Nawab Syed Muhammad Bahadur (1867 – 12 February 1919) was an Indian politician who served as the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

in 1913 at

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

conference. He was the third Muslim to hold this position after

Badruddin Tyabji Badruddin Tyabji (10 October 1844 – 19 August 1906) was an Indian lawyer, activist and politician during British Raj. Tyabji was the first Indian to practice as a barrister of the High Court of Bombay who served as the third President of ...

and Rahimtulla M. Sayani. Nawab Syed Muhammad was born in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

as the son of Mir Humayun Jah Bahadur, one of the wealthiest Muslims of South India. Humayun Jah was the son of Shahzadi Shah Rukh Begum, daughter of Sultan Yasin, the fourth son of

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...

. He had helped the Indian National Congress in its early stages by giving both financial and intellectual support. When the third Indian National Congress was held in 1887, Humayun Bahadur gave monetary help to the Congress leaders. Nawab Syed Muhammad joined the Indian National Congress in 1894 and became an active member of the organization. In all his speeches and addresses Syed Muhammad convincingly maintained that the Muslims and the Hindus must live like brothers and their different religions must not separate them but bind them together. He sincerely believed that the main aim of the Indian National Congress was to unite the peoples of India into a strong nation. He was the first Muslim Sheriff of

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and was appointed as such in 1896. He was nominated to the Madras Legislative Council, in 1900. He was nominated to the

Imperial Legislative Council The Imperial Legislative Council (ILC) was the legislature of the British Raj from 1861 to 1947. It was established under the Charter Act of 1853 by providing for the addition of 6 additional members to the Governor General Council for legislativ ...

on 19 December 1903 as a non-official member representing the Madras Provinces. Syed Muhammad was awarded the title of "Nawab" in 1897 by the British Government when he attended the Diamond Jubilee Celebration of Queen Victoria. He died on 12 February 1919. The present family now stays in Bangalore. Nawab Syed Mansoor, the son of Syed Asgher. Syed Ahmed, grandson of Nawab Syed Mohammed, was settled in Kolar in 1950. Sahebzada Syed Mansoor married Sahebzadi Raheemunissa, granddaughter of

from Calcutta. Sahebzada Mansoor Ali started Tehreek-e-Khudadad.

Quotes

"The reluctance to revive the old village organisation and to establish village

panchayats The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical menti ...

is particularly pronounced in some Provinces, while a degree of tardiness in considering proposals for the expansion of local and municipal administration coupled with the oft-repeated desire to hedge further advance with over-cautious restriction, is noticeable among all grades of administrative authorities in India."— From the Presidential Address, I.N.C., 1913, Karachi

References

External links

Official Indian National Congress website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Syed Muhammad 1867 births 1919 deaths Presidents of the Indian National Congress Members of the Imperial Legislative Council of India People from Kolkata Sheriffs of Madras