Syed Azizur Rahman (; 1901–1956), also known by his

daak naam Personal names in Bengali-speaking countries consist of one or several given names and a surname. The given is usually gender-specific. A name is usually cited in the " Western order" of "given name, surname", though the practise is neither a ...

Nawab Mia (), 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 and a former

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

of the

East Bengal 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 ...

Early life and education

Azizur Rahman was born in 1901 to an aristocratic

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

Batamara Batamara is a village in Barisal District in the Barisal Division of southern-central Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by popula ...

Bhola Island Bhola Island (also called Dakhin Shahbazpur) is the largest island of Bangladesh with an area of and a coastline of . It accounts for most of the land area of Bhola District in Barisal Division. Geography It is situated at the mouth of the M ...

, which was then a part of the

Backergunge District Backergunge, Backergunje, Bakarganj, or Bakerganj is a former district of British Bengal, East Pakistan and Bangladesh. It was the southernmost district of the Dacca Division. The district was located in the swampy lowlands of the vast river delta ...

of the

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'' was established by his grandfather, Syed Turab Ali, after initially being gifted 360 acres of land in Bhola by Kalaraja, a zamindar of Ulania. Ali was originally from Jaunpur, India and associated with its Pir family but was stationed as a police constable in the greater Barisal region. Azizur Rahman's father, Syed Altafur Rahman, died when Azizur Rahman was nine years old. He was then brought up at the Agarpur Miyan Bari in

Wazirpur Wazirpur () is a municipality in Barisal, Bangladesh Barisal ( or ; , ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative ...

, which was the home of his maternal grandfather. On his mother's side, Azizur Rahman was a descendant of

Pathan Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

general Shah Muhammad Ashraf Jahan Khan. He completed his studies at the

Brojomohun College Govt. Brojomohun College, Barishal, commonly known as BM College, is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Bangladesh. It is located in the city of Barishal in south-western Bangladesh. History On June 14, 1889, Ashwini Kumar Dut ...

Barisal Barisal ( or ; , ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal District and Barisal Divi ...

Career

Aged only eighteen, Azizur Rahman began his career at the Bakerganj District Board and served as a member of the local board for three consecutive decades. He contributed to developing the infrastructure of the district and particularly involved in social work. He contested for the Bhola South constituency as a

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 ...

politician at the

1937 Bengal Legislative Assembly election Legislative assembly elections for the Bengal Legislative Assembly were held in January 1937 as part of the 1937 Indian provincial elections. Seats The allocation of 250 seats in the assembly was based on the communal award. It is illustrated in ...

, losing to Tofayel Ahmad Chowdhury of the

Krishak Praja Party The Krishak Sramik Party (, ''Farmer Labourer Party'') was a major anti-feudal political party in the British Indian province of Bengal and later in the Dominion of Pakistan's East Bengal and East Pakistan provinces. It was founded in 1929 as th ...

. Azizur Rahman was elected to the

Bengal Legislative Assembly The Bengal Legislative Assembly () was the largest legislatures of British India, legislature in British India, serving as the lower chamber of the legislature of Bengal Presidency, Bengal (now Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal). It ...

as a

politician for Bhola South constituency after defeating his rival Hashem Ali Khan of the Krishak Praja Party at the

1946 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1946. Africa * French legislative election, November 1946 (French Equatorial Africa) * French legislative election, November 1946 (Guinea) * 1946–1947 Moyen-Congo Representative Council election * ...

. In the same year, he opened a langar khana in his own home, the Batamara Darogah Bari, where he distributed food for one month. Seeing his initiative, the government later opened langar khanas in different parts of the region. After the Partition of Bengal in 1947, he became a parliamentary secretary. He served as the

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

of the

for seven years.

Personal life

His younger brother, Syed Mahbubur Rahman, was a

Bangladesh government The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the le ...

secretary and the husband of politician

Razia Banu Razia Banu (24 June 1926 – 10 May 1998) was an Awami League politician in Bangladesh and the former Member of the Bangladesh Parliament of women's reserved seat. Early life and family Razia Banu was born in the District of Dacca in the erstw ...

. Azizur Rahman's elder daughter married Captain Kabiruddin Ahmad (former deputy director of ports and shipping, BIWTA), the third son of

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 ...

Hemayetuddin Ahmad.

Death

Azizur Rahman died in 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azizur Rahman, Syed 1901 births 1956 deaths Bengal MLAs 1946–1947 East Bengal MLAs 1947–1954 People from Borhanuddin Upazila Politicians from Bhola District People from Jaunpur district 20th-century Bengalis Politicians from British India Brojomohun College alumni