Forty Years of Bangladesh: A Journey of Hopes and Unfilled Aspirations

Ziauddin M. Choudhury was born in Sylhet, Bangladesh. He spent his early school and college days in Narayanganj, Comilla, and Dhaka, Bangladesh. He attended Dhaka University for his undergraduate degree, and Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan for Master’s Degree. In later years, he attended Cornell University, New York, and American University, Washington DC for his graduate and post-graduate studies. Ziauddin Choudhury joined the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1968 and spent his early civil service career as Sub-divisional Officer in Munshiganj and Manikganj of greater Dhaka district in 1971. After independence, he worked as a special assistant in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat under Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, for a brief period. From May 1972 to August 1975 he worked with Minister A.H.M. Kamaruzzaman as his Private Secretary (with a break of about a year in between). Subsequently he worked as Deputy Commissioner in two districts, Noakhali (August 1975- March 1978), and Chittagong (March 1978- August 1981). He left Bangladesh for higher studies in the US in late August, 1981. On completion of his studies in the US, Ziauddin Choudhury joined the World Bank in Washington DC. At the World Bank he initially worked on Bank operations in Nepal, and Sri Lanka. He later moved on to other areas of Bank activities including policy and research, resource management, and management of information and communication technology, working in different capacities including project manager and advisor. Ziauddin Choudhury is the author of two Books—Assassination of Ziaur Rahman and Aftermath (University Press Ltd., Dhaka, Bangladesh); and Fight for Bangladesh (Xlibris, Indiana, USA). He is a regular contributor to various newspapers and magazines in Bangladesh including the Daily Star, Monthly Forum, and Dhaka Courier.