Mohammad Hanif
| Former Mayor of DCC |
| Politician |
Full Name: Mohammad Hanif
Affiliation: Bangladesh Awami League
Current Position: Deceased
Date of Birth: April 01, 1944
Date of Death: November 28, 2006
Place of Birth: Bangladesh
Home District: Dhaka
Constituency: 182, Dhaka-12
Term: First (1st-1973)
Nationality: Bangladeshi
Profile:
Mohammad Hanif (01 April 1944 – 28 November 2006) was a Bangladeshi politician who served as Mayor of Dhaka City Corporation from 1994 - 2002. He was the first directly elected mayor of the undivided Dhaka City Corporation and President of the Dhaka Metropolitan Awami League. From March 12, 1994 to April 4, 2002, he served as the Mayor of Dhaka City Corporation for 8 years.
As mayor Hanif tried to increase the power of the city corporation. He asked to have the management of Dhaka Metropolitan police, Dhaka Electricity Supply Company and other utilities companies transferred to Dhaka City Corporation from the national government. It was such a movement that gained opposition from the national government. He played a major role in the development of Dhaka city. His notable works include construction of fountains, construction of maternity homes, afforestation programs, construction of training and rehabilitation centers for uprooted children and adolescents, construction of municipal children's parks etc. Dhaka Metropolitan Women's College was established in Laxmibazar to spread women's education.
Hanif passed Matriculation from Islamia High School in Old Dhaka in 1960 and later passed the Higher Secondary and BA examinations from the then Quaid-e-Azam College (now Shaheed Suhrawardy College) and studied law for some time. Mohammad Hanif made his debut as an active activist of Chhatra League during his student days. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is the handmaiden of his politics. After the United Front's victory in the 1954 elections, the Pakistani government dissolved the provincial government and arrested Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on corruption charges and ordered Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family to leave Mantripara on 24-hour notice. Mohammad Hanif's ignoring the bloody eyes of the central government at that time and took up our undisputed leader of the Bengalis Sheikh Mujib and his family to his residence Nazira Bazar, Old Dhaka.
Hanif became Bangabandhu's private secretary in 1965. As a private secretary, he played a significant role in the preparation, formulation and promotion of the six-point movement. He played a strong role in the mass uprising of '69, the national elections of '70 and the great war of independence in 1971. He has led all the movements for the establishment of human rights since independence from the first row on the streets.
Hanif was elected as a Member of Parliament from the Dhaka-12 constituency vacated by Bangabandhu in 1973 and later he served as the Whip. He was elected President of Dhaka Metropolitan Awami League in 1986 and served till his death.
On 15 February 1996 the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by Khaleda Zia held national elections which were boycotted by all major parties. The voter turnout was 21% with Bangladesh Nationalist Party winning all the parliamentary seats. He set up Janatar Mancha (Peoples stages) demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in front of Bangladesh National Press Club. He played a vital role in the protests that forced the government to hold elections, which the Bangladesh Awami League won.
Hanif tried his best to save his beloved leader, the current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the infernal grenade attack on the truck stage of the Bangladesh Awami League's anti-terror rally on Bangabandhu Avenue in on August 21, 2004. When threw one by one grenades he gave himself without fear. Sheikh Hasina escaped with her life but Hanif was seriously injured. Numerous deadly splinters penetrate different parts of his body, including the brain. Long-term treatment did not work and it was not possible to remove it even with surgery as it was deep in the head.
Hanif was taken to Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok on February 10, 2006 and returned on August 25 after a six-month treatment. On 28 November 2006, he died at Apollo Hospital due to multiple organ failures.
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