Page:Twelve men of Bengal in the nineteenth century (1910).djvu/49



No Muhammadan in Bengal in the nineteenth century has left behind him a greater or more honoured name than Haji Mahomed Mohsin. By his learning, piety and philanthropy he set, while the century was yet young, a splendid example of all that a good citizen should be, not only to his own co-religionists but to all Bengal of whatever caste or creed. For over a hundred years the great Trust that he left behind him has kept his memory fresh, conferring immense benefits on succeeding generations and still continuing its educational and philanthropic work to-day. For all time it promises to remain a great and living memorial of his name.

The life of Haji Mahomed Mohsin was full of romance. His grandfather on his father's side was Agha Fazlullah, a merchant prince of Persia, who following in the wake of many of his adventurous compatriots had come to seek his fortune in India in the eighteenth century. For a time he resided at Murshidabad where the Viceroy of Bengal held court and where the English factory was slowly but surely establishing its position and increasing its scope and influence. Here Agha Fazlullah carried on an extensive mercantile business, but