বাংলা 
English 
At the head of those who shaped the pioneers of the Muslims in nineteenth-century Bengali literature stands Mir Mosharraf Hossain, son of Lahinipara in Kumarkhali. In the age of Bankim Chandra itself he wrote for Bengali prose novels and plays that have secured a place in the pages of history as the first literary expression of the Bengali Muslim. And of them all, Bishad Sindhu remains immortal — the grief of Karbala found in it its own, effortless form in the Bengali language.
Birth by the banks of the Gorai river, the larger part of life at the Nawab house of Padamdi, initiation into literature at the hands of Kangal Harinath, nearly thirty-six books, and — more than a hundred years after his passing — two memorial centers worn out for want of care: this is how the life story of Mir Mosharraf Hossain is laid out. Today's feature is devoted to the complete life portrait of this illustrious son of Kushtia and to the actual present condition of his memorial institutions.
Birth, Lineage and the Nawab House of Padamdi
Mir Mosharraf Hossain was born in 1847 in the village of Lahinipara in Chapra union of Kumarkhali upazila of Kushtia district, near the Gorai river. As a birth date, 13 November is the most widely accepted — nearly all records, Banglapedia included, observe his birthday on this date; though some researchers say 26 October, and both Wikipedias mention this discrepancy. His birthplace was his maternal grandfather's home; the paternal home was at Padamdi (in Nawabpur union of present-day Baliakandi upazila of Rajbari district). Though many write the village's name as 'Lakshmipara' in common usage, the documented name is Lahinipara.
The familiar portrait of Mir Mosharraf Hossain (photo: kushtiatown.com)
His father Nawab Syed Mir Moazzem Hossain was a zamindar of the Padamdi Nawab estate; his mother Daulatunnesa Begum. The history of the Padamdi Nawab family goes back five centuries — in 1607 Syed Shah Pahlawan received the area as a jagir from the Mughal government; later his son-in-law Syed Shah Sadullah started the Mir lineage. It is said that Emperor Shah Jahan bestowed the title 'Mir' on this family. Mosharraf Hossain was born in the house of Mir Moazzem Hossain, and he too spent most of his life in this Nawab house of Padamdi.
Education
His education began at home — Arabic and Persian under a munshi, Bengali at the village school. Then, although he enrolled at Kushtia school, the Padamdi Nawab school, Krishnanagar Collegiate School (up to the fifth grade) and finally the Kalighat school in Kolkata, his studies did not advance much further — in Banglapedia's words, that much only. However, in his autobiography he mentions studying at Jagmohan Nandi's village school and at the Kumarkhali English school as well. Though his formal education was limited, it was the close contact with Arabic, Persian and Bengali and his tireless self-education that later gave his pen its momentum.
Kangal Harinath and Grambarta Prakashika: The Beginning of Literature
While still a student, Mir Mosharraf Hossain began writing as a mufassil news correspondent for Sangbad Prabhakar and Grambarta Prakashika. The founder-editor of this Grambarta Prakashika was himself another legend of Kumarkhali, Kangal Harinath Majumdar — who, according to Banglapedia, was also the chief inspiration and patron of Mir Mosharraf's literary life. Mir Mosharraf himself wrote in his autobiography:
"Harinath Babu Mahashay loved me like a younger brother."
The bond between these two great men of Kumarkhali is one of the most memorable chapters of Kushtia's cultural history. The courageous role of the Grambarta in publishing news of zamindar and indigo-planter oppression largely built the foundation of Mir Mosharraf's writing life — later that experience turned into literature in social farces like 'Jamidar Darpan'.
Literary Work: The Pioneer of Nearly Thirty-Six Books
In Banglapedia's assessment, Mir Mosharraf Hossain is "one of the chief prose artists of the Bankim age and the pioneer of the Bengali Muslim literary figures of the nineteenth century." His verified list of works comes to nearly thirty-six — a vast array of novels, plays, farces, religious biographies and memoirs.
The First Novel and Play Written by a Muslim
His first novel, 'Ratnavati' (1869) — in the Bengali Wikipedia's description, it is the first Bengali novel written by a Muslim. His 'Basanta Kumari Natak' (1873) is considered the first Bengali play written by a Muslim. That is, in Bengali literature, the first dobhashi of both genres — the Muslim's novel and play — was one man. Besides, 'Go-Jibon' (1889), 'Behula Gitabhinay' (1889), 'Niyoti Ki Obonoti' (1889), 'Udasin Pathiker Moner Katha' (1890), 'Tahmina' (1897), 'Gazi Miyan Bastani' (1899), 'Modinar Gourab' (1906), 'Amar Jiboni' (1908-1910) — the list is long. 'Musalmaner Bangala Shiksha' (1903, 1908), written for religious instruction, is also evidence of his linguistic thought.
From the Peasant Uprising to the Gorai Bridge
Three of his books came out in 1873 itself. One of them is 'Jamidar Darpan', a social farce written against the backdrop of the peasant uprising of Sirajganj (1872-73), in which the picture of zamindari exploitation is drawn in sharp satire. And perhaps the most intriguing is 'Gorai-Bridge or Gauri-Setu' (1873) — the name of the Gorai river, the lifeline of Kushtia, found its way into the title of his book. The river described in our detailed article on the Gorai river's past and present is the very river over whose bridge this literary figure of Kumarkhali wrote in the nineteenth century.
Bishad Sindhu: The Grief of Karbala in Bengali
'Bishad Sindhu', published in three parts — first part (Muharram part) 1885, second part (Uddhar part) 1887, and third part (Yazid-slaying part) 1891. The subject is the tragedy of Karbala — that sorrow-laden chapter of Islamic history in which the story of Hazrat Hussain's sacrifice is told. Banglapedia's assessment: "In his immortal work, the novel Bishad Sindhu, the sorrowful historical tale of Karbala is narrated."
Not only for its subject, it is for its language that 'Bishad Sindhu' has passed into history. Instead of the Mussalmani Bengali heavy with Persian-Arabic words, Mir Mosharraf used a flowing prose, a mixture of easy sadhu and colloit — which drew both the Hindu and Muslim readerships equally. The book is established as his greatest and most popular creation; the book's fame is such that in 2016 the Bangla Academy published it in English as 'An Ocean of Sorrow' in Fakrul Alam's translation.
A Voice of Communal Harmony
Mir Mosharraf also faced controversy in the eyes of his own society. For opposing the eating of beef in his essay 'Gokul Nirmul Ashonka', he was ostracized by his own community — Banglapedia identifies him as a writer free of communal attitude. His comment on Hindu-Muslim brotherhood in the book 'Go-Jibon' is as timely today as ever:
"In this land of Bengal both Hindus and Muslims are the principal peoples. So close is their relation with one another that, though different in religion, they are one in essence and in action, in the business of the household — they cannot but call each other brothers."
The call for self-rights that he fashioned on Ja'far's lips in the book 'Islamer Joy' is a testimony, within literature itself, to his love of homeland: "If swaraj means defeat at another's hands, then rather than living in slavery it is better to lay down one's life." His position on the mother tongue too was unbending: "One who has no faith in his mother tongue is not a man."
Editor Mir Mosharraf and the Final Years
Alongside being a literary figure, Mir Mosharraf was also a newspaper editor. His editorship began with 'Ajijannehar' (1874), named after his first wife Azizunnesa; later came 'Hitakari' (1890) — which ran first from Lahinipara, then from Tangail, with interruptions, for a total of five years. Meanwhile the phases of his working life changed too: looking after his father's zamindari, a job in the Faridpur Nawab estate (that is, Padamdi), the responsibility of manager of the Delduar estate of Tangail in 1885, and finally residence in Kolkata during 1903-09. He was also associated with the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad.
In his personal life, in 1865 he married Azizunnesa, the daughter of his father's friend; in 1874 he married a second time, to Bibi Kulsom.
Burial at Padamdi
Mir Mosharraf Hossain died on 19 December, at Padamdi. There are differing sources on the year of his passing — 1911 in the prevailing Bangladeshi convention, 1912 in both editions of Banglapedia. The date of 19 December, however, is beyond dispute; every year his death anniversary is observed on this very day. According to his last wish he was buried in the family graveyard at Padamdi, beside his wife Bibi Kulsom. Born on the soil of Kumarkhali, the larger part of his work at the Nawab house of Padamdi — the meeting ground of these two lands of greater Kushtia was, as it were, his whole life.
Memorial Centers and Their Present State
The memory of Mir Mosharraf Hossain is now spread over two districts — at his birthplace Lahinipara (Kushtia) and at Padamdi (Rajbari) where he lies buried. But the condition of both is not hopeful.
The Homestead of Lahinipara
Most of the original thirty-two bighas of birth property is now under occupation; only three bighas remain in hand. Even so, a government primary school was set up here in 1972, a library in 1992 and a high school in 1995; in 2008 the 'Mir Mosharraf Hossain Memorial Library, Auditorium and Museum' was built at a cost of 5.4 million taka. The place also figures in the list of government sightseeing spots of Kumarkhali upazila. But the lack of care is not negligible — as recently as September 2026 the news of 'theft of the donation box from Mir Mosharraf Hossain's museum' appeared in the press (Ittefaq).
Signboard at the birthplace in Lahinipara (photo: kushtiatown.com)
The Padamdi Memorial Center
The Padamdi memorial center was built with funding from the Ministry of Culture under the supervision of the Bangla Academy — a project of 24.8 million taka on 1 acre 84 decimals of land, the foundation stone laid on 19 April 2001. But in the span of twenty-five years the center has sunk into neglect — recent news reports say there are fungus and cracks on the building's walls, the plaster is falling off, lights are being stolen, the center remains closed on weekly holidays, and only two workers are in charge. The books written by Mir Mosharraf Hossain then wait for readers, arranged on the book shelves.
Poster of the 170th birth anniversary organized by the district administration, 2017 (photo: kushtiatown.com)
Conclusion
The Muslim's first novel in Bengali literature in one lifetime, the first play, and the most beloved religious-epic tale of all time — all three bear the signature of Mir Mosharraf Hossain's creation. That Lahinipara by the Gorai's bank is dilapidated today, and the Padamdi memorial center is battered by neglect — yet every year on 13 November, his birthday, and 19 December, the day of his passing, admirers come to lay flowers. The responsibility of truly keeping Mir Mosharraf Hossain alive therefore lies not in preservation on paper and timber but in reading his books — turn the pages of 'Bishad Sindhu' and you find the grief of Karbala still weeping in Bengali.
Sources and Further Reading
- Banglapedia — "Hossain, Mir Mosharraf" (Bimal Guha): bn.banglapedia.org
- Banglapedia (English) — "Hossain, Mir Mosharraf": en.banglapedia.org
- Bengali Wikipedia — Mir Mosharraf Hossain: bn.wikipedia.org
- Bengali Wikipedia — Padamdi Nawab: bn.wikipedia.org
- Bengali Wikipedia — Mir Mosharraf Hossain Memorial Center: bn.wikipedia.org
- Bengali Wikipedia — Mir Mosharraf Hossain's homestead: bn.wikipedia.org
- Kali O Kalam — "Editor Mir Mosharraf Hossain": kaliokalam.com
- Nagorik-Prothom Alo — "Mir Mosharraf's love of homeland and sense of humanity" (Aftab Chowdhury): nagorik.prothomalo.com
- Bangla Tribune — "On the memory trail of Mir Mosharraf Hossain in Lahinipara" (September 2026): banglatribune.com
- Khoborsangjog — "The Mir Mosharraf Hossain memorial center in neglect": khoborsangjog.com
- Dainik Shiksha — birth anniversary article: dainikshiksha.com
