandhu” -- a declaration made by Tofail.
In 1969, he was elected president of the Bangladesh Chhatra League. The next year, he joined the Awami League.
After the assassination of Bangabandhu on August 15, 1975, Tofail was arrested in September and spent 33 months in prison. He was also imprisoned at least seven more times in his political career. He played a vital role in the movement to restore democracy in Bangladesh. He was imprisoned four times during the Ershad regime and again during the 1995 movement for elections under a caretaker government. He was also jailed in 2002.
While detained in Kushtia Jail in 1979, he was elected organising secretary of the Awami League. He later became the party’s presidium member and advisory council member.
After the 1996 election, which brought the Awami League back to power after 21 years, he was appointed minister for industries and commerce.
During the 2007 emergency rule, Tofail was among a small group of senior leaders who proposed reforming the Awami League.
Following the 2008 general election, although the Awami League returned to power, political analysts believe Tofail was excluded from the cabinet and dropped from the party’s presidium due to his stance during the caretaker government period.
From 2009 to 2013, he served as chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of industries.
He also served as housing and public works minister and industries minister in 2013-2014, and commerce minister from 2014 to 2019.
In 2021, Tofail announced that he would donate all his movable and immovable property to the Tofail Ahmed Foundation, which works to provide healthcare, old-age home support and stipends for the underprivileged.
He suffered a stroke a few years ago, which left the left side of his body paralysed and required the use of a wheelchair.
Tofail is survived by a daughter, son-in-law, and a host of relatives and well-wishers who mourn his death.
