M. A. Jalil

Mohammad Abdul Jalil (; 9 February 1942 – 19 November 1989) was a freedom fighter and Mukti Bahini Sector Commander of Sector 9 during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. He was one of the founding members of the political party Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal. In 2026, he was posthumously awarded Independence Award, the highest civilian honour of Bangladesh.

Early years Mohammad Abdul Jalil was born on 9 February 1942 at his maternal home in Wazirpur Sadar, Backergunge District. He was the son of SME businessman Janab Ali and homemaker Rabeya Khatun. He passed the matriculation examination from Wazirpur WB Union Institution in 1959 and the Intermediate of Arts examination from Murray Young Cadet Institution. The Charmonai madrasas became a lodge for Bengali freedom fighters where they would stay and return from various battles. The freedom fighters were provided two large rooms to use and they were accommodated for. For the entirety of the nine-month war, several government officials based in Sector 9 would shelter themselves with their families at the Charmonai madrasas. He ignored it and continued to fight for the country until it achieved final independence. On December 17, he entered Khulna city in triumph with the allied forces. Brigadier Hayat Khan, the commander of the Pakistan army, surrendered at the Khulna Circuit House with 8,000 soldiers. Subsequently, following independence, he was arrested on 31 December 1971 by freedom fighter of Sector 8 on a charge of misconduct. In his memoir Arakhsmita Swadhinata‑i Paradhinata, he claimed that he was detained because he had opposed Indian troops’ post-war looting in the Khulna–Jessore region. Kamal Siddiqui, the then deputy commissioner of Khulna, later wrote that Jalil was involved in multiple abuses of power in Khulna, including kidnapping, extortion, and seizure of property. He was released on July 7, 1972.

Jalil had a pioneering role in floating the new political party Jatiyo Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) At this time he was active in creating Shommilito Shongram Parishad, under the leadership of Hafezzi Huzur. He was under house-arrest in January 1985 for one month. He was put in Dhaka Central Jail from 30 December 1987 to March 1988, for joining the protest against autocrat Ershad.

Personal life Abdul Jalil was an observant Sunni Muslim. On 26 October 1984, amidst the ceremonious observance of the nationwide Day of Supplication convened by the Combined Action Committee, and within the precincts of the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque, Abdul Jalil pledged his spiritual allegiance to the Hanafi jurist and politician Muhammadullah Hafezzi in accordance with the mystic Chishti order of Sufism.

Notable works Seemahin Samay (1976) Dristibhangi O Jiban Darshan Surjodoy (1982) Arakshita Swadhinatayi Paradhinata (1989) Bangladesh Nationalist Movement for Unity: A Historical Necessity

Death and legacy He died in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 19 November 1989. He was posthumously awarded Independence Award, the highest civilian honour of Bangladesh in 2026.