Fahim Rubel Masud
| Fahim Rubel Masud Muktipada | |
|---|---|
| 1 First Secretary of Andhrapur | |
| Preceded by | Position created |
| Succeeded by | Aminul Akhter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 11, 1924 |
| Died | March 19, 1972 |
| Cause of death | Assassination |
| Citizenship | Andhrapuran |
Fahim Rubel Masud was an Andhrapuran soldier and statesman, known as the "Father of Andhrapuran Independence." A former soldier in the Daryan Army and secondary school teacher, Masud became an early leader of the Andhrapur Front for National Unity, an anti-colonial resistance group dedicated to achieving independence from Daryan rule. As a guerrilla fighter, he rose to leadership of anti-Daryan armed resistance, and became the leader of the Free Andhrapuri Forces upon its formation in 1955. When the Great War ended with independence for Andhrapur, Masud became the inaugural First Secretary, or head of government, of free Andhrapur. His tenure as First Secretary was characterized by tension with the Maharaj as Masud attempted to dismantle the traditional feudal system and pursue a left-wing agenda. On March 19, 1972, Masud was fatally shot by members of his bodyguard as part of a coup which brought Attorney-General Aminul Akther to power. It was later revealed that the palace had condoned the coup and Masud's execution.
Early Life
Fahim Rubel Masud was born to an ethnic Gouri family in Karimganj, a small town in rural Semaria, Darya. His parents Masuma and Sajib Masud had fled from Andhrapur to Darya as refugees in 1920 following the Magora pogrom, settling in Gouri refugee ("Returnee") communities in southern Darya. Masud, the third son, was raised in poverty cultivating rice and sweet potatoes, and his devout, high-caste Zindist parents expected him to become a tepasnanda clergyman. Instead, Masud attained exceptional grades, leading his primary school's headmaster to convince his parents to allow him to continue to secondary school. He attained his school leavers' certificate (equivalent to a high school diploma) in 1947, but was unable to gain acceptance to law school, as he had intended, and instead worked as a clerk in a law office in Bijawar.
Return to Andhrapur
In 1940, with the start of the Second Andhrapuri-Daryan War, Masud was conscripted into the Daryan Army, causing him to break off his engagement with a younger Returnee woman, Sadia Halq. Attaining the rank of Sergeant, Masud attempted to desert in 1941 alongside two other soldiers, but was captured and would have been executed if not for the intervention of his school friend Aminul Akther, a fellow Returnee and army lieutenant. With the end of the war in 1943, Returnees were expelled from Darya and sent to Andhrapur. Masud was discharged from the army and later became a history teacher at Southern Navsari Boys' School, a prestigious school for future colonial administrators.