Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya (born 3 February 1948) is a senior

Bangladesh Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

politician who served as a

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad (), often simply referred to as Sangsad and also known as is the unicameral Legislature, legislative body of Bangladesh. The current parliament of Bangladesh contains 350 seats, including 50 seats reserved exclusively for w ...

member representing the Chandpur-2 constituency and a minister of several ministries. On 19 November 2021 he nominated for

Presidium member. He received the

Bir Bikram ''Bir Bikram'' () is a 2016 romantic comedy film directed by Milan Chams. This movie features Nepalese actors Dayahang Rai, Anoop Bikram Shahi, Deeya Pun, Arpan Thapa, Menuka Pun and Najir Hussain in the lead roles. The movie tells a story abo ...

, the third highest award for gallantry, for his role in the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

. He was the general secretary for the Dhaka chapter of his party until 2016. He won the

Independence Award The Independence Award (), formally known as the Independence Day Award or Swadhinata Padak (), is the highest state award given by the government of Bangladesh. Introduced in 1977 by President Ziaur Rahman, this award is bestowed upon Banglades ...

in 2023 for his contribution to the field of independence and liberation war.

Early life and education

Maya was born into a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

Chowdhury Chowdhury (also: Choudhuri, Chaudhuri, Choudhury, Chaudhri, Chaudhary) is a title of honour, usually hereditary, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an adaption from Sanskrit. During the Mughal rule, it was a title awarded to eminen ...

family in the village of Mohanpur Union in Matlab Uttar, Chandpur. His father's name was Ali Ahsan Miah and his mother was Musammat Akhtarunnesa. Maya received his bachelor's in law and two master's degrees in political science, and Islamic history and culture. During the

, Maya was a member of the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini, initially called the Mukti Fauj, also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was a big tent armed guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military personnel, paramilitary personnel and civilians during the Ba ...

under sector 2 led by

Khaled Mosharraf Khaled Mosharraf (; 9 November 1937 – 7 November 1975) was a two star officer in Bangladesh Army, who is known for his role in the Bangladesh Liberation War and the subsequent coups in post-independence Bangladesh. After deposing Khondakar ...

. He was the leader of the

Crack Platoon The Crack Platoon was a special commando team of the Mukti Bahini. which was formed in 1971, during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It was formed by young members of the Mukti Bahini, which carried out commando operations in Dhaka and its surr ...

. He was awarded the third highest award for gallantry,

, for his contributions during the war, led by

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), also known by the honorific Bangabandhu, was a Bangladeshi politician, revolutionary, statesman and activist who was the founding president of Bangladesh. As the leader of Bangl ...

. Maya was a leader or participant of the platoon of students and young men under Sector No 2 that conducted guerilla attacks in Dhaka. He participated in a 9 June 1971 evening grenade attack on the

Hotel Intercontinental InterContinental Hotels & Resorts by IHG is a British-American luxury hotel brand created in 1946 by Pan American World Airways, Pan Am founder Juan Trippe. It has been part of UK-based IHG Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group since 1 ...

Career

Young Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury in 1987

Maya was held at the

Dhaka Central Jail Dhaka Central Jail was the largest jail in Bangladesh, located in the old section of Dhaka, the country's capital. The jail has been used to house criminals as well as political prisoners, especially during the Language Movement of 1952, the 6 ...

on the Jail Killing Day in 1975. He served as the general secretary of the Dhaka Awami League since 1992, when the metropolitan unit was formed, until 2016, when it was split into north and south units. From 2012 to 2021, he has served as a member of central working committee of the party. Maya has been made presidium member of the Bangladesh Awami League on 19 November 2021. Maya served as a member of

from the Chandpur-2 constituency of the 7th parliament (1996–2001) and the 10th parliament (2014–2018). He was selected to be the state minister of Local Governments and Rural Development and Cooperatives during 1997–1998 and state minister of Shipping during 1998–2001. He was the chair of the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation in 2003 and 2004. He served as the cabinet minister of Disaster Management and Relief during 2014–2018. Maya was present in the event where

2004 Dhaka grenade attack The 2004 Dhaka grenade attack took place at an anti-terrorism rally organised by Awami League in Bangabandhu Avenue (now Shaheed Abrar Fahad Avenue) on 21 August 2004. The attack left 24 dead and more than 500 injured. The attack was carried ou ...

occurred in a rally held by the

. In November 2018, Awami League President

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

denied Maya's nomination for the

2018 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in Bangladesh on 30 December 2018 to elect 300 directly-elected members of the Jatiya Sangsad. The result was another landslide victory for the Awami League-led Grand Alliance (Bangladesh), Grand Alliance led by Sheik ...

representing the Chandpur-2 constituency.

Corruption charge and convictions

On 25 October 2007, Maya and four members of his family — his wife, two sons, and a daughter-in-law — were charged with corruption. Maya was charged with taking and not declaring money when he was the state minister for shipping. On 14 February 2008, Maya was convicted of the charges and he was sentenced to 13 years in jail, had property worth Tk 59 million confiscated, and was fined Tk 50 million. His family members were acquitted. Maya was out of the country during the trial and did not return until his party was back in power. On 20 May 2009, he surrendered before the Dhaka court and was taken to prison, but was released after he won an appeal of the case on 27 October 2010, when the judges acquitted him of the charges. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed an appeal of the case in 2011 before the Supreme Court, which reversed the appellate decision on 14 June 2015. Following an appeal by Maya, the charges were upheld by the supreme court of Bangladesh in April 2016. In October 2018, High Court once again acquitted Maya in that case

Personal life

Maya is married to Parveen Chowdhury and has two sons and a daughter. The elder son, Sajedul Hossain Chowdhury Dipu, is involved in active politics in Chandpur as well as serving as a member of the

Dhaka South Metropolitan committee. Dipu also previously served as member of the central executive committee of

Bangladesh Awami Jubo League The Bangladesh Awami Jubo League () commonly known as the Jubo League, is the first youth organization of Bangladesh founded by Sheikh Fazlul Haque Mani. It is the youth wing of Bangladesh Awami League. Jubo league's current chairman is Sheikh Fa ...

. In April 2008 Dipu was convicted of corruption charges and sentenced to three years in jail. The other son, Rashedul Hossain Chowdhury, is a director for the FBCCI panel of 2017–2019. The daughter, Rifat Sayeed, is married to Lieutenant Colonel (sacked) Tareque Sayeed who was convicted in the Narayanganj Seven murder case of 2014 and given death penalty on 17 January 2017 on charges of abduction, murder, concealing the bodies, conspiracy and destroying evidence.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Mofazzal Hossain Living people 1948 births People from Matlab Uttar Upazila Politicians from Chittagong Division Awami League politicians Recipients of the Bir Bikrom State ministers of local government, rural development and co-operatives State ministers of shipping Ministers of disaster management and relief of Bangladesh 7th Jatiya Sangsad members 10th Jatiya Sangsad members Mukti Bahini personnel Recipients of the Independence Award 12th Jatiya Sangsad members