ʿAbd al-Jalīl ibn Aṣghar Choudhury al-Badarfūrī ( ar, عبد الجليل بن أصغر تشودهري البدرفوري; 19 December 1989), or simply Abdul Jalil Choudhury Badarpuri ( bn, আব্দুল জলিল চৌধুরী বদরপুরী), 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 ...
Deobandi
Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law,
formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives,
by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, R ...
Islamic scholar
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of reli ...
, teacher and politician. Born in what is now
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 ...
, Choudhury became one of the senior disciples of
Hussain Ahmed Madani from
Sylhet District
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট), located in north-east Bangladesh, is the divisional capital and one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division.
History
Sylhet district was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Pro ...
.
He relocated to
Badarpur,
Karimganj following the
Partition of Bengal in 1947 and served as a member of the
Assam Legislative Assembly
The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present Western Assam region. The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Me ...
for several terms. Choudhury has many contributions in
Northeast India
, native_name_lang = mni
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, motto =
, image_map = Northeast india.png
, ...
, covering Islamic and social development, and had participated in the
Bengali Language Movement of the
Barak Valley.
[
]
Early life and education
Abdul Jalil Choudhury was born into a Bengali Muslim family in the village of Turukkhola in Sylhet District
Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট), located in north-east Bangladesh, is the divisional capital and one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division.
History
Sylhet district was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Pro ...
. His father, Asghar Choudhury, was said to have been descended from a migrant Turk
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
that had arrived in the area with Shah Jalal in the early 14th century. His mother, Shamsunnessa Choudhury, was proficient in the Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
, and initially homeschooled him in his early years before enrolling him at the local primary school.[
He then proceeded to study at the local ]madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
at Daudpur and subsequently at the Sylhet Government Alia Madrasah
Sylhet Government Alia Madrasa ( bn, সিলেট সরকারী আলিয়া মাদ্রাসা; ar, المدرسة العالية الحكومية سلهت) is located in Chawhatta, Sylhet, Bangladesh. Founded in 1913, the mad ...
where he passed his ''Mamtazul Muhadditheen'' in 1940. He was also the general supervisor of the madrasa's students' union
A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...
and took part in the anti-colonial independence movement for which he was once imprisoned. He then migrated to Hindustan
''Hindūstān'' ( , from '' Hindū'' and ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian-language name for the Indian subcontinent that later became commonly used by ...
to study at the Darul Uloom Deoband
The Darul Uloom Deoband is an Islamic seminary (darul uloom) in India at which the Sunni Deobandi Islamic movement began. It is located in Deoband, a town in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The seminary was established by Muhammad Qasim ...
institution in Saharanpur
Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district.
Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti.
Saharanpur is declared as on ...
. He was to graduate from the Faculty of Hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
in 1942, but as a result of partaking in Hussain Ahmed Madani's rebellions as a student leader, was arrested once again. In 1952, he finally graduated from Deoband in Hadith studies. Among his teachers were Hussain Ahmed Madani, Shabbir Ahmad Usmani
Shabbir Ahmad Usmani (11 October 188713 December 1949) was an Islamic scholar who supported the Pakistan Movement in the 1940s. He was a religious scholar, writer, orator, politician, and expert in Tafsir and Hadith.
Born in 1887 in Bijnor, Us ...
, Izaz Ali Amrohi, Muhammad Shafi Deobandi
Muḥammad Shafī‘ ibn Muḥammad Yāsīn ‘Us̱mānī Deobandī ( ur, ; ar, محمد شفيع بن محمد ياسين العثماني الديوبندي, ''Muḥammad Shafī‘ ibn Muḥammad Yāsīn al-‘Uthmānī ad-Diyūbandī''; ...
and Muhammad Idris Kandhlawi
Muḥammad Idrīs ibn Muḥammad Ismā‘īl Ṣiddīqī Kāndhlawī ( ur, ; 20 August 189928 July 1974) was a Deobandi Islamic scholar particularly known as a scholar of hadith and tafsir (exegesis of the Qur'an). He held the post of Sha ...
.
Career
Choudhury's career began in Sylhet Government High School as teacher of the Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
. Two years later, he was appointed the principal of Jessore Alia Madrasa and then as a teacher at Ajiria Madrasa
Ajiria Alia Madrasa ( bn, আজিরিয়া আলিয়া মাদরাসা, ar, المدرسة العالية الأجيرية) is an ''alia'' madrasa, situated in Fulbari, Golapganj Upazila, Sylhet District, Bangladesh.
History
...
in Fulbari.[
Choudhury's activism began in his student life, and he was associated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind sought for independence from 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 ...
whilst opposing the Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
. His biographers mention that Muslim League politicians conspired against him and other influential Jamiat supporters, and thus Choudhury requested Jamiat members in Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
to help him migrate to the Indian dominion. The Assam Jamiat politicians solicited his citizenship to Gopinath Bordoloi, the erstwhile Chief Minister of Assam
The chief minister of Assam, an Indian state, is the head of the Government of Assam. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is the state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following e ...
, who personally sent a letter to Choudhury inviting him to Assam. As soon as Choudhury received the letter in September 1947, he settled in the village of Alaqulipur in Karimganj, leaving his parents, siblings and spouse.[
In October 1947, Choudhury was appointed the principal of Deorail Senior Madrasa, under the instruction of its founder Shah Yaqub Badarpuri. During his term, the madrasa was remodelled upon ]Deobandi
Deobandi is a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam, adhering to the Hanafi school of law,
formed in the late 19th century around the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Deoband, India, from which the name derives,
by Muhammad Qasim Nanautavi, R ...
standards and gained official recognition from the Government of Assam
The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...
in 1948. The Department of Hadith studies was inaugurated on 24 February 1954 by Hussain Ahmed Madani, and Choudhury served as the head of this department until his death.[ He was also the founder of North East India Emarat-e-Saraiah and Nadwatut Tameer, a Muslim religious organisation for overall development.
]
Political career
In 1951, he joined the Indian National Congress Party
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 E ...
and was an elected member of the Assam Legislative Assembly
The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam. It is housed in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam, geographically situated in present Western Assam region. The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Me ...
for 27 years in total. Initially representing the Badarpur, he served his final term in the Algapur
Algapur (Pron:/ˈalɡəˈpʊə/) is a town and Tehsil or Block in Hailakandi district in the state of Assam, India. It is located 32 km from District headquarters Hailakandi.
Geography
Algapur is located at . It has an average elevatio ...
constituency. During the Bengali Language Movement of the Barak Valley in 1961, he publicly advocated for the movement, considering it to be an obligation for all Bengalis
Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the ...
.
Personal life
Choudhury divorced his wife as she was not willing to migrate with him to Assam after the Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947.[
]
References
{{Islam in South Asia
Assam politicians
20th-century Bengalis
People from Karimganj district
People from Dakshin Surma Upazila
1989 deaths
Darul Uloom Deoband alumni
Sylhet Government Alia Madrasah alumni
Deobandis
Bengali Muslim scholars of Islam
Indian Muslim scholars of Islam