Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury Explained

Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury
Native Name:হবীবুল্লাহ বাহার চৌধুরী
حبیب اللہ بہار چوہدری
Native Name Lang:bn
Office:Health Minister of East Pakistan Provincial Assembly
Term Start:1947
Term End:1950s
Predecessor:Position created
Birth Date:1906
Birth Place:Feni, Eastern Bengal and Assam, British India
Death Place:Pakistan
Occupation:Politician, writer
Spouse:Anwara Bahar Chowdhury

Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury (1906 – 15 April 1966) was a Pakistani politician, journalist, sportsman and writer from erstwhile East Bengal, now Bangladesh, who served in the political spheres of British India and Pakistan.[1]

Early life and education

Chowdhury was born at Guthuma village in Feni district in 1906. His father, Mohammad Nurullah, was a munsiff.[2] He passed Matriculation in 1922 from Chittagong Municipal School and ISc from Chittagong College in 1924. He then graduated from Calcutta Islamia College in 1928.[1]

Career

In 1933, Chowdhury took up journalism and along with his sister, Shamsunnahar Mahmud, published the literary journal "Bulbul".[3] Chowdhury actively joined politics as an activist of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League, and was elected a member of its executive committee in 1937. In 1944, he was elected publicity secretary of the League. He was elected a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly from the Parshuram constituency of Feni district.[1] He was the health minister of the first Muslim League cabinet in East Pakistan.[1]

Works

After suffering a stroke, he resigned from the cabinet position in 1953. Chowdhury started writing books prior to 1947 partition. His works include "Pakistan", "Mohammad Ali Jinnah", "Omar Faruq", and "Ameer Ali".[1]

Personal life

Chowdhury was married to Anwara Bahar Chowdhury (1919–1987). Anwara was a social activist and writer. She established Habibullah Bahar College in 1969 after Chowdhury's name.[4] Together they had 4 daughters – Selina Bahar Zaman, Shaheen Westcombe, Nasreen Shams and Tazeen Chowdhury and one son - Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury.[5] Chowdhury's grandfather, Khan Bahadur Abdul Aziz, an educationist, had a close relationship with poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Chowdhury,_Habibullah_Bahar. Rafiqul Akbar.
  2. Mahmud, Shamsunnahar. AKM Saifuzzaman.
  3. News: "Nirbachito Bulbul" Inaugurated in Kolkata. Voice of America. 26 November 2005. 17 March 2016.
  4. News: Remembrance : Anwara Bahar Choudhury : Educationist, Writer and Cultural Activist. 27 March 2015. 18 March 2016. The Daily Star.
  5. News: The art of recitation: Then and now. 3 March 2008. 17 March 2016. The Daily Star. 2 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160402143120/http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=25798. dead.
  6. News: Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury's recitation evening today. 6 May 2015. 17 March 2016. The Daily Star.