Nurul Huq Choudhury (; 1902–1987) was a Bangladeshi politician, minister and lawyer. He was the final

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 ...

of Balia, and served as a member 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 ...

for three consecutive terms.

Early life and education

Choudhury was born in 1902 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 the village of Little Balia in Thakurgaon, Dinajpur District,

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 ...

. The zamindari of Balia was founded by his grandfather, Meher Bakhsh Choudhury, who was succeeded by his father, Hekmatullah Choudhury. His cousin Rezwanul Haque Idu Chowdhury was a politician. Choudhury passed 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 Debiganj High School and 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 the

Carmichael College Carmichael College, Rangpur () is a public higher education institution in Bangladesh. Established in 1916 by the then Magistrate Collector of Rangpur, J.N. Gupta and was named after Lord Baron Carmichael. Currently, the college offers education ...

Rangpur Rangpur may refer to: Places In Bangladesh *Rangpur Division, one of the eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. *Rangpur District, district of Bangladesh in Rangpur Division. *Rangpur, Bangladesh, metropolis and a major city in northern ...

. After that, he completed his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

with Distinction from Calcutta Islamia College 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 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 ...

respectively.

Career

Choudhury began his career as a lawyer but later went into politics. He eventually became the co-president of the Dinajpur District Board for five years and contributed in the establishment of various charity clinics in the Thakurgaon and Panchagarh regions. Choudhury initially joined the Congress Party but later joined the

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 ...

. He served as the president of the Thakurgaon subdivisional Muslim League throughout 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 elected to the 2nd

in 1955, and served another two terms under the Basic Democracy system. Thakurgaon municipality was founded in 1 March 1958 with Nurul Huq Choudhury as its inaugural chairman. He served as the Minister of Central Public Works Department. Choudhury was the former parliamentary secretary of the

Ministry of Communications A Communications Ministry or Department of Communications is a ministry or other government agency charged with communication. Communications responsibilities include regulating telecommunications, postal services, broadcasting and print media. The ...

from 1962 to 1965 and

Ministry of Commerce A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

from 1965 to 1969. Through his initiative, many post offices and roads were set up and constructed in various thanas and unions in Thakurgaon subdivision. Choudhury also contributed towards the founding of the Thakurgaon Sugar Mill, Kachari Jame Mosque and Thakurgaon-Panchagarh-Tetulia highway. He also restarted the use of the Thakurgaon Airport for some time. Choudhury has also served as a long-time secretary of the Thakurgaon Government Girls High School.

Personal life

Choudhury was a

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

and completed the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

Death

Choudhury died in 1987.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choudhury, Nurul Huq 1987 deaths Politicians from East Pakistan People from Thakurgaon District 1902 births Bangladeshi Muslims Pakistani MNAs 1955–1958 Pakistani MNAs 1962–1965 Pakistani MNAs 1965–1969 Carmichael College alumni Maulana Azad College alumni University of Calcutta alumni