Page:Twelve men of Bengal in the nineteenth century (1910).djvu/116

98 At a time when Muhammadans of distinction were unfortunately only too few, the figure of Nawab Amir Ali Khan stood out as a shining example to his co-religionists. He was one of that little band of men to whom it was given by strenuous effort and unwearying vigilance to raise the Muhammadan community from the slough of despond into which it had fallen. All who came in contact with him felt the charm of his personality. A learned Persian scholar and fluent Urdu speaker, he was equally at home among all classes, officials and non-officials, Europeans and Indians alike. The services he rendered to government in the dark days of mutiny, as manager of the ex-king of Oude's affairs, and as a loyal and reliable adviser were gratefully acknowledged, while the immense services he was able to render to the Muhammadan community were inestimable. To quote again the words of Sir Richard Temple he was 'one of the old school, and afforded a complete example of its virtues and merits.'