Chowdhury Chowdhury 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 eminent people, while during British rule, the term was associate ...

Kazemuddin Ahmed Siddiky, (1876–1937) was 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 ...

aristocrat and politician during 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 ...

. A

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 ...

, he was one of the founders of the

University of Dacca The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently it ...

. He was President of the

Eastern Bengal and Assam Eastern Bengal and Assam was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India between 1905 and 1912. Headquartered in the city of Dacca, it covered territories in what are now Bangladesh, Northeast India and Northern West Bengal. H ...

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. ** Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the orga ...

between 1908 and 1912. He was also a member of the governing council of

Jagannath College Jagannath University (JnU) ( bn, জগন্নাথ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় ''Jagannātha biśbabidyālaẏa'', University Acrostic : জবি or JnU) is a state-funded public university at 9–10, Chittaranjan Avenue in S ...

. Siddiky was fluent in

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 ...

, English,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Social work

Siddiky was an influential social worker in East Bengal, supporting the development of roads, hospitals, dispensaries, water supply, irrigation and orphanages. Because of his social work, the British gifted him with the title 'Khan Bahadur'.

Family

Siddiky was born in 1876 into the landlord family of Baliadi hamlet in

Gazipur Gazipur ( bn, গাজীপুর) is a city in central Bangladesh. It is located in the Gazipur District. It is a major industrial city north of Dhaka. It is a hub for the textile industry in Bangladesh. Its other name is Joydebpur. Demogr ...

, central Bengal. He was a descendant of

Qutubuddin Koka Shaykh Khūbū ( fa, ), better known as Quṭb ad-Dīn Khān Kokah ( fa, ; 13 August 1569 – 20 May 1607) was the Mughal subahdar (provincial governor) of Bengal Subah during the reign of the emperor Jahangir. He was appointed governor of Bengal ...

, one of the early

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

s of

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. His brother's son Justice

Badruddin Ahmed Siddiky Badruddin Ahmed Siddiky (1915-1991) was a Bangladeshi Jurist and the Chief Justice of East Pakistan. Early life Siddiky was born on 4 January 1915 in Dhaka, East Bengal, British Raj. He was born in the Baliadi Zamindar family. He graduated from ...

was the Chief Justice of the High Court of Dacca and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million pe ...

's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. His grandson

Chowdhury Tanbir Ahmed Siddiky Chowdhury Tanbir Ahmed Siddiky (also spelled Chowdhury Tanvir Ahmed Siddiky) is a Bangladeshi politician. He is one of the founding members of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He served as the State Minister for Commerce in the cabinet of ...

was a leader of the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the maj ...

(BNP) and a former cabinet minister in Bangladesh. Another grandson Chowdhury Dabir Ahmed Siddiky was President of the

Dhaka Club The Dhaka Club (formerly spelled as Dacca Club) is the oldest recreation organisation and the largest of elite clubs in Dhaka. Originally it was an all-white association in British India. Description Dhaka club has been described as "an oasis of ...

. His great-grandson Chowdhury Irad Ahmed Siddiky was a candidate for the Mayor of Dhaka North in 2015.

References

19th-century Bengalis 20th-century Bengalis 19th-century Indian Muslims Social workers 1876 births 1937 deaths Bangladeshi people of Turkic descent {{india-bio-stub