- Qajar Qub Ud-Din Ahmed Chowdhury
Qajar Qutb-ud-din Ahmed Chowdhury (1937-1997) [
Zamindar ] (Perso-Arabic) zamindar Barokut Golapgonj DhakadokshinSylhet ,Bangladesh . Government Official.British Raj Biography
Qutb-Udin Ahmed Chowdhury was the forth son of Qajar Furkan Ud-Din Ahmed Chowdhury and Grandson to Abdul Lotif Qajar and Begum Jannat Bibi and who was
Persian Azeri origins from theQajar family line, who consolidated parts of the Chowdhury estates in Barokut Dhakadokshin GolapgonjSylhet Bangladesh along with his four brothers Qajar Monir Ud Din, Qajar Jomir Ud-Din, Qajar Mozir Ud Din, Qajar Mofuz Ud-Din. He inherited the estate from his father, vast lands of various platations along with their mother Begum Husna Banu from Delhi.Qutb-Ud-Din was a multilingual person. He spoke Persian,
Urdu ,Bangla , English, and Hindi. He was taught Arabic, Persian and English at home. He was known as patron of Persian and Urdu literature. He observed the Nouruz the Persian New Year,though he was aSunni himself he had manyZorastrian and Christian ties in his family. He also had close relations with the Hindu's,Armenians and the European community.Qutb-Ud-Din had one wife Begum Assiya Khannom Chowdhury a Zamindars Daughter Originating from
Delhi Sultanate family line and has 10 children. Business Mogul Rafik Ahmed Chowdhury, Lily Ahmed (Married Zamindar's/ Rajput's Son Molvibazar), Actress and Writer Shelly Jobeda Chowdhury (Married to Business mogul),Property Mogul Shibli Ahmed Chowdhury, Colee Chowdhury (Married to Health Ministry Officer), Lucy Islam (Married to Forestry Minister), Notable TV presenter Ashfak Ahmed Chowdhury Tipu, Barrister Musadek Ahmed Chowdhury, lecturer of English and History Mustaq Ahmed Chowdhury and Fashion Designer Muni Islam (Married to a Doctor). and has 18 known grandchildren. Among his non-succeeding Title heir and grandchildren His Eldest Grandchild Zubair Ilija Qajar Chowdhury who is the eldest son to Shelley Jobeda Chowdhury. He also is the grandfather to British Model and Actor Abraham Jocube Qajar ChowdhuryAbraham Jocube-Chowdhury . He is also the Uncle to Ambassadors Faruk Ahmed Chowdhury, Masud Ahmed Chowdhury, Enam Ahmed Chowdhury and Iftikar Ahmed Chowdhury.Ancestry
The ancestors of the Ahmed Chowdhury Family are of the
Qajar tribe of Persia who migrated to Bengal in the early 1800s. Members of the Qajar Amed Chowdhury family have origins in Tabriz(Iran),Delhi SultanateSuri Dynasty ,Qajar , they were said to be vast land owners and merchant Princes before migrating to Bengal, where they where titled Chowdhury by the British Raj in the early 1900s. Though not direct descendents, the family also have family ties with descendents of the lastEmperor Bahadur Shah II many of the family members are married into Nowab eg:Khavaja family line andRajput Royal bloodlines of Bengal, they also featured prominently in the history of Bangladesh andIndia .Early life
As a young child he was educated at home learned Persian, Arabic, Urdu and English in addition to Bengali. He was noted as being a very gifted child. He travelled throughout India, Pakistan, The Middle East and Persia and By the age of 22, he was entrusted with the maintenance and expansion of the family estates and later went on to work as a Government official for the British Raj.
Philanthropy
Qutb-Ud-Din was a noted philanthropist. He donated over 100 lakh rupees to various charitable projects. He spent over 50,000 rupees in famine relief work, building Hospitals, repairing of Mosques, Temples and various religious establishments. He also was one of the chief backers for the building of the first public hospital in Golapgonj Sylhet. Later many hospitals were funded and constructed by him, He also spend thousands of rupees building schools, education and orphan establishments in various parts of East Bengal (Bangladesh).
Literature
Much of his spare time was spent composing and reading literature in Urdu and Persian He had a pure passion for literature and read over 3,OOO books over a period of a few years. He was a fond reader of Persian Literature and poem and knew verses of the Rubaiyat of
Omar Khayyam . He enjoyed English, Bengali and Urdu literature.Dances
Qutb-Ud-Din was a great patron of the arts of the
baijees , the hereditary dancing girls introduced to Bengal byWajid Ali Shah , the Nawab of Awadh. Baijees, known as the Tawaif in Northern India, danced a special form of Kathak focused at popular entertainment along with singing mostly in the form of Thumri.During his frequent visits to
Lucknow , Nawab and Rajput friends, baijees used to perform regularly for mehfils (gatherings) and mujras at the rajbaris. The most prominent baijees were Suponjan, Mushtari Bai, Piyari Bai, Heera Bai, Wamu Bai and Abedi Bai.Later life and death
He retired at 50 and lived in his town house with his family in Zinda Bazar Sylhet Town, opposite the Mazar of
Shah Jalal , and travelled through out Europe, America and Asia.Qajar Qutb-Ud-Din Ahmed Chowdhury died at 70 on October 7th, 1997 by natural death [1] . He was buried in the family plot in
Shah Jalal Mazar Sylhet Bangladesh.
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