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

Early life and family

Mohabbat Jan Chowdhury was born into 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 who were erstwhile Zamindars of Khanpur in

Gopalganj Gopalganj may refer to: Bangladesh *Gopalganj District, Bangladesh, a district of Dhaka Division **Gopalganj, Bangladesh, a town and headquarter of Gopalganj district **Gopalganj Sadar Upazila, an upazila of Gopalganj District ** Gopalganj-1, a pa ...

. 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 Pabna District ( bn, পাবনা জেলা) is a district in central Bangladesh. It is an economically important district in Bangladesh. Its administrative capital is the eponymous Pabna town. History Archeologist Cunningham conjectured ...

. Through him, he was a descendant of Sharfuddin Sarkar, a nobleman who migrated to Dulai from

Samarkand fa, سمرقند , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

. Mohabbat's mother belonged to the aristocratic zamindar family of

Ulania Ulania ( bn, উলানিয়া) is a Union of Mehendiganj Upazila in the District and Division of Barisal, Bangladesh. In Ulania town there are the ancient ruins of the palaces, mosques of a local Lord (called ''Jamidar'' in Bengali). 'The ...

, who traced their ancestry to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Career

Chowdhury trained at the

Pakistan Military Academy Pakistan Military Academy ( ur, ), also referred to by its acronym PMA. PMA is an officers training school located near Kakul village in the city and district of Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa established in 1947. It is the sole service academy ...

and joined the Pakistan Army in September 1955 as a second lieutenant. He was a batch mate of

Ziaur Rahman Lt. General Ziaur Rahman (19 January 1936 – 30 May 1981), was a Bangladeshi military officer and politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1977 to 1981. He was assassinated on 30 May 1981 in Chittagong in an army coup d' ...

. He served in a number of positions including in staff headquarters, Military Training Schools, and worked

Inter-Services Intelligence The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...

. During the Bangladesh Liberation War he was based in Pakistan and was repatriated to Bangladesh after the end of the war. After the

Independence of Bangladesh Independence of Bangladesh was declared on 26 March 1971, celebrated as Independence Day, from Pakistan. The Independence Day of Bangladesh is celebrated on 26 March when Sheikh Mujibur Rahman declared the Independence of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh ...

he joined

Bangladesh Army The Bangladesh Army is the land warfare branch and the largest component of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The primary mission of the Army is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to deliver the Bangladeshi government's security and def ...

. He was deputed to

Bangladesh Rifles Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) are a paramilitary force responsible for the border security of Bangladesh. The force is known as "The Vigilant Sentinels of the National Frontier". The BGB is entrusted with the responsibility to defend the borde ...

where he served as the deputy director general. He was the director of Army signal corps and then the Director General of

Directorate General of Forces Intelligence The Directorate General of Forces Intelligence ( bn, প্রতিরক্ষা গোয়েন্দা মহাপরিদপ্তর), commonly known as DGFI, is the military intelligence agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, tas ...

in 1977. 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. He was the Director General in 1981 during the Assassination of President Ziaur Rahman. After the assassination, Chwodhury and National Security intelligence Director General ASM Hakim. Both supported Shah Aziz and

Hossain Mohammad Ershad Lt. Gen. Hussain Muhammad Ershad ( bn, হুসেইন মুহাম্মদ এরশাদ; 1 February 1930 – 14 July 2019) was a Bangladeshi Army Chief politician who served as the President of Bangladesh from 1983 to 1990, a time ma ...

efforts to seize power. He kept Major General

Moinul Hossain Chowdhury Moinul Hossain Chowdhury (died 10 October 2010) was a Bangladesh Army officer who served as the adjutant general of Bangladesh army and former advisor of the caretaker government. Military career Moinul Hossain Chowdhury fought in the Banglades ...

, head of the investigation into the assassination, under surveillance. Chowdhury served as the chairman of Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Public Administration Training Centre. Chowdhury after retirement joined politics. He was elected to parliament from

Faridpur-3 Faridpur-3 is a constituency represented in the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) of Bangladesh since 2008 by Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain of the Awami League. Boundaries The constituency encompasses Faridpur Sadar Upazila. History The con ...

from the

Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League (BaKSAL) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ কৃষক শ্রমিক আওয়ামী লীগ "Bangladesh Worker-Peasant's People's League"; বাকশাল) was a political front comprising B ...

in 1986. He was the Minister for Home Affairs, Minister of Relief and Rehabilitation, Minister of Establishment and the Ministry of Food in the cabinet of President Hussain Mohmmad Ershad. He is the chairman of two businesses, Dynamic Communications and Taurus Knitwear. He is the director of Micro Industries Development Assistance and Services (MIDAS).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Mohabbat Jan Living people Bangladesh Army generals Food ministers of Bangladesh Home Affairs ministers of Bangladesh Disaster Management and Relief ministers of Bangladesh Public Administration ministers of Bangladesh 3rd Jatiya Sangsad members Year of birth missing (living people) Bangladeshi people of Turkic descent Bangladeshi people of Iranian descent People from Gopalganj District, Bangladesh