statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

Biren Mitra Biren Mitra (26 November 1917 – 25 May 1978) was an Indian politician, a leader of the Indian National Congress and the Chief Minister of Odisha from 2 October 1963 to 21 February 1965. Biren Mitra started his student politics with AISF (Commu ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

by establishing several lower primary and upper primary Urdu schools in the city. He is also credited for organising various nationalist meetings and for mobilizing the common masses in

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

during the

Quit India movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

of 1942.

Life and career

Mohammed Afzal-ul Amin alias M.A. Amin was born into the Diwan family, to the notable educationist of Cuttack,

Sayeed Mohammed Sayeed Mohammed (1891 – 1922) was an Indian Odia educationist, freedom fighter and philanthropist. In 1913, he founded the Moslem Seminary (present day : Sayeed Seminary) at Cuttack, which is regarded as the second nationalist school of Odisha ...

and his wife

Begum Badar un nissa Akhtar Begum Badar un Nissa Akhtar (1894 -1956; Midnapore) was an Indian social reformer and educator from Cuttack, Odisha. She is known for challenging the stringent and orthodox societal norms and for encouraging and enabling muslim girls to receiv ...

. From his mother's side he was the great grandson of the famous poet and writer,

Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy Ubaidullah Al Ubaidi Suhrawardy ( ar, عبيد الله العبيدي السهروردي, bn, ওবায়দুল্লাহ আল ওবায়দী সোহরাওয়ার্দী; 1832 – 9 February 1885) was a Bengali Is ...

and from his father's side he was the great grandson of the Sufi Pir Khwaja Fazal Mohammed. After finishing his schooling from

Ravenshaw Collegiate School Ravenshaw Collegiate School is the oldest High School of Odisha which was established in 1851 by Thomas Edward Ravenshaw in the District of Cuttack in Odisha, India. It was one of three institutions founded by Ravenshaw, the other two being th ...

, Afzal-ul entered the field of politics where he emerged as a prominent Muslim leader in the town. Like his father, he too mobilized the Muslims of Odisha to join the

Indian freedom struggle The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...

. During the 1942

Quit India movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...

, Amin worked in close association with Malati Choudhury and

Ramadevi Choudhury Ramadevi Choudhury( or, ରମାଦେବୀ ଚୌଧୁରୀ) (3 December 1899 – 22 July 1985), also known as Rama Devi, was an Indian freedom fighter and a social reformer. She was called Maa (Mother) by the people of Odisha. The Ramad ...

, he organised various nationalist meetings at his place in

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

to gather support for the movement after Surajmal Shah and Bibhunendra Mishra were arrested in August 1942. Post independence, Amin met with the then

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

,

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

during his Odisha visit, India's President,

Zakir Husain Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the third president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969. Born in Hyderabad in a Afridi Pashtun family, Husain ...

both in Cuttack as well as in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, where Husain had invited Amin for high tea at his Delhi residence. Amin hosted India's first education minister,

Abul Kalam Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Husseini, Hussaini Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian Indian independence movement, independence activist, Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the ...

at Jalal mansion in Cuttack. Afzal-ul served as the chairman of Odisha board of Wakfs (State Muslim endowment board). He was also one of the most prominent Muslim councilors in the

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

municipality then. He was elected as the councilor continuously for 28 long years i.e. from 1952 to 1980, winning all the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

continuously. He had also been elected as the Vice Chairman of

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...

Municipality. Afzal-ul was a member of the Indian National Congress (Organisation). In 1961 he was appointed as the general secretary of Utkal Pradesh Congress Committee by

Biren Mitra Biren Mitra (26 November 1917 – 25 May 1978) was an Indian politician, a leader of the Indian National Congress and the Chief Minister of Odisha from 2 October 1963 to 21 February 1965. Biren Mitra started his student politics with AISF (Commu ...

. In 1971 he ran for the Cuttack State legislative assembly elections as an MLA candidate from the Indian National Congress (O) party. He was later appointed as the President of Odisha Mohammadan Association. Amin had also served as the secretary and chairperson of various reputed colleges in Cuttack including Indira Gandhi Women's College and Imarti Devi College. Amin seated in between Indira Gandhi and J

Amin seated in between Indira Gandhi and J

Amin amplified and made significant contributions to the Bhudan movement in Odisha. During this time, four among the most prominent Chief ministers of Odisha,

Biren Mitra Biren Mitra (26 November 1917 – 25 May 1978) was an Indian politician, a leader of the Indian National Congress and the Chief Minister of Odisha from 2 October 1963 to 21 February 1965. Biren Mitra started his student politics with AISF (Commu ...

,

Nandini Satpathy Nandini Satpathy (9 June 1931 – 4 August 2006) was an Indian politician and author. She was the List of Chief Ministers of Odisha, Chief Minister of Odisha from June 1972 to December 1976. Early life Nandini Satpathy nee Panigrahi was bo ...

, J.B. Patnaik &

Biju Patnaik Bijayananda Patnaik (5 March 1916 – 17 April 1997) was an Indian politician, aviator and businessman. As politician, he served twice as the Chief Minister of the State of Odisha. Early life His parents lived in Bellaguntha, Ganjam distri ...

visited him at his residence. He served as the chairman in many emergency committees formed to help the people in the flood affected areas, during the floods in central Odisha. Afzal-ul played a major role in preserving Urdu language in Cuttack. As the chairman of Cuttack Municipality's sub-committee on education he established five Urdu lower primary and five upper primary schools in Cuttack some of which include, Maulana Azad U.P school in Qadam Rasool.

Marriage and family

Afzal-ul Amin married his second cousin, Syeda Roshanara Akhtar, the younger daughter of

Ibrahim Suhrawardy Ibrahim Suhrawardy (1896-1971) was an Indian educationist, author and linguist from Balasore, Odisha. He is credited to have written the first English grammar books in Odia for the native students. He achieved high distinction in English studi ...

, a notable author and linguist from

Balasore Balasore or Baleswara is a city in the state of Odisha, about north of the state capital Bhubaneswar and from Kolkata, in eastern India. It is the largest town of northern Odisha and the administrative headquarters of Balasore district. It i ...

of the Qadriyyah house and the granddaughter of Umdatunnissa, Nawab Begum of Kharui. Afzal-ul has two daughters; Tabassum Amin Sultana, who married the notable politician and writer, Hussain Rabi Gandhi and

Farhat Amin Farhat Amin (born 26 February 1967; Cuttack, Odisha ) is an Indian journalist, cartoonist and social activist. She's Odisha's state convenor of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, a national rights based organisation which fights for the rights of ...

Sultana, a journalist and a social activist, who married the tribal rights activist, Saleem Farook.

References

{{Reflist
1915 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Indian Muslims Amin family Odisha politicians 20th-century deaths 20th-century Indian politicians Suhrawardy family