Khandakar Fazle Rabbi

Khandakar Fazle Rabbi (খোন্দকার ফজলে রব্বী; 1848-1917) was a writer and clerk. He served as the Dewan for the Nawab of Murshidabad.

Early life and birth
Khandakar Fazle Rabbi was born into one of the aristocratic Bengali Muslim families of Murshidabad during the reign of the Nawab of Murshidabad, the Khandakars of Salar, Murshidabad. The Khandakars of Murshidabad had claimed descent from the first Muslim Caliph, Abu Bakr; they claim that one of Abu Bakr's eighth generation descendants had migrated from Arabia to Iran. Khawaja Rustam, a descendant of this migrant from Arabia to Iran, had migrated from Khorasan, Iran to the Indian Subcontinent, his son Khawaja Ziauddin Zahid settling in Allahabad. They had later moved to Bengal, where Sheikh Sirajuddin, son of Khawaja Ziauddin Zahid was appointed as Qazi-ul-Quzzat by Sultan Ghiyasuddin. Khandakar Fazle Rabbi's father was named Khandakar Ubaidul Akbar and was the Mir Munshi (Chief Minister) in the government of the Nawab of Murshidabad.

Education and work
Khandakar Fazle Rabbi, like many of his family members though Bengali speaking, was proficient in the Persian and Urdu languages, the languages of the official Mughal style court. He had also gone beyond the traditions of aristocratic families in Bengal of only being educated in Persian and Urdu, but had also pursued education in English, he was the first one in his lineage to have attained a BA degree in English. Khandakar Fazle Rabbi had also encouraged his son Khandakar Ali Afzal and nephews to seek English education, as this was the way into government service in the British Raj. In 1869, Khandakar Fazle Rabbi, aged 21 travelled to England to manage the affairs of the last Nawab Nazim of Murshidabad. He was permitted by the Nawab of Murshidabad to return in 1874, and was put in charge of the finances of the Nawab, and was appointed as Dewan of the Nawab of Murshidabad in 1881. Due to his services, he was given the title of ‘Khan Bahadur’ by Queen Victoria in 1897.

Work in British India
Khandakar Fazle Rabbi was an executive committee member of the Muslim Literary Society of Kolkata in 1900, and a member of the imperial league organised by the Zamindar of Burdwan in 1909.

Written works
Khandakar Fazle Rabbi had written three books ‘Kitab e Tasdikun Lehad’, ‘Hakikate Musalman e Bangalah’ and ‘Tareekh e Hindustan. ’ The first mentioned book is a history of the Khandakars of Salar, Murshidabad. The second is a book regarding the origins of Bengali society. The third is a history of the Indian subcontinent.