Abdul Matlib Mazumdar

Abdul Matlib Mazumder (1890–1980) was an Indian freedom fighter and political leader based in undivided Assam State.

Abdul Matlib Mazumdar was born into a Bengali Muslim family in Ujankupa (near Borjurai) village near Hailakandi in southern Assam.

It was during that time that he came into contact with top other Indian leaders such as Ali brothers and became an ardent supporter of Mahatma Gandhi's ideas.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru visited Hailakandi in 1939 and 1945 respectively at the invitation of Mazumdar to strengthen the freedom movement as well as the Congress party in southern Assam.

Once in Shillong, Maulana Azad contacted Sri Matlib Mazumder and discussed about the ouster of the Ministry headed by Sir Syed Mohd.

To counter the rising popularity of Muslim League, he successfully organised the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind movement in Assam.

That victory virtually sealed the hopes and aspirations of the Muslim League to include southern Assam in Pakistan.

Mazumdar along with Basanta Kumar Das (then Home Minister of Assam) travelled throughout the valley organising the Congress and addressing meetings educating the masses about the outcome of partition on the basis of religion.

[10] Moulvi Mazumdar joined as a Cabinet Minister of Assam in 1946 with the portfolios of Local Self-Government, Agriculture and Veterinary.

In 1947, India became free from British rule, when Mazumdar again took charge of the same departments in Gopinath Bordoloi's cabinet as the only Muslim minister (Moulana Tayyebulla was inducted in 1948) and also the lone member from the entire Barak Valley region.

He then became the Minister for Law, Social Welfare and Political Sufferers in Bimala Prasad Chaliha's cabinet.

During the Bangladesh's war of liberation in 1970–71, he was in charge of relief-&-rehabilitation of the thousands of refugees who fled the then East Pakistan.

He was instrumental in setting up the hajj house [haji musafir khana] including its site selection at Guwahati.

As Chairman of Madrassah Board, he initiated modernization of these theological schools and is also credited with the introduction of English and science in the curriculum of madrassas of Assam.

Abdul Matlib Mazumder was, to quote Gauri Shankar Bhattacharjee, the Left politician from Assam and a contemporary of Mazumdar, 'honest, uncorrupt, incorruptible and simple man'.