The demise of Prof. AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury

Dr. AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, former President of Bangladesh.

Mostafa Kamal Majumder

The demise of Prof. AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury on early Saturday 5 October 2024 marks the end of an era in Bangladesh Politics. A legendary physician he did join politics at the request of BNP's founder Shaheed Ziaur Rahman in 1978.

A member of Parliament in five times in 1979, 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2018 he served as an education minister and the Deputy Leader of the Parliament of Bangladesh. In the last tenure of BNP in power he first became Foreign Minister and then the President of the country.

Descendent of an illustrious family of Mafizuddin Chowdhury, a minister and the general secretary of the United Front in the fifties of the last century, Badruddoza Chowdhury did make his mark as the head of the National Anti-TV Association of Bangladesh. 

As a physician he was known for a human approach and had a sharp clinical eye. He used to prescribe only one or two medicines at a time and used to advise his patients to lead disciplined life for good health instead of relying on medicine. In this respect he was like famous physician Prof. Nurul Islam.

In politics he made tremendous progress bus always remained unhappy with postings as a minister or deputy leader of the Parliament. This writer did tell his son Mahi B Chowdhury during the tenure of the 5th Parliament that the position of Deputy leader of the House was very high and cannot be attained by all. It's better to be the very best in that position.

In the 7th Parliament he attained the exalted position of President by leaving his long cherished position as the foreign Minister of Bangladesh but committed a fatal mistake of asserting more than his position actually entitled him to. His decision to ignore the request to offer bouquet at the Mazar of Shaheed Zia was not calculative and this with his overassertiveness cost him the support of the Parliament that elected him.

Prof. Badruddoza Chowhury brought himself down by his miscalculations of his power as President and tried to overcome this political debacle by launching the Bikalpa Dhara political party. The BNP took him as an enemy and vice versa. During the formative years of the last AL regime B Chowdhury visited the BNP chairperson's office when Begum Khaleda Zia was under House arrest. But when the BNP and like minded parties decided to launch a movement, he distanced from others saying they were plotting to bring BNP back to power.

This last stand amounted to his political suicide and he had to rely on blessings from the Awami league to get elected to the Parliament in the 2018 controversial night election. He was rarely heard since then. Fact remains, this very man had produced a documentary on the repressive AL rule of 1996-2001 which gave him and the BNP good dividends in the following election. He did cash in on that election but failed to enjoy its fruits because of political miscalculations that lowered him to zero from the second most important man in the BNP.

Despite all these failings that cost him a remarkable political career, Prof. AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury should be given his due as a champion of nationalist politics. May God grant him eternal peace and the family the mental strength to overcome the loss.