Staff Reporter:
Former President and veteran politician Dr AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury was laid to eternal rest at his Majidpur village home in Dayahata uapzila of Munshiganj on Sunday.
He was buried in his family graveyard after his fourth namaz-e-janaza there, which took place at Daya-hata School ground following Zuhr prayers.
People from all walks of life, including many politicians, joined the janaza there and paid their last re-spects to the former president.
Mahi B Chowdhury, son of the former president and Joint Secretary General of Bikalpa Dhara Bangla-desh, Munshiganj district Jamaat-e-Islami general secretary Fakhruddin Al Razi, Sirajdikhan upazila unit BNP president Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, former president of Srinagar Upazila unit BNP Momin Ali, officer-in-charge of Srinagar police Yasin, Upazila administration officials, and local dignitaries participated.
Earlier, his first and second namaz-e-janaza were held at Uttara Women’s Medical College and Hospital premises at 8:00 am and at Baitul Atik Jame Mosque at Baridhara at road 8 after Zuhr prayers on Satur-day.
The third namaz-e-janaza of B Chowdhury was held at Munshiganj stadium at 10 am on Sunday.
B Chowdhury breathed his last around 3:15am on Saturday while undergoing treatment at Uttara Wom-en’s Medical College Hospital on Wednesday, said his daughter Dr Shayla Chowdhury.
He is survived by wife, one son, two daughters and a host of relatives and well-wishers.
A prominent physician and the founding secretary-general of the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party), B Chowdhury was born on October 11, 1930, in Cumilla city (the famous ‘Munsif Bari’) at his maternal grandparents’ house.
His father Kafil Uddin Chowdhury was the co-chairman of the Krishak Praja Party, general secretary of the United Front, and a member of the then provincial cabinet of East Pakistan.
His ancestral home is in Majidpur Dayahata village, Srinagar upazila of Munshiganj.
B Chowdhury completed his matriculation in the first division from the famous St. Gregory’s School in Dhaka in 1947 and passed the ISC in the first division from Dhaka College in 1949. He earned his MBBS degree from Dhaka Medical College in 1954-55. He was on the merit list in all examinations.
He was a fellow of the three Royal Colleges of Physicians in the United Kingdom — London, Edin-burgh, and Glasgow (FRCP) and an honored FCPS in Bangladesh.
A successful parliamentarian, B Chowdhury delivered speeches at the United Nations thrice. He was a recipient of the Independence Award and the author of many books.
B Chowdhury entered politics at the request of former President Ziaur Rahman in 1978. He was first elected as a Member of Parliament from Srinagar, Munshiganj, in 1979 and served as a cabinet minister.
He was reelected as a Member of Parliament in 1991 and initially served as Minister of Education and later as Deputy Leader of Parliament.
In 1996, he served as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. He was reelected as a Member of Parliament in 2001 and served as the Foreign Affairs Minister of the BNP government from October to November of that year.
Prof Badruddoza Chowdhury was elected President of Bangladesh on November 14, 2001. He resigned from the presidency on June 21, 2002.
On May 8, 2004, B Chowdhury founded a political party named Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh. He was serving as the party’s president till his death.
His elder daughter, Moona Chowdhury, is a barrister by profession. His younger daughter, Shayla Chowdhury, is a physician and teaches at Dhaka’s Uttara Women’s Medical College. His only son, Mahi B Chowdhury, is a politician and media personality.
