Umran Chowdhury
Umran Chowdhury | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 28, 1990 Dhaka |
| Occupation | Lawyer, writer, surveyor, historian |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
Umran Chowdhury is a Bangladeshi lawyer, writer, surveyor, historian, and columnist.[1][2][3][4][5] He has been a researcher at Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs and the School of Oriental and African Studies. He frequently writes for the Dhaka Tribune.
Early life and education
[edit]Chowdhury is the son of former National Party member of parliament Kamran Hossain Chowdhury and the late English teacher, socialite and Rabinda Sangeet singer Shusmita Amin Chowdhury (Dina).[6][7] The family were royal guests in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1996.[8] He grew up in Dhaka and attended Scholastica school from preschool to the twelfth grade. While in high school, Chowdhury undertook his first internship at the Grameen Bank.[9] He was a research assistant to Ambassador Farooq Sobhan at the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute after finishing high school in 2009. Chowdhury trained as a lawyer at the Sorbonne and the School of Oriental and African Studies.
Career
[edit]Chowdhury worked in the law firm of M Amir-ul Islam and Tania Amir from 2019 to 2020. He was appointed as a Research Assistant in the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs. Chowdhury moved to London in 2021 for his postgraduate studies at the SOAS School of Law. He was a volunteer at the SOAS Centre for Human Rights Law. Chowdhury was appointed as a Research Assistant to the British-Nigerian solicitor and arbitrator Dr. Emilia Onyema, who is a professor of international commercial law at SOAS. He assisted Dr. Onyema to produce the 2022 SOAS Arbitration in Africa Survey.[1][2] Chowdhury also worked in Wilmer Hale as an intern.[10] In January 2023, Chowdhury joined the law firm of Kamal Hossain after returning to Bangladesh. He provides research assistance to Sara Hossain.[11] He has also worked with the Centre for Peace and Justice at BRAC University.
Columnist and historian
[edit]Chowdhury began writing 'Letters to Editors' as early as a teenager, which were published in Time, The Daily Star and the BBC News website.[12][13][14][13][15] Since 2017, his writings have been published in the Dhaka Tribune, Indian Express, Scroll.in, Haaretz, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, and Whiteboard.[5][16][17][18][19] Chowdhury has been a prolific columnist for the Dhaka Tribune which is edited by Zafar Sobhan.[20][21][22] In 2020, Chowdhury penned an article for the liberal Israeli newspaper Haaretz in the prelude to the Abraham Accords which considered Bangladesh as a potential candidate for normalization with Israel. In the article, he recalled his autograph from Yasser Arafat; while Chowdhury appeared open to the idea of a one state solution.[23] In 2021, Chowdhury wrote on the long history of the Rohingya which Myanmar refused to acknowledge.[24] On behalf of the Dhaka Tribune, Chowdhury did an exclusive interview of a leading Rohingya activist regarding conditions in Rakhine State; the activist later became a minister in the National Unity Government of Myanmar.[25]
Chowdhury writes history on his Substack websites, including Bangladesh Statecraft, the East Pakistan History Forum, and the Faridpur Historical Survey, which covers political, legal, and diplomatic history.[26][27][28] He has advocated constitutional and political reform through his writings, including calling for more millenial and Gen Z representation in the Constitutional Reform Commission. Chowdhury also proposed Muhammad Yunus, Irene Khan, and Sara Hossain as candidates for President of Bangladesh.[3][11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Umran Chowdhury, LLM (SOAS University of London) provided
research assistance and supported the collection of the data.", Page 21, SOAS Arbitration in Africa Survey Report 2022
https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/38072/1/SOAS%20Arbitration%20in%20Africa%202022%20Survey%20Report.pdf - ^ a b Chowdhury, Umran (January 19, 2023). "2022 SOAS and AAA Surveys on Arbitration in Africa". Kluwer Arbitration Blog.
- ^ a b Chakraborty, Debdutta (October 23, 2024). "Did Bangladesh president get Hasina's resignation letter or not? Conflicting statements spark protests". ThePrint.
- ^ "Tagore Street, Tel Aviv: Against Normalizing Bangladeshi—Israeli relations". Jamhoor.
- ^ a b Mahmud, Faisal. "Why Dhaka removed passport clause that barred travel to Israel?". Al Jazeera.
- ^ "Socialite Shusmita Chowdhury passes away".
- ^ Report, Star (December 6, 2023). "Shusmita Amin's death anniv today". The Daily Star.
- ^ "Accountability matters".
- ^ Chowdhury, Umran (November 2, 2024). "What is the likelihood of a national unity government?".
- ^ International Arbitration Practice Group, London, 2022
- ^ a b Chowdhury, Umran (October 3, 2024). "When will Bangladesh get its first woman president?".
- ^ "Letters". TIME. April 29, 2006.
- ^ a b "The Daily Star Web Edition Vol. 5 Num 300". archive.thedailystar.net.
- ^ "'Protect us from cyclone'". November 16, 2007 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Let's make it work". The Daily Star. December 22, 2008.
- ^ "View From The Neighbourhood: Unsecular India?". December 23, 2019.
- ^ "Umran Chowdhury | Scroll.in". Umran Chowdhury. March 30, 2021.
- ^ "Umran Chowdhury, Dhaka Tribune | Scroll.in". Umran Chowdhury, Dhaka Tribune. December 10, 2022.
- ^ Sam Bidwell and Umran Chowdhury, The Commonwealth and Dhaka, Whiteboard. September 17, 2023
- ^ "Umran Chowdhury - Dhaka Tribune".
- ^ "Umran Chowdhury - Dhaka Tribune".
- ^ "Umran Chowdhury - Dhaka Tribune".
- ^ "Why Bangladesh Should, Belatedly, Recognize Israel - Israel News - Haaretz.com".
- ^ Tribune, Umran Chowdhury, Dhaka (September 29, 2021). "The long history of the Rohingyas that Myanmar refuses to acknowledge". Scroll.in.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "'Situation in Rakhine the same as in 2017'".
- ^ Chowdhury, Umran. "Bangladesh Statecraft | Umran Chowdhury | Substack". umranchowdhury.substack.com.
- ^ Chowdhury, Umran. "East Pakistan History Forum | Umran Chowdhury | Substack". eastpakistan.substack.com.
- ^ Chowdhury, Umran. "Faridpur Historical Survey | Umran Chowdhury | Substack". faridpur.substack.com.