Mohabbat Jan Chowdhury

Mohabbat Jan Chowdhury was born into a Bengali Muslim family who were erstwhile Zamindars of Khanpur in Gopalganj. His father, Said Jan Chowdhury (d. 1984), was a civil servant and the son of Zamindar Rahmat Jan Chowdhury of Khanpur. His great grandfather, Ahmad Jan Chowdhury was one of the two sons of Azim Chowdhury, the Zamindar of Dulai in Sujanagar, Pabna District.[3] Through him, he was a descendant of Sharfuddin Sarkar, a nobleman who migrated to Dulai from Samarkand in Turkestan.[4] Mohabbat's mother belonged to the aristocratic zamindar family of Ulania, who traced their ancestry to Persia.[5]

Chowdhury trained at the Pakistan Military Academy and joined the Pakistan Army in September 1955 as a second lieutenant. He served in a number of positions including in staff headquarters, Military Training Schools, and worked Inter-Services Intelligence. After the Independence of Bangladesh he joined Bangladesh Army. He was deputed to Bangladesh Rifles where he served as the deputy director general. He was the director of Army signal corps and then the Director General of Directorate General of Forces Intelligence. He served as the chairman of Bangladesh Krishi Bank and Public Administration Training Centre.[6]

Chowdhury after retirement joined politics. He was elected to parliament from Faridpur. He was the Minister for Home Affairs, Minister of Relief and Rehabilitation, Minister of Establishment and the Ministry of Food. He is the chairman of two businesses, Dynamic Communications and Taurus Knitwear. He is the director of Micro Industries Development Assistance and Services (MIDAS).[6]