Abdul Gaffar Choudhury

Abdul Gaffar Choudhury (12 December 1934 – 19 May 2022) was a Bangladeshi-born British writer, journalist, columnist, political analyst and poet. He wrote the lyrics to "Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano", a widely celebrated song commemorating the Bengali Language Movement. He was awarded Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1967, Ekushey Padak in 1983, and Independence Day Award in 2009. Choudhury was born on 12 December 1934, to an aristocratic Bengali Muslim family known as the Zamindars of Ulania in Mehendiganj, then located under the Backergunge District of the Bengal Province. His ancestor, Shaykh Muhammad Asad Ali, arrived migrated from Persia to Ayodhya, later settling in the Bengali city of Murshidabad. Ali's great great great grandson Muhammad Hanif served as a military commander under Shaista Khan, the Mughal governor of Bengal. He was noted to have contributed to the suppression of Arakanese and Portuguese pirates in the Bay of Bengal. Hanif then entered the greater Barisal region where he served as the Jamadar of the Sangram Fort in Govindapur and settled in the village of Tetulia, Hizla. The family were later endowed the title of Choudhury, and from his descendants, Muhammad Taqi migrated from the Tetulia Jamadar Bari to the village of Ulania. His son, Naya Raja, was Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury's great grandfather. Naya Raja and his two brothers, Hasan Raja and Kala Raja, became notable as traders of areca nut, salt and rice, and built strong relationships with the Marwari merchants of Calcutta during the Company Raj. The three brothers established the ports of Lalganj, Aliganj and Kaliganj, and with their amassed wealth, established the zamindari of Idilpur. Choudhury's father, Wahed Reza Choudhury, son of Fazel Ali, was a landlord and freedom fighter. He was the president of Congress's Bakarganj branch and a member of the All-India Congress Working Committee. His father also served as secretary to Motilal Nehru and was imprisoned in the 1942 August Movement. Choudhury's mother was Zohra Khatun. Choudhury had three brothers and five sisters, Ali Reza Choudhury (Mehdi) his younger brother, Hossain Reja Choudhury his elder brother. His sisters' names are; Manik Bibi Choudhury, Laili Khatun Choudhury, Saleha Khatun Choudhury, Masuma Begum Choudhury and his younger sister Fazilatun Nesa Choudhury.