Mohammad Osman Ali (; 1 January 1900 – 19 March 1971) was a founding member of the
Awami Muslim League and a member of the
East Bengal Legislative Assembly
The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...
.
Early life and education
Ali was born on 1 January 1900 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 of
Pradhan
Pradhan (Devanagari: प्रधान) is generally ministerial title of Sanskrit origin used in the Indian subcontinent. The Sanskrit ''pradhāna'' translates to "major" or "prime"; however, the more modern Hindi definitions provided by the Oxf ...
s in the village of
Jamalkandi in
Tipperah district
Meghna Division (), also known as Comilla district, is a proposed administrative division within Bangladesh. The division gets its name from the Meghna River, which forms its western border. It encompasses the north-western parts of the existing ...
,
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 ...
(now Comilla District,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
). His father was Haji Dengu Pradhan. Ali had his primary education at his village school and passed matriculation examination in 1920. Then he took admission in
Calcutta Islamia College.
[
]
Career
Ali was involved in the Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat movement (1919–22) was a political campaign launched by Indian Muslims in British India over British policy against Turkey and the planned dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after World War I by Allied forces.
Leaders particip ...
in 1920 and later in the Non-Cooperation Movement
Non-cooperation movement may refer to:
* Non-cooperation movement (1919–1922), during the Indian independence movement, led by Mahatma Gandhi against British rule
* Non-cooperation movement (1971), a movement in East Pakistan
* Non-cooperatio ...
. While the Non-cooperation Movement was going on he started a jute trade in Narayanganj
Narayanganj () is a city in central Bangladesh in the Greater Dhaka area. It is in the Narayanganj District, about southeast of the capital city of Dhaka. With a population of almost 1 million, it is the 6th largest city in Bangladesh. It is als ...
, East Bengal. He helped organise the Pakistan movement in Narayanganj. In 1930s, he published ''Sabuz Bangla'' (Green Bengal), a literary magazine.
With the beginning of the Pakistan Movement
The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...
based on the Lahore Resolution
The Lahore Resolution, later called the Pakistan Resolution in Pakistan, was a formal political statement adopted by the All-India Muslim League on the occasion of its three-day general session in Lahore, Punjab, from 22 to 24 March 1940, call ...
of 1940, Ali organised the movement in Narayanganj. In 1946, 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 ...
. He defeated Khwaja Habibullah
Nawab Khwaja Habibullah Bahadur (; 26 April 1895 – 21 November 1958) was a politician from East Bengal, soldier, social worker, and the fifth Nawab of Dhaka. He was the son of Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur. Under Habibullah's rule, the ...
, the last Nawab of Dhaka
The Nawab of Dhaka (Bengali: "ঢাকার নবাব"), originally spelt in English Nawab of Dacca, was the title of the head of one of the largest Muslim zamindar in British Bengal and Assam, based in present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh. The t ...
. He was awarded the title Khan Sahib
Khan Sahib - a compound of Khan "Leader" and Sahib "Master" - was a formal title of respect and honour, which was conferred mainly on Muslim, and also on Parsi, Irani, and Jewish subjects of the British Indian Empire. It was a title one deg ...
by the British Government, which he disavowed in 1944 for the policies 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 ...
.[
Ali served as the president of Narayanganj City Muslim League from 1942 to 1947 and the vice president of Dhaka District Muslim League. On 23 June 1949, he helped found the Awami Muslim League. He was involved in all the major movement of East Pakistan, the Language Movement of 1952, Six point movement and the ]1969 uprising in East Pakistan
The 1969 East Pakistan mass uprising () was a democratic political uprising in East Pakistan. It was led by the students backed by various political parties such as the Awami League, National Awami Party, and Communist party of East Pakistan and ...
.[
]
Family and legacy
Ali was married to Jamila Osman and later Awami Muslim League president Amirunnesa Begum.[ His eldest son, AKM Samsuzzoha (d. 1987), joined politics and was elected to the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly.]Independence Day Award
The Independence Award (), formally known as the Independence Day Award or Swadhinata Padak (), is the highest state award given by the government of Bangladesh. Introduced in 1977 by President Ziaur Rahman, this award is bestowed upon Banglade ...
in 2011.Nasim Osman
Nasim Osman (31 July 1953 – 30 April 2014) was a Jatiya Party (Ershad) politician and the Member of Parliament from Narayanganj.
Career
Osman was elected to the parliament of Jatiya Sangsad four times, in 1986, 1988, 2008, and 2014.
Personal ...
(d. 2014) joined Bangladesh Jatiya Party
The Bangladesh Jatiya Party (), simply known as BJP, is a centre-right conservative political party in Bangladesh. It is a splinter group of the original Jatiya Party, founded by the former President Hossain Mohammad Ershad. It was previousl ...
and became an MP in the elections of 1986, 1988, 2008 and 2014. The second son, Salim Osman
Salim Osman (born 26 Oct 1958) is a Bangladesh Jatiya Party politician and a former member of Jatiya Sangsad representing Narayanganj-5, the constituency of his deceased elder brother.
Career
In 2014, Osman was elected president of Bangladesh ...
got elected as an MP from the same constituency in 2014.[ The third son, ]Shamim Osman
Shamim Osman (; born 28 February 1961) is a politician from Bangladesh who belongs to Awami League. He is a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Narayanganj-4 constituency. His residency was vandalized by protesters at February 6, 2025. ...
joined Bangladesh Awami League
The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...
and became an MP from another constituency in Narayanganj during 1996-2001 and 2014–present.[
]
References
1900 births
1971 deaths
Pradhan family
Politicians from Chittagong Division
Politicians from Dhaka Division
Pakistan Movement activists from Bengal
Awami League politicians
Place of death missing
Bengal MLAs 1946–1947
East Bengal MLAs 1947–1954
{{Chittagong-AL-politician-stub