Sons and daughters of political parents
74% of the children of political leaders study overseas and a large chunk of them are opting to be Barristers
by ANWAR PARVEZ HALIM
Seventy four percent of the offspring of Bangladesh's major national-level political leaders study abroad. Some of them return home to take up their respective professions, some join their parents' business while quite a few remain abroad and settle in the country of their choice. Some marry foreign national and stay back there, and others bring home their foreign brides or grooms. But surprisingly, very few show any interest in pursuing politics. Very few follow their father's footsteps, or mother's footsteps, in the political arena. This was revealed in recent investigations of PROBE.
Before the 2008 election, 107 political parties applied for registration with the Election Commission. Only 39 parties manage to meet the criteria and were registered. So there are over a hundred registered and unregistered political parties in the country. These include the big names like Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party and Jamaat, as well as smaller less known parties. Some of the parties hardly exist other than on paper. Of the burgeoning number of politicians, not many have had the good fortune of winning a place in cabinet or a seat in parliament. They remain out of power, but politics remains in their blood.
Some leaders are extremely popular and others are not, but most of them are known to the people. However, the general people do not know much about their families. Yet there is a strong curiousity about what the children of these political leaders do, where they study, who they are and so on. PROBE has carried out an investigation on the sons and daughters of major leaders of 24 political parties of the country. These parties are Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party (Ershad), Jatiya Party (Manju), Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP), Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Communist Party of Bangladesh, JSD (Inu), JSD (Rab), Workers Party, Gono Forum, Samyabadi Dal, NAP (Muzaffar), Krishak Sramik Janata League, JAGPA, Bikalpadhara, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Democratic League, Progressive democratic Party (PDP), Islami Oikya Jote, Jameyate Ulema Islami Bangladesh, Khelafat Majlis, Progressive Nationalist Party of Kalyan Party.
Inquiring about their offspring, PROBE contacted political leaders and/or their spouses to collect the information. These included 34 leaders of Awami League, 32 of BNP, five of Jatiya Party (Ershad), six of Jamaat-e-Islami, two of JP, three of JSD (Inu), two of Workers Party, three of CPB, two of Gono Forum, two of LDP and leaders of 14 other parties.
Many of the leaders were happy to talk about their offspring, where they were studying their professions, achievements, etc. Some refrained from replying as it was "not proper". Several were to busy to talk. Then again, in many cases it was the spouses of the leaders who readily provided the answers to PROBE's queries. There were quite a few ministers who were happy to take time off to speak about their children.
PROBE spoke to 105 political leaders over the phone in this regard. According to their statements, the children of 24 out of 34 leaders of Awami League studied abroad. For BNP, it was 26 out of 32. In the case of Jamaat, five out of six of the party's leaders had children studying abroad. For Jatiya Party (Ershad), it was four out of five, and for the other parties, the children of 15 out of 27 leaders studies abroad. That means that 74% of the children of political leaders went abroad to study. Number one on the list of countries they chose to study in was the US, followed by Britain, Canada, Australia and Malaysia.
Whatever differences the political leaders may have ideologically and otherwise, when it came to their children's education, they were all one. Left, right, middle-of-the-road, Islamic, secular or whatever, there was an unmistakable consensus about sending the offspring overseas for studies. This was one clearly shared factor.
Top choice, Bar-at-Law
Many of their children have followed their parents' wishes to study law. And a large percentage of these offspring chose to take the Bar-at-Law exam to become barristers. In the history of the South Asian region, it is seen that many Barristers and other lawyers made an impact in politics and were influential leaders. Perhaps that is why they want to see their children in this profession as they equate it with success.
Among the children of political leaders who have successfully passed the bar and are now practicing lawyers, are Barrister Sara Hossain, daughter of Dr. Kamal Hossain; Barrister tania Amir, daughter of Barrister Amir Ul Islam; Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, son of the late Sheikh Moni, Barrister Andaleeb Rahman Partho and Wasiqur Rahman, sons of Naziur Rahman Manzur. Both Taposh and Partho are presently members of parliament. Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar's son Naushad Jamir, Law Minister Barrister Shafiq Ahmed's son Mahbub Shafiq, Shahjahan Siraj's daughter Sarawat Siraj Shukla, Sheikh Selim's son Sheikh Fazle Nayeem, BNP leader Mir Mohammed Nasiruddin's son Mir Helaluddin and daughter Ishrat Nazneen, Oli Ahad's daughter Rumeen Farhana, JAGPA chief Shafiul Alam Prodhan's daughter Tasmia Prodhan, Jamaat Amir Matiur Rahman Nizami's son Najibur Rahman and Mir Kasem's son Mir Ahmmad Bin Kasem (Armaan) are all Barristers practicing in the High Court.
And presently studying law and Bar-at-Law are Asif Shams, eldest son of State Minister for Home Affairs Shamsul Huq Tuku; Tawfiqur Rashaad, son of Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni; Qareena Khan, youngest daughter of Commerce Minister Col. Farooq Khan; Ashiqur Rahman Khan, son of Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan; and Ambreen Rakhee, daughter of LGRD State Minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak.
Both daughters of BNP leader Barrister Nazmul Huda, Antara and Srabonti; Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain's younger son Khandakar Maruf Hossain; Jatiya Party leader Kazi Firoz Rashid's younger son Kazi Rajib Hasan; and JP Secretary General Ruhul Amin Howladar's younger daughter Sarha Fiza Binte Amin are all studying at the Bar in London.
LDP leader Alamgir Kabir's son Mahmudul Kabir Taposh and daughter Anna Luis Asha are both studying Law in Dhaka.
Jamaat leaders opt for modern education over madrassas
PROBE's inquiries reveal that the offspring of Islamic political leaders Moulana Mohiuddin Khan, Saikhul Hadith, Fazlul Huq Amini, Moulana Fazlul Karim and others are educated through the madrassa system. Most of them are either teaching at madrassas or someway of the other involved in madrassas.
The exceptions to the rule where Islamic parties are concerned, are the Jamaat-e-Islami leaders. None of the children of the top six Jamaat leaders have undergone madrassa education. They have all opted for mainstream modern education.
Ghulam Azam's eldest son Mamun Al Azmi is working at the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah. His fourth son Brigadier (dismissed) Aman Al Azmi lives in Dhaka. His other four sons all live in London.
Matiur Rahman Nizami has four sons and two daughters. They have studied in the US, UK and Saudi Arabia. Among them is a doctor, barrister and university teacher.
Ali Ahsan Mujahid has three sons and one daughter. They have studied in Bangladesh, in various colleges and universities.
Qader Mollah has two sons and four daughters. His younger son Hasan Moudud is doing his BBA in Malaysia's Islamic University. The others are in Bangladesh studying in college and university.
Muhammed Qamaruzzman has five sons and one daughter. One son and one daughter are studying in the country. Two sons are in studying in Sweden and one son in Malaysia.
Mir Kasem Ali has two sons and three daughters. Eldest son Salman is a dental surgeon. Next son Arman is a Barrister, eldest daughter Hasina is a nutritionist living in Sweden, and second daughter Suraiya Rabeya is studying International Relations in Malaysia's Islamic University.
Progeny of anti-imperialist politicians chose the US
The left-leading political leaders of the country, both the hardcore purists and the not-so-hardcore socialists, based their politics on anti-imperialist ideology. They oppose America in almost every breath. Ironically, it is they who chose the US, Canada and the UK to send their children for higher studies and for a secured future. Capitalist countries are high on the socialist leaders' list when it comes to their children.
PROBE's investigations reveal that pro-China politician Industries Minister Dilip Barua has four daughters and all four of them are doctors. The eldest daughter lives in Dhaka, but the remaining three live with their husbands in the US.
CPB leader Mujaheedul Islam Selim has one daughter Sornali Islam. She lives with her husband in the US too. JSD (Inu) leader Mainuddin Khan Badal MP's eldest son Sohel is an aerospace engineer and lives with his wife in Connecticut, USA. Sons Shakeel and Taimur and daughter Zahira Noor all studied in Canada.
JSD leader ASM Abdur Rab's sons Ratul and Rabbul both are studying in the US.
Foreign spouses
Several sons and daughters of Bangladesh's politicians, having gone abroad to study, have met their soul mates there and have married and settled in foreign countries. Some have brought their spouses back. In the past the parents would frown with disapproval on such mixed marriages, but now it is accepted quite easily. However, the number of political offspring marrying abroad is proportionately low.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajib Wazed Joy has married American lawyer Christine. Gono Forum President Dr. Kamal Hossain's daughter Barrister Sara Hossain is married to David Bergman, a journalist. Sara's younger sister Deena Hossain is married to an American and she lives with her husband in the States.
Former Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar's daughter Nilofar Akhter did her LLM from Michigan University. She met and married Robin Knowles there. He is Irish and they have settled in Pennsylvania.
Awami League leader Maj. Gen. (retd.) Subed Ali Bhuiyan MP's younger son Zulfiqar Ali studied in the US and now works there in Minneapolis for the Welles Fargo Bank. His wife Rebecca is an American.
JP leader Anwar Hossain Manju's third daughter Maneezay Hossain did her Masters in Law from the University of Virginia. Her husband is Lebanese and they live in the US, working with a think tank there. Anwar Hossain Manju's youngest daughter Anushay has marred an Iranian recently. She works for the Feminist Majority Foundation in the US and is a feminist writer herself.
Politicians speak of an educated nation…
Politicians, in power and out of power, always harp on the development of the nation, on the welfare of the people and project the vision of an educated nation. However, it is unfortunate that when it comes to developing the quality of education in Bangladesh, they have been a complete and utter failure. The violence and anarchy on the various campuses round the country itself speaks of the sad state of higher education here. As for primary and secondary education, the poor standard of studies is no secret.
The onus lies particularly on those in power when it comes to developing a sound education system. The steady decline of education standards is a cause of deep concern. One on hand the politicians offer dreams of an educated nation, on the other hand their own lack of confidence in the local education system is apparent in the fact that they prefer sending their children abroad rather than have them study in their own country.
When the public observes that the political leaders are sending their offspring en masse abroad to study, and often to settle, they naturally question whether there will be any palpable effort to rescue the disintegrating education system.
Political progeny in politics
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajib Wazed Joy is a general member of Awami League, but is not a full time politician.
Khaleda Zia's son Tarique Rahman is BNP's Senior Vice Chairman.
Badruddoza Chowdhury's son former MP Mahi B Chowdhury is Bikalpadhara's Organising Secretary.
Awami League: Late Awami League leader Tajuddin Ahmed's son Sohel Taj; Mohammed Nasim's son Tanveer Shakil Joy; Naziur Rahman Manzur's son Barrister Andaleep Rahman Partho; Sheikh Moni's son Fazle Noor Taposh; late Jatiya Party leader Col. Malek's son Zahid Malek Swapan; late Awami League leader of Gazipur Ahsanullah Master's son Zahid Hasan Russel; late Moizuddin Ahmed's daughter Meher Afroze Chumki ;and Madaripur's Ilyas Chowdhury's son Nur-e-Alam Chowdhury are all members of parliament at present.
Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni is the daughter of Awami League leader of Chandpur MA Wadud. State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Dr. Shireen Sharmeen Chowdhury is the daughter of former CSP late Rafiqullah Chowdhury.
BNP: Naser Rahman, son of former Finance Minister late BNP leader Saifur Rahman; Afroza Khanum, daughter of Harunur Rashid Monno; Shyama Obaid, daughter of KM Obaidur Rahman; and Barrister Naushad Jamir, son of former Speaker Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar are all directly and indirectly involved in politics.
http://probenewsmagazine.com/index.php?index=2&contentId=6453
__._,_.___
