Manik Chowdhury (20 December 1933 – 10 January 1991) was a Bangladeshi politician and veteran of the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

. He received the Independence Award in 2015 for his contributions during the conflict.

Early life

Chowdhury was born on 20 December 1933 in

Bahubal Upazila Bahubal ( bn, বাহুবল) is an upazila of Habiganj District in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh. History Bahubal was a part of the Tungachhal and Rajpur kingdoms. The last Raja of Tungachhal, Achak Narayan, was defeated in 1303 during th ...

Habiganj District Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ, Hobigonj), formerly known as Habibganj ( bn, হবিবগঞ্জ, Hobibgonj), is a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, located in the Sylhet Division. It was established as a district in 1984 as a succe ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

Career

Chowdhury played a role in the

in the greater

Sylhet region The 1947 Sylhet referendum was held in the Sylhet District of the Assam Province of British India to decide whether the district would remain in Undivided Assam and therefore within the post-independence Dominion of India, or leave Assam for E ...

and helped organize the

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

. He led the looting of Habiganj government arsenal and in early April took direct part in the Sherpur-Sadipur battle. He was awarded the title of "Commandant" despite being a civilian. Chowdhury was elected Member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

from Habiganj in the 1970 general election. He was also elected Member of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

by the

Awami League In Urdu language, Awami is the adjectival form for '' Awam'', the Urdu language word for common people. The adjective appears in the following proper names: *Awami Colony, a neighbourhood of Landhi Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan *Awami Front, wa ...

in 1973 and was also the Governor of Habiganj Sub-Division. He was the

Agriculture Secretary The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...

of the Central Executive Parliament of the Awami League. After the assassination of President

Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Sheikh Mujibur Rahman ( bn, শেখ মুজিবুর রহমান; 17 March 1920 – 15 August 1975), often shortened as Sheikh Mujib or Mujib and widely known as Bangabandhu (meaning ''Friend of Bengal''), was a Bengalis, Beng ...

, Chowdhury was arrested for protesting and imprisoned for four years.

Death and legacy

When Chowdhury fell ill, due to lack of necessary funds for proper treatment he was not allotted a seat in any ward of PG Hospital. He died on 10 January 1991. His daughter, advocate Amatul Kibria Keya Chowdhury represented Habiganj district as a Member of Parliament.

Awards

Chowdhury was received the "Bangabandhu Krishi Padak" from Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1974 for the "Shyamal" project. Chowdhury was Posthumously awarded the

Independence Award The Independence Day Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পদক), also termed Independence Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পুরস্কার), Swadhinata Padak, and Swadhinata Puroskar, is the highest state award given by t ...

in 2015 in recognition for his contribution to the Bangladesh Liberation war.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Manik Awami League politicians Recipients of the Independence Day Award 1st Jatiya Sangsad members 1933 births 1991 deaths People from Habiganj District Politicians from Sylhet Division