Ekramuddin Ahmad (1872 – 20 November 1940) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

government officer and

litterateur An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or as ...

. He was known for his support of the

Santal people The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...

during his government service and his literary criticisms after retirement.

Early life and education

Ahmad was born in 1872, to a

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

family in the village of Kulia in Raina,

Burdwan district Bardhaman district (, ; also spelled Burdwan or Barddhaman or Vardhaman) was a district in West Bengal. On 7 April 2017, the district was bifurcated into two districts: Purba Bardhaman and Paschim Bardhaman district. The headquarters of the dist ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

. His father, Mahtabuddin Ahmad, was a village doctor. In 1892 he graduated from Burdwan High School and in 1894 he passed the FA exams from

Burdwan Raj College Burdwan Raj College, established in 1881, is the oldest state-governed college in Purba Bardhaman district catering to the district and neighboring areas of Bankura district, Purulia district, Hooghly district and Birbhum district. It offers und ...

. He also studied at Hooghly College for the BA degree but dropped out before completion.

Career

Ahmad started working as a surveyor for the government in 1896 and was subsequently promoted to sub-deputy collector. He wrote a report in 1918 on the repression and exploitation by ''

zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as ...

s'' (land owners) of

Birbhum Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other impo ...

. The report bought government attention to the repression of the Santals. He did not always have police support in his effort highlight the rights of Santals. He retired from government service in 1927. Ahmad gained renown as a literary critic and author. He was one of the leading Muslim commentators on the work of

Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resha ...

and in 1914 wrote ''Robindro-Protibha'' (or ''The Genius of Tagore''). He also wrote volumes of literary criticism on

Michael Madhusudan Dutt Michael Madhusudan Dutt ((Bengali: মাইকেল মধুসূদন দত্ত); (25 January 1824 – 29 June 1873) was a Bengali poet and playwright. He is considered one of the pioneers of Bengali literature. Early life Dutt ...

and

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (also Chattopadhayay) CIE (26 or 27 June 1838 – 8 April 1894) was an Indian novelist, poet, Essayist and journalist.Staff writer"Bankim Chandra: The First Prominent Bengali Novelist" ''The Daily Star'', 30 June 2011 ...

. He wrote several novels, among them the romantic novel ''Kaanch o Moni'' (1919). His novels were serialized in ''

Saogat ''Saogat'', also called ''Saugat'' ( ''Presentation''), was a leading Bengali literary journal. First published in Calcutta in 1918, its editor was Mohammad Nasiruddin. Abdul Karim, a scholar, also edited the magazine, which was published on a m ...

'' and '' Mohammadi'', both of which were important

literary journals of the period. He was also a humorist, essayist and

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

writer, and one of his stories "Bhikkhuk" (or "The Beggar") was a set text in secondary schools in

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wi ...

Death

Ekramuddin Ahmad died on 20 November 1940, and was buried in the village of Kaitha in

, Bengal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad, Ekramuddin Bengali writers 1872 births 1940 deaths People from Bardhaman 19th-century Bengalis 20th-century Bengalis Bengali Muslims