Suhrawardy family
[1][2] The family has produced many intellectuals who have contributed substantially in the fields of politics, education, literature, art, poetry, socio-religious and social reformation.
[1] The family origin can be traced back to the 11th Century Iranian philosopher and writer Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi, who founded the Suhrawardiyya Sufi order and the dynasty in 1118 A.D.
The family gets its name from Shorevard, a city in Iran where Najib took birth, learnt, preached and eventually founded the Sufi order.
The family has produced many philosophers and saints since then who were greatly revered by the Mamluks, as they played a major role in consolidating the position of the empire in Multan through their preachings.
The dargaah of Makhdoom Yahya Maneri Suhrawardi, another scion of this family was frequently visited by Babur, Bahlol Lodi and later by Sher Shah Suri.
The family however has been known since the medieval times in East India for its piety, wisdom, forthrightness, religious and socio political reformations, which they brought by playing a key role in influencing the politics in Bengal until the death of Sirajuddin Shah Suhrawardy, who was closely involved with the Ashfar dynasty, Sharfunnesa Begum Sahiba and Nawab Siraj ud Daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal.
[7] Ubaidullah did not consider himself a mystic and turned away from the family traditions to establish a new legacy altogether, thus making his father Shah Aminuddin Suhrawardy the last Sufi Pir of this dynasty.
They came to the Indian subcontinent in 1207 A.D. to expand the Suhrawardiyya Sufi order and settled in Multan, from where the Shiraaji Suhrawardys migrated to Bengal in the 15th century to popularize the ideas of Sufism in the East.
The records mention, Nahur, one of the dynasty's earliest known ancestor to have originated from the Mesopotamian civilization, who used to live in the city of Ur back in 6400 B.C.
[1] The Bengal renaissance of the 19th century was an extraordinary period of societal transformation in the fields of arts, literature, culture, music, politics, administration and education.
The multifaceted accomplishments and preponderance of the Suhrawardy family in the socio-cultural-political milieu of colonial Bengal and by extension of India prior to the partition in 1947, and in certain cases thereafter, was simply unparalleled in the modern history of our subcontinent."
For his profound learning and vast knowledge, the Ottoman Turkish Sultan decorated him with the medal of 'Tamgha-e-Majidi', whereas, the Shah of Iran awarded him with the title of 'Iftekhar-ul-Millat' (meaning: pride of the Muslim nation).
As a writer, she wrote the famous book "Aaina e Ibrat", which was approved by Calcutta University and was incorporated in the syllabus for all its affiliated colleges.
Khujista undertook various social work campaigns, she personally visited the slums to educate the marginalized communities about health and sanitation during the wake of Influenza and Cholera.
In 1933, she was married to Mohammed Ikramullah, who was the secretary and advisor at the Ministries of Commerce, Information and Broadcasting, Commonwealth Relations and Foreign Affairs.
Later, Ikramullah served as the Advisor to the preparatory commissions of the United Nations in London and San Francisco, and at its first general assembly, between 1945 and 1946.
She initiated, sponsored and continues to support many projects and activities in Jordan, mainly in the field of education, in addition to issues pertaining to women and the family, social welfare and health.
Much of her work focuses on promoting education about various topics (both locally and internationally), assisting disadvantaged women, encouraging community service and helping people with mental and learning disabilities.
Naz designed and wrote a filmstrip for the NFB film Making Faces, which won the First Prize for Art Education in Oakland, California in 1989.
Badrun nissa was married into the Diwan family of Dhenkanal state in Cuttack, to Sayeed Mohammed, an educationist, philanthropist and a scholar.
Sayeed's father Atharuddin Mohammed was the feudal lord of Madhi, the Diwan of the princely state of Dhenkanal and one of early members of Utkal Sabha (the organisation which fought for the unification of Odia speaking provinces).
However, after, Sayeed's untimely death in 1922, Badrun nissa was debarred from the family title and property as per the Mehroom al Mariaz tradition of Islamic Shariat.
In March 1921, when Mahatma Gandhi visited Odisha for the first time, she greeted him at Vinod Bihari, where Gandhiji addressed the women of Cuttack city.
[19] Afzal ul Amin: was the youngest son of Badarun nissa and a renowned politician who won the municipal elections continuously from 1952 to 1980.
He contested in the Odisha Legislative Assembly elections from Cuttack in 1971[21] and was later appointed as the general secretary of Utkal Pradesh Congress Committee.
As the chairman of Cuttack Municipal corporation's committee on education, he established more than 10 lower and upper primary Urdu schools in the city.
Afzal ul married his second cousin, Syeda Roshanara Amin (née Akhtar Qadriyyah), the younger daughter of Ibrahim Suhrawardy.
Farhat is the founder and chief functionary of BIRD Trust, a non-governmental organisation which works for the upliftment of marginalized women in Odisha and the also the state convenor of Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan.
He is regarded as one of the most intellectual and powerful statesman of the Indian subcontinent and also the mentor of Bangladesh's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
His political career started as early as in his youth days, when he returned to India after studying law at Oxford University and joined the Indian Independence movement as a trade union leader in Calcutta.
