Ahmed Ali Banskandi

Ahmed Ali Banskandi (also known as Ahmed Ali Badarpuri or Ahmed Ali Assami; 1915–11 June 2000) was an Indian Islamic scholar, a freedom fighter, an educationist, and a great Jamiat leader. He served as the president of the Assam State Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind for 44 years.
==Early life and education==
Ahmed Ali Badarpuri was born in 1915 in Badarpur, Assam, into a Sufi family. His noble lineage reaches back to Manowar Khadim Yemeni, the attendant of Shah Shikandar Ghazi, a distinguished colleague of Shah Jalal Mujarrad Yemeni. 
Badarpuri completed his primary education at Badarpur and then enrolled at the Sylhet Government Alia Madrassa in 1938. There he met Hussain Ahmad Madani first after his matriculation exam. In 1940, he completed his graduation in Islamic studies and took the oath of allegiance (bay'at) at the holy hand of Madani, who went to Sylhet with a view to spending Ramadan. In the same year, he attended Darul Uloom Deoband to re-complete his graduation, but came back home being attacked with the evil eye and having to suffer from a prolonged illness. Until independence, he involved himself in the freedom movement. In 1950, Assami started his journey again to Deoband. He had to study under famous teachers including Hussain Ahmad Madani, Izaz Ali Amrohi, Abdus Samee Deobandi, Abdul Ahad Deobandi, and Ziaul Hasan. He memorised the holy Qur'an in only two and a half months. He was known as Imam Bayhaqi and Jinne Mumin among his fellow students. He completed his graduation (Daura-e-Hadith) in 1950 and his explanatory course (Daura-e-Tafsir) in 1951.
In 1952, Badarpuri went to Makkah and Madina for the enrichment of spiritual knowledge. There he spent one year, which gave him the opportunity to bring stones daily for the extension of Masjid an-Nabawi. He then returned to India with the knowledge of gnosis (ma'rifat). He attained the pinnacle of spiritual glory and achieved successorship (khilafat) from Madani in 1954.
==Career==
Badarpuri started his career as a teacher at Darul 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 in which he called Ahmad Ali a great gift from Allah and also a man of absolute piety (taqwa) and a rare one. Madani even spent there the last two Ramadans of his life and inaugurated the Prophetic Tradition (Hadith) by himself.
In 1957, Madani appointed him to the post of Shaykhul Hadith and entrusted to him the charge of the institution. Under his patronage, it turned into an Islamic university from a single cottage. Asami retained his position until his last breath. Thus, his glorious teaching career lasted for over 45 years.
In 1957, he was unanimously elected president of the Assam State Jamiat Ulama-e Hind. Before it, he had to work as a secretary, convener, and simple worker. He proved his exceptional leadership quality by facing the Pakistani Deportation Movement, also known as the Bongal Kheda Movement, which intensified in the sixties and continued into the 1970s and 1980s.
He raised a strong voice against the then Chaliha government and compelled it to stop inhuman tortures of minorities in the name of foreigners. He boldly faced the Assam Movement, which peaked with the Nellie massacre. He stood by the victims, providing quick relief. He forced Hiteswar Saikia, law minister Abdul Muhib Mazumdar, and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to provide some special protections for the minorities. The result was the IMDT Act of 1983.
In the early 1990s, Badarpuri had to face another movement known as the Bodo Movement, which created a cruel massacre in lower Assam. He raised a strong demand with the government for the security and rehabilitation of the victims. He even shouldering the burden of 600 homeless orphans affected by this movement and 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 at Guwahati on 1st April, 2000.
Badarpuri participated in the freedom struggle, inspired by his teacher, Hussain Ahmad Madani. He was arrested and imprisoned several times for anti-British activities. He worked in support of the Jamiat and opposed the partition of India. He even took a bold step to get Sylhet into India during the Sylhet Referendum held in July 1947.
He sacrificed his life for the welfare activities of the people and Islam. He founded thousands of mosques, madrasas, khanqahs, and finally the Gauhati 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 in bangla, named Khatme Nabuwwater O Qadianiater Gumrahir Akatya Dalil Samooh 
His dislike of worldly possessions and thousands of miracles (karamats) really surprised people. People irrespective of caste, creed, and community visited him. His visitors include even great political leaders like Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, and many others.
==Honours and Positions==
The Ahmed Ali Banskandi Award is instituted by the Tarun Gogoi Government after Ahmed Ali Badarpuri. The award was accorded to honour this historic Muslim personality or legendary Sufi saint. Since 1990, he also served as the president of Imarat-e-Sharia, or Amir-e-Shariat, of Northeast India until his death.
==Literary works==
Badarpuri wrote a number of books in Bengali. These include:
* Alam-e-Barzakh (transl. The World Between Death and Resurrection)
* Pabitra Haram Trayer Itihas (transl. The History of the Three Holy Mosques)
* Fuyuz-e-Madani (transl. Blessings of Madani)
* Jamiat-er Mul Katha (transl. Key Points of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind)
* Elme Ma'rifater Bishista Bahantray O Mashaekh Charit (transl. The Three Main Vehicles of Gnosis and Biographies of Sufi Scholars)
* Fazail-e-Shaban, Ramadan (transl. Virtues of Shaban and Ramadan)
* Khatme Nabuwwater O Qadianiater Gumrahir Akatya Dalil Samooh (transl. Irrefutable Proofs of Khatme Nabuwwat and the Deviances of the Qadianis)
* Salasil-e Tayyibah (transl. The Holy Chains of the Sufi Scholars)
* Zuhur-e-Mahdi O Nuzool-e-Isa (transl. The Appearance of Imam Mahdi and the Arrival of the Prophet Isa Alaihis Salam)
==Death and Legacy==
On 11 June 2000, Badarpuri died in Mumbai. His dead body was flown to Assam. On 13 June, he was buried within the campus of Darul Uloom Banskandi. His funeral prayer was attended by more than 5 lakhs grieved people.
He is survived by his son, Muhammad Yahya, who is Amir-e-Shariat of Northeast India.
Many great personalities expressed deep shock in their condolence letters for him. As'ad Madani termed his death the greatest tragedy 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.
Category:1915 births
Category:People from Assam
Category:People from British India
Category:Islamic scholars
Category:2000 deaths