Atharuddin Mohammed also known as Athar Mohammed was an Odia military officer, feudatory chief ''(

Samanta Samanta was a title and position used in the history of the Indian subcontinent between 4th and 12th centuryThe Journal of the Bihar Research Society, Volumes 69-70, p.77 to denote a vassal or tributary chief. The term roughly translates to ''neig ...

)'' of Madhi (present day : Kamakhyanagar) and the ''

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the e ...

'' of the princely state of Dhenkanal during ''Raja Dinabandhu Mahendra Bahadur'' (1877 - 1885) and ''Raja Shura Pratap Mahendra Bahadur's'' rule. He was one among the first princely officials to join the Odia unification movement and the Utkal Sabha.

Early life

Atharuddin Mohammed was born as the eldest son of Khwaja Pir Fazal Mohammed, a notable Persian philosopher and mystic of the Ni'matullāhī order who later joined the service of Raja Bhagiratha Mahendra, the ''Raja'' of Denkanal. Fazal Mohammed was appointed as the

of Madhi garh presently known as Kamakhyanagar and after his death, his son Atharuddin took over the position. Athar rose to prominence in the eyes of the king by displaying his bravery and wit. He was appointed as the ''

'' of the newly crowned king, ''Raja Dinabandhu Mahendra'' by the British in 1877. During his tenure Atharuddin organised the last elephant fair in

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 ...

Prajamandal movement

With the beginning of the Praja Mandal movement in

Dhenkanal State Dhenkanal State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The state is now referred to as Dhenkanal district, Odisha, with Dhenkanal, India, Dhenkanal town as its district headquarters. History Foundation o ...

, the peasants all over the kingdom started revolting against the repressive policies adopted by the new king, Raja Shura Pratap Bahadur. Atharuddin tried to pacify the situation by signing a temporary truce with the revolters. However, it did not last long. Inspired by the nationalists, he sent his son

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 Odish ...

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 literally ...

to attain formal education. Later in 1899, Atharuddin moved to

and joined the Utkal Sabha. He along with

Madhusudan Das Madhusudan Das (28 April 1848 – 4 February 1934) was an Indian lawyer and social reformer, who founded Utkal Sammilani in 1903 to campaign for the unification of Odisha along with its social and industrial development. He was one of the main ...

, Rev Shem Sahu, John Samson Rout, Bhagaban Chandra Das, Ramesh Chandra Mandal, and Gauri Shankar Ray attended the Congress sessions held at different places and took keen interest in the activities of the Congress in its early years. Atharuddin acted as a pioneer in bringing the message of Congress and its liberal ideas to Coastal Odisha in the last two decades against the British authorities. He attended the Congress session of Calcutta held in 1911 under the presidentship of

Bishan Narayan Dar Pandit Bishan Narayan Dar (1864 – 19 November 1916) was an Indian politician who served as the President of the Indian National Congress for one term in 1911. Dar belonged to a prominent Kashmiri Pandit family from Lucknow. His uncle Pandit Sh ...

. He built the Fazal Mohammed Masjid (present-day Choti Masjid) in the memory of his deceased father near his residence at Dargaah Bazaar. In the early 1930s, nearly half of his estate was confiscated by the British for building jails in

References

{{reflist 1849 births 1931 deaths Amin family