Abdul Matin Chaudhury
Moulvi Abdul Matin Chaudhury | |
---|---|
আব্দুল মতিন চৌধুরী عبدالمتین چودھری | |
Member of the 1st National Assembly of Pakistan | |
In office 1947–1948 | |
Preceded by | Post established |
Member of the Assam Legislative Assembly | |
In office 1937–1947 | |
Prime Minister | Muhammad Saadulah |
Constituency | Sylhet Sadar (East) |
Deputy President of Indian Legislative Assembly | |
In office March 1933 – 1934 | |
Preceded by | R. K. Shanmukham Chetty |
Succeeded by | Akhil Chandra Datta |
Member of Central Legislative Assembly | |
In office 1926–1934 | |
Preceded by | Ahmad Ali Khan |
Succeeded by | Abdur Rasheed Choudhury |
Constituency | Assam (Muslim) |
Personal details | |
Born | 13 February 1895 Bhadeshwar, Golapganj, Sylhet District |
Died | 28 December 1948 Karachi, Sind, Pakistan | (aged 53)
Resting place | Mewa Shah Graveyard, Karachi |
Parents |
|
Alma mater | Aligarh Muslim University Ripon College |
Occupation | Politician and journalist |
Nickname | Kola Mia |
Abdul Matin Chaudhury (
Early life and education
Chaudhury was born on 13 February 1895 to a
: 14He completed his secondary education at the Habiganj Government High School where he gained a first division in 1912. He then proceeded to study at the Murari Chand College in Sylhet where he completed his Intermediate Arts examination in 1914. In 1916, Chaudhury graduated from the
Political career
Chaudhury practiced law for a short time in 1920–1 but soon became active in politics by joining the
From 1925 to 1937, Chaudhury was an elected member of the
Jinnah and the Simon Commission had recommended that constitutional reforms in India be discussed with the British government and three Round Table Conferences were held. Chaudhury attended the first of these in London (November 1930 – January 1931) as Private Secretary to Sir Muhammad Akbar Hydari, who represented Hyderabad.[2]: 42–43 Jinnah remained in England until 1934 but in this period Chaudhury maintained an extensive correspondence with him and urged him to return to India. Chaudhury realised that he could encourage this by attempting to unify the political factions within the All-India Muslim League. In this, he was successful and in 1933 he became its Vice-President, while Jinnah became President in 1934.[2]: 44–52
In 1933, Chaudhury was elected Deputy President of the Assembly (a post equivalent to deputy speaker).[6] In 1934, he attended the Melbourne Centenary in Australia as the sole representative of the Indian Branch of the Empire Parliamentary Association.[2]: 37–38 [7] He travelled by train and boat and wrote a diary which has been published.[8]
In 1937, as a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly, he supported a resolution for the abolition of the Line System,[9][10] which he called "a system of racial prerogative, a system of economic exploitation for which you won't find a parallel anywhere in India".[11]
Chaudhury served as a Minister for four terms between February 1938 to February 1946 in the Assam provincial government under Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulah as Premier (Prime Minister).[12]
He played a leading role in the establishment of the Assam Muslim League in 1937, along with Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani. Between 1936 and 1947, he was a member of the All-India Muslim League working committee. In March 1940 he was one of the twenty sponsors of the Lahore Resolution which proposed the establishment of Pakistan. The sponsors represented Muslims from all the provinces of India.
In June 1947, the Mountbatten Plan included provisions for the fate of the Sylhet district to be decided by a referendum. Chaudhury was the President of the Sylhet Referendum Board of the Muslim League. The referendum was held in July and the region subsequently became part of East Bengal after the majority voted for that outcome.[2]: 135–137 Subsequently, Chaudhury became a member of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and a Member of the first Pay Commission of Pakistan, which two positions he held till the time of his death.[13] He was also a longtime member of the Aligarh University Court.
Journalism
In 1921, Chaudhury wrote an article in the weekly Sylhet Chronicle in favour of the Khilafat Movement. The British government considered it as seditious and sentenced him to one year's imprisonment, which he served out in the Sylhet jail.
Trade unionism
In order to recover from the rigours of imprisonment, Chaudhury went to Shillong, then the capital city of Assam. There, he made an attempt to organise the Khansamas (male domestic cooks) of the European households. The Deputy Commissioner expelled him from Shillong with a notice of 24 hours. This has been referred to as the first attempt to form a trade union in Assam.[15][2]: 24–25
Chaudhury created the Indian Quarter Masters' Union in
Death
Chaudhury died on 28 December 1948. He was buried in the historic Mewa Shah Graveyard in Karachi.
Notes
- ^ This article uses the spelling Chaudhury for consistency.
References
- ^ Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Debates: Official Report. Manager of Publications. 1948. p. 44.
- ^ ISBN 978-984-33-2323-1.
- ^ ISBN 984-07-3527-6.
- ^ Singh, Harkishan (2008). "Ram Nath Chopra (1882–1973) – A visionary in Pharmaceutical science" (PDF). Indian Journal of History of Science. 43 (2): 231–264.
- ISBN 9789392099229.
- ISBN 9788185402345.
- ^ "Personal". Daily News. Perth, W.A. 24 October 1934. p. 5.
- ISBN 9789849529590.
- JSTOR 44144773.
- ISBN 9781469137902.
- ^ Dev, B. J.; Lahiri, D. K. (1985). Assam Muslims: Politics & Cohesion. India: Mittal Publications. pp. 26–31.
- ^ Bali, A. N. (1949). Now it can be told. AKASHVANI PRAKASHAN Ltd. p. 84.
- ^ Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Debates: Official Report. Manager of Publications. 1948. p. 44.
- ^ "All daily local newspapers Sylhet". allnewspaperbangla.com. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ISBN 8189487035.
- ^ Saeed, Ahmad (1997). Muslim India (1857-1947): A Bibliographical Dictionary. Lahore: Institute of Pakistan Historical Research. p. 26.