Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury (29 December 1863 – 17 April 1929) was Nawab of Dhanbari of

Tangail Tangail (, ) is a city of Tangail District in central Bangladesh. A significant city in Bangladesh, Tangail lies on the bank of the Louhajang River, northwest of Dhaka, the nation's capital. Etymology ''Tangail'' originates from the Beng ...

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

(modern day

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 ...

). He was one of the founders of

Dhaka University The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka was founded in 1921 ...

. He was the first Muslim minister of united Bengal. He was minister of education. His grandson

Muhammad Ali Bogra Syed Mohammad Ali Chowdhury Bogra (19 October 1909 – 23 January 1963) was an East Pakistani politician, statesman, and a diplomat who served as third prime minister of Pakistan from 1953 to 1955. He was appointed in this capacity in 1953 u ...

became the third prime minister of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. His son, and Bogra's uncle,

Syed Hasan Ali Chowdhury Syed Hasan Ali Chowdhury (; – 30 September 1981) was a Bangladeshi politician, minister and the former Nawab of Dhanbari. He served as a Minister for Commerce and Industry in East Pakistan after being elected in 1962 elections. Early life Ch ...

was a minister of East Pakistan government and MP of the second Bangladesh Jatiyo Sangshad.

Birth and childhood

Nawab Ali Chowdhury was born in Dhanbari, Tangail to a

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

family. 250 years prior to his birth his great grandfather Shah Syed Khuda Bokhs settled in Dhanbari. Nawab Ali Chowdhury was taught Arabic, Persian, and Bengali by his tutor in his childhood. He went to

Rajshahi Collegiate School Rajshahi Collegiate School (), a public school for boys located in Boalia Thana in the center of Rajshahi, which is a metropolitan city in northern Bangladesh, is the oldest school in the country. History Rajshahi Collegiate School is the olde ...

and later graduated from

St. Xavier's College A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...

Literature

He was engaged in literary and cultural activities from 1895 to 1904. In 1895 newspaper named ‘’Mihir’’ and ‘’Shudhakar’’ became ‘’Mihir-Shudhakar’’ combinedly. Nawab Ali Chowdhury was its owner. He bought a press for it and installed it at his house 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 contributed in the work of

Muhammad Shahidullah Muhammad Shahidullah (; 10 July 1885 – 13 July 1969) was a Bengali people, Bengali linguist, philologist, educationist, and writer. He played vital role in Language movement of 1952 he was the first to establish logic about Why Bengali should ...

, Reazuddin Ahmed al-Mashhadi, and the poet Md. Mozammel Haque. These writers dedicated some of their writings to Nawab Ali Chowdhury. He also wrote some books. They are: *Eid ul Azha (1890) *Maulud Sharif (1903) *Vernacular Education in Bengal (1900) *Primary Education in Rural Areas (1906) *Some Moral and Religious Teachings of Imam Al-Ghazzali (1920)

Entrance in politics

He took active part in politics after Partition of Bengal. Despite opposition from

Hindu Nationalists Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of political thought, based on the native social and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" is a simplistic translation of . It is better descri ...

partition took place and a new province named Bengal and Assam was created. Nawab Ali Chowdhury realized for an all Indian Muslim political organization. He condemned illiteracy as the cause of Muslim's backwardness.

Foundation of University of Dhaka

Gate of dhanbari Nawab institution founded on 1910

On 29 August 1911 at a ceremony of farewell to Lanchet Heir and reception of Charles Bailey, Nawab Sir Salimullah and Nawab Ali Chowdhury demanded the establishment of a university in Dhaka. On 31 January 1912, at the time of Lord Hardinge's staying in Dhaka a committee of 19 members including Nawab Sir Salimullah Bahadur and Nawab Ali Chowdhury met him and explained him that how Muslims have harmed because of the reunification of Bengal. For this 13 membered Nathan Committee was formed and Nawab Ali Chowdhury became member. Under this committee 6 sub-committee was formed. He was also member of these. World War I broke out in 1914 and it effected establishment of

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

. Nawab Ali Chowdhury was member of imperial council that time. In 1917 he again introduced the matter of University of Dhaka on council's meeting table. Assembly passed Dhaka University Act in 1920. Class was started from 1921. Nawab Ali Chowdhury gave 16,000 taka to University of Dhaka for student's scholarship. During establishment he mortgaged a part of his zamidari and gave 35,000 taka for university. Nabab ali chowdhury Senate bhobon DU

On 9 June 2003, university syndicate decided to change the name of senate building to "Syed Nawab Ali Chowdhury Building".

Work for education

Nawab Ali Chowdhury was the first Muslim minister of united Bengal. He was given the office of education minister because of his role in promoting education. He held this post till his death. He helped with land and money a total of 38 educational institutions. In 1910, he established high school "Nawab Institute" in Dhanbari, his own area. Besides he contributed to establish many other educational institute.

Death

Nawab Ali Chowdhury died on 17 April 1929 at Eden Castle in Darjeeling (modern day

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 ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Muslim Heritage of Bengal
in Google books. 1863 births 1929 deaths Bengali politicians University of Dhaka Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire People from Tangail District Bogra family People from the Bengal Presidency Titular Nawabs of Bengal