Khan Bahadur Khan Bahadur – a compound of khan ('leader') and bahadur ('brave') – was a formal title of respect and honor, which was conferred exclusively on Muslim and other non-Hindu natives of British India. It was one degree higher than the title of ...

Abidur Reza Chowdhury ( bn, আবিদুর রেজা চৌধুরী; 1872 - 16 January 1961) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the ...

politician and philanthropist. He was one of the founding members of the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcon ...

. The present-day Cumilla District Board auditorium is named after him.

Early life and education

Chowdhury was born in 1872, to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the se ...

family known as the ''

Zamindar A zamindar (Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

s of Rupsha'' in the village of Rupsha-Singhergaon, Faridganj, Chandpur, part of the erstwhile

Tipperah District Meghna Division (Bengali: মেঘনা বিভাগ) is a proposed administrative division within Bangladesh for the north-western parts of the existing Chittagong Division, comprising Brahmanbaria, Comilla, Chandpur, Noakhali, Feni, and ...

of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

. His father was Umed Reza Chowdhury, the former Zamindar of Rupsha, and the ''zamindari'' was founded by their ancestor Ahmad Raja. Chowdhury's mother, Syeda Aftabunnesa Chowdhurani, was the daughter of Syed Badshah Alam of Rajganj in

Noakhali Noakhali ( bn, নোয়াখালী, , New canal), historically known as Bhulua ( bn, ভুলুয়া), is a district in southeastern Bangladesh, located in the Chittagong Division. It was established as district in 1821, and officia ...

. His maternal family were descendants of the Sufi military general Syed Sher Alam of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

, who was said to be a descendant of

Ali ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...

, the fourth

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

of Islam. His sister, Amina Khatun Chowdhurani, was married to

Arjumand Ali Arjumand Ali Chowdhury ( bn, আর্জুমন্দ আলী চৌধুরী; 1870–1930), better known as simply Arjumand Ali, was a blind Bengali author and poet during the British Raj. The customary style of Bengali literature had his ...

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climat ...

, the first Bengali Muslim novelist. Due to poor health, he could not get formal education in his childhood. He was therefore homeschooled, and grew a great interest in education.

Career

Chowdhury's political career began when he was elected as the chairman of the Chandpur Local Board in 1920. He was elected several times consecutively, and served as chairman of Chandpur Local Board until 1940. In 1930, he was elected as the chairman of the Tippera District Board, which covered

Brahmanbaria Brahmanbaria ( bn, ব্রাহ্মণবাড়িয়া, Brāhmaṇabāṛiẏā) is a city of Bangladesh and the capital of Brahmanbaria Sadar Upazila as well as Brahmanbaria District. It is the second largest city after Cumilla ...

, Chandpur and

Tippera Tripura State, also known as Hill Tipperah, was a princely state in India during the period of the British Raj and for some two years after the departure of the British. Its rulers belonged to the Manikya dynasty and until August ...

subdivisions. He again was elected several times consecutively in this position too, serving until 1959. On 16 May 1958, his silver jubilee was celebrated in

Comilla Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla wa ...

. Chowdhury was also a longtime chairman of the All-Bengal District Board Chairman Association, which covered all the districts of the

. He was invited to the

All India Muhammadan Educational Conference The All India Muhammadan Educational Conference was an organisation promoting modern, liberal education for the Muslim community in India. It was founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, also the founder of the Aligarh Muslim University. All India M ...

in 1906, which was hosted by the

Nawab of Dhaka The Nawab of Dhaka ( Bengali: "ঢাকার নবাব"), originally spelt in English Nawab of Dacca, was the title of the head of largest Muslim zamindar in British Bengal and Assam, based in present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh. The title of ''n ...

Khwaja Salimullah Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur (7 June 1871 – 16 January 1915) was the fourth Nawab of Dhaka and one of the leading Muslim politicians during the British rule in India. In 1906, the Muslim League was officially founded at the educatio ...

Shahbag Shahbag or Shahbagh (also Shahbaugh, bn, শাহবাগ, Shāhbāg, ) is a major neighbourhood and a police precinct or ''thana'' in Dhaka, the capital and largest city of Bangladesh. It is also a major public transport hub. It is a juncti ...

, and thus became a founding member of the

. Chowdhury was a longtime member of the

Bengal Provincial Muslim League The Bengal Provincial Muslim League (BPML) was the branch of the All India Muslim League in the British Indian province of Bengal. It was established in Dacca on 2 March 1912. Its official language was Bengali. The party played an important role i ...

's working committee and served as the president of its Tippera branch from 1935 to 1958. In 1937, he contested in the 1937 Bengal legislative elections as a Muslim League candidate and won a seat in the Chandpur West constituency. During the campaign in January, he hosted

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

in Comilla in front of 40 thousand people, and Jinnah was said to have stated that it was the largest reception that he attended in Bengal. He preserved his seat for a second term following the 1946 legislative elections. Among his other positions were the chairmanship of the Tippera School board and membership at the Dacca University Court. He established numerous schools including Abidur Reza Pilot Model High School in Faridganj and the Rupsha Primary School.

Awards

The

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

conferred the title of

on him during the

1930 New Year Honours The 1930 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 31 December 1929. The recipients of honour ...

. Chowdhury later renounced this award in 1946, to protest the treatment of South Asian Muslims by the colonial regime. The

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

issued him a

Tamgha-i-Khidmat Tamgha-i-Khidmat or Tamgha-e-Khidmat ( ur, تمغہِ خدمت, literally "medal of services") is a Civilian and military award of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In Pakistan Army, it is applicable to junior commissioned officers, in addition to ...

in 1954.

Death

Chowdhury died on 16 January 1961, in Rupsha.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Abidur Reza Bengal MLAs 1937–1945 Bengal MLAs 1946–1947 East Bengal MLAs 1947–1954 Pakistan Muslim League politicians All India Muslim League members People from Chandpur District Politicians from Chittagong Division 20th-century Bengalis 19th-century Bengalis 1872 births 1961 deaths