Abdul Majid Chowdhury

Chowdhury was born in 1860, in the village of Mahipur, Rangpur district, Bengal Presidency. He belonged to a Bengali zamindar family of Muslim Chowdhuries. His father, Ziaullah Chowdhury, was the Zamindar of Mahipur. They were direct descendants of Arif Muhammad Choudhury, the military commander-in-chief of the Cooch Behar State and later the Chakladar of Qazirhat under the Bengal Subah. In 1879, Chowdhury passed his entrance examination from the Rangpur Zilla School. In 1881, he graduated from the Calcutta Alia Madrasa.

Chowdhury assisted his father in the construction project for the Mahipur Mosque within the zamindari estate. He succeeded his father as the Zamindar of Mahipur in 1883, and generated 25 thousand takas in revenue.{{cite book |title=Eastern Bengal and Assam District Gazetteers: Rangpur |last=Vas |first=J.A. |year=1911 |publisher=Pioneer Press, India |location=Allahabad |page=45 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.23105/page/n69/mode/2up}} Chowdhury was a member of the Rangpur District Board from 1890 to 1912, eventually becoming its chairman. At the 1896 New Year Honours, he was awarded Khan Bahadur by the British Raj. Chowdhury was elected as the president of the Central National Muhammedan Association (Rangpur Unit) under Syed Ameer Ali in 1898. He was the founding vice-president of the Rangpur Sahitya Parisat branch of the Bangiya Sahitya Parishat,{{cite book |title=ইতিহাস |language=bn |volume=38 |year=2004 |publisher=Itihas Parishad |page=40}} and was praised by Maniruzzaman Islamabadi.{{cite book |title=উনিশ শতকে বাঙালী মুসলমানের চিন্তাচেতনার ধারা |language=bn |year=1983 |author=Ahmed, Wakil |publisher=Bangla Academy |page=238}} Chowdhury was the founder of the Mahipur branch of Nur al-Iman, established by Mirza Muhammad Yusuf Ali, and a member of the All-India Compulsory Primary Education Execution Committee too.{{cite book |language=bn |title=তসলিমুদ্দীন আহমদ,1852-1927 |page=31 |year=1993 |isbn=9789840727247 |publisher=Bangla Academy |author=Hossein, Sufi Motahar}} He was the founder of the Munshipara Madrasa. On 11 July 1899, he hosted John Woodburn, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, at the madrasa. He submitted a proposal to the British government with regards to madrasa education which was accepted, and successfully campaigned in favour of compulsory primary education in 1911. He also contributed to the inclusion of the Maktab system in the grants programme. All of the Alia Madrasas across the Rangpur district subsequently received grants from the Mohsin Fund and Rangpur District Board through his efforts. Chowdhury also served as an honorary magistrate. He played an active role at the first annual conference of the Bengal Provincial Educational Society.{{cite Banglapedia|author=Kaniz-e-Batool|article=Chowdhury, Ali Nawab}}

Chowdhury died on 11 November 1912.{{cite Banglapedia|author=Maniruzzaman, Muhammad|article=Choudhury, Khan Bahadur Abdul Majid}}

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Category:19th-century Bengalis

Category:20th-century Bengalis

Category:People from British India

Category:Bengali Muslims

Category:People from Gangachara Upazila

Category:Rangpur Zilla School alumni

Category:1860 births

Category:1912 deaths