Syed Alimuddin Ahmad (; 1884 - 1920), popularly known as Master Saheb (), was 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 ...

bodybuilder and wrestler. He participated in the anti-British independence movement as an underground activist and revolutionary, as a part of the ''Dhaka Mukti Sangha'' organisation. Ahmed rose to prominence after the organisation was absorbed into

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

's Bengal Volunteers during the mayorship of

Chittaranjan Das Chittaranjan Das (5 November 1870 – 16 June 1925), popularly called ''Deshbandhu'' (friend of the country), was a Bengali freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian Independence Movement and the political guru of Indi ...

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

Early life and family

Syed Alimuddin Ahmad was born in 1884 to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims (; ) 'Mussalman'' also used in this work./ref> are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising over 70% of the global Bengali population, they are the second-largest ...

family in Ashiq Jamadar Lane,

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

. His father, Syed Amiruddin, was a tailor by profession and owned a small tailoring shop. He and his siblings were educated in the local primary school and then at

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

s, which was why he was often referred to by the titles of

Munshi During the Mughal Empire, ''Munshi'' () came to be used as a respected title for persons who achieved mastery over language and politics in the Indian subcontinent. Use in Bengal The surname "Munshi" ( Bengali: মুন্সি) is used by bot ...

or Moulvi by his comrades. Ahmad then enrolled at the

Dhaka College Dhaka College (), informally known as DC, is a public educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the subcontinent. It offers Honours degree, honours and Master's degree ...

. Following his father's death, he started working as a home tutor. Ahmad was a devout

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

Activism

The start of Ahmad's activism roughly coincided with the 1905 Partition of Bengal movement. As an accomplice of Hemchandra Ghosh, he joined Ghosh's organisation, the ''Dhaka Mukti Sangha''. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, many revolutionaries and activists were arrested by the British Army though others such as Ahmad continued to keep the organisation alive underground. Ahmad provided shelter for numerous rebels and assisted them with weaponry. He prevented communal riots in Dacca during his leadership and had recruited many young people in the city. Among his notable disciples was Abdul Jabbar. Ahmad continued his anti-imperial activities in hiding to avoid police arrests. The colonial police were never able to capture him.

Death and legacy

Alimuddin Ahmad died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in his early thirties in 1920, which was a major setback for the Mukti Sangha.

References

Revolutionaries from British India 1920 deaths 1884 births 20th-century Indian Muslims 20th-century Bengalis People from Dhaka Sunni Muslims 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in India Indian independence activists from Bengal {{Bangladesh-activist-stub