Yusuf Ali Chowdhury

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Yusuf Ali Chowdhury


Born	1905 Faridpur, Bengal, British India
Died	26, November, 1971 Karachi, West Pakistan
Political party	Muslim League, Pakistan Democratic Party
Spouse	Begum Ferdousi Chowdhurani

Yusuf Ali Chowdhury (1905-1971), or Mohan Mia as he is commonly referred to, was a prominent Bengali politician and member of a famous zamindar family from Faridpur, Bangladesh. He played an active role in the Pakistan movement as a leading figure of the Muslim League in Bengal. He was a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly in the 1930s and 1940s and also became a minister in the provincial government of East Bengal led by Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Huq. Later on he went onto to become a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) of Pakistan. Chowdhury, also controversial for siding with Pakistan during Bangladesh's liberation war, passed away during the last days of the war in 1971.

1 Family
2 Political life
3 Criticism
4 Death
5 Legacy
6 See also
7 References

[edit] Family

Yusuf Ali Chowdhury Mohan Mia was born into one of Bengal's most prominent Muslim zamindar families. His father Zamindar Chowdhury Moyezuddin Biwshash, as a parton of the Indian National Congress party, played a huge role in building up protest against colonial rule and bringing more equity between Hindus and Muslims. His elder brother Muazzem Hussein Chowdhury (Lal Mia) was also a leading political figure in Bengal and in Pakistan. Lal Mia was the Chief Whip of the National Assembly of Pakistan in the 1950s and also the education minister of Pakistan in the 1960s. His younger brother Enayet Hossain Chowdhury (Tara Mia) also became a Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan. After the creation of Bangladesh, Mohan Mia's sons and relatives began engaging in the political arena. His eldest son Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf was a minister in several Bangladeshi governments and is currently a vice president of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). Several other relatives of Mohan Mia became Members of Parliament in Bangladesh. They included Chowdhury Akmal Ibne Yusuf (from the BNP), one of his sons, and Kamran Hossain Chowdhury (from the Jatiya Party), one of his grand nephews.His grandsons Raiyan Yusuf and Athban Yusuf are holding their grandfather's legacy and are relentlessly spreading his wise words amongst the people of Bangladesh.

[edit] Political life

When Mohan Mia was at Ishan School, he was one of 25 or 30 Muslim students out of a total of a thousand. Undeterred, he fought and succeeded in establishing their right to hold annual Milad in the school in the same way as the Hindu students observed Saraswati puja. Similarly, when he became mutawalli or custodian of the zamindari, he decided to hold a grand feast for thousands of their tenants in memory of his father. He decided to sacrifice 25 cows for meat although he knew cow slaughter was banned in the town. He took up the issue with the authorities and persuaded them to lift the ban.

During his 17 years of chairmanship of the Faridpur District Council he succeeded in keeping the entire greater district of the time free from any communal violence although the whole of British India was affected by this scourge resulting in the killing of hundreds of thousands of people of both communities. His pioneering efforts at establishing educational institutions in the district and a multi-sectoral vocational training centre on the outskirts of the district town spoke eloquently of his foresightedness for social progress.

Mohan Mia became legendary in the field of poltics. In 1937 he decided for the first time to contest for a seat in the Bengal Legislative Assembly. Despite stiff opposition from his family members and friends, he gave away his own safe and secure constituency within his zamindari in favour of Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan (the speaker of Pakistan’s first Constituent Assembly), regarded by him as his political guru. He chose for himself the Shibchar-Sadarpur-Bhanga constituency to challenge powerful Zamindar Choudhury Shamsuddin Ahmed, known as Badshah Mia of Duttapara.

Mohan Mia won the seat. A.K. Fazlul Huq formed the government in Bengal in coalition with the Muslim League. But in 1941 Fazlul Huq severed his ties with the Muslim League and formed a new government in association with the Congress. Mohan Mia stayed on in the League and played a significant role in the party. Fazlul Huq was angry but Mohan Mia did not budge from his stand. Despite political differences with many, Mohan Mia never kept anyone away from his personal respect or denied his family's traditional hospitality. Many famous politicians of India and Pakistan including Congress and Muslim League leaders visited Faridpur on different occasions and enjoyed the generous hospitality at Mohan Mia's family house Moiz Manzil and also at Biwshash Bari in Chanpur, his ancestral hometown outside Faridpur town.

With his close association with A.K. Fazlul Huq, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Nurul Amin, Mohan Mia could have become a minister in Pakistan. Instead he offered to become a kingmaker and paved the way for his elder brother, Muazzem Hussein Chowdhury (Lal Mia) to become a central cabinet minister in Pakistan. He was elected as a Member of the National Assembly in the 1950s and 1960s. He also believed strongly in the cause of democracy and was active in the anti-Ayub Khan movement in the late 1960s. As the Muslim League got disbanded he joined the Krishak Praja Party and then the Pakistan Democratic Party (PDP) of Nurul Amin. He had also campaigned for Fatima Jinnah, sister of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in her bid to defeat Ayub Khan at the presidential elections. However during the 1970 elections, Mohan Mia withdrew his candidacy to allow Obaidur Rahman of the Awami League to easily sail to victory.

[edit] Criticism

However he was widely critiscised for his failure to support the cause of Bangladesh during the liberation war. His stance was that there should be no break up of Pakistan, rather the Bengalis be given their due rights. Although he joined Central Peace Committee along with other pro Pakistani leaders, he remained very much inactive in playing a role as one of the committee's members. His pro Pakistani stance caused him dearly as he lost a lot support and respect among the common people and even among his own family. During the later days of the war he however lost all faith in a united Pakistan and commented that the break up of Pakistan was inevitable.

[edit] Death

Yusuf Ali Chowdhury Mohan Mia died on 26 November 1971 in Karachi, Pakistan. Mohan Mia travelled to Karachi in November 1971 to carry a an important letter for his party chief Nurul Amin. The letter contained a matters relating to the political situation in Pakistan. It was to be given to President Yahya Khan.

Mohan Mia's body was flown back to Dhaka and then taken to Faridpur where he is buried along with his brothers on the grounds of the magnificent Moiz Manzil.

[edit] Legacy

Mohan Mia's legacy is ofcourse marred by his pro Pakistani stance during the liberation war. But he remains renowned for his rare but deep sense of moral and ethical conviction in politics. His popularity at one point and his association with great Bengali leaders could have made him a decorated member of the king's court. However he opted to decorate others for the king's court and keep himself within a simple and humble lifestyle. His sons have continued to enagage prominently in Bangladesh's political scene and so has other family members who remain deeply divided over the different political stances and members of different political platforms. These divisions trace their roots back to the days of the liberation war in 1971.