Dewan Taimur Raja Chowdhury (; 5 November 1917 – 14 December 1997) was a Bangladeshi politician, landowner and poet. He was the former member of parliament from Sylhet-7 as a

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (), popularly abbreviated as BNP (), is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. It was founded on 1 September 1978 by President of Bangladesh, President Ziaur Rahman, wit ...

politician.

Early life

Chowdhury was born on 5 November 1917 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 Rampasha,

Bishwanath Bishwanath () is an upazila of Sylhet District in Sylhet Division, Bangladesh. History One of the palaces of Gour Govinda, the last Hindu ruler of Sylhet, was situated in present-day Bishwanath. Its ruins are still intact and is locally referred ...

Sylhet District Sylhet District (), located in north-east Bangladesh, is one of the four districts in Sylhet Division, which contains Sylhet, the regional capital. History Sylhet District was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Benga ...

Assam Province Assam Province was a province of British India, created in 1912 by the partition of the Eastern Bengal and Assam Province. Its capital was in Shillong. The Assam territory was first separated from Bengal in 1874 as the 'North-East Frontier' ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(now

Sylhet Division Sylhet Division () is a northeastern Divisions of Bangladesh, division of Bangladesh, renowned for its lush tea gardens, rolling hills and vibrant cultural heritage. Covering an area of approximately 12,298 square kilometres, it is bordered by t ...

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 and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

). His father was

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 ...

Dewan Eklimur Raja Chowdhury ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...

and his mother was Meherjan Banu. His paternal grandfather was the renowned Bengali mystic

Hason Raja Dewan Hason Raja Chowdhury, or simply known as Hason Raja (; 21 December 1854 – 6 December 1922), was a Bengali mystic poet and songwriter from Sylhet, Bengal Presidency (now Bangladesh). His unique style of music made him one of the most p ...

. Chowdhury began his education in Rajaganj Primary School before enrolling at the Sylhet Government Alia Madrasah where he did

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

and also studied Bengali,

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

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 ...

and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

. He then moved on to study at Rasamay Memorial High School and Sylhet Government High School. He graduated from

Murari Chand College Murari Chand College () (usually referred to as MC College) was the first college in the Sylhet Division. It was established in 1892, making it the seventh oldest college in Bangladesh. Since then it has played an important role in the education ...

. As a student he was the secretary of Assam Provincial Muslim Students Federation.

Career

Chowdhury's career began with taking care of his father's various properties such as the Alijan Coal Mine in

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

, Rupamukhi and Sonamukhi in

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

, and

Moulvibazar Moulvibazar (), is a town in north-eastern Bangladesh just south of Sylhet. It is the capital of Moulvibazar Sadar Upazila and Moulvibazar District, and is located on the banks of the Manu River, Tripura, Manu River. History In 1771, Moulvi S ...

Tea Garden. From 1943 to 1946, Chowdhury was the honorary magistrate of Sylhet District. He went on to serve as vice chairman and then chairman of Sylhet Local Board. In

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

, he was elected to the

Assam Legislative Assembly The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral Assam Legislature, legislature of the List of states and union territories of India, Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Dispur, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present L ...

. He was involved in the

1947 Sylhet referendum The 1947 Sylhet referendum was held in Sylhet District of the Assam Province of British India to decide whether the district would remain in undivided Assam and therefore within the post-independence Dominion of India, or leave Assam for Ea ...

that saw Sylhet rejoin with

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

. Chowdhury joined the East Pakistan Muslim League and served as the president of Sylhet District Muslim League. In 1965, he was elected to East Pakistan Provincial Assembly. Chowdhury was made the president of Bangladesh Nationalist Party Sylhet unit in 1979. Chowdhury was elected to parliament from Sylhet-7 as a Bangladesh Nationalist Party candidate in 1979. He was a state minister in the cabinet of President

Ziaur Rahman Ziaur Rahman (19 January 193630 May 1981) was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the sixth president of Bangladesh from 1977 until Assassination of Ziaur Rahman, his assassination in 1981. One of the leading figures of t ...

. He wrote mystical poems and songs like his grandfather. He founded the Dewan Taimur Raja Trust with support from

Islami Bank Islami Bank PLC. (), abbreviated as IBBPLC, more commonly known as Islami Bank, is an Islamic banking company based in Bangladesh. It became incorporated on 13 March 1983 as a public limited company under the Companies Act 1913, and started opera ...

Personal life

Chowdhury's younger brother, Saifur Raja, was married to Shaila Ahsanullah of the

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

. She was a daughter of Nawabzada Khwaja Ahsanullah, the youngest son of Nawab Bahadur Sir Salimullah.

Death

Chowdhury died on 14 December 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Dewan Taimur Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians 1917 births 1997 deaths 2nd Jatiya Sangsad members Politicians from British India Pakistani politicians Sylhet Government Alia Madrasah alumni Assam MLAs 1946–1952