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 ...

Ali Haider Khan (11 February 1896 – 30 June 1963) was a Bengali noble and politician.

Early life and family

Khan was born on 11 February 1896 to an royal Bengali

Shia 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 ...

family known as the Nawabs of Longla based in the village of Prithimpassa in South Sylhet (then under the North-East Frontier province of 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 ...

). The royal family are descended from Sakhi Salamat, a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

nobleman from

Greater Khorasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

, who settled in Prithimpassa after being granted land there by the Lodi sultans of Delhi in the 15th century. Khan's father,

Ali Amjad Khan, was an honorary magistrate by occupation. His mother, Syeda Fatima Banu, was the daughter of Syed Aminuddin Hasan of Narpati West Haveli in Chunarughat, Habiganj and a descendant of Syed Nasiruddin.

Career

The

Assam Legislative Assembly The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral Assam Legislature, legislature of the List of states and union territories of India, Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Dispur, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present L ...

was founded in 1937, and Khan won a seat in its first elections in the South Sylhet (East) constituency. Khan served as Assam's Minister of Agriculture in the cabinet of Sir

Muhammed Saadulah Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla KCIE (; 21 May 1885 – 8 January 1955) was the 1st Prime Minister of Assam in British India from 1937 to 1946. He was also the member of Constituent Assembly of India from 1946 to 1950. Saadulla was knighted the ...

. From 1942 to 1946, he was the Minister of Power and Water Development in Gopinath Bordoloi's cabinet. He was also the leader of the Independent Muslim Party. In 1945, he led his party into an alliance with Assam Congress and its coalition partners which included the likes of Bordoloi and

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (13 May 1905 – 11 February 1977) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the President of India from 1974 to 1977. Born in Delhi, Ahmed studied in Delhi and Cambridge and was called to the bar from the Inner ...

(who later became the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

). Bordoloi considered Khan as their mainstay. In 1950, he hosted King

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

of Iran and Governor-General Khwaja Nazimuddin at his estate for four days and went hunting with them.

Personal life

In 1917, he married Nawabzadi Husna Ara Begum, the eldest child of

Wasif Ali Mirza of

Murshidabad Murshidabad (), is a town in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. This town is the headquarters of Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river, Bhagirathi Riv ...

. They had three children – Ali Safdar Khan, Syedunnessa Begum and Ali Sarwar Khan. He also had a son named Ali Dawar Khan.

Death

Khan died on 30 June 1963, in the village of Prithimpassa.

References

1900 births 1963 deaths Prithimpassa family 20th-century Bengalis Assam MLAs 1937–1946 Assam MLAs 1946–1952 East Bengal MLAs 1947–1954 Bangladeshi Shia Muslims {{Assam-politician-stub