Muhammad Abdu Rahiman, also Muhammad Abdu Rahiman Sahib; 1898 – 23 April 1945) was an

Indian freedom fighter The Indian independence movement consisted of efforts by individuals and organizations from a wide spectrum of society to obtain political independence from the British, French and Portuguese rule through the use of a many methods. This is a l ...

, Muslim leader, scholar, and politician from

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. He served as president of

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (abbreviated as Kerala P. C. C. or the K. P. C. C.) is the state unit of the Indian National Congress in Kerala. The Indian National Congress currently leads the United Democratic Front alliance, the Oppositi ...

(Malabar) in 1939.

Early life and education

Sahib was born at Azhikode,

Kodungallur Kodungallur (; also Cranganore, Portuguese: Cranganor; formerly known as Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thr ...

, Thrissur District in 1898 in the

Kingdom of Cochin The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy w ...

, India. He completed his schooling at Veniyambadi and

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

. He attended college at

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Allygarh, and Kol) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district, and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capita ...

but discontinued his studies at

Aligarh University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a public central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875. Muhammadan Anglo-Orienta ...

to participate in

Non-co-operation 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.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 ...

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

Struggles and imprisonments

Following the Moplah Riots of 1921, Sahib worked towards establishing peace in riot affected areas but was arrested and sentenced to two years imprisonment in October 1921 by the British authorities. For his participation in the Salt Satyagraha of 1930 where he participated in the breaking of the salt law on the Calicut beach, he was

lathicharge A baton charge is a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people, usually used by police or military in response to public disorder. In South Asia, a long bamboo stick, called ''lathi'' in Hindi, is used for crowd control, and the expressi ...

d and sentenced to nine months rigorous imprisonment and lodged at the Kannur Central Jail.

Editor

Mohammed Abdur Rahman Sahib was editor and publisher of the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

daily ''Al-Ameen'' which was published from

during 1924–1939. The paper aimed to strengthen the freedom movement and nurture nationalism among the Muslims of Malabar. However conservatives in the community opposed to his progressive views conspired with the colonial authorities to repeatedly disrupt its publication. The paper was finally close down in 1939 by the British authorities. According to a local legend, an anonymous admirer of his offered him valuable jewellery to restart the paper after it closed but he refused it.

Politics

Sahib was a member of Calicut Municipal Council from 1931 to 1934 and the

Malabar District Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...

Board of

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

from 1932. He was elected to

from

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

constituency in 1937. He became President of

(KPCC) and a member of

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...

(AICC) in 1939. Mohammed Abdur Rahiman always opposed the

Two-Nation Theory The two-nation theory is an ideology of religious nationalism that influenced the decolonisation of the British Raj in South Asia. According to this ideology, Indian Muslims and Indian Hindus are two separate nations, with their own customs, ...

of the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcontin ...

and he was the leader of Nationalist Muslims in Kerala. His last days were spent convening meetings and creating awareness among Muslims against the division of India. For this, he suffered a lot from the Muslim League Party in Malabar.

Second World War and Subhas Chandra Bose

Abdur Rahiman Sahib was jailed from 1940 to 1945 by the British Raj. After the release from jail, he returned to Calicut and started active participation in Congress activities. He died on 23 November 1945 aged 47 at Pottashery village near

Chennamangallur Chennamangaloor, also spelt as Chennamangallur and/or Chendamangallur is a village located in Kozhikode district, Kerala, India. It is about from the town of Kozhikode. The National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC), the Indian Institute ...

(in the present-day

Kozhikode district Kozhikode (), or Calicut district, is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, along its Southwestern Malabar Coast. The city of Kozhikode, also known as Calicut, is the district headquarters. The district is 67.15% urbanised. ...

) just after addressing a public meeting at

Kodiyathur Kodiyathur is a gram panchayat in Kozhikode district in the state of Kerala, India. Kodiyathur is surrounded by two rivers, Chaliyar and Iruvazhinji. It is under Thiruvambady legislative constituency. The name Kodiyathur comes from "Kodi" ...

The medical records state that he died of a massive

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

, but still some others believe that he was poisoned. The Kerala government took over Sahib's house at Eriad to protect it as a ''Nasrul Islam''.

Commemoration

In 1998, the Department of Posts and Telegraph issued a commemorative stamp in his honour. The Mohammed Abdurahman Memorial Orphanage College and the Indianness Mohammed Abdurahman Sahib Academy, Kozhikode have been named after him. Poet

Edasseri Govindan Nair Edasseri Govindan Nair ( ml, ഇടശ്ശേരി ഗോവിന്ദൻ നായർ; 23 December 1906 – 16 October 1974) was an Indian poet and playwright of Malayalam literature. Known as one of the major poets of Malayalam, Edasseri ...

immortalised Muhammed Abdurahman Sahib in his famous poem Muhammed Abdurahiman which is acclaimed for both its poetic and lyrical qualities. The poem refers to historic events and the valiant role he played against the British and the stance he took against partition. Akkitham Achuthan Namboodiri's poem ''Maranamillatha Manushyan'' that dwells on religious amity and the need to imbibe the spirit of the

Koran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing.: ...

was written in memory of Sahib.

In popular culture

In 2011, the Malayalam film ''

Veeraputhran ''Veeraputhran'' ( ml, വീരപുത്രൻ; en, "Brave Son") is a 2011 Malayalam historical film directed by P. T. Kunju Muhammed based on the story written by N. P. Mohammed, which is based on the life of Indian Freedom fighter and ant ...

'', based on N.P. Mohammed's book ''Mohammed Abdurahiman Oru Novel'', was released. Directed by P. T. Kunju Muhammed, it had the actor

Narain Narayana (Also rendered Narayane, Narayanan, Narain, Narayankar or Narine) (from Sanskrit नारायण, ''nārāyaṇá'', literally "eternal man") is an Indian name. It is identical in form to the name of the deity Narayana, another name ...

playing Abdur Rahiman Sahib. The movie became controversial after writer Hameed Chennamangaloor alleged it of insinuating that Sahib was poisoned to death while medical reports and Sahib's official biography state that he died of a heart attack. The

Indian Union Muslim League The Indian Union Muslim League (abbreviated as the I. U. M. L. or the League) is an Indian political party primarily based in the Indian state of Kerala. It is recognised as a State Party in Kerala by the Election Commission of India. The first ...

also expressed its reservations over its depiction in the film.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahiman, Mohammed Abdul 1898 births 1945 deaths All India Forward Bloc politicians Indian autobiographers Malayali politicians Indian memoirists Indian revolutionaries People from Thrissur district World War II political leaders Indian independence activists from Kerala Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala Indian prisoners and detainees Indian Muslims Aligarh Muslim University alumni 20th-century memoirists