Noordeen Hadjiar Mohamed Abdul Cadder (known as N. H. M. Abdul Cadder) (10 February 1879 – 29 August 1938) was a Ceylonese ( Sri Lankan) lawyer and legislator. He was an unofficial member of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of repr ...

representing the

Muhammadan ''Mohammedan'' (also spelled ''Muhammadan'', ''Mahommedan'', ''Mahomedan'' or ''Mahometan'') is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muha ...

community. Born in Colombo to Noordeen Hajiar, his family claimed ancestry to Arabs who settled in the costal town of

Beruwala Beruwala ( Sinhala:බේරුවල Tamil: பேருவளை) is a large town in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The town covers a total area of approximately and is located on the south-west ...

. His brother was the success gen merchant Noordeen Hajiar Abdul Caffoor, who built the Gaffoor Building in

Colombo Fort Fort (Colombo) (; ) is the central business district of Colombo in Sri Lanka. It is the financial district of Colombo and the location of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the World Trade Centre of Colombo from which the CSE operates. It is ...

. Abdul Cadder was educated at

Wesley College, Colombo Wesley College, Colombo, popularly known as "Wesley" or "The Double Blues" is a school providing primary and secondary education in Sri Lanka since 1874. Wesley College is a Methodist educational institution. History In 1858, Rev. Joseph Ri ...

and qualified as a Proctor and Notary Public in 1907. He was a pioneer of the cinema business. In 1908, Abdul Cader was elected to the

Colombo Municipal Council The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, current elect is Rosy Senanayake, and 119 elected 119 muni ...

from the Pettah Ward and remained a member for the next thirty years, mostly returning uncontested. He succeeded Wapchie Marikar Abdul Rahman as the appointed unofficial member for the Muhammadan community in the

, serving from 1916 to 1930. He was the president of the

All Ceylon Muslim League All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

until his death, he was succeeded by T. B. Jayah. He was the manager of the

Zahira College, Colombo Zahira College (commonly known as Zahira) ( si, සහිරා විදුහල, ta, சாஹிரா கல்லுரி) is an Islamic school at Colombo in Maradana, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1892 as Al Madrasathul Zahira by notab ...

from 1921 to 1938.

References

Members of the Legislative Council of Ceylon Ceylonese proctors People of British Ceylon Alumni of Wesley College, Colombo Sri Lankan Moors 1879 births 1938 deaths {{SriLanka-bio-stub