Introduction
Born on 1 May 1920, in West Bengal, of then British India, Shamsul Huda Chaudhury was a Bangladeshi politician and minister. He was mainly famous for being the Speaker of the Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad, twice. He was also famous as a mass-media administrator.
He completed his education at Presidency College, Kolkata, and later at the Aligarh Muslim University. During his student life, he led different student unions and leagues. He was also a good debater and won many international awards.
For a long time, he had worked for different mass media. After the partition of India, he worked for East Pakistan companies. He was always assigned in high positions and due to his good service, Shamsul was a renowned figure.
He built his political career by joining the 1970 Pakistan General Election. From then onwards, he was selected as Member of Parliament and served as the Minister of several ministries after the independence of Bangladesh. He was later chosen as the MP again and became the Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad. Because of his great work, he became the Speaker again. In total, he served for 5 years as the Speaker.
On 15 February 2000, after 9 years of his retirement, he died in Dhaka. In his personal life, he was married to Leila Arjumand Banu and he was buried next to her.
Life of “Shamsul Huda Chaudhury” at a glance
- Real Name: Shamsul Huda Chaudhury
- Date of Birth: 1 May 1920
- Date of Death: 15 February 2000
- Professions:
➢ Speaker of Jatiya Sangsad, from10 July 1986 to 5 April 1991
➢ Vice President, Aligarh University Students Union, from 1943 to 1944
➢ President, All Bengal Muslim Students League.
➢ Regional Director, All India Radio and later Pakistan Radio
➢ Deputy Director, Tourism Department
➢ Founder Director, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)
➢ Chief of Public Relations, East Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation
➢ Secretary-General, East Pakistan, Convention Muslim League (CML), in 1970
➢ Member of the National Assembly (MNA), constituency Mymensingh-XI.
➢ Leader, Bangladesh cultural team
➢ Chairman, Bangladesh Broadcasting Inquiry Commission, in 1976
➢ Advisor, Information Ministry, in 1977
➢ Member, the Parliament of Bangladesh, in 1979 and 1986
➢ Minister of Information
➢ Minister of Youth and Sports
➢ Minister of Cultural Affairs
➢ Minister of Religious Affairs
➢ Minister of Railways
➢ Minister of Planning
- Place of Birth: Sufi, Birbhum district, West Bengal, Bengal Presidency, British India
- Place of Death: Dhaka
- Education:
➢ BA degree, Presidency College, Calcutta, in 1941
➢ MA, Aligarh Muslim University
➢ LLB, Aligarh Muslim University
- Married to: Leila Arjumand Banu
- Religion: Islam
- Native Language: Bangla
- Achievements: Sir Morris Goar Trophy, All India Debate competition
Early Life and Education
On 1 May 1920, Shamsul was born in the village named Sufi in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, which was known as Bengal Presidency, in then British India.
In 1941, from Presidency College, situated in Kolkata, India, Shamsul completed his B.A. degree. He later completed his M.A. degree from Aligarh Muslim University. The subject from which he graduated is unknown. From the same university, he also obtained an LLB degree. While he was a student there, For the academic year of 1943 and 1944, he was chosen as the Vice President of the Aligarh University Students Union. Furthermore, he served as the President of the All Bengal Muslim Students League.
Career
Before joining politics and building his career path there, Shamsul always had a keen interest in the arena of mass-media and therefore, because of his great service in that field, he had a well-known fame as a television and radio broadcaster or presenter. Before the partition of India from the British, Shamsul served as the Regional Director of All India Radio station. Later, subsequently, after 1947, he served at the same position but for Radio Pakistan station.
He also acted as the Deputy Director of the tourism department, became the Founder Director of Pakistan International Airlines, and the Chief of Public Relations of East Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation. Additionally, Shamsul Huda traveled with and led the Bangladeshi cultural team to several different countries of the world. He was elected as the Chairman of Bangladesh Broadcasting Inquiry Commission in 1976. Finally, in 1977, he was appointed as Advisor to the Information Ministry.
In 1970, he got connected politically. He became the Secretary-General, from the then East Pakistan, of the Convention Muslim League (CML). During the 1970 Pakistani general election, Shamsul participated there as the representative of CML. He was then selected as the Member of the National Assembly (MNA), for the constituency Mymensingh-X.
In 1976, he was made the Chairman of the Bangladesh Broadcasting Inquiry Commission. Later in 1977, he was appointed as the Advisor to the Information Ministry. After that, in 1979, he was chosen as the Member of the Parliament of independent Bangladesh.
He had served quite a number of ministries as a minister in his life. These include the Ministry of Information, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Railways, and Ministry of Planning.
Once again, for the second time, on 10 July 1986, Shamsul was chosen as the Member of the Parliament, and this time he was given the role of a Speaker of the Jatiya Sangsad. After two years of service, in April 1988, he got the responsibility of the Speaker again, and this time he served for 3 years, till 5 April 1991.
Achievements:
During his student life, Shamsul was an excellent debater and attained ‘distinction’ remarks. Because of his debating skill, he had achieved quite a good number of gold medals in different debating competitions. One of the most valuable rewards was the “Sir Morris Goar Trophy” which he received in 1943, from the All India Debate competition.
Personal Life
In 1929, Shamsul married Leila Arjumand Banu. She was both a musician and singer and a social activist. She died in 1995. Shamsul later did not remarry and lived the rest of his 5 years of life as a widower.
Death
At the age of 79, on 15 February 2000, Shamsul Huda passed away at Dhaka. He was then laid down next to his wife, Leila Arjumand.
Conclusion
Shamsul Huda had a colorful, diverse life. From being a media person to a politician, he was successful in every sector. He always had the skill of being a leader from his student life. As a Speaker of the Parliament, he proved his worth and that is why he got the title of Speaker, two times. There is no information about any controversy in his life, so it is safe to say that Shamsul was an honest and humble person.