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{{Short description|Pakistani Bengali politician from Sylhet}}
{{Other uses|Abdul Matin Chowdhury (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[Moulvi]]
| name = Abdul Matin Chaudhury
| native_name = আব্দুল মতিন চৌধুরী<br/>عبدالمتین چودھری
| image = Abdul Matin Chaudhury.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Chaudhury in 1938
| alma_mater = [[Aligarh Muslim University]]<br>[[Surendranath College|Ripon College]]
| nickname = Kola Mia
| birth_name =
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1948|12|28|1895|2|13}}
| birth_date = 13 February 1895
| birth_place = [[Bhadeshwar Union|Bhadeshwar]], [[Golapganj Upazila|Golapganj]], [[Sylhet District]], [[Assam Province|Assam]]
| office = Member of the 1st [[National Assembly of Pakistan]]
| predecessor = ''Post established''
| successor =
| term_start = 1947
| term_end = 1948
| constituency =
| office1 = Member of the [[Assam Legislative Assembly]]
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 =
| prime_minister1 = [[Muhammed Saadulah|Muhammad Saadulah]]
| term_start1 = 1937
| term_end1 = 1947
| constituency1 = [[Sylhet-6|Sylhet Sadar (East)]]
| office2 = Deputy President of [[Central Legislative Assembly|Indian Legislative Assembly]]
| term_start2 = March 1933
| term_end2 = 1934
| predecessor2 = [[R. K. Shanmukham Chetty]]
| successor2 = [[Akhil Chandra Datta]]
| office3 = Member of [[Central Legislative Assembly]]
| term_start3 = 1926
| term_end3 = 1934
| predecessor3 = [[Ahmad Ali Khan (politician)|Ahmad Ali Khan]]
| successor3 = [[Abdur Rasheed Choudhury]]
| constituency3 = [[Assam Province|Assam (Muslim)]]
| children =
| death_place = [[Karachi]], [[Sind Province (1936–1955)|Sind]], [[Dominion of Pakistan|Pakistan]]
| occupation = Politician and journalist
| father = Abdul Karim Chaudhary
| mother = Habibunnesa Khatun
| resting_place_coordinates = [[Mewa Shah Graveyard]], [[Karachi]]
| party = [[All-India Muslim League]] (till 1947)<br/>[[Muslim League (Pakistan)]] (1947-1948)
}}
'''Abdul Matin Chaudhury''' ({{langx|bn|আব্দুল মতিন চৌধুরী}}; 1895–1948), also known by his [[daak naam]] '''Kola Mia''' ({{langx|bn|কলা মিঞা}}); and the [[epithet]] '''Jinnar Daain Haat''' (lit. ''[[Muhammad Ali Jinnah|Jinnah]]'s right hand''); (also spelled '''Abdul Matin Chaudhary''' in English{{efn|This article uses the spelling ''Chaudhury'' for consistency.}}) was a [[Pakistani]] Bengali trade unionist, journalist, politician, and a member of the Pakistan Constituent Assembly as a representative of [[East Bengal]].<ref name=1948report>{{cite book |title=Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Debates: Official Report |date=1948 |publisher=Manager of Publications. |page=44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bwpow0NJFbcC&q=Abdul+Matin+Chaudhary |language=en}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Chaudhury was born on 13 February 1895 to a [[Bengali Muslim]] family in the [[mahalla]] of Fatehkhani in Bhadeswar pargana, [[Golapganj Upazila]], [[Sylhet District]], in the then Assam province. His father, Abdul Karim Chaudhury, was a [[sub-inspector of police]] and his mother, Habibunnesa Khatun, was a housewife. The title of [[Chaudhury]] was awarded to his ancestor Dost Mohammed by the [[Mughal emperor]] [[Aurangzeb]].<ref name=Shibly/>{{rp|14}}

He completed his secondary education at the Habiganj Government High School where he gained a first division in 1912. He then proceeded to study at the Murari Chand College in Sylhet where he completed his Intermediate Arts examination in 1914. In 1916, Chaudhury graduated from the [[Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College]] in Aligarh (later [[Aligarh Muslim University]]) He also completed his [[Bachelor of Law]] from [[Ripon College, Calcutta]] in 1919.<ref name="Shibly">{{cite book |last1=Shibly |first1=Atful Hye |title=Abdul Matin Chaudhury (1895-1948) Trusted Lieutenant of Mohammad Ali Jinnah |date=2011 |publisher=Juned A. Choudhury |location=Dhaka |isbn=978-984-33-2323-1 |pages=1–156 |edition=First}}</ref>{{rp|18–20}}<ref name=":0" />

== Political career ==
Chaudhury practiced law for a short time in 1920–1 but soon became active in politics by joining the [[Khilafat Movement]] in 1921. In 1923, he joined the [[Swaraj Party]] and, prompted by [[Subhas Chandra Bose]], began to organize its members in Sylhet. However, following the death of the party's founder [[Chittaranjan Das]] in 1925, Chaudhury moved his affiliation to the [[Indian Congress Party]] led by [[Mahatma Gandhi]].<ref name=Shibly/>{{rp|21–27}}

From 1925 to 1937, Chaudhury was an elected member of the [[Central Legislative Assembly|Indian Legislative Assembly]] for [[Colonial Assam|Assam]]. He soon aligned with [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]]'s grouping of [[Independent politician|independents]]. In 1930, he argued that there should be legislation to set minimum wages and reduce working hours for railway workers and other tradespeople.<ref name=Shibly/>{{rp|29–32}} In 1930–31, he was a member of the Drugs Enquiry Committee headed by [[Ram Nath Chopra]] which examined the need for imports, control and regulation for pharmaceuticals.<ref name=bio>{{cite journal|journal=Indian Journal of History of Science| volume=43| issue=2| year=2008| pages=231–264 |title=Ram Nath Chopra (1882–1973) – A visionary in Pharmaceutical science| url=http://www.insa.nic.in/writereaddata/UpLoadedFiles/IJHS/Vol43_2_4_HSingh.pdf|author=Singh, Harkishan}}</ref> One of its conclusions was that the quality of [[quinine]], which was used to prevent malaria, was often very poor.<ref>{{cite book |isbn=9789392099229 |title=The Truth Pill: The Myth of Drug Regulation in India |last1=Thakur |first1=Dinesh Singh |last2=Thikkavarapu |first2=Prashant Reddy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BhCMEAAAQBAJ&dq=Abdul+Matin+Chaudhury&pg=PT55 |date=10 October 2022 |publisher=Simon and Schuster }}</ref>

Jinnah and the [[Simon Commission]] had recommended that constitutional reforms in India be discussed with the British government and three [[Round Table Conferences (India)|Round Table Conferences]] were held. Chaudhury attended the first of these in London (November 1930 – January 1931) as Private Secretary to [[Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hydari|Sir Muhammad Akbar Hydari]], who represented [[Hyderabad]].<ref name=Shibly/>{{rp|42–43}} Jinnah remained in England until 1934 but in this period Chaudhury maintained an extensive correspondence with him and urged him to return to India. Chaudhury realised that he could encourage this by attempting to unify the political factions within the [[All-India Muslim League]]. In this, he was successful and in 1933 he became its Vice-President, while Jinnah became President in 1934.<ref name=Shibly/>{{rp|44–52}}

In 1933, Chaudhury was elected Deputy President of the Assembly (a post equivalent to deputy [[Speaker (politics)|speaker]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Kashyap|first=Subhash|title=History of the Parliament of India|year=1994|publisher=Under the auspices of Centre for Policy Research, Shipra |isbn=9788185402345|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6KKbAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> In 1934, he attended the [[1934 Centenary of Melbourne|Melbourne Centenary]] in Australia as the sole representative of the Indian Branch of the [[Commonwealth Parliamentary Association|Empire Parliamentary Association]].<ref name=Shibly/>{{rp|37-38}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Personal |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/85743886 |work=Daily News |date=24 October 1934 |location=Perth, W.A. |page=5}}</ref> He travelled by train and boat and wrote a diary which has been published.<ref>{{cite book |title=Abdul Matin Chaudhury |last=Ahmad |first=Syed Ali |contributor-last=Chaudhury |contributor-first=A. M. |contribution=Appendix 4 |pages=159–184 |date=2021 |isbn=9789849529590 |language=bn }}</ref>

In 1937, as a member of the [[Assam Legislative Assembly]], he supported a resolution for the abolition of the [[Discrimination_against_Bengalis_in_India#Assam|Line System]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pegu |first1=Rinku |title=The Line System and the Birth of a Public Sphere in Assam: Immigrant, Alien, and Citizen |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |date=2004 |volume=65 |pages=586–596 |jstor=44144773 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44144773 |issn=2249-1937}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |isbn=9781469137902 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jR5QAAAAQBAJ&dq=Abdul+Matin+Chaudhury&pg=PT209 |title=Moulana Bhashani: Leader of the Toiling Masses |editor-last=Chowdhury |editor-first=Anisuzzaman |last=Manik |first=M. W. |chapter=Chapter 7 |date=2012 |publisher=Bashani Foundation }}</ref> which he called "a system of racial prerogative, a system of economic exploitation for which you won't find a parallel anywhere in India".<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oo10MkzU5DQC&dq=Abdul+Matin+Chaudhury&pg=PA31 |title=Assam Muslims: Politics & Cohesion|pages=26–31 |last1=Dev |first1=B. J. |last2=Lahiri |first2=D. K. |date=1985 |publisher=Mittal Publications |location=India }}</ref> The more charismatic and 'man of the masses' [[Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani]] helped Chaudhary in agitating against the Line System with prominent All-India Muslim League leader [[Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman]] of the [[United Provinces (1937–1950)|United Provinces]], with Bhashani's invitation, visiting Assam annually between 1941 and 1946 to agitate against the Line System.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Khaliquzzaman |first=Chaudhry |title=Pathway to Pakistan |publisher=Longmans Pakistan Branch |year=1961 |location=Lahore |pages=260–261}}</ref>

[[File:Saadullah cabinet.jpg|thumb|left|After swearing-in of 2nd coalition Saaduluh ministry, February 1938, Standing (l to r) [[James Joy Mohan Nichols Roy|J J M Nichols-Roy]], [[Muhammed Saadulah|Muhammad Saadulah]], Chaudhury. Seated (l to r) [[Rohini Kumar Chaudhuri]], [[Munawar Ali]], [[Akshay Kumar Das]]]]
Chaudhury served as a Minister for four terms between February 1938 to February 1946 in the Assam provincial government under Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulah as Premier (Prime Minister).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bali |first1=A. N. |title=Now it can be told |date=1949 |publisher=AKASHVANI PRAKASHAN Ltd. |page=84 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OZuYDwAAQBAJ&q=Abdul+Matin+Chaudhary&pg=PA84 |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Jinnah visits Shillong.jpg|thumb|(l to r) Chaudhury with [[M A Jinnah]] and Abdul Malik Chaudhury (Chaudhury's brother), in Shillong, March 1946]]
He played a leading role in the establishment of the Assam Muslim League in 1937, along with Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani. Between 1936 and 1947, he was a member of the All-India Muslim League working committee. In March 1940 he was one of the twenty sponsors of the [[Lahore Resolution]] which proposed the establishment of Pakistan. The sponsors represented Muslims from all the provinces of India. In 1946, Chaudhury was part of a sub-committee of the All-India Muslim League that drafted the Delhi Resolution, which called for the establishment of a unitary Pakistan comprising Northwest and Northeast India and was moved by [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rashid |first=Harun-or- |title=The Foreshadowing of Bangladesh: Bengal Muslim League and Muslim Politics, 1906–1947 |publisher=The University Press |year=2003 |location=Dhaka |pages=232–233}}</ref>

In June 1947, the [[Partition_of_India#Mountbatten_Plan|Mountbatten Plan]] included provisions for the fate of the Sylhet district to be decided by a [[1947 Sylhet referendum|referendum]]. Chaudhury was the President of the Sylhet Referendum Board of the Muslim League. The referendum was held in July and the region subsequently became part of [[East Bengal]] after the majority voted for that outcome.<ref name=Shibly/>{{rp|135–137}} Subsequently, Chaudhury became a member of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and a Member of the first Pay Commission of Pakistan, which two positions he held till the time of his death.<ref name=1948report/> He was also a longtime member of the Aligarh University Court.

==Journalism==
In 1921, Chaudhury wrote an article in the weekly ''Sylhet Chronicle'' in favour of the Khilafat Movement. The British government considered it as seditious and sentenced him to one year's imprisonment, which he served out in the Sylhet jail.<ref name=Shibly/>{{rp|23}} In 1923 he served as Chief Editor of ''[[The Mohammadi]]'' weekly of [[Mohammad Akram Khan]], and was a long-time assistant editor of the ''Daily Forward'' newspaper of [[Chittaranjan Das]] in Calcutta. He worked in the editing board of the [[Bombay Chronicle]] from 1926 to 1927. In 1932 he founded the [[Bengali language|Bengali]] weekly news paper ''Jugabheri'', which {{as of|2024|lc=y}} still has a daily edition.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allnewspaperbangla.com/all-daily-local-newspapers-sylhet/ |title=All daily local newspapers Sylhet |website=allnewspaperbangla.com |access-date=31 March 2024}}</ref> He also published an English weekly news paper titled ''The Eastern Herald'' in 1939.<ref name=":0">{{cite book|title=জালালাবাদের কথা|last=Choudhury|first=Dewan Nurul Anwar Hossain|date=June 1983|edition=February 1997|publisher=[[Bangla Academy]]|location=[[Dhaka]]|pages=337–338|isbn=984-07-3527-6|lang=bn}}</ref><ref name=Shibly/>{{rp|146}}

==Trade unionism==
In order to recover from the rigours of imprisonment, Chaudhury went to [[Shillong]], then the capital city of [[Assam]]. There, he made an attempt to organise the ''Khansamas'' (male domestic cooks) of the European households, which has been referred to as the first attempt to form a trade union in Assam. The Deputy Commissioner expelled him from Shillong with a notice of 24 hours.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Guha |first1=Amalendu |title=Planter Raj to Swaraj (Freedom Struggle and Electoral Politics in Assam, 1826-1947) |date=1977 |publisher=Indian Council of Historical Research |location=New Delhi |page=128 |isbn=8189487035}}</ref><ref name=Shibly/>{{rp|24-25}}

Chaudhury created the Indian Quarter Masters' Union in [[Calcutta]], known as ''Succuny Union'', in 1922, and became the president of the union in 1926.<ref name=Shibly/>{{rp|30}} He was present at the International Labour Conference in [[Geneva]], in 1929, as Technical Adviser to the Indian Labour Delegation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Saeed |first1=Ahmad |title=Muslim India (1857-1947): A Bibliographical Dictionary |date=1997 |publisher=Institute of Pakistan Historical Research |location=Lahore |page=26}}</ref><ref name=Shibly/>{{rp|32}}

==Death==
Chaudhury died on 28 December 1948. He was buried in the historic [[Mewa Shah Graveyard]] in [[Karachi]].

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaudhury, Abdul Matin}}
[[Category:Assam MLAs 1937–1946]]
[[Category:Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954]]
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:Aligarh Muslim University alumni]]
[[Category:Burials at Mewa Shah Graveyard]]
[[Category:People from Golapganj Upazila]]
[[Category:Murari Chand College alumni]]
[[Category:Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi people of Asian descent]]
[[Category:Members of the Central Legislative Assembly of India]]

Abdul Matin Chaudhury - Revision history

Lucillecrale at 02:40, 1 April 2026