Fazlul Quader Chowdhury
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Fazlul Quader Chowdhury (; 1919–1973) 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 w ...
politician who served as the 5th speaker of the
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 ...
from
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 ...
. He belonged to
Ayub Khan Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...
's
Convention Muslim League The Convention Muslim League (CML) also called Pakistan Muslim League - Convention was a faction of the Pakistan Muslim League that split-off in 1962, in support of the military regime of the President of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan. The opposi ...
. He was also the
acting president An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or visiting abroad) or when the post is vacant (such as for death Death is the en ...
of Pakistan from time to time when Ayub Khan left the country. His elder brother Fazlul Kabir Chowdhury was the leader of the opposition in East Pakistan assembly. Quader was preceded by
Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan (M. T. Khan; March 1889 – 19 August 1963) was the Speaker of Pakistan's Constituent Assembly from 1948 to 1954 and National Assembly of Pakistan between 1962 and 1963. Early life Khan was born in March 1889 to the Benga ...
of
Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...
.


Early life

Chaudhury was born on 26 March 1919 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 ...
''
zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...
'' family in Gahira,
Raozan Raozan Upazila () is an upazila of Chattogram District, in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. It was established in August,1947. Geography Raozan has 63,375 households and a total area of 246.58 km2. The two main rivers are Karnaphuli an ...
, located in the
Chittagong District Chittagong District (), ( Chatgaiya: Sitang/Chatga), officially Chattogram District, is a district located in south-eastern Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chittagong Division. Due to its geographical location, Chittagong is classified as a s ...
of the Bengal Province. His father,
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 ...
Abdul Jabbar Chaudhry, was a police official in 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 ...
, and his mother, Begum Fatema Khatun Chaudhrani, was a housewife.


Education

Chaudhry graduated from Calcutta Presidency College and earned B.L degree from Calcutta University Law College. In 1941 he was elected general secretary of All-India Muslim Student Federation. In 1942 he was arrested due to the Indian Security Act of 1942. He joined the
All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslims, Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim L ...
and was elected the secretary of Chittagong district unit of the party in 1943.


Career

In 1947, Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry supported the United Bengal pact of
Sarat Bose Sarat Chandra Bose (6 September 1889 – 20 February 1950) was an Indian barrister and independence activist. Early life He was born to Janakinath Bose (father) and Prabhabati Devi in Cuttack, Odisha on 6 September 1889. The family origina ...
and
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 ...
, but when Suhrawardy agreed to form
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, he failed from presenting the matter to
Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 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 inception of Pa ...
. Chaudhury was elected member of the Pakistan National Assembly in 1962. In Ayub Khan's cabinet he served in the Ministry of Agriculture and Works, the Ministry of Education and Information and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. He played an important role in floating the
Convention Muslim League The Convention Muslim League (CML) also called Pakistan Muslim League - Convention was a faction of the Pakistan Muslim League that split-off in 1962, in support of the military regime of the President of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan. The opposi ...
(1962) and was elected a member of the central committee of the party. He facilitated the foundation of
University of Chittagong The University of Chittagong () also known as Chittagong University (CU), is a public research university located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It was established on 18 November 1966. It is the fifth oldest university of Bangladesh. Having an area ...
,
Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology Chittagong University of Engineering & Technology (), commonly referred to as CUET, is a public engineering and technological research university located in Raozan in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Established in 1968 as the Chittagong Engineering ...
,
Chittagong Medical College Chittagong Medical College, abbreviated as CMC is a public university, public medical school, medical college located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It is the second oldest and second largest medical educational institute and hospital in Bangladesh ...
, Chittagong Marine Academy, Chittagong Marine Fisheries and the Polytechnic Institute.


Personal life


Family

FQC's father, Abdul Jabbar Chaudhry, was a 12th-generation descendant of Sheikh Mohammed Baradam Lashkar, whose forefathers were from the ancient city of
Gour Gour may refer to: * Gour Brahmins, an Indian caste of Brahmins or landlords * Gour, an Indian caste of Muslims * Hari Singh Gour (1870-1949), Indian lawyer, educator, and writer * Joseph-Omer Gour (1893-1959), Canadian politician * Rimstone, a ...
. His mother, Fatema Khatun Chaudhrani, was the daughter of Siddique Ahmed Chowdhury (son of 18th-century poet Rahimunnessa). Chaudhry married Syeda Selima Begum, the second daughter of Syed Azizullah of the Syed family of South Charta (
Comilla District Comilla District, officially known as Cumilla District, () is a district located in southeastern Bangladesh. It lies about southeast of Dhaka. Comilla is bordered by Brahmanbaria District, Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj District, Narayanganj dis ...
) and Syeda Ammatul Ela Raziya Khatun. They had six children. Their eldest son,
Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury (13 March 1949 – 22 November 2015) was a Bangladeshi politician, minister and six-term member of Jatiya Sangsad and member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Standing Committee, who served as the adviser of ...
, was a six-time Bangladeshi parliamentarian and adviser to
Khaleda Zia Begum Khaleda Zia (born August–September 1945) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the prime minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and the second fema ...
. Their second son, Saifuddin Qadir Chaudhry, was a businessman and their third son, Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury, was also a parliamentarian. Their fourth son, Jamaluddin Qadir Chaudhry, is an industrialist. Their two daughters are Zobaida Quader Chaudhry and Hasina Quader Sinha.


Extended family

The family of Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry (FQC) is one of the most prominent and interconnected Muslim families of Bengal. Kafi Kamal, a senior reporter with the 
Manab Zamin ''The Daily '' ( lit. People's Land) is a major daily tabloid newspaper in Bangladesh, published from Dhaka in the Bengali language. It is the first and largest circulated Bengali tabloid daily in the world, with 19,000,000 monthly pageviews on ...
, details the extent of FQC's relations in his book ''Attiyotar Bondhone Rajneeti'' (Kinship Politics). FQC's eldest son, Salahuddin, was married to Farhat Quader Chowdhury. Farhat is the daughter of Alamgir Mohammad Adel (brother of Jahangir Mohammad Adel) and Laili Chowdhury (daughter of Lal Mia and niece of Mohan Mia, zamindars of Faridpur). Salahuddin and Farhat's son, Hummam, is married to the granddaughter of industrialist A.K Khan. FQC's second son, Saifuddin, is married to the paternal granddaughter of Muslim League leader
Abul Hashim Abul Hashim (25 January 1905 – 5 October 1974) was a Bangladeshi politician and Islamic thinker. Early life Abul Hashim was born on 25 January 1905 to a Bengali family of Muslim zamindars in the village of Kashiara (later renamed Kasemnagar ...
. Marxist-Leninist theorist
Badruddin Umar Badruddin Umar (; born 20 December 1931) is a Bangladeshi Marxist–Leninist theorist, political activist, historian, writer, intellectual and leader of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist–Leninist) (Umar). His father, Abul Hashim, w ...
is Saifuddin's uncle-in-law. FQC's third son, Giasuddin, is married to the daughter of former
Cabinet Secretary of Bangladesh The highest ranking civil servant is the Chief of the Cabinet Secretariat of the People's Republic of Bangladesh who is also the Cabinet Secretary. He is ex-officio Chairman of the Superior Selection Board and head of all civil services under th ...
and language movement activist Mujibul Huq. FQC's daughter, Hasina, is married to the younger brother of former BNP minister
Mizanur Rahman Sinha Mizanur Rahman Sinha is a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician, a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Munshiganj-2 constituency, and the managing director of The ACME Laboratories Ltd. Early life Sinha completed his M.A. from the U ...
. His brother, AKM Fazlul Kabir Chowdhury, was the leader of the opposition in the
East Pakistan Legislative Assembly The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...
. His son, Advocate ABM Fazle Rashid Chowdhury was married to former member of parliament and Jatiya Party presidium member Professor
Masuda M Rashid Chowdhury Masuda M Rashid Chowdhury (22 July 1951 – 13 September 2021) was a Jatiya Party (Ershad) politician and a Jatiya Sangsad member from a reserved seat during 2019–2021. Career Chowdhury was a faculty member at the department of sociology of ...
. His other son, A.B.M. Fazle Karim Chowdhury, is an
Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...
politician and the current member of parliament for
Raozan upazila Raozan Upazila () is an upazila of Chattogram District, in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. It was established in August,1947. Geography Raozan has 63,375 households and a total area of 246.58 km2. The two main rivers are Karnaphuli River ...
. FQC's sister was married to industrialist Hedayat Hossain Chowdhury, founder of
Karnaphuli Group Karnafuli Group is a Bangladeshi industrial conglomerate. The industries under this conglomerate include port, shipping and logistics, media, health care, real estate, automobiles, finance, and insurance. The Managing Director of the group is Sab ...
and
HRC Group HRC Group is a Bangladeshi industrial conglomerate. The industries under this conglomerate include media, agriproducts, tea, real estate, finance, and shipping. The Chairperson of the group is Sayeed Hossain Chowdhury, brother of Saber Hossain C ...
. His son,
Saber Hossain Chowdhury Saber Hossain Chowdhury, OF (born 10 September 1961) is a Bangladeshi politician and a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Dhaka-9 constituency during 2008–2024. He was the president of Inter-Parliamentary Union from 2014 to 2017. H ...
, is an Awami League politician and the current member of parliament for Dhaka-9. FQC's second-cousin was Awami League politician
A. B. M. Mohiuddin Chowdhury A. B. M. Mohiuddin Chowdhury (; 1 December 1944 – 15 December 2017) was a Bangladesh Awami League politician. He was the mayor of Chittagong, the second-largest city in Bangladesh, for three consecutive terms. Early life Chowdhury was born ...
, a former
mayor of Chittagong The Mayor of Chittagong is the highest administrative officer of Chattogram City Corporation. The Mayor's office manages all civic services, government property management, and most government agency operations in the city. In addition, the mayor ...
. Mohiuddin's paternal grandfather, Munawer Ali Chowdhury, was the elder brother of FQC's paternal grandfather Iqbal Ali Chowdhury (both sons of Bakshe Elahi Chowdhury). His wife's elder sister, Syeda Roqeya Akhtar, was married to former finance minister Murtaza Raza Choudhry, zamindar of Monakosha. Their son, Mainur Reza Chowdhury, was the 12th
Chief Justice of Bangladesh The chief justice of Bangladesh ( – ) is the highest-ranking judge of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and the head of the country's judiciary, overseeing both the Supreme Court and all subordinate courts. The chief justice is appointed by the ...
. FQC's other sister-in-law was Syeda Fatina Rahman, wife of Muslim League leader Fazlur Rahman. Their son,
Salman F Rahman Salman Fazlur Rahman, commonly known as Salman F Rahman (born 23 May 1951), is a Bangladeshi businessman and a former member of the Jatiya Sangsad representing Dhaka-1 constituency. He held the position of private industry and investment advis ...
, is the vice-chairman of
Beximco Group Bangladesh Export Import Company Limited (Bangla transliteration: বাংলাদেশ এক্সপোর্ট ইমপোর্ট কোম্পানি লিমিটেড), commonly known by its trade name BEXIMCO (Bangla: ব ...
and an advisor to Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...
.


Arrest and death

In 1973, after the independence of
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 ...
(former
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 ...
), he was jailed in Bangladesh for war crimes as collaborator of
Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...
in 1971. He died in
Dhaka Central Jail Dhaka Central Jail was the largest jail in Bangladesh, located in the old section of Dhaka, the country's capital. The jail has been used to house criminals as well as political prisoners, especially during the Language Movement of 1952, the 6 ...
on 17 July 1973.


Legacy

Chaudhury's elder son
Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury (13 March 1949 – 22 November 2015) was a Bangladeshi politician, minister and six-term member of Jatiya Sangsad and member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Standing Committee, who served as the adviser of ...
was a politician. He was elected member of the Bangladeshi Parliament six times. In October 2015, Supreme Court of Bangladesh upheld the death sentence awarded by the international crime tribunal for the alleged crime committed by Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury during the
Liberation War of Bangladesh 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 ...
in 1971. The death sentence was executed in early hours of 22 November 2015 inside
Dhaka Central Jail Dhaka Central Jail was the largest jail in Bangladesh, located in the old section of Dhaka, the country's capital. The jail has been used to house criminals as well as political prisoners, especially during the Language Movement of 1952, the 6 ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaudhry, Fazlul Qadir 1973 deaths 20th-century Bengalis Bangladeshi Muslims Speakers of the National Assembly of Pakistan 1919 births Acting presidents of Pakistan Bangladeshi politicians convicted of crimes People from Chittagong District Politicians from Chittagong Division Pakistani MNAs 1965–1969 Bangladeshi male criminals Prisoners and detainees of Bangladesh Bengal MLAs 1937–1945 Bengal MLAs 1946–1947 East Bengal MLAs 1947–1954