Ali, Syed Nausher (1891-1972) a left leaning politician, a cabinet member in the first ak fazlul huq ministry, and a supporter of undivided India. Syed Nausher Ali was one of the few political leaders in Bengal who believed that salvation for Bengal Muslims depended on Hindu-Muslim cooperation and in making the country independent of the British. While most members of the Muslim political elite in the 1940s came to subscribe to the demand for Pakistan, Nausher Ali joined the indian national congress and after 1947 decided to stay back in India.

Born in Jessore in 1891 in an affluent family, Ali had his early education in Khulna. Later he moved to Calcutta for higher education and obtained his BA and Law degrees. He joined the Calcutta High Court Bar in 1921. Elected a member of the Bengal Legislative Assembly in 1929, he joined the krishak praja party (KPP) in 1936.

In 1937 Fazlul Huq formed a coalition Government with the muslim league. Apart from Fazlul Huq, the only other KPP representative in the cabinet was Nausher Ali. He was given the portfolio of Local Self-Government and Health Department. During his short tenure as a minister, Nausher Ali created commotion in the government circle by filling vacant posts with Muslim candidates only, many of whose efficiency was not above question. The Governor was unhappy and soon got an opportunity to get rid of this undesirable minister.

Many KPP members did not like the idea of a coalition with the Muslim League; they would have loved to see a KPP-Congress coalition instead. Since that did not materialise because of Congress's unwillingness, they thought of putting pressure on Huq for implementing many of their radical programmes. For his part Fazlul Huq had to acquiesce to the requirements of the British, which made many KPP radicals unhappy. Their disillusionment with Huq, coupled with personal dissatisfaction of a few in not finding places in the cabinet, led them to form a radical wing of the KPP. They withdrew their support from Fazlul Huq and were in close touch with the Congress to defeat the coalition government in the Legislative Assembly. Though Nausher Ali had full sympathy with them, he continued with Fazlul Huq, hoping to use the government machinery to implement many of his radical ideas.

Ali had little idea that under the Act of 1935 the British exerted the real authority under the coating of popular control of government. He got involved in squabbles with his cabinet colleagues on many issues. He alleged that Fazlul Huq in contravention to his election promise of Rs 500 for ministers had awarded a fat salary for them. Later, Huq charged that Nausher Ali had accepted the cabinet position on the condition that he would be paid not less than Rs 2500. He was bitter with the Bengal Tenancy Amendment Act of 1938 for not allowing enough rights to the tenants. He also did not like the influence of Khwaja nazimuddin in the cabinet and was opposed to the appointment of Khwaja shahabuddin as the government whip.

The bitterness further increased when Nausher Ali refused to support an European as the Chairman of the Land Revenue Commission. The governor wanted that Ali should either take joint cabinet responsibility or resign before the publication of the floud commission Report. The governor suspected that Nausher Ali was in liaison with the Congress leader sarat chandra bose. Huq alleged that Ali was intriguing against the cabinet and disclosing cabinet secrets to dissident KPP members. Fazlul Huq advised him to resign voluntarily or accept the less important post of the Commissionership of Wakf, but Nausher Ali refused to do so. On the advice of the governor, the cabinet decided to resign in a body in order to get rid of him. Subsequently, when the government was reconstituted, it left out Ali.

In June 1939 Nausher Ali formally joined the Congress. Meanwhile against the backdrop of its poor performance in the 1937 election the Congress started a campaign to contact Muslims in the rural areas. Nausher Ali organised meetings with peasants in the districts of Khulna and Jessore, attacking the zamindars and British imperialism and asking peasants not to pay rent to the government. In 1942 when Fazlul Huq formed the second coalition Ministry, Nausher Ali became the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

In the 1940s Muslim opinion in Bengal swung in favour of the idea of Pakistan. Nausher Ali, however, continued to voice his faith in the unity of India. During the election of 1945-46 he was one of the two Muslim candidates from the Congress platform in Bengal. He contested from two constituencies in Jessore and lost in both to his Muslim League opponents. After 1947 he decided to stay in India and became a prominent Muslim politician in West Bengal. He died on 6 April 1972. [Manzur Ahsan]