Mohammed Abdur Rahiman

Mohammad Abdur Rahman, also known as Mohammad Abdur Rahman Sahib, was born in 1898 in Kodungallur which is in Thrissur district, the kingdom of Cochin, Kerala in British India. He was an Indian freedom fighter who contributed immensely in Indian Independence Movement activation and reorganization.

Sahib represented Kerala in Congress. Unfortunately, he died due to a heart attack in 23rd November 1945 at Pottasheri in British India. He went to school in Venniyambadi and Calicut. He went to college in Madras and Aligarh, but he decided not to continue his study in Aligarh Muslim University and to participate in freedom movements. Mohammed worked hard to bringpeace in the areas which were severely affected during the Moplah Riots of 1921, but unfortunately, he got arrested for his good deeds and got sentenced to imprisonment for two years by the British Government in the month of October in the same year.

He participated in the Salt Satyagraha movement in 1930 where his role was to break the salt law on the Calicut Beach. He got punished for his doings in the form of lathi charge. He was again sentenced to imprisonment and now for nine months at the Kannur Central Jail. He not only took part in riots and movements to promote Freedom but also took help of pen and paper to spread his ideas on independence.

He was both an editor and a publisher of a dailyAl-Ameen in Malayalam which continued from 1929-1939 in Calicut. Being the editor, he aimed to promote the thoughts of freedom movement and strengthen nationalism among the Muslim section of the population, but some conservatives of the society strongly opposed his liberal ideas, and with the help of communist parties and the British Government they finally closed down the publication of the newspaper. Later, though Rahman sahib was offered a jewelry to start publishing again by an admirer, he refused to continue.

Mohammad was a member of the Calicut Municipal Council from the year 1931 to the year 1934. He was also a member of the Malabar District Board from the year 1932. He also got elected to Madras Presidency, and later Sahib became the President of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC). He also made himself a member of the All India Congress Committee.

He admired Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He was also an active participant and member of the Forward Block. During the Second World War, he was sent to prison from 1940-45, but after he got released from jail, he actively participated in Congress activities but sadly met his death in November 1945, just after he completed a meeting at Kodiyathpur. The Department of Post and Telegraphs, to remember and respect him, issued a commemorate stamp in his name, in the year 1998. In the year 2011, a film was also released depicting the life history and the works of Rahman Sahib.