Syed Hasan Ali Chowdhury (; – 30 September 1981) was a

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

politician, minister and the former Nawab of Dhanbari. He served as a Minister for Commerce and Industry in

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 ...

after being elected in 1962 elections.

Early life

Chowdhury was born in to 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 ...

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 known as the Nawabs of Dhanbari. His father

Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury (29 December 1863 – 17 April 1929) was Dhanbari Nawab family, Nawab of Dhanbari of Tangail in East Bengal (modern day Bangladesh). He was one of the founders of Dhaka University. He was the first Muslim minister of un ...

was one of the founders of

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

and the first Muslim minister of

United Bengal United Bengal was a proposal to transform Bengal Presidency, Bengal Province into an undivided, sovereign state at the time of the Partition of India in 1947. It sought to prevent the Partition of Bengal (1947), division of Bengal on religious ...

Career

Chowdhury entered politics by joining

A. K. Fazlul Huq Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq (26 October 1873 – 27 April 1962), popularly known as Sher-e-Bangla, was a Bengalis, Bengali lawyer and politician who served as the first and longest Prime Minister of Bengal, prime minister of Bengal during the Britis ...

Krishak Sramik 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 ...

. He contested for the party in the 1937 Bengal legislative elections, winning in the Tangail North ( Madhupur- Gopalpur) constituency. In 1962, he was made Minister for Commerce and Industry of

. After the

Bangladesh Liberation War 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 ...

, he contested as a Bangladesh National Party candidate from the Tangail-1 ( Madhupur- Dhanbari) constituency in the second Bangladeshi parliamentary election held on 18 February 1979. He was the All Committee's Chair of the second Jatiyo Sangshad].

Personal life

Chowdhury married Syedani Razya Khatun, a daughter of Zamindar Ashraf Ali Khan Chowdhury of

Natore Natore is a city ("town" in some sources) in western Bangladesh. It is the headquarters of the Natore District. Its current administrator is Asha Khatun. The Narod river is passing through the center of the city with pollution from upstream industr ...

. After her death, he married her sister Syedani Lamya Asya.

Death and legacy

He died on 30 September 1981. After his death, his only child, a daughter named Syeda Ashiqua Akbar, was elected as the member of parliament following a by-election. His grandchildren are Almas Akbar, Abraruddin Ahmad, Asfia Akbar, Atqia Akbar and Afeefuddin Ahmed. His daughter Ashiqua Akbar succeeded him as the third Mutawalli of the Nawab Estate of Dhanbari in Tangail and of Jangalbari in Kishoreganj until her death on 25 April 2022. Before her death she appointed her younger son Afeefuddin Ahmed as the fourth and current Mutawalli of the Nawab Estates of Dhanbari and Jangalbari. He is a social worker and has been in the development sector for the last 15 years.

References

1910s births 1981 deaths Bangladesh Nationalist Party politicians People from Tangail District Politicians from Dhaka Division 2nd Jatiya Sangsad members Bogra family Bengal MLAs 1937–1945 Titular Nawabs of Bengal Provincial ministers of East Pakistan {{BangladeshNationalistParty-politician-stub