Nawab Sirajul Islam Explained

Honorific Prefix:Khan Bahadur Nawab
Sirajul Islam
Native Name:নবাব সিরাজুল ইসলাম
Native Name Lang:bn
Office1:Member of the Bengal Legislative Council
Term Start1:1893
Term End1:1902
Birth Date:1845
Birth Place:Pearakandi, Tipperah district, Bengal Presidency
Death Place:Calcutta, Bengal Province

Nawab Sirajul Islam (Bengali: সিরাজুল ইসলাম; 1845–1923) was a Bengali lawyer, activist and educational reformer.[1] [2] [3]

Early life and education

Sirajul Islam was born in 1845 to the Bengali Muslim Qazi family of Pearakandi in the Tipperah district of the Bengal Presidency (now Brahmanbaria District, Bangladesh). His father, Qazi Muhammad Kazem, served as a Ṣadr Amīn (revenue judicial officer) for the Company Raj. Sirajul Islam graduated from Dhaka College in 1867.[4]

Career

Sirajul Islam began his career as the assistant headmaster of the Pogose School.

He became a Calcutta High Court lawyer after completing his Bachelor of Law degree in 1873.[5] In 1875, he was elected commissioner of the Calcutta Municipality. He became the assistant secretary of the Central National Muhamedan Association in 1885 and was made an honorary member of the Bengal Provincial Educational Conference. Sirajul Islam served as a member of the Bengal Legislative Council from 1893 to 1902. He was also nominated as a member of the syndicate body of the University of Calcutta.

Political views

Sirajul Islam was a supporter of Begum Rokeya and her campaign for the education of Muslim women.[6] He had initially opposed the 1905 Partition of Bengal and the establishment of the University of Dacca, but later changed his mind regarding both matters.[7]

Honours

In 1887, the British Raj awarded him the title of Khan Bahadur.[8] He was awarded the title of Nawab in 1911.

Death

He died in 1923 in Calcutta. His family collection was donated to the University of Dhaka Library.[9] Nawab Sirajul Islam Lane in Kolkata is named after him.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Khan, Muhammad Mojlum . The Muslim Heritage of Bengal: The Lives, Thoughts and Achievements of Great Muslim Scholars, Writers and Reformers of Bangladesh and West Bengal . 2013-10-21 . Kube Publishing Ltd . 978-1-84774-062-5 . 332 . en.
  2. Book: Gupta . Nilanjana . Calcutta Mosaic: Essays and Interviews on the Minority Communities of Calcutta . Banerjee . Himadri . Mukherjee . Sipra . 2009 . Anthem Press . 978-81-905835-5-8 . 129 . en.
  3. Book: Rahim, Muhammad Abdur . The History of the University of Dacca . 1981 . University of Dacca . 7 . en.
  4. Bhuiyan, Golam Kibria . Islam, Nawab Sirajul.
  5. Book: Taifoor, Syed Muhammed . Glimpses of Old Dhaka: A Short Historical Narration of East Bengal and Aassam [sic] with Special Treatment of Dhaka ]. 1965 . S.M. Perwez . 34 . en.
  6. Book: Amin, S. N. . The World of Muslim Women in Colonial Bengal, 1876-1939 . 1996 . BRILL . 978-90-04-10642-0 . 158 . en.
  7. Musalman opinion on the proposed Dacca University . The Modern Review . 1912 . 453 . en.
  8. Book: Who's who in India . 1914 . Newul Kishore Press . 16 . en.
  9. Book: The Independent Yearbook, Bangladesh . 1998 . Beximco Media Limited . 80 . en.