Azizuddin Ahmad (; 21 February 1897 – 10 July 1968) was a member of the 1st National Assembly of Pakistan as a representative of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

Early life and education

Azizuddin Ahmad was born on 21 February 1897 to 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 ...

family in the village of Madanpur, Daulatkhan in

Bhola Island Bhola Island (also called Dakhin Shahbazpur) is the largest island of Bangladesh with an area of and a coastline of . It accounts for most of the land area of Bhola District in Barisal Division. Geography It is situated at the mouth of the M ...

, then a part of the

Backergunge District Backergunge, Backergunje, Bakarganj, or Bakerganj is a former district of British Bengal, East Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was the southernmost district of the Dacca Division. The district was located in the swampy lowlands of the vast river delta ...

of the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. His father, Moulvi Abdul Latif, was an

Islamic scholar In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

. After receiving a first-class in his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

from

Barisal Zilla School Barishal Zilla School (), popularly known as BZS, is a public educational institution for boys, located in Barisal, Bangladesh. It was the first high school established in Barisal Division. Founded as Barisal English School on 23 December 1829 b ...

and was awarded the Gold Award from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

. He completed his

Intermediate of Arts Intermediate Arts (IA) is an academic diploma awarded by a high school or junior college after the completion of 12th grade or equivalent in some countries like India and Nepal. However, as for Nepal, the usage of IA, ISc, and the like has become o ...

from

Brojomohun College Govt. Brojomohun College, Barishal, commonly known as BM College, is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Bangladesh. It is located in the city of Barishal in south-western Bangladesh. History On June 14, 1889, Ashwini Kumar Dut ...

, and then enrolled at the

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

in the United Provinces. He became acquainted with

Mohammad Ali Jauhar Muhammad Ali Jawhar (10 December 18784 January 1931) was an Indian politician and activist of the Indian independence movement. He was a co-founder of the All-India Muslim League and Jamia Millia Islamia. Born into an anti-colonial family, Jaw ...

during his time in Aligarh. Ahmad enrolled at the

University of Dacca The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

following its establishment in 1921 and swiftly gained influence as a student leader and public speaker. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English literature and

Bachelor of Law A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the University of Dacca.

Career

Ahmad began his career at the Barisal Bar in 1927 and became established within a short space of time. He was the first Muslim to be elected as the secretary of the Barisal Bar Society and the first Muslim to be elected as its president. He became the founding secretary of the Barisal District

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties British India *All-India Muslim League, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan ** Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organization above **Unionist Muslim L ...

and later served as its president. Ahmad was also a 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 Dhaka on 2 March 1912. Its official language was Bengali. The party played an important rol ...

's working committee and associated with the

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...

. He was conferred the title of

Khan Bahadur Khan Bahadur – a compound of ''Khan'' "Leader" and ''Bahadur'' "Brave" – was an honorary title in British India conferred on Indian subjects who were adherents of Islam or Zoroastrianism. The equivalent title for Hindus, Buddhists and India ...

by the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

but rejected it due to being an independence activist. Ahmad was a member of the

Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was the supreme federal legislature of the Dominion of Pakistan. It was established in August 1947 with the primary tasks of framing Constitution of Pakistan of 1956, a constitution; and serving as an interim ...

and the first

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

. He was a member of the Standing Advisory Committee on Communication. In 1949, he represented Pakistan at the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

and at the Commonwealth Conference. He was appointed as a member of the Central Ministry of

Khawaja Nazimuddin Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin (19 July 1894 – 22 October 1964), also spelled Khwaja Nazimuddin, was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the second Governor-General of Pakistan from 1948 to 1951, and later as the second Prime Minister ...

in 1951, serving as the state minister of minority affairs until 1953. After the

suffered a major defeat against the

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...

at the

1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election Legislative elections were held in East Bengal between 8 and 12 March 1954, the first since Pakistan became an independent country in 1947. The opposition United Front led by the All-Pakistan Awami League and Krishak Sramik Party won a landslide ...

, Ahmad boycotted the assembly session. He had left the Muslim League to join the Awami Muslim League founded by

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (8 September 18925 December 1963) was an East Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 to 1957 and before that as the Prime Minister of Bengal from 1946 to ...

. In 1958, he was nominated to the

as an Awami Muslim League candidate in a by-election. He retired from politics following the

1958 Pakistani military coup The 1958 Pakistani military coup was the first military coup in Pakistan that took place on 27 October 1958. It resulted in the toppling of Iskander Ali Mirza, the president of Pakistan, by Muhammad Ayub Khan, the commander-in-chief of the Paki ...

and imposition of martial law. In 1961, he became a member of the Constitution Commission and Police Commission. Ahmad was conferred the

Sitara-i-Pakistan Nishan-e-Pakistan () is the Civil decorations of Pakistan, highest civilian award of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It is awarded to "those who have rendered services of highest distinction" to the national interest of Pakistan. Nis ...

in 1962. After serving in the Barisal Bar for over 30 years, he joined the Dacca High Court and Supreme Court in 1958.

Personal life

Ahmad was married and had nine sons and nine daughters. His eldest child, Nuruddin al-Masud (d. 1996), was a government secretary level officer. His second child, Naziruddin Ahmed (d. 2021), was the managing director of House Building Finance Corporation and executive of various banks. His third child, Nasiruddin (d. 1990), was a district commissioner.

Death

Ahmad died on 10 July 1968 in

References

Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954 1897 births 1968 deaths Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan All-India Muslim League politicians People from Bhola District Barishal Zilla School alumni Aligarh Muslim University alumni University of Dhaka alumni Federal ministers of Pakistan Brojomohun College alumni {{Pakistan-MNA-stub