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Abdul Haleem Chowdhury

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Abdul Haleem Chowdhury
আবদুল হালিম চৌধুরী
Member of Parliament
for Dhaka-2
In office
2 April 1979 – 24 March 1982
Preceded byMoslem Uddin Khan
Succeeded byBurhan Uddin Khan
Personal details
Born(1928-02-01)1 February 1928
Manikganj, Bengal, British India
Died7 October 1987(1987-10-07) (aged 59)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Political partyBangladesh Nationalist Party
Alma materUniversity of Rajshahi
Military service
Allegiance Pakistan (before 1971)
 Bangladesh
Branch/service Pakistan Army
 Bangladesh Army
Years of service1950 - 1972
Rank Major
UnitCorps of Signals
Commands
Battles/warsBangladesh Liberation War

Abdul Haleem Chowdhury (1 February 1928 – 7 October 1987)[1] was a politician of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, Member of Parliament, and government minister. He is a retired captain of Pakistan Army and fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War and established Halim Bahini.[2] His son-in-law is Mafizul Islam Khan Kamal.[citation needed]

Early life

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Chowdhury was born on 1 February 1928 in Elachipur, Shivalaya, Manikganj, Bengal Presidency, British India. He graduated from Faridpur Zilla School. He went on to Rajshahi College, finished his BA in economics from Rajshahi University. He started his master's degree at Dhaka University.[citation needed]

Career

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Chowdhury joined the Pakistan army in 1950 while still a student. In the army, he served as the Adjutant and Quarter Master in the 1st Punjab Regiment. He served as the aide-de-camp to the GOC of the 14th division. He was the commanding officer of University Officers' Training Corps Battalion in East Pakistan. In 1962, he retired from the Army over health reasons. He joined the East Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation. He was placed in charged of setting up a sugar mill in Kushtia.[citation needed]

In 1966, he joined the National Awami Party. In the 1970 Pakistani general election he stood as a nominee of the National Awami Party faction led by Muzaffar Ahmed (NAP (M)).[3]

During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, he helped set up the revolutionary committee of Manikganj. He was placed in charge of military operations in Dhaka Sadar and Gazipur.[citation needed] He established the Halim Bahini, a paramilitary force under his command, to fight in the Bangladesh Liberation war.[4] After the Independence of Bangladesh, he stood again as a NAP (M) candidate in the 1973 Bangladeshi general election.[3] He became the president of United People's Party. In 1979, he was elected to Parliament from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He served in the cabinet of President Ziaur Rahman as the minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperative. He later was in the cabinet of President Abdus Sattar as the minister of Food and Relief. He was a member of BNP's National executive committee. He joined General Hussain Muhammad Ershad's Jatiya party after it came to power. He was the minister of Agriculture and Food.[citation needed]

Chowdhury died on 7 October 1987.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir, eds. (2012). "Chowdhury, Abdul Halim". Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  2. ^ "Manikganj, Bogra freed this day". The Daily Star. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b Chakravarty, S. R. (1988). Bangladesh, the Nineteen Seventy-nine Elections. New Delhi: South Asian Publishers. p. 122. ISBN 81-7003-088-9. Abdul Haleem Chowdhury BNP Contested as NAP (M) candidate in 1970 and 1973 elections.
  4. ^ "The irregular forces of Bangladesh Liberation War". The Daily Star. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2020.