Majumdar, Ambikacharan

Majumdar, Ambikacharan (1851-1922) politician, educationist and social worker, was born in a zamindar family of village Sendia of faridpur district, now in the rajoir upazila of madaripur district. Ambikacharan passed the entrance examination from Faridpur in 1869. After graduation from calcutta he was engaged in teaching in Metropolitan Institution. While in Calcutta, he came in close contact with surendranath banerjea and got involved in politics. He obtained the M A degree from presidency college in 1875 and completed the B L degree in 1878.

Ambicacharan joined the Faridpur district court in 1879. The Faridpur Bar Association was formed in 1881 and Ambikacharan became its first secretary. Later, he was elected its president. In 1881, he also founded the Faridpur People';s Association. In 1886, Ambikacharan participated in the 2nd Session of the All India Congress. In 1899, he presided over the Bengal Provincial Conference of All India National Congress at Burdwan. He also presided over the Provincial Conference in Calcutta in 1910. Ambicacharan was elected president of the 31st session of All India Congress in 1916. Amidst debates between moderates and extremists, he urged for a representative government for India. He held the view that India should be freed from foreign rule and given the status of a self-ruled nation. In 1917, he was elected a member of the provincial legislative council from the constituency of divisional municipal committees.

Working together with aswini kumar datta, Bhupendranath Basu and Surendranath Banarjea, Ambikacharan launched a movement against the partition of bengal. At his own district Faridpur, where huge number of Hindus and Muslims joined the movement, he delivered many speeches on the issue. Ambicacharan was associated with the initiative to form an organisation called the Liberal Federation in 1918. Ambikacharan made significant contributions in the field of education.

Ambikacharan Majumdar was one the founders of Faridpur rajendra college (established 1918) and was appointed president of the Principal's Council of the college. He was also involved in various socio-cultrural activities. He worked as elected member and also the chairman of Faridpur Municipality for a long period. Ambicacharan wrote a book on the evolution of the Indian nation based on the political history of the Indian National Congress. He was a good orator and a kind man. On one occasion, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal, Sir Woodburn, called him the grand old man of Faridpur district. At his own town, Faridpur, an auditorium and a place for public rally has been named after him. [Abu Sayeed Khan]