Khan BahadurGhulam Mustafa Chowdhury

Eminent politician, philanthropist and renowned zamindar Khan BahadurGhulam Mustafa Chowdhury was born in a traditional zamindar family of villageBhatipara in Deraiupazila under Sunamganj district of Bangladesh in 1882 A.D. His ancestor BahauddinFaruqui came from Arab to join the force of great saintHazratShahjalal Yemeni (R). Ghulam Mustafa Chowdhury actively participated in politics and joined the historic KhelafatAndolon (movement),He was a close associate of Nawab Sir Salimullah of Dhaka. A young Chowdhury performed very active role during the creation of Muslim League in 1906 A.D.He used to be a member of the then Assam Legislative Council and was elected the legislator of that council. During his tenure, he played very important role for the development of Assam province. He was also elected as a member of "Council of State" which used to be the upper houseof the then British Indian central parliament. Besides Chowdhury, Maulvi Abdul Karim was the only Muslim figure from greater Sylhet who could be elected for this prestigious position. An eminent parliamentarian and eloquent speaker; he could speech fluently in Bengali, English, Arabic and Urdu and often used to preside over different important socio-political meetings and seminars. To keep Muslim majority Sylhet with East Pakistan, he played a significant role during the historic referendum of Sylhet in 1947.He was an well respected politician of Assam province and used to be respected by Muslims, Hindus and others alike.Khan BahadurGhulam Mustafa Chowdhury was a benevolent zamindar and administered his zamindary very efficiently. He inherited a vast zamindari estate and huge properties from his father Muhammad Mubarak Chowdhury. The revenue that used to be collected from Bhatiparazamindari estate was one of the highest among other estates of greater Sylhet of that time. He was very popular and well known for his generosity. He donated a vast of land from his personal estate to establish the Chattak Cement Factory which bears his philanthropic identity, He also donated his personal land to set up Jamalganj police station which is currently Jamalganjupazila complex under Sunamganj district (need to mention here that, Jamalganjupazila is named after one of his ancestors Sheikh Jamal Muhammad). JaauaBazzar mosque which is situated besides Sylhet-Sunamgonj road is also built on his personal land.Eye attracting Bhatipara mosque which is a unique model of architectural design was built from the fund of Bhatiparazamindari estate, land for Bhatipara primary school was also donated from the estate.The then British Government honored him with the prestigious title "Khan Bahadur" for his various contribution in political, social and philanthropic activities.He was an well respected politician of Assam province and used to be equally respected by Muslims, Hindus and others alike. This great personality died in 1967 A.D. and buried in the graveyard of HazratShahjalal (R) in Sylhet.