# Abdul Kader Siddique

Abdul Kader Siddique, is a Bangladeshi politician. He served as a Mukti Bahini commander, and organizer of the Bangladesh War of Independence. He fought with an estimated 17,000-strong guerrilla force in the Tangail region against the Pakistan Army. The army was called Kaderia Bahini (Kader's Army). At the end of the war in 1971, Siddique's forces entered Dhaka along with the Indian forces, signaling the end of the war. He was awarded Bir Uttom by the Government of Bangladesh. Since 1999, he has been serving as the leader of his newly formed party, the Krishak Sramik Janata League.

## Career

During the Bangladesh war of independence, he formed the Kaderia Bahini to fight against the Pakistan military. The Kaderia Bahini, as it is said, had approximately 17 thousand personnel. He was loyal to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
After the Independence of Bangladesh, Siddique went back to his hometown of Tangail where he enjoyed considerable patronage from the Awami League, the party of Prime Minister Mujibur Rahman.
After the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1975, Siddiqui and his followers organised attacks on the authorities of Khondakar Mushtaque's government. Elements loyal to Siddiqui operated from bases in Assam province in India and were actively supported by India's Border Security Force. In the insurgency against the military government of Bangladesh, 104 rebels were killed and more than 500 were injured. The insurgency lasted more than two years. He was tried by a military court on 24 July 1978, and sentenced to 7 years in jail. He was accused of killing a major and a number of soldiers of Bangladesh Army after the Assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman following the 15 August 1975 Bangladesh coup d'état. On 6 December 1990, he returned to Bangladesh from self imposed exile in India.
Siddique was elected member of the parliament of Bangladesh from different constituencies of Tangail.
In 1996, Siddique was elected to Parliament as a Bangladesh Awami League candidate from Tangail-8. In 1999, Siddique quit Awami League. He then resigned from the parliament and formed his own party the Krishak Sramik Janata League. This triggered a by-election, which he lost to the Bangladesh Awami League candidate, Shawakat Momen Shahjahan. Siddique was elected to parliament from Tangail 8 in the 2001 Bangladesh General Election as a candidate of the Krishak Sramik Janata League. On 17 October 2006, his rally was attacked by Bangladesh Chhatra League activists, leaving 11 injured in Jamalpur District.
In 2017, Bangladesh High Court disqualified Siddique from contesting a by-election from Tangail-4 because he had defaulted on a loan. He tried to contest the 2018 Bangladesh General Election from Tangail-4 and Tangail-8 but his candidacy was rejected by the Bangladesh Election Commission. He, along with his party, joined the Jatiya Oikyafront to contest the election against the Bangladesh Awami League alliance. His daughter, Kuri Siddique, also applied for nomination from Tangail-8 in case his candidacy was rejected. The Election Commission rejected the appeal filed by Siddique, challenging the cancellation of his nomination on 8 December.

## Personal life

Siddique is married to Nasrin Siddique. His elder brother, Abdul Latif Siddiqui is also an Awami League politician who served as the member of parliament and the minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology. Their other two younger brothers are Murad Siddiqui and Azad Siddiqui. He has been widely discussed and criticized for writing newspaper columns. He regularly writes columns in the daily Amar Desh and the daily Naya Diganta. In addition, he discussed the country's ongoing political, social and contemporary issues as a presenter on the program called Sabar Paap Desh on Diganta Television.

### Notable books written by Quader Siddiquie:

* Maulana Bhashani Ke Jemon Dekhechi
* Meghe Dhaka Tara
* Swadhinata'71
* Bajrakathon
* Tara Amar Boro Bhai-Bon
* Na Bola Kotha
* Pita-Putra

## Role in the Liberation War

Abdul Kader Siddiqui joined the special armed forces formed in Tangail when the Liberation War began in 1971. In addition to Abdul Latif Siddiqui, this force was led by Anwar ul Alam Shaheed, Enayet Karim and many others. In the initial stage, they fought a resistance war against the Pakistan Army in Tangail. When the resistance fighters in Tangail were dispersed, the entire force moved to Sakhipur, a remote area of Tangail. The process of reorganization, recruitment and training of this force began there. Later, this force was named 'Kaderia Bahini'. During the Liberation War, Abdul Kader Siddiqui performed his duties with skill and courage. Under his direct and indirect leadership, the freedom fighters fought numerous battles and ambushes directly against the Pakistan Army in Tangail. The Dhalapara ambush is one of them. On August 16, Abdul Quader Siddiqui was at a place near Dhalapara in Kalihati Upazila of Tangail. He received news that three of their factions had been surrounded by the Pakistani army. He went there to help them. Abdul Quader Siddiqui was accompanied by 10 freedom fighters. With these 10 comrades, he took up position on the path through which the Pakistanis were retreating. The Pakistani soldiers were much more numerous. However, he did not get upset and continued to wait with his fierce-natured comrades. At 1:20 PM, the Pakistani soldiers entered their ambush and as soon as they came within forty yards, Quader Siddiqui opened fire with his LMG. At the same time, the weapons of his comrades also roared. In an instant, some of the Pakistani soldiers in front fell to the ground. The rest of the soldiers did not resist and started running away. Seeing this scene, Quader Siddiqui became excited and started shooting at the fleeing Pakistani soldiers with his LMG. His fellow soldiers also started shooting. At that time, suddenly the bullets fired by the Pakistani soldiers rushed towards Abdul Quader Siddiqui. He was injured by the bullets. Even then, he did not give up. He continued to fight while injured. After the war, his fellow soldiers quickly took him to the doctor. About 40 Pakistani army personnel were killed at their hands that day.

### Voluntary exile in India from 1977 to 1990

On August 15, 1975, when Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib was killed in his own family, Quader Siddiqui rebelled against the military government in protest. He reorganized the Qaderia army and continued to fight in the border areas. He was joined by Nasim Osman of the famous Osman family of Narayanganj and Mohiuddin, former mayor of Chittagong. After returning to the country in 1990, he played an active role in politics.

### Political life

He is currently the president of the Krishak Sramik Janata League. On 8 November 2018, he joined the Jatiya Oikyafront under the leadership of Dr. Kamal Hossain to participate in the 11th National Parliament election in an alliance. The main partner of the Oikyafront was the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Through this alliance, his party and he participated in the national election under the symbol of a sheaf of rice.