FOUNDATION OF THE ORPHANAGE
It was in the light of the teachings of Islam a few devoted and sincere persons under the leadership
of Maulvi Syed Abul Hasan Khan Saheb decided to establish a home for orphans and named it THE CALCUTTA
MUSLIM ORPHANAGE (Yatim Khana Islamia, Calcutta) 119 years back on September 15, 1892. Maulvi
Syed Abul Hasan Khan Saheb was then a judge in the Small Causes Court, Calcutta. He belonged to a noble
family of Bihar and was a brother of Janab Khuda Bakhsh Khan, the founder of the internationally famous
Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library of Patna. The venue of the Orphanage was a rented house at Beniapukur
Road where 22 orphans were initially lodged. The demand for admission began to grow and the available
space proved insufficient. Even a bigger accommodation at Mcleod Street could not cope with the problem
and the members had to opt for a habit of its own for this Orphanage. The gift of a valuable plot of
land measuring about 20 cottahs and generous donation from well-wishers and sympathisers of orphans
helped in the construction of a four storied building at 8, Syed Saleh Lane in 1895. This building put
the Orphanage on a sound footing and it has been in existence since then thus providing a Home for about
250 orphan boys, two primary schools, one Urdu and an another Bengali medium, one Industrial School,
one 18 bed Primary Health Centre, a prayer Hall and the Head Office of the Orphanage.
For the girl inmates separate arrangement of lodging and boarding was made at 2, Sharif Lane with a
capacity for 100 girls, which has now been raises to 300. A 12 bed Primary Health Centre is also there
to look after the sick girls.
As stated above the initiative for the establishment of The Calcutta Muslim Orphanage was taken by Janab
Syed Maulvi Abul Hasan Khan and the gift land came from Janab Seth Ismail Gore. But these earliest benefactors
were joined with great zeal by many other well wishers of the orphans. Amongst these the following persons
have made great contributions of CMO and have devoted their selfless services for this orphanage.
- 1) Haji Noor Mohammed Zakaria
- 2) Haji Bukhsh Elahi, C.I.E.
- 3) Badruddin Haider
- 4) Haji Abdullah Abdul Wahid
- 5) Mirza Ahmad Ali
- 6) Haji Rahim Bukhsh
- 7) Khan Bahadur Sk. Mahboob Ali
- 8) Haji Moosaji Salehi
- 9) Mr. Justice Syed Sharfuddin Ahmad
- 10) Nawab Sir Syed Shamsul Huda
- 11) Ahmad Moosa Salehi
- 12) Nawab Sir Abdul Karim Ghaznavi
- 13) Sir Abdur Rahim, C.I.E.
- 14) Seth Abdur Rahim Osman
- 15) Main Sk. Omar Hayat
- 16) A.K. Fazlul Haque
- 17) Hasan Shaheed Suhrawardy
- 18) Janab S. Fazle Ilahi
The premiers, the ministers, the high Government Officials of the pre-partition Bengal and may other
generous persons helped a lot in the later development of the Orphanage. We pay our respectful homage
and pray Almighty Allah to shower His choicest blessings upon all of them.
The Calcutta Muslim Orphanage is registered under the Societies Act XXI of 1860 and has the necessary
permission from the West Bengal Government to run Home for Orphan and destitute boys and girls.