Momtaz Begum (; born 5 May 1961) is a Bangladeshi folk singer and politician. She served as the member of parliament representing the Manikganj-2 constituency from 2014-2025 and Reserved Women's Seat-21 from 2009–2013. Referred to as "''The Music Queen''", she has recorded around 700 albums. Some of her notable works include ''Return Ticket'', ''Ashol Boithoki'', ''Murshider Talim'', and ''Ronger Bazar''. Begum won the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer three times for the films '' Nekabborer Mohaproyan'' (2014), '' Swatta'' (2017) and '' Maya: The Lost Mother'' (2019). In 2021, she earned a controversial honorary doctorate degree from Global Human Peace University in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, India.

Early life

Begum was born on 5 May 1961 in the village of Joymontop in Singair, in

Manikganj Manikganj is a town situated in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. It is the headquarters of Manikganj District and Manikganj Sadar Upazila. Manikganj is a relatively pollution-free town of Bangladesh. The recent urbanization and highway built joining ...

to Uzala Begum and Modhu Boyati, a

baul The Baul () are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism and Vaishnavism from different parts of Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitute bot ...

singer. She spent most of her childhood learning music from her father. She also took lessons from Razzak Dewan and Abdur Rashid Sorkar. Begum's initiation into music occurred early. She was a child when she accompanied her father, first as an audience member, and soon after a co-performer. The kind of music she performed like, Marfati, Boithoki, and Murshidi can roughly be categorized in the mystic songs genre.

Career

Initially Begum's released albums entirely financed by herself. After these became popular she was hired by producers to make further recordings, though her payment was usually a very low flat fee and the contract stipulated that this would have to be paid back if these did not sell well. However, her musical works are tended to sell out almost immediately and within a very short period, she found herself quite busy; often recording two songs per day. In an interview with the Bangladeshi daily '' Daily Star'' she stated: "I used to be handed down the lyrics and the music tracks minutes before and there used to be hardly any time for rehearsal and I had to record it at all in one go". Begum was elected as a member of parliament from Manikganj-2 in 2008, 2014 and 2018. But she lost national assembly election in 2024 from the same constituency.

Philanthropy

Begum established a 50-bed "Momtaz Eye Hospital" with support from Orbis International, in her native village Joymontop. The hospital was established in memory of her father, Modhu Boyati, who lost his eyesight as he could not afford a

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens (anatomy), lens of the eye that leads to a visual impairment, decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or ...

operation due to poverty.

Personal life

Begum resides in Mohakhali DOHS,

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 ...

Controversies

Involvement in killings of protesters during July Revolution

On 12 May 2025, she was arrested by the

Detective Branch The Detective Branch (; abbreviated as DB) is a specialized unit of the Bangladesh Police. It mostly deals with investigative activities and special operations in sensitive cases and places. The main task of the detectives of this unit is to colle ...

Bangladesh Police The Bangladesh Police () is the national law enforcement agency of Bangladesh, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs (Bangladesh), Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement of law and order with ...

from

Dhanmondi Dhanmondi () is an upscale residential and commercial neighbourhood and a Thanas of Bangladesh, thana (police jurisdiction) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, known for its central location, cultural vibrancy and being home to the country's founding president, ...

. She has been named in several cases filed over the deaths during the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

Breach of contract and cheating allegation

In India, four arrest warrants have been issued against Begum in different times regarding contract breach and cheating allegations. In December 2008, she received Rs. 1.4 million to appear at an event in

Murshidabad Murshidabad (), is a town in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. This town is the headquarters of Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river, Bhagirathi Riv ...

but did not attend. This led to a case filed against her in the

Chief Judicial Magistrate Court Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court or Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (''abbreviated as CJM Court'') is the second tier court in the criminal court structure in India. Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate is the apex body of the Criminal Judici ...

of Murshidabad, later reaching the Calcutta High Court. The latest arrest warrant against her was issued on 9 August 2023.

Fake university degree allegation

In 2021, Begum received an honorary doctorate degree from Global Human Peace University which is said to be located in

, India. But as per reports, the university did not have accreditation from India's University Grants Commission. According to ''The UGC Act-1956'', unaccredited universities can not confer or grant any degree. Indian law enforcement authorities have raided similar unaccredited universities several times while distributing fake honorary doctorate degrees for money. Momtaz Begum's degree achievement sparked criticism in the country. However, she denied the allegation and said the university did not seem 'fake' to her.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Momtaz Living people 1961 births Bangladeshi women musicians Bangladeshi folk singers 20th-century Bangladeshi women singers 20th-century Bangladeshi singers Best Female Playback Singer National Film Award (Bangladesh) winners 10th Jatiya Sangsad members 21st-century Bangladeshi women singers 21st-century Bangladeshi singers 11th Jatiya Sangsad members 21st-century Bangladeshi women politicians Women members of the Jatiya Sangsad