Death of Abdur Rauf exposes the decline of principled Left politics in Bangladesh

By Harsh Thakor* 

Abdur Rauf (Mukul), a senior leader of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist–Leninist) and member of the Politburo of the Central Committee, passed away on 5 February 2026 after a prolonged illness complicated by pneumonia. He was 76 years old.

Rauf was regarded within his party as a leading theoretical figure of the communist movement in Bangladesh, particularly following the death of Abdul Haque. His colleagues described him as principled, tenacious, and deeply committed to Marxist–Leninist philosophy, which he applied to political analysis through dialectical and historical materialism.

Abdur Rauf was born on 27 September 1951 in Farakpur village on the banks of the Padma River, in the Bheramara area of Kushtia district. His father, Abdur Rahim, worked for the railway, and his mother, Amena Khatun, was a homemaker. He was the eldest among five brothers, with four sisters. He passed his matriculation examination in 1967 from Daulatpur Mohsin School and his ISC examination in 1969 from BL College. While studying at Chittagong Medical College in 1969–70, he left his studies to become a full-time political activist.

His political formation took place against the backdrop of Cold War-era South Asia, marked by mass movements and anti-imperialist struggles. Within the communist movement, he aligned with the Communist Party of East Pakistan (M-L) under Abdul Haque's leadership during the Great International Debate that followed Khrushchev's rise and the subsequent Sino-Soviet split. He attained party membership in 1969 and was involved in the mass uprising of that year, including organising activity around minister Sabur Khan's residence in Khulna. In 1970–71, he was elected to the Khulna District Committee and participated in the revolutionary war of 1971.

On 26 November 1971, Rauf was wounded in battle by gunfire, resulting in permanent paralysis of both legs below the spine. Despite his injuries, he remained with the revolutionary forces until the area was lost, travelling by boat and stretcher. In 1972, he was sent to Kolkata for medical treatment. Upon returning to Bangladesh, he continued his political work using crutches, initially at the Khulna district level.

In subsequent years, Rauf played a significant role in internal ideological debates within the Bangladeshi communist movement. He opposed what his party characterised as the revisionist positions of other left formations regarding the Ziaur Rahman government after the political changes of 1975, and supported the party's characterisation of Bangladesh as a neo-colonial semi-feudal state. He was also involved in efforts to establish what his party considered a correct Marxist–Leninist line against the "Three Worlds Theory" advanced by the Communist Party of China.

At the 6th Party Congress in 1983, he contributed to the party's decision to move away from Mao Zedong Thought as its theoretical foundation and served on the Control Commission. At the Special Congress of 1986, he participated in the reassessment of Mao Zedong Thought alongside Abdul Haque. In the 1980 plenum, he was involved in unity discussions between factions of the Proletarian Party.

Following the 8th Party Congress in 1991, held in response to shifts in the international communist movement, Rauf was elected General Secretary of the 8th Central Committee during Abdul Haque's lifetime. After Abdul Haque's death in 1995, he continued to lead the party's ideological direction. At the 9th Party Congress in 1997, he contributed to the development of the party's military line, seeking to integrate armed struggle with mass movements, and continued as General Secretary in the 9th Central Committee. Though he did not hold the General Secretary post at the 10th and 11th Congresses in 2006 and 2023 due to his physical condition, he remained the party's principal theoretical figure until his death.

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*Freelance journalist