Ali Mech
Born13th century
Kamatapur Kingdom
OccupationTribal chief
Eraearly 13th century
Known forTibet campaign

Ali Mech was a tribal chief in the 13th century CE, in the region of present-day north of Bengal[1] belonging to the Mech people. He is said to have helped Bakhtiyar Khalji duing his Tibet campaign and converted to Islam because of Bakhtiyar Khilji's cruelty.

Biography

Ali Mech is considered the first Muslim convert in present-day North Bengal.[2][3][4] In the wake of Ali Mech's conversion to Islam, some Mech and Koch tribes also adopted the faith.[5][6] The modern descendants of these converts are the Deshi people.[5]

As a tribal chief in the foothills of Kamrup,[7] he aided Bakhtiyar Khilji in his failed invasion of Tibet in 1206 by acting as a guide.[8]

E. A. Gait mentions that he guided Bakhtyar Khalji march northwards along the right bank of the Karatoya river (present-day Bangladesh) for ten days, through a country inhabited by the Koch, Mech and Tharu (Terai) tribes.

Ali Mech supposedly bears a Muslim first name because he was afraid of Bakhtiyar Khilji's cruelty and also because of discrimination in society. Soon hundreds of Mech inhabitants converted to Islam due to growing oppression in the hands of Hindu lords and its caste, customs and traditions and as most of them were considered to be Yavanas or polluted outsiders by the Aryan hindus[9][10] and as they were lightly exposed to Brahmanic culture.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Siddiq, Mohammad Yusuf (2015). Epigraphy and Islamic Culture: Inscriptions of the Early Muslim Rulers of Bengal (1205–1494). Routledge. p. 36. ISBN 9781317587460.
  2. ↑ Siddiq, Mohammad Yusuf (2015). Epigraphy and Islamic Culture: Inscriptions of the Early Muslim Rulers of Bengal (1205–1494). Routledge. p. 36. ISBN 9781317587460.
  3. ↑ Saikia, Arunabh. "'We don't want to be identified on the basis of our religion,' say Assam's indigenous Desi Muslims". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
  4. ↑ Nath, Monoj Kumar (29 March 2021). The Muslim Question in Assam and Northeast India. Taylor & Francis. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-000-37027-0.
  5. 1 2 Nath, Monoj Kumar (2021). The Muslim Question in Assam and Northeast India. Taylor & Francis. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-000-37027-0.
  6. ↑ Ahmed, Haamim K.J. (12 September 2018). "The Ethnicity of Assamese Muslims". The Hills Times. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  7. ↑ Siddiq, Mohammad Yusuf (2015). Epigraphy and Islamic Culture: Inscriptions of the Early Muslim Rulers of Bengal (1205–1494). Routledge. p. 36. ISBN 9781317587460.
  8. ↑ Nadwi, Abu Bakr Amir-uddin (2004). Tibet and Tibetan Muslims. Translated by Sharma, Parmananda. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives. pp. 43–44. ISBN 9788186470350.
  9. ↑ Siddiq, Mohammad Yusuf (2015). Epigraphy and Islamic Culture: Inscriptions of the Early Muslim Rulers of Bengal (1205–1494). Routledge. pp. 35–36. ISBN 9781317587460. Their adherence to the caste system kept them away from establishing roots with the local population. The Vedic religion which the Aryans brought with them never took strong root in the local people of the region. This might be one of the factors that led to a good portion the Mlecchas population ( such as the Mech tribe in the north according to Tabaqat-i-Nasiri) to cooperate with Muslim conquerors identified by the Aryan (Vedic) Hindus as Yavanas (originally Sanskrit word meaning polluted outsiders/aliens
  10. ↑ Gait, Edward (1906). A History of Assam. Thacker, Spink & Company. ISBN 978-0-404-16819-3.
  11. ↑ Roy, Gautam Chandra (2015-06-05). "Negotiating with the Changing Landscape: The Case of the Rajbanshi Community". Economic and Political Weekly: 7–8. Even Richard Eaton (Eaton 2014: 118) observes that "Muslim converts in Bengal, were mainly from the Rajbanshi, Pod, Chandal, Kuch and other indigenous groups that had been lightly exposed to Brahmanic culture.
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