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Ajmal Ali Choudhury (Bengali: আজমল আলী চৌধুরী, Urdu: اجمل علی چودھری) was a Pakistani politician and former Minister of Commerce of Pakistan. He was also a member of the 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 Quaid by his supporters. However, he became heavily criticised after supporting Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War.

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 pyjamas and a Jinnah cap.

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. 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.

Education

Choudhury was educated in Murari Chand College before proceeding to study at Varanasi in North India. He played a role in the Bengali drama scene of Sylhet.

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. 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. The erstwhile Congress-led Government of Assam arrested him in 1946 for the Muslim League protests opposing the eviction of Muslims in Upper Assam.

During Jinnah's visit to Sylhet, he stayed at Chowdhury's house. After the Independence of Pakistan, Choudhury joined the Working Committee of the East Bengal Muslim League, the Muslim League Mass Contact Committee and the Pakistan Muslim League Council.

Choudhury was a Member of the 4th National Assembly of Pakistan representing Sylhet-II constituency as an independent candidate. A dinner was held in his honour at the residence of Begum Dolly Azad. He also served as the Minister of Industries and Natural Resources, based in Rawalpindi, on 6 July 1968.

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. In Parliament, he had expressed that language was not the issue, but it was rather the fact that the variant of Bengali was too "Sanskritized". 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". 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. He was taken to the streets by the Mukti Bahini where he was publicly assassinated and his body was mutilated. The body was left on display outside the Sylhet Government College for three days before his family retrieved it and gave him a burial. 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.

Notes

1. He was also known by the nickname Sher-e-Sylhet (Lion of Sylhet), a title which has been attributed to others too such as Mahmud Ali.

References

1. ^ Kamal, Syed Mostafa, ed. (1993). এম. সি. কলেজ, স্মৃতি বিস্মৃতির জাগ্রত অতীত (in Bengali). New Emdadia Library. p. 37.
2. Atiqur Rahman Rumon (6 August 2016). "রিয়ার অ্যাডমিরাল মাহবুব আলী খান একজন নিখাদ দেশপ্রেমিকের প্রতিকৃতি". Sylhet Sangbad (in Bengali).
3. "স্মরণীয় বরণীয় মাহবুব আলী খান". Manab Zamin (in Bengali). 6 August 2019.
4. Jafri, Dr Maqsood (21 November 2015), وفاداری بشرط استواری اصل ایماں ہے (in Urdu), Nawai Waqt
5. Hassan, Delwar (2012). "Khan, Gaznafor Ali". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
6. Abul Maal Abdul Muhith. "৩৫ ছেলেবেলা ও ছাত্রজীবন - সিলেট মুরারীচাঁদ কলেজে". আমার স্মৃতিকথা (in Bengali).
7. ^ "Ajmal Ali Chowdhury sworn-in as Central Minister". Pakistan Affairs. Vol. XXI 9. Washington DC. 15 July 1968.
8. "সিলেটে নাটকের ইতিহাস ও প্রেক্ষাপট". BD News 24 (in Bengali). 11 September 2017.
9. Shaheedi, Mohammad Akram; Zaidi, Z. H., eds. (1993). Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah Papers. Vol. 17. Kalighat Road, Sylhet: Quaid-i-Azam Papers Project, National Archives of Pakistan. p. 6.
10. Zaidi, Z. H., ed. (2006). "Appendix II". Quaid-i-Azam Papers Second Series. Vol. 13. p. 527-529.
11. Chowdhury A. T. M. Masud (2005). Reminiscence of Few Decades and Problems of Democracy in Bangladesh. Academic Press and Publishers Library. p. 17.
12. "List of Members of the 4th National Assembly of Pakistan from 1965-1969" (PDF). na.gov.pk. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
13. "Social Scene". Illustrated Weekly of Pakistan. Vol. 20. 22 September 1968. p. 21. ISSN 0019-2449. Begum Dolly Azad, MNA, gave a dinner party in honour of Mr. Ajmal Ali Choudhury, Central Industries Minister, at her residence.
14. Comrade Assaddor Ali Smriti Parishad (2016). Bengali, Misbah (ed.). রাষ্ট্রভাষা বাংলার পক্ষে প্রথম আন্দোলন শুরু হয়েছিল সিলেটে (in Bengali).
15. হানাদার বাহিনীর সহযোগী সাবেক পাকিস্তানি মন্ত্রী আজমল আলী চৌধুরীর শান্তি কমিটির সভায় ভাষণদান রত. Songramer Notebook (in Bengali).
16. Singh, S. Nihal. "Six Months in Pakistan". From The Jhelum To The Volga. Srinagar: Kashmir Research Institute. p. 24.
17. Bangalianaa (2020). কী ঘটেছিল (in Bengali).
18. Abdul Hai Al-Hadi (3 January 2019). সিলেট-৪ আসন: সংসদ নির্বাচনের সেকাল-একাল. Sylhet View 24 (in Bengali).
19. ^ Ali, A M M Shawkat (16 December 2004). "As I look back". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
20. Akram, Ahsan (26 August 2018). "Did Pakistan Army kill three million Bengalis in Bangladesh?". Oracle Opinions.

• Pakistani MNAs 1965–1969
• 1971 deaths
• 1916 births
• People from Sylhet
• People killed in the Bangladesh Liberation War
• Murari Chand College alumni
• Bangladeshi people of Afghan descent