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 ...

Maulvi Mawlawi (), is an Islamic religious title given to Muslim religious scholars, or ulama, preceding their names, similar to the titles Mawlānā, Mullah, or Sheikh. Mawlawi generally means a highly qualified Islamic scholar, usually one who has ...

Abdul Karim (12 September 1873 - 3 March 1945) 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 ...

lawyer and politician.

Early life and family

Abdul Karim was born on 12 September 1873 to a

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 ...

family in the village of Bahernagar in Bajitpur,

Kishoreganj Kishoreganj is a city and the headquarters of Kishoreganj District in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. The city is divided two sides by the Narasundha River. Demographics According to the 2011 Bangladesh census In 2011, the Bangladesh Bureau o ...

, then part of the

Mymensingh district Mymensingh District () is a district in Mymensingh Division Bangladesh, and is bordered in the north by Meghalaya, India and the Garo Hills, in the south by Gazipur District, in the east by the districts of Netrokona and Kishoreganj and in ...

of the

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, Maulvi Ali Ahmad, was a deputy magistrate whilst his grandfather, Maulvi Muhammad Sadi, was a judge at the Sherpur Civil Court. They were descendants of the 13th-century Islamic

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

Shah Taj Muhammad of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. Sadi had migrated from Kaliachapra in Pakundia to Bahernagar after his marriage to Abdul Karim's paternal grandmother Hajera Banu Bibi, who belonged to the Hasan family of Bahernagar. Abdul Karim's mother, Syeda Saiyadunnesa, was reportedly descended from

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

, the fourth Caliph of Islam. Due to his father's work moving around, Abdul Karim studied in places like Backergunge, Sudharam and Faridpur. He 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 Dacca Mohsinia Madrasa. He completed his FA from Dacca College in 1892. In 1895, he graduated with a First Position First Class

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in English literature from St. Xavier's College in

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 ...

. He was awarded his

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1898 from the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

Career

Abdul Karim joined the Dhaka Judge Court as a lawyer in 1899. He became a public prosecutor in the Comilla Judge Court in 1903. He was the chairman of the Tipperah District Board from 1922 to 1927. He was a member of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

, representing the Muslims of East Bengal, from 1926 to 1930. During his membership, he was included in the Chairman's Panel in the absence of the chairman twice in the Delhi and Simla sessions of 1927 and twice in the Delhi and Simla sessions of 1928. While a member of the Legislative Council, he presided over the Faridpur Bengal Provincial Muslim Conference in 1930. He was elected a member of the

Bengal Legislative Assembly The Bengal Legislative Assembly () was the largest legislatures of British India, legislature in British India, serving as the lower chamber of the legislature of Bengal Presidency, Bengal (now Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal). It ...

in 1937. In 1941, he served as the Education Minister in the cabinet of Sher-e-Bangla Abul Kasem Fazlul Huq.

Death

He died on 3 March 1945, in Bahernagar. His son Muhammad Enayet Karim co-founded the Dilalpur Abdul Karim High School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karim, Abdul University of Calcutta alumni Dhaka College alumni 1945 deaths 1873 births Members of the Council of State (India) People from Kishoreganj District St. Xavier's College, Kolkata alumni Bangladeshi people of Arab descent Bangladeshi people of Iraqi descent Education ministers of Bengal Bengal MLAs 1937–1945