Abul Kasem (2 February 1872 - 10 October 1936) 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 ...

politician.

Early life and education

Abul Kasem was born on 2 February 1872 to a

family of

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

zamindars A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is th ...

in the village of Kashiara in

Burdwan district Bardhaman (, ), or sometimes Burdwan and Barddhaman, is a former district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Bardhaman. On 7 April 2017, the district was bifurcated into two separate districts namely Purba Bardhaman and Pas ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

. His father Abdul Majid was an officer of the Excise Department. His grandfather Khan Bahadur Ghulam Asghar was the chief sadr-e-amin of the

Company Raj Company rule in India (also known as the Company Raj, from Hindi , ) refers to regions of the Indian subcontinent under the control of the British East India Company (EIC). The EIC, founded in 1600, established its first trading post in India ...

. He received his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1894 from

Presidency College Calcutta Presidency University, formerly Presidency College, is a public state university located in College Street, Kolkata. Established in 1817 as the ''Hindoo College'', it was later renamed ''Presidency College'' in 1855 and functioned as a leadi ...

Politics

Abul Kasem joined the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

in 1895. The 12th annual session of the Congress was held in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

in 1896. He was the representative of Calcutta in this session. His uncle

Nawab Abdul Jabbar Nawab Abdul Jabbar (; 24 October 1837 - 30 January 1918) was a British Indian bureaucrat and social worker. Early life Abdul Jabbar was born on 24 October 1837 in his maternal grandfather's home in Paharhati, Burdwan district, Bengal Presidenc ...

was the Prime Minister of

Bhopal State Bhopal State (pronounced ) was founded by the Maharaja of Parmar Rajputs. In the beginning of the 18th-century, Bhopal State was converted into an Islamic principality, in the invasion of the Afghan Mughal noble Dost Muhammad Khan. It was ...

. He served as his uncle's private secretary from 1897 to 1902. In 1904, he became a member of the Central Working Committee and the Constitutional Committee of the Congress. He was among the few Muslims who opposed the

Partition of Bengal (1905) The Partition of Bengal in 1905, also known as the First Partition of Bengal, was a territorial reorganization of the Bengal Presidency implemented by the authorities of the British Raj. The reorganization separated the largely Muslim eastern ...

and played a significant role in the anti-partition movement. He was elected as a member of the central committee from Bengal in the National Mohammadan Association formed in Calcutta. The president of the organisation was Syed Muhammad Bahadur of

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

. The vice president and secretary were

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...

and Barrister Abdur Rasool respectively. Besides, Abul Kasem was the first secretary of the Bengal Mohammedan Association. Abdur Rasul was its president. Abul Kasem was the founder of the Burdwan Mohammedan Association. He was elected to the

Bengal Legislative Council The Bengal Legislative Council ( was the legislative council of Bengal Presidency. It was the legislature of the Bengal Presidency during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After reforms were adopted in 1937, it served as the upper house of ...

from Burdwan-Bankura in 1913. He resigned from the Legislative Council in 1920 in protest against the

Jallianwala Bagh massacre The Jallianwala Bagh massacre (), also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on 13 April 1919. A large crowd had gathered at the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, Punjab, British India, during the annual Vaisakhi, Baisakhi fair to protest aga ...

and the

Rowlatt Act The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, popularly known as the Rowlatt Act, was a law, applied during the British India period. It was a legislative council act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi on 18 March 1919 ...

in 1919. After the

Khilafat Movement The Khilafat movement (1919–22) was a political campaign launched by Indian Muslims in British India over British policy against Turkey and the planned dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after World War I by Allied forces. Leaders particip ...

began, he joined the movement in 1920 and became a member of the Khilafat Committee. He was also a member of the delegation sent to Europe under the leadership of

Mohammad Ali Jauhar Muhammad Ali Jawhar (10 December 18784 January 1931) was an Indian politician and activist of the Indian independence movement. He was a co-founder of the All-India Muslim League and Jamia Millia Islamia. Born into an anti-colonial family, Jaw ...

in 1920. After the movement, he left the Congress. He was a member of the Indian Legislative Council (1921-1923) formed under the

Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms The Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms or more concisely the Mont–Ford Reforms, were introduced by the colonial government to introduce self-governing institutions gradually in British India. The reforms take their name from Edwin Montagu, the Sec ...

of 1919. He was nominated as a member of the Bengal Legislative Council from 1924-1926. In 1927, he was re-elected as a member. He held this position until his death.

Journalism

In his early life, Abul Kashem worked as an assistant editor for ''The Bengali'' edited by

Surendranath Banerjee Sir Surendranath Banerjee (; 10 November 18486 August 1925), often known as Rashtraguru () was an Indian nationalist leader during the British Rule. He founded a nationalist organization called the Indian National Association to bring Hindus an ...

. In 1906, he and Barrister Abdur Rasool published ''The Mussulman''. He became the first editor of the newspaper. He was also associated with the ''Muslim Chronicle'' and ''Muslim Outlook''. He assisted Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq in publishing the weekly magazine '' Nabajug''. Other magazines he published and edited include ''Progress, Muslim Standard'' and the weekly ''Moslem Bani''.

Philanthropy

Abul Kashem was actively involved in relief management in the flood-prone districts of Burdwan,

Birbhum Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other impo ...

and

Bankura Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district. Etymology It comes from the old Austric word ráŕhá or ráŕho which means “land of red soil”.P.R. Sarkar Rarh - ...

. These areas were flooded almost every year due to the influence of the Damodar, Ajay and Kunu rivers. He helped in the construction of roads, free health centres and educational institutions. The Burdwan Town School was established because of his initiative.

Death

He died on 10 October 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasem, Abul Politicians from Purba Bardhaman district 1936 deaths 1872 births 20th-century Bengalis 19th-century Bengalis Indian Sunni Muslims Bengali Muslims