Jabbar, Nawab Abdul

Jabbar, Nawab Abdul (1837-1918) government official, social worker, was born in his maternal grandfather's house in village Parhati in Burdwan district on 24 October 1837. His family home was in Kashiara (now Kasemnagar) in Burdwan. His father Khan Bahadur Golam Asgar held the office of Principal Sadr Amin in the Judicial Department of East India Company government. Abdul Jabbar passed his entrance examination from Burdwan Raj School where he was a student of ramtanu lahiri. He studied BA in the Presidency College, Calcutta, where bankimchandra chattopadhyay also studied BA at the same time. His father died in August 1857 and consequently he had to leave his studies and joined government service as a deputy magistrate in the same year.

In 1889-94 Jabbar worked as Presidency Magistrate in Calcutta. In 1895 the British government conferred on him the titles of Khan Bahadur and CIE. Later the title of Nawab was also conferred on him. He was nominated as a member of the Bengal Legislative Council three times in 1884, 1886 and 1893.

After retirement from government service Jabbar was appointed prime minister of Bhopal (1897-1902), where he initiated a number of public welfare measures. He was associated with a number of organisations which were established in the second half of the ninteenth century. He was a member of the Mohammedan Association, the first organisation of the Musalmans of India including Bengal. He had close relationship with nawab abdool luteef and was a member of the Mohammedan Literary Society. In 1900 he became it's president.

In support of the anti-racial movement in South Africa led by MK Gandhi a meeting was organised under the leadership of Surendranath Banerjea in the Calcutta Town Hall. He presided over the meeting and took interest in promoting of Muslim interests, including English education, though he was not as enthusiastic about female education. His idea was that women should take education at home. In order to propagate his idea of Muslim female education, Jabbar wrote two little books in Urdu. He also wrote a book in Bangla named Muslim Dharma Porichoy.

The Taylor hostel was established for Muslim Students of Calcutta University in 1896. In 1908, he started a movement for establishing a new hostel for Muslim students. Because the surroundings of Taylor hostel was both unhygienic and inadequate for Muslim students. Eventually, accommodation of the Baker hostel was established in Smith Lane in Taltala.

Though both the Indian National Congress and the All India Muslim League were founded in his lifetime, he did not join any of them. He was indifferent about politics. Nawab Abdul Jabbar died on 30 January 1918. [Badruddin Umar]