বাংলা 
English 
Moulvi Afsar Uddin Ahmed (born 1886; died 29 January 1959 AD), one of the worthy sons of Kushtia district, was born in 1886 in Sultanpur village of Kumarkhali thana. His father's name was Mahatab Uddin Ahmed. Although his brother, the famous minister of undivided Bengal Moulvi Shamsuddin Ahmed, is renowned for many reasons, very few selfless workers, revolutionary political leaders, humane social reformers and fiery orators like Moulvi Afsar Uddin Ahmed have been born in this district.
He passed from Hooghly Madrasa and devoted himself to social service. Moulvi Afsar Uddin Ahmed never took up any job in his life, never ran any business, never earned even two paise in his life - and yet he had plenty of opportunities. For the service of the people he sold off most of his ancestral property. A selfless public servant like him is rare in this age.
Moulvi Afsar Uddin Ahmed led the Khilafat movement, the non-cooperation movement, the Islamic reform movement and the anti-Baul "Chase Away the Naked Fakirs" (Nyara Fakir Kheda) movement in Kushtia in such a way that he won the hearts of the people completely - when he was arrested and taken away during the non-cooperation movement, thousands of people lay down on the railway tracks near Kushtia's big station and would not let the train run for several hours. In the end he himself pacified them by reasoning with them.
It is known that while he was in Berhampore jail he gave the poet Nazrul a parrot. The poet Nazrul Islam, Deshbandhu C R Das and his wife Basanti Devi, Netaji Subhas Bose, Sher-e-Bangla A K Fazlul Huq and many other famous leaders were guests at his Sultanpur residence. All his life he served his own people tirelessly to the best of his ability.
While leading the "Chase Away the Naked Fakirs" (Nyara Fakir Kheda) movement, he caught hold of many Baul fakirs, tied them to an iron post and had their long hair and moustaches cut off to make them Muslims. For these reasons, when the Bauls filed a case against him, the people grew very excited, and as a result the Bauls withdrew the case. He built the "Kuwwatul Islam Alia Madrasa" of Kushtia, the Sultanpur Mahatabuddin High School, and many educational institutions and mosques.
The Muslims of this district were earlier unwilling to take up occupations such as selling milk and fish, cutting hair, washing clothes and the like, but thanks to his efforts many people took up these professions to earn their living.
This worthy son of Kushtia district passed away at his own home in Sultanpur on 29 January 1959. His only son Moulvi Salahuddin Ahmed is a social worker, and his son-in-law Barrister Mohammad Abdul Haque is known as a politician.
Source: 57 Khan Muhammad Moinuddin - Yugasrishta Nazrul.
