Abdul Haleem Chowdhury Explained

Abdul Haleem Chowdhury
Native Name:আবদুল হালিম চৌধুরী
Native Name Lang:bn
Constituency Mp:Dhaka-2
Term Start:2 April 1979
Term End:24 March 1982
Predecessor:Moslem Uddin Khan
Successor:Burhan Uddin Khan
Birth Place:Manikganj, Bengal, British India (now, Dhaka, Bangladesh)
Birth Date:1 February 1928
Death Place:Dhaka, Bangladesh
Alma Mater:University of Rajshahi
Party:Bangladesh Nationalist Party
Allegiance: (before 1971)
Branch:
Serviceyears:1950 - 1972
Rank: Major
Unit:Corps of Signals
Commands:
Battles:Bangladesh Liberation War

Abdul Haleem Chowdhury (1 February 1928 – 7 October 1987)[1] was a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician, Member of Parliament, and government minister. He is a retired captain of Pakistan Army and fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War.[2] His son-in-law is Mafizul Islam Khan Kamal.

Early life

Chowdhury was born on 1 February 1928 in Elachipur, Shivalaya, Manikganj, Bengal Presidency, British India. He graduated from Faridpur Zilla School. He went on to Rajshahi College, finished his BA in economics from Rajshahi University. He started his master's degree at Dhaka University.

Career

Chowdhury joined the Pakistan army in 1950 while still a student. In the army he served as the Adjutant and Quarter Master in the 1st Punjab Regiment. He served as the aide-de-camp to the GOC of the 14th division. He was the commanding officer of University Officers' Training Corps Battalion in East Pakistan. In 1962 he retired from the Army over health reasons. He joined the East Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation. He was placed in charged of setting up a sugar mill in Kushtia.

In 1966, he joined the National Awami Party. In the 1970 Pakistani general election he stood as a nominee of the National Awami Party faction led by Muzaffar Ahmed (NAP (M)).[3]

During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, he helped set up the revolutionary committee of Manikganj. He was placed in charge of military operations in Dhaka Sadar and Gazipur. He established the Halim Bahini, a paramilitary force under his command, to fight in the Bangladesh Liberation war.[4] After the Independence of Bangladesh, he stood again as a NAP (M) candidate in the 1973 Bangladeshi general election. He became the president of United People's Party. In 1979 he was elected to Parliament from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He served in the cabinet of President Ziaur Rahman as the minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperative. He later was in the cabinet of President Abdus Sattar as the minister of Food and Relief. He was a member of BNP's National executive committee. He joined General Hussain Muhammad Ershad's Jatiya party after it came to power. He was the minister of Agriculture and Food.

Chowdhury died on 7 October 1987.[1]

Notes and References

  1. Chowdhury,_Abdul_Halim.
  2. News: Manikganj, Bogra freed this day. The Daily Star. 13 December 2016. 31 December 2016.
  3. Book: Chakravarty, S. R. . 1988 . Bangladesh, the Nineteen Seventy-nine Elections . New Delhi . South Asian Publishers . 122 . 81-7003-088-9 . Abdul Haleem Chowdhury BNP Contested as NAP (M) candidate in 1970 and 1973 elections..
  4. News: 26 March 2019. The irregular forces of Bangladesh Liberation War. 14 July 2020. The Daily Star. en.