Mohammad Osman Ali ( bn, মোহম্মদ ওসমান আলী; 1 January 1900 – 19 March 1971) was a founding member of the
Awami Muslim League and a member of the
East Bengal Legislative Assembly
The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...
.
Early life and education
Ali was born on 1 January 1900 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 of
Pradhan Pradhan (Devanagari: प्रधान) is generally ministerial title of Sanskrit origin in cultures of Hindu tradition, mainly used in the Indian subcontinent. The Sanskrit ''pradhāna'' translates to "major" or "prime"; however, the more modern ...
s in the village of
Jamalkandi in
Tipperah district,
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 ...
(now Comilla District,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
). His father was Haji Dengu Pradhan. Ali had his primary education at his village school and passed matriculation examination in 1920. Then he took admission in
Calcutta Islamia College.
[
]
Career
Ali was involved in the Khilafat Movement
The Khilafat Movement (1919–24), also known as the Caliphate movement or the Indian Muslim movement, was a pan-Islamist political protest campaign launched by Muslims of British India led by Shaukat Ali, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Hakim Ajma ...
in 1920 and later in the Non-Cooperation Movement
The Non-cooperation movement was a political campaign launched on 4 September 1920, by Mahatma Gandhi to have Indians revoke their cooperation from the British government, with the aim of persuading them to grant self-governance. . While the Non-cooperation Movement was going on he started a jute trade in Narayanganj
Narayanganj ( bn, নারায়ণগঞ্জ ''Naraeongônj'') is a city in central Bangladesh. It is in the Narayanganj District, about southeast of the capital city of Dhaka, and has a population of about 2 million. It is the 6th larges ...
, East Bengal. He helped organise the Pakistan movement in Narayanganj. In 1930s, he published ''Sabuz Bangla'' (Green Bengal), a literary magazine.
With the beginning of the Pakistan Movement
The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the pe ...
based on the Lahore Resolution
The Lahore Resolution ( ur, , ''Qarardad-e-Lahore''; Bengali: লাহোর প্রস্তাব, ''Lahor Prostab''), also called Pakistan resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlul ...
of 1940, Ali organised the movement in Narayanganj. In 1946, he was elected a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly
The Bengal Legislative Assembly () was the largest legislature in British India, serving as the lower chamber of the legislature of Bengal (now Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal). It was established under the Government of India Ac ...
. He defeated Khwaja Habibullah
Nawab Khwaja Habibullah Bahadur (26 April 1895 – 21 November 1958) was the fifth Nawab of Dhaka. He was the son of Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah Bahadur. Under Habibullah's rule, the Dhaka Nawab Estate went into decline until its actual relinqu ...
, the last Nawab of Dhaka
The Nawab of Dhaka (Bengali: "ঢাকার নবাব"), originally spelt in English Nawab of Dacca, was the title of the head of largest Muslim zamindar in British Bengal and Assam, based in present-day Dhaka, Bangladesh. The title of ''na ...
. He was awarded the title Khan Sahib
Khan Sahib is a compound of Khan (title), khan (leader) and sahib (master) - was a formal title of respect and honour, which was conferred mainly on Muslim, but also to Parsi, Irani (India), Irani, and Jewish subjects of the British Indian Empi ...
by the British Government, which he disavowed in 1944 for the policies of the British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
.[
Ali served as the president of Narayanganj City Muslim League from 1942 to 1947 and the vice president of Dhaka District Muslim League. On 23 June 1949, he helped found the Awami Muslim League. He was involved in all the major movement of East Pakistan, the Language Movement of 1952, ]Six point movement
The six point movement was a movement in East Pakistan, spearheaded by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which called for greater autonomy for East Pakistan. The movement's main agenda was to realize the six demands put forward by a coalition of Bengali na ...
and the 1969 uprising in East Pakistan
The 1969 mass uprising in East Pakistan ( bn, ঊনসত্তরের গণঅভ্যুত্থান, lit=69’s Mass uprising) was a democratic political movement in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The uprising consisted of a series of m ...
.[
]
Family and legacy
Ali was married to Jamila Osman and later Awami Muslim League president Amirunnesa Begum.[ His eldest son, AKM Samsuzzoha (d. 1987), joined politics and was elected to the East Pakistan Provincial Assembly.]Independence Day Award
The Independence Day Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পদক), also termed Independence Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পুরস্কার), Swadhinata Padak, and Swadhinata Puroskar, is the highest state award given by t ...
in 2011.Bangladesh Jatiya Party
The Bangladesh Jatiya Party is a political party in Bangladesh. It is a splinter group of the original Jatiya Party, that was founded by the former President of Bangladesh Hossain Mohammad Ershad. It was previously known as Jatiya Party (Naz ...
and became an MP in the elections of 1986, 1988, 2008 and 2014. The second son, Salim Osman
Salim Osman is a Bangladesh Jatiya Party politician and the member of parliament from Narayanganj, the constituency of his deceased elder brother. In his early life, he was selling poultry from home to home.
Career
In 2014, Osman was elected pr ...
got elected as an MP from the same constituency in 2014.[ The third son, ]Shamim Osman
Shamim Osman (born 28 February 1961) is a Bangladesh Awami League politician and the current member of parliament from Narayanganj-4 constituency.
Career
Osman was elected as a member of parliament at the 7th National Parliamentary Elections in ...
joined Bangladesh Awami League
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
and became an MP from another constituency in Narayanganj during 1996-2001 and 2014–present.[
]
References
1900 births
1971 deaths
Pradhan family
Politicians from Chittagong Division
Politicians from Dhaka Division
Pakistan Movement activists from Bengal
Awami League politicians
Place of death missing
Bengal MLAs 1946–1947
East Bengal MLAs 1947–1954
{{AwamiLeague-politician-stub