Atharuddin Mohammed

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Atharuddin Mohammed (1859–1931), also known as Athar Mohammed, was an Odia military officer and a noble who played a key role in Dhenkanal and Madhi garh in the late 19th century. He served as the Samanta (feudal lord) of Madhi garh, now Kamakhyanagar, from around 1868 to the late 1890s. In 1877, the British appointed him the Dewan (Prime Minister) of the Dhenkanal state, a position he held into the 1890s under Raja Dinabandhu Mahendra Bahadur and later Raja Shura Pratap Mahendra Bahadur.

Atharuddin was the eldest son of Khwaja Pir Fazal Mohammed, a Persian philosopher and mystic of the Ni'matullāhī order who later served the Raja of Dhenkanal. He earned a reputation for bravery and wit, which helped him rise to prominence and secure the role of Dewan. He organized the last elephant fair in Odisha and, during thePraja Mandal movement, tried to pacify peasant unrest with a temporary truce, though the revolt continued.

In 1899 he moved to Cuttack and joined the Utkal Sabha. Along with reformers like Madhusudan Das, he took part in the early Congress movement and helped spread liberal ideas in coastal Odisha. He attended the Calcutta Congress session in 1911.

Atharuddin built Fazal Mohammed Masjid (now Choti Masjid) near his home in Dargaah Bazaar in memory of his father. In the early 1930s, part of his estate was confiscated by the British to help build jails in Cuttack. He died on 21 April 1931 in Cuttack.

Family life: He was married to Begum Nadeera Sultana, Shahbano Begum, Ruqqaiya Begum and Ulfat Bibi, and his children included Sayeed Mohammed, Malik Mohammed, Akhir Mohammed, Shaukat Begum, Rafique Mohammed, Maatpur Begum Bilqis and Birjis Begum.