Khanbahadur Ahsanullah (Literary Achievements)

Literary Achievements

During both his service and retired life, Khanbahadur Ahsanullah relentlessly tried his hand on literature and creative writings. He wrote many books on Education, literature, History, Biography, Philosophy, Religion etc. He is the renowned author of 81 books. All of his Books have been complied in 12 volumes. The name of the compilation of his entire writings is"Khanbahadur Ahsanullah Rachanabali" (Volume 01 to 12), edited by Gholam Moyenuddin PhD, a well known litterateur and the former Director of Bangla Academy, Dhaka. Some of his outstanding publications included: Teachers' Manual (1952),Bangabhasha-O-Musalman Shahitya or Bengali language and Muslim literature (1918), History of the Muslim World (1931), Islam-O-Aadarsha Mahapurush or Islam and the ideal great man (1926), Tariqat Shiksha or learning the rules of spiritual attainment (1940), Shikshakhetre Bongio Mussalman or Muslims of Bengal in education (1931), Quran-O-Hadiser Aadeshaboli or the instructions of the holy Quran and Hadis (1931), Sufi(1947), Shristitatta or the origins of creation (1949), Islamer Mahaty Shiksha or the invaluable teachings of Islam (1949), Mahapurushder Amiyobani or the eternal messages of the great men (1950), Islamer Bani-O- Paramhangsher Ukti or the message of Islam and the sayings of Supreme Lord (1956) and Bibhinna Dharmer Upadeshaboli or the preachings of various religions (1965), etc. The entire gamut of Khanbahadur Ahsanullah's literary thoughts originated from his deep feelings for his country, his language and his desire to do good for the human kind. He had declared in unequivocal terms: "Social welfare should ideally be the aim of literature." He also said: "A nation which does not have its own literature, does not have self-esteem. The development of such a nation will always be a forlorn prospect. If one is to introduce oneself as a true Muslim and an equal to the rest of the world, then one has to uphold one's mother­tongue with a nationalistic fervour. For restoring the very existence of the nation, the development of the Bengali language is a must." Aiming at social welfare, national development and refinement of the individualistic characteristics of people, Khanbahadur Ahsanullah published a number of auto­biographical books on great men. These included, the life of Prophet Mohammed (SM), life-sketches of a number of Sufi leaders, the lives of heads of states and a host of other historical personalities. Along with reflecting on the instructions of Islam, he presented in his writings, the inherent loftiness and the very essence of such religious creeds which made them so unique. This trend can be well observed in the books like Sufi, Shristitatta, Islamer Mahati Shiksha and Tariqat Shiksha. He believed, "The educated people of the time has keen interest for the deep mysteries of Islam. But the stringent rules of the shariah (the traditions) refrained them from delving into such mysteries. Few people, however, could understand that by piercing the hard rules of the shariah, they could find a passage into the world of unknown knowledge and bliss." The very skill of his writing and the novelty in the presentation of the subject-matters which had an unmistakable individualistic touch, transcended them from the temporal to the eternal, eventually earning them the honour of creative literature. By involving himself with the activities of various literary organisations, he also made literary endeavours and practice easy for others.

Khanbahadur Ahsanullah (Educational Reforms)

Educational Reforms

The entire service life of Khanbahadur Ahsanullah was spent in the Department of Education. During the culminating phase of his service life, when he was promoted to the higher ranks, he put the experiences derived from years of dedication and hard work to the best use. During his time, many commendable reforms took place in the education field, with particular reference to education of the Muslim students, due to his personal initiative. Below are some of the educational reform programmes undertaken during his time: 1. During that time, there was the tradition of writing the names of the students in the examination papers. Many people believed that this open-identity went against the interests of a section of the students. For this reason, Khanbahadur Ahsanullah went all out to introduce the system of writing the roll numbers of students instead of their names. This was first applied in the Honours and M.A examinations and later also followed in the I.A and B.A examinations of the time. 2. He elevated the standard of education in both the higher madrassah and secondary madrassah classes and created congenial atmosphere for the students to enter colleges and universities after completing the madrassah education. 3. During that time, he created posts for maulavis or Muslim religious teachers in all schools and colleges and eliminated the wage disparity between the Hindu pundits or priests and Muslim maulavis. 4. Urdu, during those days was not considered among the "classical languages". This created problems for the Urdu-speaking students in West Bengal. It was through his initiative that Urdu occupied the place of Sanskrit. 5. It was by dint of his active initiative that the proposal for establishing a separate college exclusively for the Muslim students in Calcutta was approved. This gave birth to the Islamia College. Hurley, the principal of Calcutta Madrassah was appointed the first principal of the college. 6. He was instrumental in establishing many muktabs or elementary schools, Muslim high schools and it was for him that many Muslim teachers got their appointments. He also played a major role in stablishing many Muslim Hostels. The Baker Hostel, Taylor Hostel, Karmichael Hostel, Moslem Institute etc., situated at the heart of Calcutta, hold evidence to his contribution. 7. The Fuller Hostel of Rajshahi is a glowing witness to his immortal contributions. During the construction of this hostel for the Muslim students,  he faced multifaceted obstacles. In spite of continuos hurdles set by the opposition and their negative remarks, such as, "why waste so much money to build a hostel in an earthquake-prone area like Rajshahi .. what is the use", he managed the required permission and funding from the British authorities to build the hostel. 8. He introduced an independent educational curriculum for the muktab students and made provisions so that Muslim students could study the books written by Muslim scholars. This created the opportunity for Muslim scholars to write textbooks and also improve the lot of the Muslim book-publishers. For the founding and survival of institutions like Makhdumi Library, Provincial Library and Islamia Library, he had enormous contributions. During that time, famous novels like “Bisad Sindhu”, “Anowara”, “Manowara” etc. were published by Makhdumi Library. 9. In the schools and colleges, he readjusted the ratio of stipends for the Muslim students and made provisions so that increasing number of poor but meritorious students could study free of cost. He also removed the hurdles faced by the Muslim students in receiving government fellowships to go for higher learning in foreign countries. 10. It was through his initiative that the representation and membership of the Muslim community was ensured in the Textbook Committee. He also made some readjustments in the volume of representation by the Muslim examiners, in the number of Muslim inspection officials in the Department of Education, in the volume of Muslim students studying at the training college and also in the number of representation by Muslims in the managing committees of schools and colleges. 11. It was through his efforts that the New Scheme Madrassah, which introduced education in English side by side Arabic, was established. He also played a pioneering role in consolidating the status of Arabic as the "second language" in the high schools. 12. Some specialised schools and colleges were founded for the female Muslim students as a result of his personal initiative. He prepared congenial atmosphere for them to receive education and become complete human beings. 13. Besides, the Governor of undivided Bengal on June 30, 1914, through Resolution No. 2474, formed a high-level committee to propose recommendations for the improvement of three distinct streams of Muslim education. The Director of the Provincial Assembly was appointed the chairman of the committee. Khanbahadur Ahsanullah was one of the leading members of the committee. The recommendations of this committee had a far­reaching impact on the development and progress of Muslim education. 14. In those days, Khanbahadur Ahsanullah represented in all the committees and conferences relating to education in East Bengal either as member or in any other official capacities. When a furious debate took hold of the Legislative Assembly regarding the Medium of Education, the then Chief Secretary brought to the notice of the assembly, an article written in this regard by Khanbahadur Ahsanullah. 15. He also had active contributions in the formation of Dhaka University. A major hue and cry was raised when the draft bill on Dhaka University was placed before the Senate and a special committee was formed later on to recommend on the issue. As an outstanding member of the committee, highlighting the need for such an institution, he recommended that the bill be passed.

Khanbahadur Ahsanullah (Service Life)

Service Life

In 1896, Khanbahadur Ahsanullah joined the government service. At the beginning of his career, he was appointed the Supernumerary Teacher at the Rajshahi Collegiate School for a brief period of time. During this time, A.W Croft was the Director of the Department of Education. After a few months, with a raise in salary, Khanbahadur Ahsanullah was appointed Additional Deputy Inspector of Faridpur. After having had some experiences in working as the Additional Deputy Inspector, he served as the Sub-inspector of Schools for six months. During this period, he had to inspect many schools. On April 1, 1898, he gave up the job of the temporary Sub-inspector and joined the service permanently as Deputy Inspector. After that, he was posted as the Deputy Inspector in the relatively larger district of Bakherganj. He was appointed to the post by Director Martin. His office was in Barisal. Khanbahadur Ahsanullah spent the next seven years of his service life working in the post of Deputy Inspector. At this time, Director Martin recommended the names of 12 officials to the Government of Bengal for being absorbed from the Subordinate Education Service into the Provincial Education Service. The name of Khanbahadur Ahsanullah was also among them and he was considered eligible by the Director. As a result, he became the first person to be absorbed from the inspecting line to the teaching line in the Provincial Service and was, consequently, appointed the Head Master of Rajshahi Collegiate School in 1904. During his working tenure there, he created a congenial atmosphere for the education of Muslim students and removed the age-old hurdles that impaired their growth. During one of his inspections to the Rajshahi Collegiate School, the then Director of the Department of Education for East Bengal and Assam, H Sharp expressed his total satisfaction at the work carried out by Khanbahadur Ahsanullah. As a recognition of his accomplishment, in 1907, he was appointed the Divisional Inspector for the Chittagong region. For long 17 years, he stayed in Chittagong and made considerable improvements in the field of education in this division. Following some recommendations from H Sharp, huge financial allocations were made by the government for the advancement of education in East Bengal and Assam during this time. H Sharp was always confident about the competence, honesty and professional integrity of Khanbahadur Ahsanullah. So, he was never miserly in sanctioning the financial budgets proposed by Khanbahadur Ahsanullah for the development of education in the Chittagong division. Being sanctioned enough money, he could take many positive steps for the qualitative and quantitative improvements of many impoverished sub-divisional schools in the region. His persoal contribution in establishing and running the high-schools in Feni, Chandpur, Brahmanbaria, Chittagong and Noakhali was enormous. The huge school in Sheoratoli near Chittagong city was built at his initiative. Besides, in many areas of the Chittagong division, he built a number of hostels both for the Hindu and the Muslim students. He also built many schools in the abandoned houses of the Hindu zamindars or landlords. In the month of June, 1911, he was elected a Member of the Royal Society (MRSA) of London. In 1912, the Delhi darbar or conference was held. In this conference, the King annulled the partition of East and West Bengal. As a result, for the next few years, he was appointed the Additional Inspector of Presidency. So, he left Chittagong for Calcutta. Dr Donne who became the Director Later, was the Inspector during this period. When Khabahadur Ahsanullah was serving in the Chittagong division, he was absorbed into the Indian Education Service (IES). After that, he was appointed the "Assistant Director of Muslim Education in Bengal". He continued his service as Assistant Director for the next five years. In the undivided Bengal, no Indian had hitherto been appointed Assistant Director. And after his retirement, the post was filled by an Englishman by the name of Botmali as no Indian after him was considered eligible for the post. In those days, two Assistant Directors were appointed to help the Director. But both had the same official status and remuneration ceilings. When the Division of Bengal was called off, the post of the Assistant Director was transferred to Calcutta. So, Khanbahadur Ahsanullah also moved to Calcutta. For some time, he even held the current charge of Director of the Department of Education in undivided Bengal. In 1929, at the age of 55, he retired from the government service.

Khanbahadur Ahsanullah (Childhood And Education)

Childhood And Education

Khanbahadur Ahsanullah was born on Saturday in December, 1873, in a village called Nalta, previously under Khulna and now under Satkhira district. His father, Munshi Md. Mofijuddin was a pious, wealthy and a generous man. His grandfather, Munshi Md. Danesh, was also a religious and affluent person. Khanbahadur Ahsanullah was his grandfather's only son's eldest issue. Therefore, from his very childhood, both his father and grandfather were very keen on providing him with a good education. He started studying before he crossed the age of five. After completion of education in the elementary school, he was admitted to the Middle English School at Nalta. After a while, he was admitted in Class IV (present equivalent of Class VII) at the Takee Government High School. In the annual examination of Class III (presently, Class VIII) at this school, he stood first and was promoted to class II (now Class IX). At the end of the year, he got himself admitted to the LMS Institution (London Missionary School) in Calcutta in Class II. In 1890, Khanbahadur Ahsanullah passed the Entrance (now the S.S.C) examination with distinction and was awarded a scholarship. He passed F.A (now the H.S.C) from Hoogli College in 1892 and the B.A examination from the Presidency College in Calcutta in 1894. He obtained Master of Arts (M.A) degree in Philosophy from Calcutta University in 1895.

Khanbahadur Ahsanullah

Alhaz Hazrat Khanbahadur Ahsanullah (R)

Khanbahadur Ahsanullah (1873 - 1965) was a renowned academician and social reformer, a reputed philanthropist, a famed literary figure and Sufi thinker of the country. He was the pride of the Muslims in Bengal and one of the most enlightened personalities of his time.

Khanbahadur Ahsanullah was an Assistant Director of the Department of Education in undivided Bengal and Assam. For some time, he also held a position as Director of the Department of Education, the top most post of the department. In the undivided Bengal, no Indian had hitherto been appointed Assistant Director. Amongst the Hindus and Muslims, he was the first person of undivided Bengal to join the Indian Education Service (IES).

He was blessed with a long life and spent all his years for the advancement of a largely backward Muslim population. He played a pioneering role in consolidating the social status of the Muslims in the British-governed India by rejuvenating their thoughts and values and by lifting them from an all-consuming process of social degeneration. The goal of bringing a positive change both in the lives and the psyche of the Muslims that he had set himself to, was fully accomplished through his works and deeds. As a result, Khanbahadur Ahsanullah became an institution by himself. The name of this vast, prodigious personality, who lived long enough to drench himself in the sunlight of an entire millennium, will be pronounced again and again generations after generations. Although his life and activities are now a part of history, this nation and its people will continue to be indebted to him in many ways.

Khanbahadur Ahsanullah obtained Master of Arts (M.A) degree in Philosophy from Calcutta University, India in 1895.

In 1911, he was elected a member of the Royal Society (MRSA) of London.

Khanbahadur Ahsanullah was elected Senate and Syndicate Member of the Calcutta University, India. No Muslim before him was bestowed these honorable posts. He also had active contributions in the formation of Dhaka University, Bangladesh.

For his contributions for the development of the Department of Education and as a recognition for his sincere and praiseworthy initiatives, he was conferred the “Khanbahadur” title by the then British Government.

In 1960, Bangla Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh awarded him an honorary Fellowship for his “unique and versatile contribution in the field of Bengali Literature”.

Khanbahadur Ahsanullah also had a direct link with the literary circles and the literary movements of the time. During the years 1917-1918, he was the Vice President of the Literary Association of the Muslims in Bengal (Bangiya Musalman Sahitya Samiti).

He was the founder of "Ahsania Mission".

Khanbahadur Ahsanullah was born on Saturday in December, 1873 and passed away on Tuesday February 9, 1965.