Bot at 15:03, 29 December 2021

2021-12-29T15:03:28Z

New page

{{Infobox politician
| name = Ajmal Ali Chowdhury
| image =
| imagesize =
| smallimage =
| native_name = আজমল আলী চৌধুরী
| native_name_lang = bn
| honorific-suffix =
| caption =
| order =
| office = Member of the [[National Assembly of Pakistan]]
| term_start = 1965
| term_end = 1969
| constituency = [[Sylhet-II]]
| predecessor = [[Moulana Mohammad Mushahid]]
| president = [[Ayub Khan (general)|Ayub Khan]], [[Yahya Khan]]
| birth_date = 1916
| birth_place = Amjad Ali Road, [[Sylhet]], [[Assam Province]], [[British Raj]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1971|8|18|1916||}}
| death_place = [[Sylhet]], [[Bangladesh]]
| restingplace =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| party =
| spouse =
| partner =
| father = Amjad Ali Choudhury
| relations = [[Mahbub Ali Khan]] (cousin)
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[Murari Chand College]]
| occupation =
| profession =
| cabinet =
| committees =
| portfolio =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website =
| footnotes = }}
'''Ajmal Ali Choudhury''' ({{lang-bn|আজমল আলী চৌধুরী}}, {{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|اجمل علی چودھری}}}}) was a politician and former [[Ministry of Commerce (Pakistan)|Minister of Commerce]] of Pakistan. He was also a member of the [[List of members of the 4th National Assembly of Pakistan|4th National Assembly of Pakistan]]. His close relationship with [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] and contributions during the [[1947 Sylhet referendum]] led to him being known as the '''Sylhet's [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah|Quaid]]''' by his supporters.<ref name=mc/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://sylhetsangbad.com/2016/08/06/%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF%E0%A7%9F%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%85%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B2-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%AC/|work=Sylhet Sangbad|language=bn|title=রিয়ার অ্যাডমিরাল মাহবুব আলী খান একজন নিখাদ দেশপ্রেমিকের প্রতিকৃতি|author=Atiqur Rahman Rumon|date=6 August 2022}}</ref>{{NoteTag|He was also known by the nickname ''Sher-e-Sylhet'' (Lion of Sylhet),<ref>{{cite news|url=https://m.priyo.com/external-news/1018744|title=স্মরণীয় বরণীয় মাহবুব আলী খান|language=bn|work=[[Manab Zamin]]|date=6 August 2022}}</ref> a title which has been attributed to others too such as [[Mahmud Ali (statesman)|Mahmud Ali]].<ref>{{citation|title=وفاداری بشرط استواری اصل ایماں ہے|language=ur|date=21 November 2015|publisher=Nawai Waqt|author=Jafri, Dr Maqsood}}</ref>}} However, he became heavily criticised after supporting [[Pakistan]] during the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]].<ref name=mc>{{cite book|page=37|language=bn|year=1993|title=এম. সি. কলেজ, স্মৃতি বিস্মৃতির জাগ্রত অতীত|publisher=New Emdadia Library|editor=Kamal, Syed Mostafa}}</ref>

==Early life and family==
Ajmal Ali Choudhury was born into a [[Bengali Muslim]] family on Amjad Ali Road in [[Sylhet]] of the [[British Raj]]'s [[Assam Province]]. He was noted for his dress sense which consisted of a [[sherwani]] with tight-fitting [[pyjama]]s and a [[Jinnah cap]].<ref name=mc/>

His father, [[Khan Bahadur]] Amjad Ali Choudhury, was a civil advocate who worked in Sylhet as a public prosecutor, and died at court in the 1930s. His mother, Habibunnesa Khanom, was the eldest daughter of [[Khan Bahadur]] Dr. Asaddar Ali Khan (1850-1937), Sylhet's first Muslim civil surgeon and the son-in-law of [[Syed Ameer Ali]]. A graduate of the [[Aliah University]], Asaddar Ali Khan was also the personal physician to the Bihari Shia lawyer-politician [[Syed Hasan Imam]], the top barrister of [[Calcutta High Court]] and leader of the [[Indian National Congress]]. Habibunnesa's grandfather, [[Abid Khan]], was the descendant of an Afghan migrant to Bengal.<ref>{{cite Banglapedia|article=Khan, Gaznafor Ali|author=Hassan, Delwar}}</ref> Choudhury's brother, Warith Ali Choudhury, was a member of the Assam Civil Service and a central secretary in the [[Government of Pakistan]]. His sister, Khairunnesa Khanom, was a school inspector in eastern Bengal and later the headmistress of Karachi Bengali School. She was married to Ali Ashraf bin Muhammad Nadir of Ambarkhana, a second uncle of [[Abul Maal Abdul Muhith]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter=৩৫ ছেলেবেলা ও ছাত্রজীবন - সিলেট মুরারীচাঁদ কলেজে|language=bn|title=আমার স্মৃতিকথা|author=[[Abul Maal Abdul Muhith]]|url=http://www.muhith.info.bd/article_details.php?ID=35}}</ref>

==Education==
Choudhury was educated in [[Murari Chand College]] before proceeding to study at [[Varanasi]] in [[North India]].<ref name=pa>{{cite news|work=Pakistan Affairs|location=[[Washington DC]]|volume=XXI 9|date=15 July 1968|title=Ajmal Ali Chowdhury sworn-in as Central Minister}}</ref> He played a role in the Bengali drama scene of Sylhet.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://blog.bdnews24.com/sumondey/225249|language=bn|website=BD News 24|title= সিলেটে নাটকের ইতিহাস ও প্রেক্ষাপট|date=11 September 2022}}</ref>

==Career==
In 1937, Choudhury joined the [[All-India Muslim League]] as a member of its council. He was also a part of the Assam Provincial Muslim League Working Committee and Council. On 3 August 1941, he sent a letter to [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] informing him of a meeting in Sarada Memorial Hall presided by Moulvi Abdur Rahman in which the Muslims of Sylhet expressed full faith in Jinnah's leadership.<ref>{{cite book|title=Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah Papers|page=6|year=1993|location=Kalighat Road, Sylhet|volume=17|publisher=Quaid-i-Azam Papers Project, National Archives of Pakistan|url=https://archive.org/details/17-jinnah-call-for-unity-faith-and-discipline-19410801-19420331/page/5/mode/2up|editor1=Shaheedi, Mohammad Akram|editor2=Zaidi, Z. H.}}</ref> In 1944, Choudhury was elected as the Municipal Commissioner and in a letter to [[Nawab Mohammad Ismail Khan]], he mentioned how he was elected as the President of the All-Assam Muslim Students Federation in January.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/qap-second-vol13/page/528/mode/2up|title=Quaid-i-Azam Papers Second Series|volume=13|page=527-529|chapter=Appendix II|editor=Zaidi, Z. H.|year=2022}}</ref> The erstwhile Congress-led [[Government of Assam]] arrested him in 1946 for the Muslim League protests opposing the eviction of Muslims in [[Upper Assam]].<ref name=pa/>

During Jinnah's visit to Sylhet, he stayed at Chowdhury's house.<ref>{{cite book|title=Reminiscence of Few Decades and Problems of Democracy in Bangladesh|author=Chowdhury A. T. M. Masud|year=2005|page=17|publisher=Academic Press and Publishers Library}}</ref> After the [[Independence of Pakistan]], Choudhury joined the Working Committee of the East Bengal Muslim League, the Muslim League Mass Contact Committee and the [[Muslim League (Pakistan)|Pakistan Muslim League]] Council.<ref name=pa/>

Choudhury was a Member of the [[List of members of the 4th National Assembly of Pakistan|4th National Assembly of Pakistan]] representing Sylhet-II constituency as an independent candidate.<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Members of the 4th National Assembly of Pakistan from 1965-1969 |url=http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/former-members/4th%20National%20Assembly.pdf |website=na.gov.pk |access-date=19 January 2021}}</ref> A reception was held in his honour at the Beach Luxury Hotel of Sylhet as well as a dinner at the residence of [[Begum Dolly Azad]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Illustrated Weekly of Pakistan|volume=20|publisher=Pakistan Herald Publications|chapter=Issues 35-52|year=1968}}</ref> He also served as the [[Ministry of Industries and Production (Pakistan)|Minister of Industries and Natural Resources]], based in [[Rawalpindi]], on 6 July 1968.<ref name=pa/>

==Death==
Choudhury did not partake in the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]] but was a member of the [[Shanti Committee]] and favoured [[Urdu]] as the national language of Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news|script-title=bn:রাষ্ট্রভাষা বাংলার পক্ষে প্রথম আন্দোলন শুরু হয়েছিল সিলেটে|language=bn|year=2016|author=Comrade Assaddor Ali Smriti Parishad|editor=Bengali, Misbah}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://songramernotebook.com/archives/311754|script-title=bn:হানাদার বাহিনীর সহযোগী সাবেক পাকিস্তানি মন্ত্রী আজমল আলী চৌধুরীর শান্তি কমিটির সভায় ভাষণদান রত|language=bn|website=Songramer Notebook}}</ref> In Parliament, he had expressed that language was not the issue, but it was rather the fact that the variant of Bengali was too "''[[Sanskrit]]ized''".<ref>{{cite book|title=From The Jhelum To The Volga|author=Singh, S. Nihal|page=24|publisher=Kashmir Research Institute|location=[[Srinagar]]|chapter=Six Months in Pakistan}}</ref> He attended an anti-independence meeting hosted by Dr Abdul Majid at the Sylhet Register Maidan, which was also attended by the likes of [[Abdul Latif Chowdhury Fultali]]. He opposed the breakup of Pakistan, mentioning on 22 August 1971 that Sylhet joined Pakistan through a referendum and that it is a ''sacred duty'' to maintain the integrity of Pakistan and thwart "''Indian conspiracy''".<ref name=ghote>{{cite news|script-title=bn:কী ঘটেছিল|language=bn|author=Bangalianaa|year=2022}}</ref> On 18 December 1971, after the [[Independence of Bangladesh]], Choudhury was targeted by freedom fighters whilst at the [[Shah Jalal Dargah]] near his home in [[Sylhet town]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sylhetview24.net/news/details/Feature/136002|website=Sylhet View 24|script-title=bn:সিলেট-৪ আসন: সংসদ নির্বাচনের সেকাল-একাল|language=bn|author=Abdul Hai Al-Hadi|date=3 January 2022}}</ref> He was taken to the streets by the [[Mukti Bahini]] where he was publicly assassinated and his body was mutilated.<ref name=shawkat>{{cite news |last1=Ali |first1=A M M Shawkat |title=As I look back |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/suppliments/2004/victory_day/vic07.htm |access-date=8 April 2021 |publisher=The Daily Star|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001171443/https://www.thedailystar.net/suppliments/2004/victory_day/vic07.htm|archive-date=1 October 2012|date=16 December 2022}}</ref> The body was left on display outside the Sylhet Government College for three days before his family retrieved it and gave him a burial.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://oracleopinions.com/2018/08/26/did-pakistan-army-kill-three-million-bengalis-in-bangladesh/|website=Oracle Opinions|title=Did Pakistan Army kill three million Bengalis in Bangladesh?|author=Akram, Ahsan|date=26 August 2022}}</ref> The erstwhile Additional Deputy Commissioner of Sylhet, AMM Shawkat Ali, mentioned that Sylhet's administrator [[Dewan Farid Gazi]] stated that the newly founded [[Government of Bangladesh]] had not authorised for anyone's killing and to take precautionary measures.<ref name=shawkat/>

==Notes==
{{NoteFoot}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Choudhury, Ajmal Ali}}
[[Category:Pakistani MNAs 1965–1969]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:People from Sylhet]]
[[Category:People killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War]]
[[Category:Murari Chand College alumni]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi people of Afghan descent]]

Ajmal Ali Choudhury - Revision history

Bot at 15:03, 29 December 2021