Yusuf Ali Chowdhury (1905 – 26 November 1971), known as Mohan Mia, was a Bengali-Pakistani politician.

Early life

Chowdhury was born in 1905 in Faridpur,

Faridpur District Faridpur District ( bn, ফরিদপুর জেলা) is a district in south-central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division. It is bounded by the Padma River to its northeast. The district was named after Farīd-ud-Dīn Masʿūd, ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Q ...

. His father, Chowdhury Moyezuddin Biwshash, was a

zamindar A zamindar (Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

. He studied till class ten in Ishan School, Faridpur. He was married to Ferdousi Begum.

Career

Chowdhury became involved in politics during his student life. He was able to lift the ban on cattle slaughter in Faridpur by the British Raj. He served 17 years as the Chairman of Faridpur District Board. He was an important organiser of the

Pakistan movement The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the p ...

and

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcon ...

. In 1937 he was elected to the

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

. From 1941 to 1953 he served as the President of the Faridpur district unit of Muslim League. From 1941 to 1947 he was part of the Bengal Muslim League working committee. From 1952 to 1947 he served as the General Secretary of the East Bengal Muslim League. He was expelled from the league and joined the

Krishak Sramik Party The Krishak Sramik Party ( bn, কৃষক শ্রমিক পার্টি, ''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 ...

. In 1950 he was elected to the Pakistan Constituent Assembly. In 1954 he was elected to the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly. He served as the Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Jute, and the Minister of Forest in the A K Fazlul Haq government. He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1955. He helped launch the

Krishak Praja Party The Krishak Sramik Party ( bn, কৃষক শ্রমিক পার্টি, ''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 an ...

under A K Fazlul Haq in 1957. He helped the formation of National Democratic Front and

Pakistan Democratic Movement The Pakistan Democratic Movement ( ur, پاکستان ڈیموکریٹک موومنٹ), or PDM, is a coalition of political parties in Pakistan. It was founded in September 2020 as a movement against then prime minister Imran Khan, accusing hi ...

. He joined the Pakistan Democratic Party and joined it. It was led by

Nurul Amin Nurul Amin ( bn, নুরুল আমিন; ur, ; 15 July 1893 – 2 October 1974) was a prominent Pakistani leader, and a jurist who served as the eighth prime minister of Pakistan and as the first and only vice president of Pakistan. H ...

. He served as the vice president of Pakistan Democratic Party. He helped the formation of Democratic Action Committee by President

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced ...

. He lost the 1970 Pakistan General Election to a Bangladesh Awami League candidate. After the start of

Bangladesh Liberation war The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali ...

in 1971 he announced his support to the Pakistan government.

Death and legacy

Chowdhury went to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...

, West Pakistan on the orders of Nurul Amin on 18 November 1971. He died on 26 November. His son,

Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yousuf (1940 – 9 December 2020) was a Bangladeshi politician who served as government minister. He was a leader of Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Family Yusuf was born into a Bengali Zamindar family from Faridpur district ...

, served in as the Minister of Food and Disaster Management in the

Bangladesh Nationalist Party The Bangladesh Nationalist Party ( bn, বাংলাদেশ জাতীয়তাবাদী দল, Bangladesh Jātīyotābādī Dol; BNP) is a centre-right to right-wing nationalist, political party in Bangladesh and one of the maj ...

government. His another son,

Chowdhury Akmal Ibne Yusuf Chowdhury Akmal Ibne Yusuf (1945/1946 – 19 December 2021) was a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician and served as a Jatiya Sangsad member twice representing the Faridpur-4 Faridpur-4 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangs ...

, served as a

Jatiya Sangsad The Jatiya Sangsad ( bn, জাতীয় সংসদ, lit=National Parliament, translit=Jatiyô Sôngsôd), often referred to simply as the ''Sangsad'' or JS and also known as the House of the Nation, is the supreme legislative body of ...

member representing the

Faridpur-4 Faridpur-4 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2014 by independent politician Mujibur Rahman Chowdhury. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Bhanga and Charbhadrasan upazilas, an ...

constituency during 2001–2006. Chowdhury's opposition to the break-up of Pakistan cost him popularity. Bangladesh newspaper, '' The Daily Star'' commented:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Yusuf Ali 1905 births 1971 deaths Bengali Muslims Bangladeshi politicians Pakistan Movement activists People of British India Pakistani MNAs 1955–1958 20th-century Bengalis Bengal MLAs 1937–1945