Khan Bahadur Khan Bahadur – a compound of ''Khan'' "Leader" and ''Bahadur'' "Brave" – was an honorary title in British India conferred on Indian subjects who were adherents of Islam or Zoroastrianism. The equivalent title for Hindus, Buddhists and India ...

Moulvi Abdul Majid Chowdhury (1860 – 11 November 1912) was a Bengali educationist.

Early life

Chowdhury was born in 1860, in the village of Mahipur,

Rangpur district Rangpur District () is a district in northern Bengal, It is a part of Rangpur Division, Bangladesh. Geography Under the Rangpur Division (one of eight divisions) composed of eight districts of northern Bangladesh, the District of Rangpur is bo ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. He belonged to a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

'' family of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Chowdhuries. His father, Ziaullah Chowdhury, was the Zamindar of Mahipur. They were direct descendants of Arif Muhammad Choudhury, the military commander-in-chief of the

Cooch Behar State Cooch Behar, also known as Koch Bihar, was a princely state in India during the British Raj. The state was placed under the Bengal States Agency, part of the Eastern States Agency of the Bengal Presidency. It was located south of the Hima ...

and later the Chakladar of Qazirhat under the

Bengal Subah The Bengal Subah (Bengali language, Bengali: সুবাহ বাংলা, ), also referred to as Mughal Bengal and Bengal State (after 1717), was one of the puppet states and the largest subah, subdivision of The Mughal India, Mughal Emp ...

. In 1879, Chowdhury passed his

entrance examination In education, an entrance examination or admission examination is an examination that educational institutions conduct to select prospective students. It may be held at any stage of education, from primary to tertiary, even though it is typica ...

from the

Rangpur Zilla School Rangpur Zilla School (Rangpur District School) is a school in Rangpur City, Bangladesh. It is one of the earliest schools established in Bengal. History The school was established in 1832 as Rangpur Zamindar School, by the local Zaminders or l ...

. In 1881, he graduated from the

Calcutta Alia Madrasa Aliah University (AU; , ) is a Public university, public State university (India), state university in New Town, West Bengal, India. Previously known as Mohammedan College of Calcutta, it was elevated to university in 2008. History The Aliah ...

Career

Chowdhury assisted his father in the construction project for the Mahipur Mosque within the zamindari estate. He succeeded his father as the Zamindar of Mahipur in 1883, and generated 25 thousand takas in revenue. Chowdhury was a member of the Rangpur District Board from 1890 to 1912, eventually becoming its chairman. At the 1896 New Year Honours, he was awarded

by the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. Chowdhury was elected as the president of the Central National Muhammedan Association (Rangpur Unit) under Syed Ameer Ali in 1898. He was the founding vice-president of the Rangpur Sahitya Parisat branch of the

Bangiya Sahitya Parishat Bangiya Sahitya Parishat is a literary society in Maniktala of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Established during the time of the British Raj, its goal is to promote Bengali literature, both by translating works in other languages to Bengali and ...

, and was praised by Maniruzzaman Islamabadi. Chowdhury was the founder of the Mahipur branch of Nur al-Iman, established by

Mirza Muhammad Yusuf Ali Mirza Muhammad Yusuf Ali (1858 – 30 May 1920) was a Bengali writer and reformer in British India. Early life Ali was born in 1858 to a Bengali Muslim family of Mirzas in the village of Aliabad in Rajshahi district, Bengal Presidency. After com ...

, and a member of the All-India Compulsory Primary Education Execution Committee too. He was the founder of the Munshipara Madrasa. On 11 July 1899, he hosted John Woodburn, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, at the madrasa. He submitted a proposal to the British government with regards to madrasa education which was accepted, and successfully campaigned in favour of compulsory primary education in 1911. He also contributed to the inclusion of the Maktab system in the grants programme. All of the Alia Madrasas across the Rangpur district subsequently received grants from the Mohsin Fund and Rangpur District Board through his efforts. Chowdhury also served as an honorary magistrate. He played an active role at the first annual conference of the Bengal Provincial Educational Society.

Death

Chowdhury died on 11 November 1912.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Abdul Majid 19th-century Bengalis 20th-century Bengalis People from British India Bengali Muslims People from Gangachara Upazila Rangpur Zilla School alumni 1860 births 1912 deaths