Mohammed Abdur Rahiman Sahib (1898 – 23 November 1945) was an Indian freedom fighter, Muslim leader, scholar, and politician from

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. He served as president of

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee is the state unit of the Indian National Congress in Kerala. It is responsible for organizing and coordinating the party's activities and campaigns within the state, as well as selecting candidates for local, s ...

(Malabar) in 1939.

Early life and education

Sahib was born at Azhikode,

Kodungallur Kodungallur (; formerly also called as Cranganore (anglicised name), Portuguese language, Portuguese: Cranganor; Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of Per ...

Thrissur District Thrissur (), anglicised as Trichur, is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is situated in the central region of the state. Spanning an area of about , th ...

in 1898 in the

Kingdom of Cochin The kingdom of Cochin or the Cochin State, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It originated in the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until i ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He completed his schooling at Veniyambadi and

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

. He attended college at

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

and

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

but discontinued his studies at

Aligarh University Aligarh Muslim University is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875. Muhammadan Angl ...

to participate in Non-co-operation movement and

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 Malabar.

Struggles and imprisonments

Following the Moplah Riots of 1921, Sahib worked towards establishing peace in riot affected areas but was arrested and sentenced to two years imprisonment in October 1921 by the British authorities. For his participation in the Salt Satyagraha of 1930 where he participated in the breaking of the salt law on the Calicut beach, he was lathicharged and sentenced to nine months rigorous imprisonment and lodged at the Kannur Central Jail.

Editor

Mohammed Abdur Rahiman was editor and publisher of the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

daily '' Al Ameen'' which was published from

during 1924–1939. The paper aimed to strengthen the freedom movement and nurture nationalism among the Muslims of Malabar. However conservatives in the community opposed to his progressive views conspired with the colonial authorities to repeatedly disrupt its publication. The paper was finally close down in 1939 by the British authorities. According to a local legend, an anonymous admirer of his offered him valuable jewellery to restart the paper after it closed but he refused it.

Politics

Sahib was a member of Calicut Municipal Council from 1931 to 1934 and the

Malabar District Malabar District, also known as British Malabar or simply Malabar was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792–1800), Madras Presidency (1800–1950) and finally, Madras State (1950–1956) in ...

Board of

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

from 1932. He was elected to

from

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a municipality and town in Kerala and the headquarters of the Malappuram district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Kerala, 4th largest urban agglomeration in Kerala and ...

constituency in 1937. He became President of

(KPCC) and a member of

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from States and union territories of India, state-level Pradesh Congress Commit ...

(AICC) in 1939. Mohammed Abdur Rahiman always opposed the Two-Nation Theory of the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslims, Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim L ...

and he was the leader of Nationalist Muslims in Kerala. His last days were spent convening meetings and creating awareness among Muslims against the division of India. For this, he suffered a lot from the Muslim League Party in Malabar.

Death

Abdur Rahiman Sahib was jailed from 1940 to 1945 by the British Raj. After the release from jail, he returned to Calicut and started active participation in Congress activities. He died on 23 November 1945 aged 47 at Pottashery village near Chennamangallur (in the present-day

Kozhikode district Kozhikode (), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, along its southwestern Malabar Coast. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The Kozhikode Municipal Corporation has a corporation l ...

) just after addressing a public meeting at Kodiyathur The medical records state that he died of a massive

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, but still some others believe that he was poisoned. The Kerala government took over Sahib's house at Eriad to protect it as a ''Nasrul Islam''. Mohammed Abdur Rahiman 1998 stamp of India

Mohammed Abdur Rahiman 1998 stamp of India

Commemoration

In 1998, the Department of Posts and Telegraph issued a commemorative stamp in his honour. The Muhammed Abdurahiman Memorial Orphanage College and the Indianness Mohammed Abdur Rahiman Sahib Academy, Kozhikode have been named after him. Poet

Edasseri Govindan Nair Edasseri Govindan Nair (23 December 1906 – 16 October 1974) was an Indian poet and playwright of Malayalam literature. Known as one of the major poets of Malayalam, Edasseri was a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Kerala Sahitya ...

immortalised Mohammed Abdur Rahiman Sahib in his famous poem Muhammed Abdurahiman which is acclaimed for both its poetic and lyrical qualities. The poem refers to historic events and the valiant role he played against the British and the stance he took against partition. Akkitham Achuthan Namboodiri's poem ''Maranamillatha Manushyan'' that dwells on religious amity and the need to imbibe the spirit of the

Koran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

was written in memory of Sahib.

In popular culture

In 2011, the Malayalam film ''

Veeraputhran ''Veeraputhran'' () is a 2011 Malayalam historical film directed by P. T. Kunju Muhammed based on the story written by N. P. Mohammed, which is based on the life of Indian Freedom fighter and anti-Colonial activist Mohammed Abdul Rahiman (1898 ...

'', based on N.P. Mohammed's book ''Mohammed Abdurahiman Oru Novel'', was released. Directed by P. T. Kunju Muhammed, it had the actor Narain playing Abdur Rahiman Sahib. The movie became controversial after writer Hameed Chennamangaloor alleged it of insinuating that Sahib was poisoned to death while medical reports and Sahib's official biography state that he died of a heart attack. The

Indian Union Muslim League Indian Union Muslim League (abbreviated as the IUML or Muslim League) is a political party primarily based in Kerala. It is recognised as a List of political parties in India, State Party in Kerala by the Election Commission of India. After the ...

also expressed its reservations over its depiction in the film.