Haji Mohammad Danesh

Hajee Mohammad Danesh (1900 – 28 June 1986) was a Bangladeshi politician and communist activist born in British India.

Early life Hajee Mohammad Danesh was born to a Bengali Muslim peasant family in the village of Sultanpur in the Dinajpur district of what was then the Bengal Presidency of British India, and now a part of Bangladesh. Danesh studied at the Aligarh Muslim University, where he obtained a master's degree in history in 1931. He also earned a degree in law in 1932 and joined the bar of the Dinajpur district court.

Communist activism In the 1930s, Danesh became active in the communist organisations of Bengal, especially the Bengal provincial organisation of the Communist Party of India. In 1945, he joined the All India Muslim League, but was later expelled for his participation in the continuing Tebagha movement, and re-arrested by the Bengal government in 1946. The party joined the multi-party United Front under the leadership of A. K. Fazlul Huq, which swept the provincial elections in East Bengal, defeating the ruling Muslim League. Danesh was elected to the East Bengal legislature. As vice-president of the NAP, Danesh opposed the six-point demand for autonomy for East Bengal put forth by the leader of the Awami League, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He criticized the six-points for autonomy as not addressing the issues and concerns of the peasants of East Bengal, and also claimed the existence of separatist designs aimed to separate East Pakistan from West Pakistan. Danesh's resignation was followed by the departure of many other leading NAP activists.

In post-independence Bangladesh, Danesh formed the Jatiya Ganamukti Union (JGU) in 1973. However, when all political parties except the ruling Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BAKSAL) of president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman were banned, he joined BAKSAL and became a member of the central committee. He revived the JGU in 1976 but abolished it again in 1980 to form the Ganatantrik Party. This party was amalgamated with the Jatiya Party of the then-president Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad in 1986.

Death and legacy Hajee Mohammad Danesh died on 28 June 1986, in Dhaka. The Agricultural Extension Training Institute was renamed in his honor as the Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University.