The first member of the Tungipara Sheikh family to come to
Bengal was Sheikh Abdul Awal Darwish. Sheikh Abdul Awal was born in a suburb of
Baghdad, the capital of
Iraq. During the early eighteenth century, Sheikh Abdul Awal had travelled to
Chittagong to pursue business and to promote
Islam in the region of Bengal, similar to that of the founders of other
Sheikh families of Bengal. Sheikh Abdul Awal had preached in Chittagong for many years, until he went to
Sonargaon for business and started preaching there. He married into the
Khandakar family of Kandirpar, Faridpur, later his son Sheikh Zahiruddin also married into this family. Many years later, Sheikh Zahiruddin moved to
Kolkata with his son Sheikh Jan Mahmud, since their wholesale business was based there. Sheikh Jan Mahmud's son, Sheikh Borhanuddin, continued to run that wholesale business and eventually shifted back to
East Bengal.
He married a girl from the
Kazi family of
Tungipara and permanently settled there. The Tungipara Sheikh family are related to a Sheikh family of Kolkata, a member of that family being Sheikh Assimuddin, the Kandirpar Sheikh family and a Sheikh family in Sonargaon as a result of these relocations.[7][8] Sheikh Borhanuddin had a son named Sheikh Ekramullah, who in turn had two sons: Sheikh Wasimuddin and Sheikh Mohammad Zakir. Sheikh Mohammad Zakir had three sons: Sheikh Abdul Majid, Sheikh Abdul Hamid, and Sheikh Abdul Rashid. Sheikh Abdul Hamid was the father of
Sheikh Lutfar Rahman while his wife,
Sayera Khatun, was the daughter of his father's brother, Sheikh Abdul Majid. Their son was
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who married his third-cousin
Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, great-granddaughter of Sheikh Wasimuddin (his great-grandfather Sheikh Zakir's brother). Sheikh Mujib and Begum Mujib's daughter,
Sheikh Hasina, married
M. A. Wazed in 1968.[7]
Family tree
Early ancestors
Sheikh Abdul Awal
Sheikh Zahiruddin
Sheikh Jan Mahmud
Sheikh Borhanuddin
Sheikh Taj Mahmud
Sheikh Ekramullah
Sheikh Qudratullah
Sheikh Mohammad Zakir
Sheikh Abdul Hamid
Sheikh Abdul Rashid
Sheikh Abdul Majid
See below
Family of Sheikh Lutfar Rahman and Sheikh Sayera Khatun
^Feroza Begum’s husband is the son of Sheikh Fatema Begum, her mother’s sister. Therefore they were first-cousins.
^Andaleeve Rahman Partho's maternal grandmother, Sheikh Asia Begum, was the sister of his wife’s paternal grandfather
Sheikh Abu Naser. Therefore they are second-cousins.
^Muntarin Chowdhury was married to Nixon Chowdhury until her death from falling from her apartment roof in 2014.
Family of Sheikh Amena Begum and Abdur Rab Serniabat
^Ifrah was married to Sheikh Tonmoy until their divorce
^Sheikh Shaira Rahman's paternal grandfather,
Sheikh Abu Naser was the brother of
Andaleeve Rahman's grandmother Sheikh Asia Begum. Therefore they are second-cousins.
Family of Khadijah Hossain Lily and ATM Syed Hossain
^Parveen Jamal Rosy’s mother was the youngest sister of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of her husband
Sheikh Jamal. Therefore they were first-cousins.
Extended family & in-laws
Qudratullah Sheikh: An early ancestor of the Sheikh family and Zamindar of
Faridpur Mahakumar, he was a son of Sheikh Borhanuddin. His nickname was Kadu Sheikh.
Sheikh Abdul Jabbar: Son of Qudratullah Sheikh, father of Sheikh Nurul Haque, grandfather of
Sheikh Selim and
Sheikh Mani.
Sheikh Mosharraf Hossain (d. 1991): He was a son of Sheikh Abdul Rashid, a first-cousin of
Sheikh Lutfar Rahman, and an uncle of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was given the title of
Khan Sahib by the
British Raj. He was a member of the legislative assembly of Pakistan in 1965 and 1970. . During the
Bangladesh Liberation War, he was accused of collaborating with the
Pakistan Army. After independence he was arrested on charges of collaboration but later freed due to his nephew Sheikh Mujib's intervention. He died on 12 July 1991.
Sheikh Kamrul Islam Bitu: Son of Sheikh Mosharraf Hossain, trustee of Khulna Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah University & former
Bangladesh Chhatra League leader.
Sheikh Nadir Hossain: Son of Sheikh Mosharraf Hossain and chairman of
Milkvita Bangladesh.[11]
Sheikh Shahidul Islam: Son of Sheikh Mohammad Musa & Sheikh Zinnatunessa Begum, nephew of both
Sheikh Mujib &
Begum Mujib, and first-cousin of
Sheikh Hasina. He served as the Minister for Education, Public Works, Youth and Sports from 1984 to 1990 and is a former member of parliament from
Madaripur-3.
Kazi Zafarullah: Senior
Awami League politician and former member of parliament from
Faridpur-4. One of the early ancestors of the Sheikh family, Sheikh Borhanuddin, married a woman from the
Kazi family of Tungipara, making them cousins of the Sheikhs. His father, Kazi Mahbubullah, was a cousin and close friend of
Sheikh Mujib, while Zafarullah himself was a cousin and close friend of
Sheikh Kamal. He is married to
Nilufer Zafarullah, chairman of
Midland Bank Limited and former member of parliament from
Faridpur-4.
Shahid Serniabat: He was the nephew of
Abdur Rab Serniabat. He was killed along with his uncle and cousins in 1975.[12]
Sheikh Akram Hossain: Brother of
Begum Mujib, cousin of
Sheikh Mujib, and maternal uncle of
Sheikh Hasina. He was the Acting President of Tungipara Upazila Awami League. In 2008’s election he submitted the nomination paper on behalf of Sheikh Hasina (Gopalganj-3). Akram and Sheikh Hasina were both arrested in Ershad’s regime at Sudha Sadan Dhanmondi. Akram died in 2009, leaving behind his children: Sheikh Milly, Sheikh Molly, Sheikh Hera, and Sheikh Shafin.
Mominul Haque Khoka: He was a first-cousin of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (his mother was the sister of
Sheikh Lutfar Rahman) and a freedom fighter. Khoka died in 2014 at the age of 81 in
Singapore, leaving behind a son and a daughter.[13]
Farhana Haque: Daughter of Mominul Haque Khoka and a Bangladeshi businesswoman. She is a director of
Bank Asia Limited and owner of DHS Motors (distributor of Honda vehicles in Bangladesh). She is married to businessman Romo Rouf Chowdhury (son of A. Rouf Chowdhury, the founder of
Rangs Group).[14]
The first member of the Tungipara Sheikh family to come to
Bengal was Sheikh Abdul Awal Darwish. Sheikh Abdul Awal was born in a suburb of
Baghdad, the capital of
Iraq. During the early eighteenth century, Sheikh Abdul Awal had travelled to
Chittagong to pursue business and to promote
Islam in the region of Bengal, similar to that of the founders of other
Sheikh families of Bengal. Sheikh Abdul Awal had preached in Chittagong for many years, until he went to
Sonargaon for business and started preaching there. He married into the
Khandakar family of Kandirpar, Faridpur, later his son Sheikh Zahiruddin also married into this family. Many years later, Sheikh Zahiruddin moved to
Kolkata with his son Sheikh Jan Mahmud, since their wholesale business was based there. Sheikh Jan Mahmud's son, Sheikh Borhanuddin, continued to run that wholesale business and eventually shifted back to
East Bengal.
He married a girl from the
Kazi family of
Tungipara and permanently settled there. The Tungipara Sheikh family are related to a Sheikh family of Kolkata, a member of that family being Sheikh Assimuddin, the Kandirpar Sheikh family and a Sheikh family in Sonargaon as a result of these relocations.[7][8] Sheikh Borhanuddin had a son named Sheikh Ekramullah, who in turn had two sons: Sheikh Wasimuddin and Sheikh Mohammad Zakir. Sheikh Mohammad Zakir had three sons: Sheikh Abdul Majid, Sheikh Abdul Hamid, and Sheikh Abdul Rashid. Sheikh Abdul Hamid was the father of
Sheikh Lutfar Rahman while his wife,
Sayera Khatun, was the daughter of his father's brother, Sheikh Abdul Majid. Their son was
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who married his third-cousin
Sheikh Fazilatunnesa Mujib, great-granddaughter of Sheikh Wasimuddin (his great-grandfather Sheikh Zakir's brother). Sheikh Mujib and Begum Mujib's daughter,
Sheikh Hasina, married
M. A. Wazed in 1968.[7]
Family tree
Early ancestors
Sheikh Abdul Awal
Sheikh Zahiruddin
Sheikh Jan Mahmud
Sheikh Borhanuddin
Sheikh Taj Mahmud
Sheikh Ekramullah
Sheikh Qudratullah
Sheikh Mohammad Zakir
Sheikh Abdul Hamid
Sheikh Abdul Rashid
Sheikh Abdul Majid
See below
Family of Sheikh Lutfar Rahman and Sheikh Sayera Khatun
^Feroza Begum’s husband is the son of Sheikh Fatema Begum, her mother’s sister. Therefore they were first-cousins.
^Andaleeve Rahman Partho's maternal grandmother, Sheikh Asia Begum, was the sister of his wife’s paternal grandfather
Sheikh Abu Naser. Therefore they are second-cousins.
^Muntarin Chowdhury was married to Nixon Chowdhury until her death from falling from her apartment roof in 2014.
Family of Sheikh Amena Begum and Abdur Rab Serniabat
^Ifrah was married to Sheikh Tonmoy until their divorce
^Sheikh Shaira Rahman's paternal grandfather,
Sheikh Abu Naser was the brother of
Andaleeve Rahman's grandmother Sheikh Asia Begum. Therefore they are second-cousins.
Family of Khadijah Hossain Lily and ATM Syed Hossain
^Parveen Jamal Rosy’s mother was the youngest sister of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of her husband
Sheikh Jamal. Therefore they were first-cousins.
Extended family & in-laws
Qudratullah Sheikh: An early ancestor of the Sheikh family and Zamindar of
Faridpur Mahakumar, he was a son of Sheikh Borhanuddin. His nickname was Kadu Sheikh.
Sheikh Abdul Jabbar: Son of Qudratullah Sheikh, father of Sheikh Nurul Haque, grandfather of
Sheikh Selim and
Sheikh Mani.
Sheikh Mosharraf Hossain (d. 1991): He was a son of Sheikh Abdul Rashid, a first-cousin of
Sheikh Lutfar Rahman, and an uncle of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He was given the title of
Khan Sahib by the
British Raj. He was a member of the legislative assembly of Pakistan in 1965 and 1970. . During the
Bangladesh Liberation War, he was accused of collaborating with the
Pakistan Army. After independence he was arrested on charges of collaboration but later freed due to his nephew Sheikh Mujib's intervention. He died on 12 July 1991.
Sheikh Kamrul Islam Bitu: Son of Sheikh Mosharraf Hossain, trustee of Khulna Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah University & former
Bangladesh Chhatra League leader.
Sheikh Nadir Hossain: Son of Sheikh Mosharraf Hossain and chairman of
Milkvita Bangladesh.[11]
Sheikh Shahidul Islam: Son of Sheikh Mohammad Musa & Sheikh Zinnatunessa Begum, nephew of both
Sheikh Mujib &
Begum Mujib, and first-cousin of
Sheikh Hasina. He served as the Minister for Education, Public Works, Youth and Sports from 1984 to 1990 and is a former member of parliament from
Madaripur-3.
Kazi Zafarullah: Senior
Awami League politician and former member of parliament from
Faridpur-4. One of the early ancestors of the Sheikh family, Sheikh Borhanuddin, married a woman from the
Kazi family of Tungipara, making them cousins of the Sheikhs. His father, Kazi Mahbubullah, was a cousin and close friend of
Sheikh Mujib, while Zafarullah himself was a cousin and close friend of
Sheikh Kamal. He is married to
Nilufer Zafarullah, chairman of
Midland Bank Limited and former member of parliament from
Faridpur-4.
Shahid Serniabat: He was the nephew of
Abdur Rab Serniabat. He was killed along with his uncle and cousins in 1975.[12]
Sheikh Akram Hossain: Brother of
Begum Mujib, cousin of
Sheikh Mujib, and maternal uncle of
Sheikh Hasina. He was the Acting President of Tungipara Upazila Awami League. In 2008’s election he submitted the nomination paper on behalf of Sheikh Hasina (Gopalganj-3). Akram and Sheikh Hasina were both arrested in Ershad’s regime at Sudha Sadan Dhanmondi. Akram died in 2009, leaving behind his children: Sheikh Milly, Sheikh Molly, Sheikh Hera, and Sheikh Shafin.
Mominul Haque Khoka: He was a first-cousin of
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (his mother was the sister of
Sheikh Lutfar Rahman) and a freedom fighter. Khoka died in 2014 at the age of 81 in
Singapore, leaving behind a son and a daughter.[13]
Farhana Haque: Daughter of Mominul Haque Khoka and a Bangladeshi businesswoman. She is a director of
Bank Asia Limited and owner of DHS Motors (distributor of Honda vehicles in Bangladesh). She is married to businessman Romo Rouf Chowdhury (son of A. Rouf Chowdhury, the founder of
Rangs Group).[14]