Shawkat Ali (politician)

2022-01-07T12:17:14Z

203.101.187.5: /* Time in the Bangladesh Army */

{{short description|Bangladeshi politician}}
{{Other people|Shawkat Ali}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Shawkat Ali
| native_name = শওকত আলী
| native_name_lang = bn
| image = Colonel Shawkat Ali.jpg
| caption = Ali in 2012
| office = [[Deputy Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad]]
| term_start = 25 January 2009
| term_end = 24 January 2014
| primeminister = [[Sheikh Hasina]]
| predecessor = [[Akhtar Hameed Siddiqui]]
| successor = [[Fazle Rabbi Miah]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1937|01|27}}
| birth_place = Dighirpar, [[Naria Upazila|Naria]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2020|11|16|1937|01|27}}
| death_place = [[Dhaka]], Bangladesh
| party = [[Awami League]]
| alma_mater = [[University of Dhaka]]
| profession = Army officer, politician
| serviceyears = {{ubl|(1971–1975) Bangladesh Army|(1958–1969) Pakistan Army}}
| rank = [[Colonel]]
| commands = Director of Ordnance Services
| battles = [[Bangladesh Liberation War]]
}}
[[Colonel|Col.]] (retd.) '''Shawkat Ali''' (27 January 1937{{spnd}}16 November 2020)<ref name=bio /> was a Bangladeshi politician who served as a [[List of Speakers of the Jatiya Sangsad|deputy speaker]] of the [[Jatiya Sangsad]]. He was a member of the [[Awami League]].<ref name=bio>{{cite web|title=Biography Deputy Speaker|url=http://www.parliament.gov.bd/biography_deputyspeaker.pdf|website=Bangladesh Parliament|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823073046/http://www.parliament.gov.bd/biography_deputyspeaker.pdf|archive-date=23 August 2011|access-date=23 September 2011}}</ref>

== Early life ==

Ali was born in [[Shariatpur]], [[British India]] (now in Bangladesh), to Munshi Mobarak and Maleka Begum. He was the eldest son among nine children. He was married and had two sons, Firoze Shawkat Ali, Khaled Shawkat Ali, and a daughter, Marina Shawkat Ali.<ref name=bio /> Shawkat completed his [[LL.B.]] from Comilla Law College under the [[University of Dhaka]] in 1958 before he joined the [[Pakistan Army]] as a [[commissioned officer]] the following year.<ref name=bio />

=== Agartala Conspiracy Case ===

Ali was a [[captain (armed forces)|captain]] in 1968 when he was ''Accused No. 26'' of the 35 implicated in the [[Agartala Conspiracy Case]] as a conspirator to secede [[East Pakistan]] from Pakistan.<ref name=bp>{{cite Banglapedia|article=Agartala_Conspiracy_Case}}</ref> Initially, he was supposed to be tried before a [[court-martial]], but the [[Government of Pakistan]] felt they would benefit more from a civil trial.<ref name=bp /> The charges were dropped the next year amidst public protest;<ref name=bp /> Ali was still forced to retire in 1969.<ref name=bio />

Although it was largely thought that the case was only meant to frame [[Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]] and others,<ref name=bp /> in 2010, and on the anniversary of the withdrawal of the case on 22 February 2011, Ali confessed to the Parliament at a point of order that the charges read out to them were accurate, stating that they formed a ''Shangram Parishad'' (action committee) under Rahman for the sedition and secession of East Pakistan.<ref name=true>{{cite news |title='Agartala conspiracy case was not false'|url=http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=188118&cid=2|access-date=2 September 2011|work=bdnews24.com|date=23 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319055449/http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=188118&cid=2|archive-date=19 March 2012}}</ref><ref name=true2>{{cite news|title=Textbook 'incorrectly' describes Agartala Case: Shawkat|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=142345|access-date=2 September 2011|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=12 June 2010}}</ref>

== Time in the Bangladesh Army ==

After Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan and the war broke out, Ali was reinstated into the army after the formation of the [[Bangladesh Forces]] in 1971 to fight the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]].<ref name=bio /> He was forced to retire the second time when he was a [[colonel]] in 1975 working as the Director of Ordnance Services following the [[assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman]], since he was close to Mujib.<ref name=bio />

== Political career ==

Ali was elected to parliament in the [[1979 Bangladeshi general election|1979]], [[1991 Bangladeshi general election|1991]], [[June 1996 Bangladeshi general election|1996]], [[2001 Bangladeshi general election|2001]] and [[2008 Bangladeshi general election|2008]] general elections.<ref name=bio /><ref name=sp /> During his time in office, he has served in various parliamentary committees, including the Standing Committee on Ministry of Shipping and Committee on Private Members Bills and Resolutions as their chairman between 1996 and 2001.<ref name=bio /> He was also a lawyer registered under the [[Supreme Court of Bangladesh|Supreme Court]].<ref name=sp />

Ali was selected the [[List of Speakers of the Jatiya Sangsad|deputy speaker]] of the ninth parliament on 25 January 2009, following a landslide [[Awami League]] victory.<ref name=sp>{{cite news|title=Hold ruling party accountable|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=72956|access-date=23 September 2011|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=26 January 2009}}</ref>

During his time as the deputy speaker, Ali chaired many sessions of the parliament when the Speaker [[Abdul Hamid (politician)|Abdul Hamid]] was absent.<ref name=chair1>{{cite news |title=Power outages to continue until Nov|url=http://bdnews24.com/details.php?cid=2&id=197821|access-date=23 September 2011|work=bdnews24.com|date=7 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402071618/http://bdnews24.com/details.php?cid=2&id=197821|archive-date=2 April 2012}}</ref><ref name=chair2>{{cite news |last1=Mahbub|first1=Sumon |last2=Chowdhury|first2=Moinul Haque |title=55 amendments proposed in report|url=http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=199716&cid=2|access-date=23 September 2011|work=bdnews24.com|date=29 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402071425/http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=199716&cid=2|archive-date=2 April 2012}}</ref><ref name=chair3>{{cite news |title=EC planning to put EVM in place: info minister |url=http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=204125&cid=3|access-date=23 September 2011|work=bdnews24.com|date=23 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402071624/http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=204125&cid=3|archive-date=2 April 2012}}</ref>

== Personal life ==

Ali authored two books, one in English and the other in Bangla, both about the Agartala Conspiracy Case.<ref name=bio />

== Death ==
Ali died on 16 November 2020 at the age of 83.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 November 2020|title=Col (retd) Shawkat Ali, one of the accused in Agartala Conspiracy Case, no more|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/country/news/col-retd-shawkat-ali-one-the-accused-agartala-conspiracy-case-no-more-1995813|access-date=16 November 2020|work=The Daily Star|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |script-title=bn:সাবেক ডেপুটি স্পিকার শওকত আলী আর নেই|url=https://www.jagonews24.com/national/news/623657|access-date=16 November 2020|work=Jago News 24|language=bn}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=16 November 2020|script-title=bn:সাবেক ডেপুটি স্পিকার শওকত আলী আর নেই|url=https://www.bdview24.com/2020/11/16/36329/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=16 November 2020|website=bdview24.com|language=bn}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commonscatinline|Shawkat Ali}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Shawkat}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Naria Upazila]]
[[Category:University of Dhaka alumni]]
[[Category:People of the Bangladesh Liberation War]]
[[Category:Bangladesh Army colonels]]
[[Category:Awami League politicians]]
[[Category:Deputy Speakers of the Jatiya Sangsad]]
[[Category:5th Jatiya Sangsad members]]
[[Category:8th Jatiya Sangsad members]]
[[Category:7th Jatiya Sangsad members]]
[[Category:9th Jatiya Sangsad members]]
[[Category:10th Jatiya Sangsad members]]
[[Category:Pakistan Army officers]]

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Shawkat Ali (politician)