Mohabbat Jan Chowdhury

Mohabbat Jan Chowdhury
Member of Parliament for Faridpur-3
In office
1986–1988
Preceded bySirajul Islam Mridha
Succeeded byKamran Hossain Chowdhury
Personal details
Political partyBangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League
Alma materPakistan Military Academy
Military service
Allegiance Bangladesh
 Pakistan (Before 1972)
Branch/service Pakistan Army
 Bangladesh Army
Bangladesh Rifles
Years of service1955-1982
Rank Major General
UnitCorps of Signals
Commands

Mohabbat Jan Chowdhury (Bengali: মোহাব্বত জান চৌধুরী) is a former Bangladeshi Army Major General, politician and former Home Minister. He served as the Director General of DGFI.[1][2]

Early life and family

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Mohabbat Jan Chowdhury was born into a Bengali Muslim family who were erstwhile Zamindars of Khanpur in Gopalganj. His father, Said Jan Chowdhury (d. 1984), was a civil servant and the son of Zamindar Rahmat Jan Chowdhury of Khanpur. His great grandfather, Ahmad Jan Chowdhury was one of the two sons of Azim Chowdhury, the Zamindar of Dulai in Sujanagar, Pabna District.[3] Through him, he was a descendant of Sharfuddin Sarkar, a nobleman who migrated to Dulai from Samarkand in Turkestan.[4] Mohabbat's mother belonged to the aristocratic zamindar family of Ulania, who traced their ancestry to Persia.[5]

Career

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Chowdhury trained at the Pakistan Military Academy and joined the Pakistan Army in September 1955 as a second lieutenant.[6] He was a batch mate of Ziaur Rahman.[7] He served in a number of positions including in staff headquarters, Military Training Schools, and worked Inter-Services Intelligence.[6] During the Bangladesh Liberation War he was based in Pakistan and was repatriated to Bangladesh after the end of the war.[7]

After the Independence of Bangladesh he joined the Bangladesh Army. He was deputed to Bangladesh Rifles where he served as the deputy director general.[6] He was the director of Army signal corps and then the Director General of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence in 1977.[6][8] He said the results of referendum of President Ziaur Rahman, which he won 98.88 percent of the votes, was inflated by the administration which he described as unnecessary.[9] He was the Director General in 1981 during the Assassination of President Ziaur Rahman.[10] After the assassination, Chwodhury and National Security intelligence Director General ASM Hakim.[11] Both supported Shah Aziz and Hossain Mohammad Ershad efforts to seize power.[11] He kept Major General Moinul Hossain Chowdhury, head of the investigation into the assassination, under surveillance.[2]

Chowdhury served as the chairman of Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Public Administration Training Centre.[6]

Chowdhury after retirement joined politics.[6] He was elected to parliament from Faridpur-3 from the Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League in 1986.[12] He was the minister for home affairs, minister of relief and rehabilitation, minister of establishment and the minister of food in the cabinet of President Hussain Mohmmad Ershad.[6][13] He is the chairman of two businesses, Dynamic Communications and Taurus Knitwear.[6] He is the director of Micro Industries Development Assistance and Services (MIDAS).[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Drama over enquiry". The Daily Star. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Trial targeted freedom fighter officers". The Daily Star. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  3. ^ Husayn, Altab (13 August 2021). জমিদার আজিম চৌধুরী (২য় পর্ব). Amader Sujanagar (in Bengali).
  4. ^ Pintu, Dr. Ashraf (22 January 2021). "জমিদার আজিম চৌধুরী জেগে থাকে স্মৃতিরা" [Zamindar Azim Chowdhury's memories stay awake]. Daily Naya Diganta (in Bengali).
  5. ^ উলানিয়া জমিদার বাড়ি - বরিশাল জেলা তথ্য বাতায়ন. Barisal District (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Maj. Gen. (Retd.) Mahabbat Jan Chowdhury". MIDAS. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  7. ^ a b "Clandestine killings in the Bangladesh Army Anwar Kabir - 1348.php-12-01". The Daily Observer. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  8. ^ Khan, Q. M. Jalal (25 June 2021). President Ziaur Rahman: Legendary Leader of Bangladesh (in Arabic). Writers Republic LLC. ISBN 978-1-63728-574-9.
  9. ^ Hashmi, Taj (22 April 2022). Fifty Years of Bangladesh, 1971-2021: Crises of Culture, Development, Governance, and Identity. Springer Nature. p. 169. ISBN 978-3-030-97158-8.
  10. ^ Chowdhury, R. (19 January 2020). "Unforgettable Zia, As I Knew Him". South Asia Journal. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  11. ^ a b Liton, Shakhawat (30 May 2014). "BNP couldn't care less". The Daily Star. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  12. ^ "List of 3rd Parliament Members" (PDF). Bangladesh Parliament (in Bengali). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  13. ^ Kennedy; Louscher (8 November 2021). Civil Military Interaction in Asia and Africa. BRILL. p. 54. ISBN 978-90-04-47435-2.
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