103.49.201.135 at 05:43, 10 August 2021

2021-08-10T05:43:23Z

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{{Infobox person
| name = Ali Mech
| native_name =
| native_name_lang = hi
| occupation = Tribal chief (Rajah)
| known_for = [[Bakhtiyar Khalji's Tibet campaign|Tibet campaign]]
| birth_date = 13th century
| birth_place = Kamatapur Kingdom
| era = early 13th century
}}
'''Ali Mech''' was a tribal chief (Rajah) in the 13th century CE, in the region of present-day [[Assam]] belonging to [[Bodo-Kachari people|Boro-Kachari]] sub tribe called [[Mech people|Mech]].

==Biography==
Ali Mech is considered the first Muslim convert in [[Assam]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Saikia|first=Arunabh|title=‘We don’t want to be identified on the basis of our religion,’ say Assam’s indigenous Desi Muslims|url=https://scroll.in/article/864299/we-dont-want-to-be-identified-in-the-name-of-our-religion-say-assams-indigenous-desi-muslims|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-07|website=[[Scroll.in]]|language=en-US}}</ref> In the wake of Ali Mech's conversion to Islam, some Mech and Koch tribes also adopted the faith.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Nath|first=Monoj Kumar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDAXEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA23&dq=ali+mech&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X|title=The Muslim Question in Assam and Northeast India|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2021|isbn=978-1-000-37027-0|pages=23|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ahmed|first=Haamim K.J.|date=12 September 2018|title=The Ethnicity of Assamese Muslims|url=https://www.thehillstimes.in/featured/the-ethnicity-of-assamese-muslims/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-25|website=[[The Hills Times (Diphu)|The Hills Times]]}}</ref> The modern descendents of these converts are the [[Islam in Assam|Desi Muslims of Assam]].<ref name=":1" />

As a tribal chief (Rajah) in the foothills of [[Kamarupa]],<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nAUBCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA36 |title=Epigraphy and Islamic Culture: Inscriptions of the Early Muslim Rulers of Bengal (1205–1494)|last=Siddiq|first=Mohammad Yusuf|year=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781317587460 |pages=36}}</ref> he aided [[Bakhtiyar Khilji]] in his [[Bakhtiyar Khalji's Tibet campaign|failed invasion of Tibet]] in 1206 by acting as a guide.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Nadwi|first=Abu Bakr Amir-uddin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18CTOgAACAAJ|title=Tibet and Tibetan Muslims|publisher=Library of Tibetan Works and Archives|year=2004|isbn=9788186470350|location=Dharamsala|pages=43–44|translator-last=Sharma|translator-first=Parmananda}}</ref>

E.L. Gait mentions the following in his famous book ''A History of Assam'': "Guided by a Mech Chief, Muhammad Bakhtyar marched northwards along the right bank of this river ([[Karatoya River|Karatoya]], presently in Bangladesh) for ten days, through a country inhabited by the Koch, Mech and Tharu (Terai) tribes." Ali Mech supposedly bears a Muslim first name because he was fond of Islam and embraced it. Soon hundreds of Mech inhabitants converted to Islam due to growing oppression in the hands of Hindu lords and its caste, customs and traditions.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gait|first=Edward|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/A_History_of_Assam.html?id=GvcRAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&gboemv=1&hl=en|title=A History of Assam|date=1906|publisher=Thacker, Spink & Company|isbn=978-0-404-16819-3|language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:13th-century rulers in Asia]]
[[Category:Islam in Assam]]
[[Category:12th-century births]]
[[Category:13th-century Muslims]]
[[Category:13th-century deaths]]
[[Category:Converts to Islam]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]

{{Assam-stub}}

Ali Mech - Revision history

103.49.201.135 at 05:43, 10 August 2021