Sheikh
Osman Ali Sadagar
Member of the 1st Assam Legislative Assembly
In office
19 January 1937 – 1946
ConstituencyNagaon
Personal details
Born1856
Bengal Presidency
Died28 April 1948(1948-04-28) (aged 91–92)
Assam, Dominion of India

Sheikh Osman Ali Sadagar (Assamese: শেখ ওছমান আলী সদাগৰ, Bengali: শেখ ওছমান আলী সওদাগর; 1856 – 28 April 1948) was a politician, cultivator and educationist. He served as a member of the inaugural Assam Legislative Assembly,[1] and opposed the integration of Assam into the Dominion of Pakistan.[2] Sadagar is considered to be a pioneer of the cultural and linguistic Assamisation of the Miya community.[3] The Chor Chapori Literary Council named the Osman Ali Sadagar Honorary Award in his memory.

Early life and migration

Sadagar was born into a Bengali Muslim family in the Bengal Presidency.[4]

Career

In 1885, he migrated to Alitangani in Nowgong, Assam with the help of his uncle, Nazrul Ali. Ali was working in the steam ships that flowed through the rivers of Bengal and Assam at the time.[4] He participated in the Battle of Patharughat of 1894 where he got injured.[5]

In 1902, Sadagar founded a primary school in Alitangani, Nowgong. According to doctoral researcher Hafiz Ahmed,[6] the school was the second Assamese-medium institution from the Bengal-origin Muslim migrant community of Assam.[7] Sadagar was also a member of the Asam Sahitya Sabha,[8] partaking in its inaugural 1917 session where he donated 10 British Indian rupees (today equivalent to 130 American dollars) to it.[9]

He independently contested in the first Assam legislative elections in 1937, and was successfully elected as a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly from the Nagaon constituency. In the politics of Assam, Sadagar opposed both ethnic Assamese politician Muhammed Saadulah and the ethnic Bengali politician Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani. He later left the All-India Muslim League entirely.[10] Under his leadership, five independent Muslim politicians represented themselves in the assembly, who all opposed the Muslim League's plans to integrate Assam into the Dominion of Pakistan.[11]

Death and legacy

Sadagar died in Assam. His son, Abdul Shahid, was also a politician.[12] In 2019, false NRC claims were made against his descendants.[2] Among those that defended them was the Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia.[13][14][15]

References

  1. ↑ Ahmed, Dr. Syed (10 October 2011). "Remembering Sir Syed Muhammad Saadulla, the first Premier of Assam". Two Circles.
  2. 1 2 "অসমক পাকিস্তানত চামিলৰ বিৰোধিতা কৰা বিধায়কৰ পৰিয়াললৈ জাননী জাৰি" [Notice disclosed to the family of an MLA who opposed the integration of Assam into Pakistan] (PDF). Dainik Agradoot (in Assamese). Nagaon. 5 May 2019. pp. 1, 10.
  3. ↑ Hussain, Muhammad Shalim Muktadir (27 November 2019). "When a Muslim Worships a Tree: Syncretic Islam of the Char Chaporis of Assam". Sahapedia.
  4. 1 2 Ahmed, Hafiz (12 October 2018). "Readers' comments on #MeToo: It's sad when those who espouse women's rights turn out to be harassers: NRC debate". Scroll.in.
  5. ↑ "Govt yet to recognise riverine people's contributions". Assam Tribune. Guwahati. 14 August 2010.
  6. ↑ Mitra, Naresh (4 September 2012). "Suave English-speaking Muslim lawyer spared the rod in Assam". The Times of India. Gossaigaon, Kokrajhar district.
  7. ↑ Gohain, Hiren (6 November 2021). "Assam: Discourse of Disinheritance". Countercurrents.org.
  8. ↑ Saikia, Yasmin (1 June 2019). "From Citizen to Termite: The Case of the "Bangladeshis" in Assam: Integration and Disintegration of the Muslims (The "Assam Agitation" and Beyond)". Shuddh Ashar.
  9. ↑ Saikia, Yasmin; Haines, Chad, eds. (15 November 2019). People’s Peace: Prospects for a Human Future. Syracuse University Press. p. 328.
  10. ↑ Barpujari, H. K., ed. (1999). Political History of Assam: 1940-1947. Department for the Preparation of Political History of Assam (Government of Assam). p. 252.
  11. ↑ Gohain, Hiren (19 August 2019). "Debate: Miyah Identity and Language". The Wire (India).
  12. ↑ The Assam Gazette. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ Saikia, Shri Debabrata (8 May 2019). "Statement" (PDF). Citizens for Justice and Peace.
  14. ↑ Ali, Zamser (9 May 2019). "EXCLUSIVE! People forced to file False NRC Objections in Assam". Citizens for Justice and Peace.
  15. ↑ Goswami, Bhupen (13 May 2019). "The fire in Assam for NRC". APN News.
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