Abdul Matin Chaudhary ( bn, আব্দুল মতিন চৌধুরী; 1925–1989), also known by his
daak naam
Personal names in Bengali-speaking countries consist of one or several given names and a surname.
The given is usually gender-specific. A name is usually cited in the " Western order" of "given name, surname". Personal names may depend genera ...
Kola Mia ( bn, কলা মিঞা), and the
epithet
An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...
Jinnar Daan Haat (lit. ''
Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
's right hand''), was a
Pakistani Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
politician, journalist and a member of the
1st National Assembly of Pakistan as a representative of
East Bengal
ur,
, common_name = East Bengal
, status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan
, p1 = Bengal Presidency
, flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg
, s1 = East ...
. He was also Pakistan's inaugural
Minister of Agriculture
An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
.
Early life and education
Chaudhary was born on 13 February 1895 to a
Bengali Muslim
Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...
family in the village of
Bhadeshwar in
Golapganj
Golapganj Upazila ( bn, গোলাপগঞ্জ), previously known as Gulabganj, is an upazila of Sylhet District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh.
Geography
Golapganj Upazila (Sylhet District) area 278.34 km2, located in bet ...
,
Sylhet District
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট), located in north-east Bangladesh, is the divisional capital and one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division.
History
Sylhet district was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Pro ...
. His father, Abdul Karim Chaudhary, was a
sub-inspector
Sub-inspector (SI), or sub-inspector of police, is a rank used extensively in South Asia: in the police forces of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, which is primarily based on the British model. It was formerly used in most British col ...
and his mother's name was Habibunnesa Khatun. He completed his secondary education at the
Sylhet Government High School where he gained a first class in 1912. He then proceeded to study at the
Murari Chand College
Murari Chand College ( bn, মুরারিচাঁদ কলেজ) (usually referred to as MC College) was the first college in the Sylhet Division. It was established in 1892, making it the seventh oldest college in Bangladesh. Since then i ...
where he completed his
intermediate examinations in 1914. In 1916, Chaudhary graduated from the
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...
in
North India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
. He also completed his
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
from
Ripon College in
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
in 1919.
Political career
Chaudhary served as a Minister for two terms in the Bengal provincial government during British Rule. He contributed to the establishment of the
Assam Provincial Muslim League
Assam (; ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to ...
in 1937, and served as Commerce Minister at the
Assam Legislative Assembly
The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present Western Assam region. The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Me ...
under
Muhammed Saadulah
Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla KCIE ( as, ছাৰ ছৈয়দ মহম্মদ ছাদুল্লাহ; 21 May 1885 – 8 January 1955) was the Prime Minister of Assam in British India. He was also the chairman of Gauhati Municipalit ...
. Between 1945 and 1947, he was a member of the
All-India Muslim League
The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontin ...
's working committee. In 1947, he became a member of the 1st
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...
and the country's first
Minister of Agriculture
An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
.
He was also a chief advisor to
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani
Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani (12 December 1880 – 17 November 1976), often shortened as Maulana Bhashani, was a Bengali politician. His political tenure spanned the British colonial India, Pakistan and Bangladesh periods.
Maulana Bhashani was pop ...
, a longtime member of the Aligarh University Court and a member of Pakistan's first
Pay Commission
Pay Commission is set up by Government of India, and gives its recommendations regarding changes in salary structure of its employees set up in 1947, Since India's Independence, seven pay commissions have been set up on a regular basis to review ...
.
Journalism
Chaudhary founded the
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
weekly magazine ''Jugbheri'' in 1932. He also published an English weekly magazine titled "''The Eastern Herald''" in 1939. Other than that, he was an editor of the ''
The Mohammadi'' and a long-time assistant editor of the ''Daily Forward'' newspaper. He worked in the editing board of the
Bombay Chronicle
''The Bombay Chronicle'' was an English-language newspaper, published from Mumbai (then Bombay), started in 1910 by Sir Pherozeshah Mehta (1845-1915), a prominent lawyer, who later became the president of the Indian National Congress in 1890, ...
from 1926 to 1927.
Death
Chaudhary died on 28 December 1948. He was buried in the historic
Mewa Shah Graveyard
Mewa Shah Graveyard ( ur, ) is located in SITE Town, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The Mewa Shah Qabaristan (Cemetery), one of the largest and oldest graveyards of Karachi.
It is named after the 19th Century Sufi, Mewa Shah, was a Sufi and struggl ...
in
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaudhary, Abdul Matin
Assam MLAs 1937–1946
Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954
1895 births
1948 deaths
Aligarh Muslim University alumni
Burials at Mewa Shah Graveyard
People from Golapganj Upazila
Murari Chand College alumni
Surendranath Law College alumni
Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan