Mohammad Yakub Ali Chowdhury (2 November 1888 – 15 December 1940) was a Bengali essayist and journalist. He was noted as one of the few

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 ...

literary scholars of his time.

Early life

Chowdhury was born on 2 November 1888 in the village of Maguradangi in

Pangsha Pangsha ( bn, পাংশা) is a town in Rajbari District, Bangladesh, part of Pangsha Upazila Pangsha ( bn, পাংশা) is an upazila of Rajbari District in the Division of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Geography Pangsha is located at . It has ...

into the aristocratic

Chowdhury family of

Greater Faridpur Padma Division ( bn, পদ্মা বিভাগ) is a proposed administrative division within Bangladesh for the southern parts of the existing Dhaka Division, comprising Faridpur, Gopalganj, Madaripur, Rajbari, and Shariatpur Districts ...

. His father was Enayetullah Chowdhury, a policeman by profession. His elder brother was Rowshan Ali Chowdhury, a politician and journalist, and his younger brother was Awlad Ali Chowdhury, also a journalist. After completing his primary education at Pangsha Middle English School, he then enrolled at the Raja Surya Kumar Institution in Rajbari where he passed his

entrance exam In education, an entrance examination or admission examination is an examination that educational institutions conduct to select prospective students. It may be held at any stage of education, from primary to tertiary, even though it is typicall ...

. He then moved onto studying at the

Presidency College, Kolkata Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affili ...

for four years before his studies came to an end due to eye problems.

Career

Chowdhury started teaching at the Zorwarganj English High School in Mirsharai Thana in 1914. The following year, he worked as the assistant teacher at the Raja Surya Kumar Institute. He taught at George High School in Pangsha in 1918. He was involved with the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

and was imprisoned from 1920 to 1921 for his active involvement 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 ...

(being the ringleader for the Pangsha area) and

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.

, resulting in him losing his career as teacher. Chowdhury then moved to

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, joining his younger brother Awlad. He served as a founding member and later Secretary of the

Bangiya Mussalman Sahitya Samiti Bangiya Mussalman Sahitya Samiti is a historic Bengali literary society that was founded in 1911 and was associated some of most well known literary figures of that era. History Bangiya Mussalman Sahitya Samiti was founded in 1911 in Kolkata by ...

. He edited the association's magazine with Golam Mostofa from January 1927. He also contributed to

The Kohinoor The Kohinoor ( bn, কোহিনূর, Kohinūr, Mountain of light) was a Bengali language newspaper, first published in July 1898. Initially focusing on miscellaneous topics such as Islamic culture, its third relaunch was a pivot of Hindu-Mu ...

which was edited by his brother, Rowshan. Most of Yakub Ali Chowdhury's essays were based on Islam, its teachings and philosophy, as well as

Islamic culture Islamic culture and Muslim culture refer to cultural practices which are common to historically Islamic people. The early forms of Muslim culture, from the Rashidun Caliphate to the early Umayyad period and the early Abbasid period, were predomi ...

and

Hindu–Muslim unity Hindu–Muslim unity is a religiopolitical concept in the Indian subcontinent which stresses members of the two largest faith groups there, Hindus and Muslims, working together for the common good. The concept was championed by various persons, s ...

. He was also noted to have been a strong advocate of

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 ...

as the language of Bengali Muslims as opposed to

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Death and legacy

Suffering from severe financial hardship and

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, he spent his last days in his home village and died on 15 December 1940. Writer

Abdul Quadir Abdul Quadir (1 June 1906 – 19 December 1984) was a Bangladeshi poet, essayist, and journalist. He was the recipient of Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1963 and Ekushey Padak in 1976. Early life and education Quadir was born in the village o ...

compiled his essays into a single work titled ''Yāqub Alī Chaudhurī Rachanābalī'' in 1963. Chowdhury's works were also included in

Kazi Abdul Wadud Kazi Abdul Wadud (26 April 1894 - 19 May 1970) was a Bengali people, Bengali essayist, prominent critic, dramatist and biographer. He was born into a lower-middle-class family, in larger Faridpur (present) Rajbari, Pangsha. His father's name was K ...

's ''Shashwata Banga''. In 1985, an institution in Pangsha was founded named Yakub Ali Chowdhuri Bidyapith. His literary works were included in the curriculum of school level, secondary, higher secondary and graduation level Bengali literature in Bangladesh. Eyakub Ali Chowdhury Biddapith

Essay collections

*''Bāngālī Musalmāner Bhāshā O Shāhitya''

(Jan/Feb 1914) *''Dharmer Kāhinī'' (1914) eligious instruction for Muslims*''Nūrnabī'' (1918) ook on the life of Muhammad for childrenref> *''Shāntidhārā'' (1918) ssay on the glory of Islam*''Mānab Mukuṭ'' (1926) ook on the life of Muhammad's life and teachings

Early life

Career

Death and legacy

Essay collections

References

Further reading