Mohammad Yakub Ali Chowdhury (2 November 1888 – 15 December 1940) was a Bengali essayist and journalist.[1][2] He was noted as one of the few
Bengali Muslim literary scholars of his time.[3]
Early life
Chowdhury was born on 2 November 1888 in the village of Maguradangi in
Pangsha into the aristocratic
Bengali Muslim Chowdhury family of
Greater Faridpur. His father was Enayetullah Chowdhury, a policeman by profession.[1] His elder brother was
Rowshan Ali Chowdhury, a politician and journalist, and his younger brother was Awlad Ali Chowdhury, also a journalist.[4] After completing his primary education at Pangsha Middle English School, he then enrolled at the
Raja Surya Kumar Institution in
Rajbari where he passed his
entrance exam. He then moved onto studying at the
Presidency College, Kolkata for four years before his studies came to an end due to eye problems.[1]
Career
Chowdhury started teaching at the
Zorwarganj English High School in
Mirsharai Thana in 1914. The following year, he worked as the assistant teacher at the Raja Surya Kumar Institute. He taught at George High School in Pangsha in 1918. He was involved with the
Indian National Congress and was imprisoned from 1920 to 1921 for his active involvement in the
Khilafat Movement (being the ringleader for the Pangsha area)[5] and
Non-cooperation movement, resulting in him losing his career as teacher.
Chowdhury then moved to
Kolkata, joining his younger brother Awlad. He served as a founding member and later Secretary of the
Bangiya Mussalman Sahitya Samiti.[6] He edited the association's magazine with
Golam Mostofa from January 1927. He also contributed to
The Kohinoor which was edited by his brother,
Rowshan. Most of Yakub Ali Chowdhury's essays were based on Islam, its teachings and philosophy, as well as
Islamic culture and
Hindu–Muslim unity. He was also noted to have been a strong advocate of
Bengali as the language of Bengali Muslims as opposed to
Urdu, during the nationwide controversy between the 1920s to 1930s.[1][7]
Death and legacy
Suffering from severe financial hardship and
tuberculosis, he spent his last days in his home village and died on 15 December 1940.[1] Writer
Abdul Quadir compiled his essays into a single work titled Yāqub Alī Chaudhurī Rachanābalī in 1963.[8] Chowdhury's works were also included in
Kazi Abdul Wadud's Shashwata Banga. In 1985, an institution in Pangsha was founded named Yakub Ali Chowdhuri Bidyapith. His literary works were included in the curriculum of school level, secondary, higher secondary and graduation level Bengali literature in Bangladesh.
Essay collections
Bāngālī Musalmāner Bhāshā O ShāhityaThe Kohinoor (Jan/Feb 1914)[9]
Dharmer Kāhinī (1914) [Religious instruction for Muslims]
Nūrnabī (1918) [Book on the life of Muhammad for children][10]
Shāntidhārā (1918) [Essay on the glory of Islam]
Mānab Mukuṭ (1926) [Book on the life of Muhammad's life and teachings]
^Sinha, Soumitra Kr. "The Bangiyo Musalman Sahitya Samiti: Its Quest for Cultural Awakening of the Bengali Muslims (1911-1947)". International Research Journal of Human Resources and Social Sciences.
Kalyani, West Bengal:
University of Kalyani: 18.
Golpo Songroho (Collected Stories), the national textbook of B.A. (pass and subsidiary) course of Bangladesh, published by
University of Dhaka in 1979 (reprint in 1986).
Bangla Sahitya (Bengali Literature), the national textbook of intermediate (college) level of Bangladesh published in 1996 by all educational boards.