Speech 4

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was one of the principal organisers behind the formation of the East Pakistan Muslim Students League (1948). In fact, Sheikh Mujib's active political career began with his election to one of the three posts of joint secretaries of the newly established East Pakistan Awami Muslim League (1949) while interned in jail. The other two joint secretaries were Khondakar Mostaq Ahmad and AK Rafiqul Hussain. In 1953, Sheikh Mujib was elected general secretary of the East Pakistan Awami Muslim League, a post that he held until 1966 when he became president of the party. It was due to Mujib's initiative that in 1955 the word 'Muslim' was dropped from the name of the party to make it sound secular. It is indicative of his secularist attitude to politics that he developed after 1947.