Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk, Munir Nawaz Jang, also known as Syed Mehdi Ali ( ur, ﻧﻭﺍﺏ ﻣﺤﺴن ‌الملک, منير نواز جنگ, ﺳﻴﺩ ﻣﻫﺩﻯ ﻋﻠﻰ) (born 9 December 1837 — 16 October 1907), was an

Indian Muslim Islam is India's second-largest religion, with 14.2% of the country's population, approximately 172.2 million people identifying as adherents of Islam in 2011 Census. India is also the country with the second or third largest number of Muslim ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

. He was a close friend of

Syed Ahmed Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, he ...

, was involved in the

Aligarh Movement The Aligarh Movement was the push to establish a modern system of Western–style scientific education for the Muslim population of British India, during the later decades of the 19th century. The movement's name derives from the fact that i ...

and was one of the founders 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 subcont ...

in 1906.Profile of Mohsin-ul-Mulk on paknetmag.com website
Retrieved 1 September 2019

Family and early life

Syed Mehdi Ali was born on 9 December 1837 in the town of

Etawah Etawah also known as Ishtikapuri is a city on the banks of Yamuna River in the state of Western Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Etawah District. Etawah's population of 256,838 (as per 2011 population census) ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

, British India as the son of Syed Mir Zaamin Ali. Most of his early education was in and around

. As was common in those days, he received a thorough basic education in Persian and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

.Profile of Mohsin-ul-Mulk on Pakistan Herald newspaper
Retrieved 1 September 2019 In 1867, he sat for the Provincial Civil Service examination and topped the list of successful candidates. He was appointed as Deputy Collector in the

North-Western Provinces The North-Western Provinces was an Presidencies and provinces of British India, administrative region in British India. The North-Western Provinces were established in 1836, through merging the administrative divisions of the Ceded and Conquere ...

. His first posting as Deputy Collector was in Mirzapur district (present-day Uttar Pradesh). His elder brother was Syed Mir Gulam Abbas and younger brother was Syed Amir Hasan. In 1874, Syed Mehdi Ali proceeded to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

to enter into the service of the

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

. For his meritorious services over nearly 20 years, he was granted the titles of Munir Nawaz Jang and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk by the

Relationship with Syed Ahmed Khan

During his posting as Tahsildar in Etawah, Mohsin-ul-Mulk met

Syed Ahmad Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, h ...

for the first time. This meeting resulted in a long lasting companionship and Nawab Mohsinul Mulk became a staunch supporter of Syed's vision and Mission for the rest of his life. Very few friendships have been as stable and strong as the friendship of these two. Mohsin-ul-Mulk retained a very high level of respect despite difference of opinion for his dear friend. Thereafter Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk, became one of the strongest supporters of Syed's mission and Aligarh Movement.Sir Syed's importance in the emerging situation (scroll down to read under this title)
Dawn (newspaper), Published 16 October 2002, Retrieved 1 September 2019 He became a member of the Scientific Society from its inception in 1864. He wrote passionate articles in ''Tahzeebul Akhlaq'' to support Syed's vision and spread his mission and became a spokesperson of Syed's social thoughts and the

. When Syed Ahmed Khan formed The Committee of the Supporters of the Advancement of Muslim Education, Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk was his key companion, and started collecting donations for the cause of the newly formed committee. Upon retirement from service, after 19 years of service, in 1893 from State of Hyderabad, he came to Aligarh and offered his services to Syed Ahmad Khan to assist him in spreading the message of

. Upon the death of Syed, he was appointed as the Secretary of the Muslim Educational Conference in 1899. He also became the successor of Syed Ahmed Khan in all aspects. After Syed's death in 1898, he became Secretary of the MAO College management and took Syed's burden on his own shoulders and is given as much respect as his forerunner. He continued the mission of Syed while paying special attention to bringing religious and oriental stream scholars together on one platform, i.e. the MAO College so that the students could benefit from the scholars to have a proper understanding of religion alongside modern scientific education. He appointed a committee under the Chairmanship of Maulana Habibur Rahman Khan Sherwani to improve the religious studies courses at MAO College. Mohsin-ul-Mulk remained the Secretary until his death in 1907. He was thus instrumental in the development of MAO College, which eventually became the

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

in 1920. In later years, the

(AMU) honored him by naming a hall of residence for students after him. The foundation stone of the Hall was laid by the then Vice Chancellor, Mr. Badruddin Mohsin Tyabji on 4 November 1963. It started with an initial strength of 400 and is now one of the largest student residential halls both in size and strength, having 900 students and six different hostels: Allama Shibli Hostel (Previously this was Sir Ziauddin Hostel), Ameen Hostel, Majaz Hostel, Maulana Hali Hostel, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Hostel, and Saifi Hostel.

Political involvements

Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk carried on correspondence with the private secretary of the Viceroy to give his point of view on the necessity of separate representation for the Muslims in all legislatures and local bodies. He presided over the ninth session of Muhammadan Educational Conference which was held in Aligarh in 1894 where he proposed a resolution to help and support

Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama (translated as, House of Knowledge and Assembly of Scholars University) is an Islamic seminary in Lucknow, India. It was established by the Nadwatul Ulama, a council of Muslim scholars, on 26 September 1898. This edu ...

, the newly formed religious school in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...

. His impressive presidential remarks softened the hearts of modern educationists to support the cause of Nadwatul Ulama. In 1906, he became Secretary of

at its founding session in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest ...

. Along with Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk Kamboh, he was asked to draft the constitution of the League.'Dawn of freedom'
Dawn (newspaper), Published 20 June 2017, Retrieved 1 September 2019 Towards the beginning of the 20th century, the Hindi-Urdu controversy arose in the United Provinces. Mohsin-ul-Mulk took up the pen in defense of

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Urdu Defence Association, committed to the perpetuation of Urdu and became its founding president. To Muslims in northern and western India, Urdu had become an integral part of political and cultural identity. However, the division over the use of Hindi or Urdu further provoked communal conflict between Muslims and Hindus in India.Anjuman Taraqqi-i-Urdu – the movement lives on
Dawn (newspaper), Published 3 April 2011, Retrieved 1 September 2019 Syed Ahmed Khan and Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk's patronage of

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the 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: India and Pakistan. T ...

its adoption as the national language of Pakistan.

Death

Mohsin-ul-Mulk died on 16 October 1907 at Simla,

Punjab, British India Punjab was a province of British India. Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the East India Company in 2 April 1849, and declared a province of British Rule, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British ...

References

Sources

* ''Hayat-e-Mohsin'', a biography of Mohsin-ul-Mulk by Mr. Amin Zuberi : 1934 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mohsin-ul-Mulk 1837 births 1907 deaths All India Muslim League members People from Aligarh People from Shimla People from Hyderabad State Leaders of the Pakistan Movement Indian Muslims Founders of Indian schools and colleges