Aroj Ali Matubbar
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Aroj Ali Matubbar | |
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| File:Aroj Ali Matubbar by Rahat.jpg | |
| Born | 17 December 1900 Charbaria Lamchari, Barisal District, Bangladesh |
| Died | 15 March 1985 (aged 84) Barisal, Bangladesh |
| Occupation | Rationalist, self-taught philosopher and apostate, and writer |
| Sprache | Bengali |
| Nationality | Bangladeshi |
| Citizenship | Bangladesch |
| Bildung | No formal institutional degree |
| Genre | Rationalism, Philosophy essays |
| Notable works | Shotter Shondhaney · Sristir Rahasya |
| Notable awards | Life Member of Bangla Academy · Humayun Kabir Smriti Puraskar · Award of Honour by the Barisal branch of Udichi Shilpigoshti |
Aroj Ali Matubbar (Bengali: আরজ আলী মাতুব্বর; 17 December 1900 – 15 March 1985) was a self-taught philosopher and rationalist from Bangladesh.[1]
Early life and education
Matubbar was born in the village of Charbaria Lamchari, about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from Barisal town in British India, currently in Bangladesh,[1] to a poor farming family. His original name was Aroj Ali; he acquired the name Matubbar (meaning "local landlord") later in life. He studied for only a few months at the village maqtab, where his studies centered on the Quran and Islamic studies.[citation needed]
Matubbar lost his father at an early age. When he was 12 years old, his inherited property of 2 acres (8,100 m2) of land was auctioned off because, as a minor, he was unable to pay land tax. Later, a local usurper called him out of his ancestral homestead. Matubbar survived by charity and by working as a farm laborer.
He could not afford to attend school and relied on the free maqtab religious education provided by a local mosque. He did not accept the rigid methods of learning presented, and therefore left it. A benefactor helped him finish the Bengali primers. Matubbar continued to read extensively beyond that. Philosophy was the subject that interested him most. A teacher of philosophy at the B M College, Kazi Ghulam Quadir helped him borrow books from the college library.
Philosophy
Matubbar developed a very progressive approach and wrote against ignorance, superstition, and religious fundamentalism. He came to be considered an iconoclast for writing against established religious ideologies. For example, he questioned Islamic law of inheritance, as he failed to reconcile the suggested mode of sharing inherited property.
Aroj Ali wrote several books, which reflect his controversial philosophy about life and the world. He also befriended a number of communist politicians and academics of Barisal town, including Professor Kazi Golam Kadir and Professor Muhammad Shamsul Haque. His books were in frequent danger of being banned by the government, since they contained certain claims that conflicted with the religious beliefs of the majority. Matubbar was arrested and taken into police custody for his book, Sotyer Shondhaney (The Quest for Truth).[2][3] He was harassed and threatened throughout his life, due to his writings, as many of them challenged religious statements and claims.[2]
Career
Due to financial constraints, Matubbar could not pursue any academic course or attain a formal institutional degree. He lived mostly on subsistence farming. Matubbar learned surveying techniques and became a private land surveyor in his locality. This enabled him to accumulate some capital, and he could then own some land to start farming.
Death
Matubbar died on 15 March 1985 (1st Chaitra of the Bengali year 1392) in Barisal, Bangladesh. He donated his eyes for transplantation after his death.[1] He donated his body which was received by the Anatomy Department of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and used for dissection by the medical students. After his death in 1985, Aroj Ali Matubbar came to be regarded as one of the most prolific thinkers that rural Bangladesh ever produced, and an iconoclast who was not afraid of speaking out against entrenched beliefs and superstitions.[2]
Satyer Sandhane
Matubbar drew the cover of his first book, which was written in 1952 and published twenty one years later in 1973, under the title Satyer Sandhane. In the preface he wrote:
“I was thinking of many things, my mind was full of questions, but haphazardly. I then started jotting down questions, not for writing a book, but only to remember these questions later. Those questions were driving my mind towards an endless ocean and I was gradually drifting away from the fold of religion.”
He made six propositions in this book, which reflected the nature of his philosophical questions. These are:
Proposition 1 : dealt with the soul, containing 8 questions
Proposition 2 : dealt with God, containing as many as 11 questions
Proposition 3 : dealt with the after-world, containing as many as 7 questions
Proposition 4 : dealt with religious matters, containing as many as 22 questions
Proposition 5 : dealt with Nature, containing as many as 10 questions
Proposition 6 : dealt with remaining matters, containing as many as 9 questions
The eight questions he posed in the first proposition exemplify his approach. These are (a) Who am I (self)?, (b) Is Life incorporeal or corporal ? (c) Is mind and his/soul one, and the same? (d) What is the relationship of life with the body and the mind? (e) Can we recognize or identify life? (f) Am I free? (g) Will the soul without body continue to have "knowledge" even after it leaves the body at death? and finally (h) How does life can come into and go out of the body?
Books
Matubbar was considered an unusual type of writer.[4] In Bangladesh, his writings were censored because they allegedly caused societal corruption and disharmony in the community.[5] Following are his writings:[6]
- Shotter Shondhaney (The Quest for Truth) (1973)
- Sristir Rahasya (The Mystery of Creation) (1977)
- Anuman (Estimation) (1983)
- Muktaman (Free Mind) (1988)
Several of his unpublished manuscripts were later published posthumously under the title of Aroj Ali Matubbar Rachanabali. Some of his writings have been translated into English and compiled in a volume published by Pathak Samabesh.[7]
Recognition and awards
Matubbar was not well known to the elite educated society of the country during his lifetime. It is only in the final years of life that he came to be known to the academics of the country. His writings were collected and published. The general public started to take an interest in his books, which, although not ratified by formal training, posed a number of novel philosophical questions. He soon rose to being renown after his death in 1985.
- Life Member of Bangla Academy, inducted in 1985;
- Awarded Humayun Kabir Smriti Puraskar (Humayun Kabir Memorial Prize) in 1978 by the Bangladesh Lekhak Shibir;
- Award of Honour by the Barisal branch of Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigoshthi in 1982.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Roy, Pradip Kumar. "Matubbar, Aroj Ali". Banglapedia. Bangladesh Asiatic Society. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
- ^ a b c "The Quest for Truth". avijit.humanists.net. Archived from the original on 23 July 2010.[self-published source]
- ^ "Quest For Truth - Key Questions". Aroj Ali Matubbar. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "5 years of Mukto-Mona". Mukto Mona (in Bengali).
- ^ Kabir, Md Anwarul (26 November 2004). "Letters to Editor: Freedom of speech". The Daily Star.
- ^ "Books". Aroj Ali Matubbar. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Books". Aroj Ali Matubbar. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
External links
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