Mir Mosharraf: A legendary literary worker

Mir Mosharraf: A legendary literary worker

Mir Mosharraf Hossain was born in the village of Lahinipara in Kumarkhali upazila in Kushtia on November 13, 1847. His father Mir Moazzem Hossain was one of the few Muslim zamindars (landlord) of nineteenth century. His mother's name is Daulatunnesa.

In 1865 he married Aziz-un-Nesa. But he was very unhappy with her. As a result he married again in 1874. His second wife was Bibi Kulsum then only twelve years old.

Mosharraf wrote 35 books that included novels, plays, stories, poems, an autobiography and several books on religion. Among his significant works are "Bishad Sindhu", "Jamidar Darpan" and "Basanta Kumari".

He is perhaps most famous for his novel Bishad Shindhu (Ocean of Sorrow), depicting the tale of Martyrdom of Hossain or Husayn bin Ali in Karbala. He was one of the first Muslim writers to emerge from colonial British India. Mir Mosharraf Hossain was secular and promoted peace between Hindus and Muslims. His other works include Jamindar Darpan (Reflections on Zamindars), a play on the plight of common people under the zamindars (landlords installed by the British colonial rulers) and their struggle against them.

Mir Mosarraf Hossain is the first modern Muslim Bengali writer.

Mosharraf also worked as a journalist at 'Gram Barta Prokashika' edited by Kangal Harinath and 'Sangbad Hitokor' of Iswar Gupta. Later, Mosharraf edited a fortnightly paper in 1880 named 'Hitokori'.

Mosharraf died in 1911. Unfortunately the author's home is in a dilapidated state due to the negligence of the concerned authorities. All that remains is a mango tree, planted by Mosharraf on his two-acre plot of land. Later, a mosque, a library and a primary school were built in his name.

His literary works were included in the curriculum of school level, secondary, higher secondary and graduation level Bengali Literature in Bangladesh.

Recently, construction of an auditorium ended at Mosharraf's homestead at a cost of Taka 54 lakh. The auditorium also houses a library. Kushtia Zila Parishad sanctioned the funds.