Nawab Moulvi Ali Amjad Khan (1871 – 1905) was the

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

of Longla during 1874–1905. Honorary Magistrate Ali Amjad Khan was educated at St. Edmund's College, Shillong,

St. Paul's School, Darjeeling St. Paul's School is a private boarding school for boys in the town of Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. It is known as "Eton of the East" because it is thought to follow the similar cultural and traditional values of Eton College. St. Paul's is ...

and later at

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

. He succeeded his father Ali Ahmed Khan at his death in 1874. Nawab Ali Amjad Khan was very successful in increasing the revenue of the Estate many fold. However, on 12 July 1897 there was a cataclysmic earthquake that caused colossal damage to the region and estate. Nawab Ali Amjad Khan was a well known hunter, educationist, social worker and philanthropist.

Early life and family

Khan was born on 17 November 1870 to an royal

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 ...

Shi'ite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood to ...

family in the village of

Prithimpassa The Prithimpassa family, also known as the Nawabs of Longla, are a Shia royal family from the Prithimpassa Union, Kulaura Upazila, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh. The family was of the erstwhile feudal nobility of East Bengal. They played impo ...

in South Sylhet,

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 ...

. His father, Moulvi Ali Ahmed Khan, was the

Nawab of Longla The Prithimpassa family, also known as the Nawabs of Longla, are a Shia royal family from the Prithimpassa Union, Kulaura Upazila, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Bangladesh. The family was of the erstwhile feudal nobility of East Bengal. They played imp ...

and his mother, Umraonissa Khatun, was a housewife. Upon his birth, his father established the

Ali Amjad's Clock Ali Amjad's Clock () is the oldest clock tower of Bangladesh and lies on the north bank of the Surma River in the northeastern city of Sylhet. The tower was founded by Nawab Ali Ahmad Khan of Prithimpassa in 1872 and named after his son, Nawab Al ...

in 1874. Khan married Syeda Fatima Banu, daughter of Syed Aminuddin Hasan of the Narpati Haveli Bari in

Chunarughat Chunarughat (), is an Upazila of Habiganj District in the Division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Geography Chunarughat is located at . It has 61,132 households and total area 495.50 km2. History Rajapur (Tekarghat) in Chunarughat was the capital ...

Habiganj Habiganj (), is a major town and district headquarters of Habiganj District in the division of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Total population of Habiganj is about 86,000. Railroad * Habiganj Bazar–Shaistaganj–Balla line Shaistaganj-Habiganj rai ...

Career

Ali Amjad had the hobbies of horse riding, polo and hunting. Ali Amjad was a hunter, according to records he had shot 43 tigers in his own jungle and in other forests in

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

and

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

. Ali Amjad was one of the first tea pioneers in his region and his most notable tea estate was Rungicherra. Ali Amjad was also an educationist in his region by founding the Ali Amjad Government Girls' High School, providing scholarships to students in

Karimganj Karimganj, officially Sribhumi, is a town in the Karimganj district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Assam. It is the administrative headquarters of the district. Karimganj town is located at . The area of Karimganj Tow ...

, presenting gold medals to outstanding students in

and by being a member of the

. He also contributed to different sectors of the economy such as finance, logistics communication, postal system, medical and other sectors in his region. In recognition of this the British declared him the Honorary

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

of the entire region. In 1895, he visited the Nawab Bahadur of Murshidabad Syed Wasif Ali Meerza who was his close friend. They had a very successful tiger hunt in the hills near Bahadurpur Station in

. In 1897 there was a cataclysmic earthquake

1897 Assam earthquake The Assam earthquake of 1897 occurred on 12 June, in Assam, British India at 11:06 UTC, and had an estimated moment magnitude of 8.2–8.3. It resulted in approximately 1,542 human casualties and caused catastrophic damage to infrastructures. ...

which caused colossal damage to the region and estate. In 1901

Lord Curzon George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston (11 January 1859 – 20 March 1925), known as Lord Curzon (), was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician, explorer and writer who served as Viceroy of India ...

who was the Governor General of India visited

Silchar Silchar is a city and the headquarters of the Cachar district of the state of Assam, India. It is second largest city of Assam after Guwahati in terms of population and GDP. It is also administrative capital of Barak Valley division. It is locate ...

and Nawab Ali Amjad Khan played a role during the visit. During his tenure his family was known to be the wealthiest family in the

Sylhet Region Sylhet Division () is a northeastern Divisions of Bangladesh, division of Bangladesh, renowned for its lush tea gardens, rolling hills and vibrant cultural heritage. Covering an area of approximately 12,298 square kilometres, it is bordered by t ...

. In 1905 on his way to

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

he was struck with enteric fever that caused his untimely death at the age of 34. His sons were Nawab Ali Haider Khan and Nawab Ali Asghar Khan who were both MLA's.

References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20110715113231/http://prithimpassaestate.com/history.html {{catimprove, date=April 2022 1871 births 1905 deaths Prithimpassa family 19th-century Bengalis Pakistani MNAs 1962–1965 Bangladeshi Shia Muslims