Ahmed Ali Badarpuri احمد علی بدر پوری | |
|---|---|
আহমদ আলী বদরপুরী | |
| 2nd President ofAssam State Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind | |
| In office 1957 – 11 June 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Noor Ali Badarpuri |
| Succeeded by | Maulana Abdul Haque |
| Amir-e-Shariat ofNortheast India | |
| In office 1990 – 11 June 2000 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ahmed Ali 1915 Badarpur,Sylhet district, British India |
| Died | 11 June 2000(2000-06-11) (aged 84–85) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Children | Yahya |
| Alma mater | |
| Personal life | |
| Nationality |
|
| Main interest(s) | Sufism,Tafsir,Fiqh,Hadith |
| Religious life | |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanafi |
| Teachers | Hussain Ahmad Madani,Izaz Ali Amrohi |
| Movement | Deobandi |
| Senior posting | |
| Disciple of | Hussain Ahmad Madani |
Ahmed Ali Badarpuri (1915–11 June 2000), also known asAhmed Ali Banskandi andAhmed Ali Assami, was an Indian Islamic scholar, aSufi, afreedom fighter, and a teacher. He was the president of theAssam State Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind for 44 years.
Ahmed Ali Badarpuri was born in 1915 into aSufi family inBadarpur, Assam, then located in theSylhet district ofBritish India.[1] He was a descendant of Munawwar Khadim Yemeni, who was anattendant ofShah Jalal Mujarrad's authorised disciple,Sikandar Khan Ghazi.[2][3][4]
Badarpuri received his primary education in Badarpur and then enrolled at theSylhet Government Alia Madrasah for further studies from 1938 to 1940 and graduated indars-e-nizami. He subsequently joinedDarul Uloom Deoband to study the courses again but could not continue due to certain health complications. In 1950, he attended the Deoband seminary once more to study the courses of Daura-e-Hadith (The last year in dars-e-nizami) and Daura-e-Tafsir (specialisation in the exegesis of the Quran), and completed his studies by the next year. At that time, hememorized the Quran in a period of two and a half months. His teachers includedHussain Ahmad Madani, Abdus Samī' Deobandi,Izaz Ali Amrohi, Fakhrul Hasan Muradabadi, and Abdul Ahad Deobandi.[5][6][7][8] He was an authorised disciple of Madani inSufism.[9][10][11][12][13][14]
Badarpuri started his career as a teacher atDarul Uloom Banskandi. In 1955, Hussain Ahmad Madani sent him there without any invitation from the institution. The madrassa authority refused to appoint him as a teacher. However, they later accepted him after they obtained a letter from Madani.[15][16][17]
In 1957, Madani appointed him to the post ofSheikh al-Hadith and entrusted to him the charge of the institution. He retained his position until his last breath. Thus, his teaching career lasted for over 45 years.[15][16][17] He associated himself with theIndian independence movement.[5][6][7][8]
In 1957, he was elected president of the Assam State Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind. Before it, he had worked as a secretary and convener. He carried out his leadership responsibilities by facing the Pakistani Deportation Movement, also known as theBongal Kheda Movement, which intensified in the 1960s and continued into the 1970s and 1980s.[18][19][20]
He raised a voice against the then-Chaliha government and forced it to stop inhumane violence towards minorities in the name of foreigners. He opposed theAssam Movement, which peaked with theNellie massacre. He forcedHiteswar Saikia, law ministerAbdul Muhib Mazumdar, and Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi to provide some special protections for minorities. The result was theIMDT Act of 1983.[18][19][20]
In the early 1990s, Badarpuri had to face another movement known as theBodo Movement, which created a cruel massacre inlower Assam. He raised a strong demand with the government for the security and rehabilitation of the victims. Shouldering the burden of 600 homeless orphans affected by this movement, he sheltered them in Banskandi Madrasa. Thus, he fought against any kind of injustice and finally against some communal remarks made by the government in arranging a historical Jamiat meeting atGuwahati on April 1, 2000.[18][19][20]
Badarpuri participated in thefreedom struggle being inspired by his teacher, Hussain Ahmad Madani. He was arrested and imprisoned several times foranti-British activities. He worked in support of theJamiat and opposed thepartition of India. He took a bold step to get Sylhet into India during theSylhet Referendum held in July 1947.[21][22][23][24]
He founded thousands ofmosques,madrasas, andkhanqahs, and finally theGauhati Khanqah, where thousands of people visit every year seeking spiritual guidance. He opposed the hypocrisy and deviance of the Qadianis. He even wrote a book inBangla, namedKhatme Nabuwwater O Qadianiater Gumrahir Akatya Dalil Samooh (transl. Irrefutable Proofs ofKhatm-e-Nabuwwat and the Deviances of theQadianis).[25][26][27][28][29][30]
After the demise of Badarpuri, theTarun Gogoi government started theAhmed Ali Banskandi Award in his honor.[31][32][33][34][35] Since 1990, he has also served as theAmir-e-Shariat ofNortheast India until his death.[31][36][37]
Badarpuri wrote a number of books inBengali,Assamese, andUrdu. These include:[38][39][40][41][42]
On 11 June 2000, Badarpuri died inMumbai. His body was flown to Assam. On 13 June, he was buried on the campus ofDarul Uloom Banskandi. His funeral prayer was attended by several hundred thousand people.[44][45][46][24][47] He is survived by his son, Muhammad Yahya.[48][49] Many individuals expressed condolences upon the demise of Badarpuri.As'ad Madani termed his death one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century.Sonia Gandhi called him a freedom fighter who always tried to maintain peace and social harmony among the different sections of people.Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, the then chief minister of Assam, called him a symbol of peace, love, and social harmony.Santosh Mohan Dev opined that his death was a loss to the whole country.[50][24]