Amjad Khan Chowdhury (10 November 1937 – 8 July 2015) was a Bangladeshi Army officer and founder of Bangladesh conglomerate PRAN-RFL Group.

Early life and family

Chowdhury was born on 10 November 1937 to Ali Qasim Khan Chowdhury and Amatur Rahman. He belongs to the branch of the Chowdhury family of Natore. His father was an inspector general of police and a former general secretary of Ahmadiyya Jamaat Bengal. His grandfather, Khan Bahadur Abul Hashim Khan Chowdhery, was a former

Amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

of Ahmadiyya Jamaat Bengal who translated several Ahmadiyya texts into the English language and was buried at the Bahishti Maqbara in

Qadian Qadian (; ) is a town and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district, north-east of Amritsar, situated north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India. Qadian is the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movem ...

Education

He was educated at the Nabakumar Institution in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

. Chowdhury is a graduate of the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) is a military academy located nearby Kakul village in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Established in October 1947, it is the only service academy in Pakistan that trains cadets to serve as army of ...

and Australian Staff College.

Career

Chowdhury joined Pakistan Army in 1956 and was commissioned in 1959. He was posted in 29 Cavalry as a major during March 1971 and was sent to West Pakistan after the start of 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 joined the Bangladesh Army in 1973 after being repatriated from Pakistan, after the Independence of Bangladesh. He served as the GOC of

Comilla Cantonment Cumilla Cantonment () is a military station of the Bangladesh Army, located near Comilla, Bangladesh. History During the Second World War, a jungle warfare school was set up at Comilla by the 14th Indian Infantry Division, after the mid-1942 A ...

and Bogra Cantonment. He was also the Quarter Master General of Bangladesh Army. He retired from Bangladesh Army in 1981 with the rank of Major General. After retiring from the army, he founded PRAN-RFL Group. In 1981 he founded RFL (Rangpur Foundry Ltd) to make irrigation pump. In 1985 he founded

PRAN PRAN-RFL Group () is a Bangladeshi conglomerate, founded in 1981 by Amjad Khan Chowdhury. It is one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh Pran-RFL Group is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and employs over 1,00,000 people worldwide ...

to produce agro products. By 2016 PRAN exports to 130 countries and employees 80 thousand people directly. He was the founder president of Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) and Bangladesh Agro-Processors' Association. He also served as the former president of Underprivileged Children's Education Programme.

Death

Chowdhury died on 8 July 2015 in

Duke University Hospital Duke University Hospital is a 1062 -bed acute care facility and an academic tertiary care facility located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1930, it is the flagship teaching hospital for the Duke University Health Sys ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, United States from cardiac complications and diabetes. He was buried in Banani Army Graveyard, Dhaka. He left back his wife, Sabiha Amjad, and children Azar J. K. Chowdhury, Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, Sheira Haq and Uzma Chowdhury.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Amjad Khan Bangladesh Army generals 1937 births 2015 deaths Pakistan Military Academy alumni Bangladeshi chairpersons of corporations Chowdhuries of Natore Ahmadis