Mohammad Akram Khan

Not to be confused with Muhammad Akram Khan.
Mohammad Akram Khan
Born 1868
Dhaka, Bengal Presidency, British Raj (now Bangladesh)
Died 18 August 1969(1969-08-18) (aged 99 year & 5 months)
Language Bengali
Alma mater Calcutta Madrasah (present Aliah University)

Mohammad Akram Khan (Bengali: মওলানা মুহাম্মদ আকরাম খাঁ, 1868–1969) was a Bangladeshi journalist, politician and Islamic scholar. He was the founder of Dhaka's first Bengali newspaper, The Azad.[1]

Early life

Akram Khan was born in Hakimpur in the 24 Parganas district of Bengal Presidency, British India (present West Bengal) in 1868. He did not have a British education but studied at Calcutta Madrasah (present Aliah University). He entered the journalism profession at a very young age before becoming involved in politics.

Journalism

Early in his career, he worked at newspapers Ahl-i-Hadith and Mohammadi Akhbar. Between 1908 to 1921, he worked as the editor of the Mohammadi and the Al-Islam. He published the Zamana and the Sebak between 1920 and 1922. Sebak was banned and Akram Khan was arrested on the basis that his anti-government editorials supported the Non-cooperation Movement and the Swadeshi movement.

In October 1936, Akram published the revolutionary newspaper The Azad, the only Bengali daily of that time, which generated support for the Muslim League in Bengal.

Political career

Before joining politics, while as a student of Aliah University, Khan formed a movement in favour of teaching all subjects in Bangladesh. Akram Khan was also one of the founding members of the Muslim League in 1906. He was involved in the Khilafat and Non-cooperation Movement from 1918 to 1924. He was elected secretary of the All India Khilafat Committee at the conference held at Ahsan Manzil in Dhaka in 1920, which was attended by other eminent Khilafatist leaders like Abul Kalam Azad, Maniruzzaman Islamabadi and Mujibur Rahman. Akram was responsible for collecting funds for the Turkey Khilafat. During 1920–1923, he organised public meetings in different parts of Bengal to propagate the cause of the Khilafat and the Non-cooperation Movement. As a believer in Hindu-Muslim amity, Akram Khan supported Chitta Ranjan Das's Swaraj Party in Kolkata in 1922, and also the Bengal pact in 1923. But due to the communal riots of 1926–1927 and other contemporary political developments, Akram Khan lost his faith in Indian nationalist politics and left both the Swaraj Party and Congress.

From 1929 to 1935, Khan was deeply involved in Praja or peasant politics. However, he left peasant politics in 1936 and became an activist for the Muslim League. He was a member of the central working committee of the League until 1947. After the partition of India in 1947, he opted for East Bengal and settled in Dhaka. He was the President of Muslim League (East Pakistan) until he retired from politics in 1960.

During the Bengali Language Movement of 1952, Khan's role is still well-remembered.

Death

Mohammad Akram Khan died on 18 August 1969.[2] He was buried at the Ahl-i-Hadith Bangshal mosque at Lalbagh PS in Dhaka.

Literary works

Awards and honors

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ebanglapedia.com/en/article.php?id=2972#.VIqnAjGUd7w
  2. ↑ "Death anniversary of Maulana Akram Khan Friday". 16 August 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2014.

External links


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