Syed Murtaza Ali (1 July 1902 – 9 August 1981) was a Bangladeshi writer. He was the elder brother of writer and linguist

Syed Mujtaba Ali Syed Mujtaba Ali ( bn, সৈয়দ মুজতবা আলী; 13 September 1904 – 11 February 1974) was a Bengali writer, journalist, travel enthusiast, academic, scholar and linguist. He lived in Bangladesh, India, Germany, Afghanistan ...

. He is noted for his works relating to the histories of

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surma River at the eastern tip of Bengal, Sylhet has a subtropical climate an ...

and Jaintia.

Background and education

Ali's ancestral residence was at Uttarsur,

Habiganj District Habiganj ( bn, হবিগঞ্জ, Hobigonj), formerly known as Habibganj ( bn, হবিবগঞ্জ, Hobibgonj), is a district in north-eastern Bangladesh, located in the Sylhet Division. It was established as a district in 1984 as a succe ...

. His father, Khan Bahadur Sikandar Ali, was a Sub-Registrar. He traced his paternal descent from Shah Ahmed Mutawakkil, a local holy man and a Syed of Taraf, though apparently unrelated to the region's ruling Syed dynasty. Ali's mother, Amtul Mannan Khatun, was a Chowdhury of Bahadurpur, an Islamised branch of the

Pal family The Pal family ( bn, পাল বংশ; also spelt Pala) are a Bengali aristocratic family who had formerly held lands in what is now Sylhet, Bangladesh. History Among the most ancient clans in their region, the Pals trace their descent from ...

of Panchakhanda. Ali passed his matriculation examination from Sylhet Government School in 1921 and passed his ISc from

Murari Chand College Murari Chand College ( bn, মুরারিচাঁদ কলেজ) (usually referred to as MC College) was the first college in the Sylhet Division. It was established in 1892, making it the seventh oldest college in Bangladesh. Since then i ...

in 1923. He earned his bachelor's in Physics from

Presidency College, Calcutta 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 ...

Career

In 1926, he became the Magistrate of Maulvi Bazar subdivision. He was Sub-divisional Officer in 1940. Later he became the Under Secretary in the Education Department. He retired from civil service positions in 1959. He served as the President of the

Bangla Academy The Bangla Academy ( bn, বাংলা একাডেমি, ) is an autonomous institution funded by the Bangladesh government to foster the Bengali language, literature and culture, to develop and implement national language policy and to d ...

during 1969-1971 and 1975-1977 and

Asiatic Society of Bangladesh The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh is a non political and non profit research organisation registered under both Society Act of 1864 and NGO Bureau, Government of Bangladesh. The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh was established as the Asiatic Society ...

in 1974.

Works

* ''Pashchim Pakistan'' (1952) * ''The History of Jaintia'' (1954) * ''History of Chittagong'' (1964) * ''Hazrat Shah Jalal O Sylheter Itihas'' (1965). * ''Amader Kaler Katha'' (1968), * ''Muztaba-Katha O Anyanya Prasanga'' (1976) * ''Prabandha Bichitra'' (1967)

Awards

Bangla Academy Literary Award The Bangla Academy Literary Award ( bn, বাংলা একাডেমি সাহিত্য পুরস্কার; ''Bangla Academy Shahitya Puroshkar''), is given by the Bangla Academy of Bangladesh in recognition of creative genius i ...

(1973) *

Independence Day Award The Independence Day Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পদক), also termed Independence Award ( bn, স্বাধীনতা পুরস্কার), Swadhinata Padak, and Swadhinata Puroskar, is the highest state award given by t ...

(1982)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Syed Murtaza 1902 births 1981 deaths Bangladeshi male writers Recipients of the Independence Day Award Presidency University, Kolkata alumni 20th-century Bangladeshi historians Recipients of Bangla Academy Award People from Habiganj District People from Karimganj district 20th-century Bengalis