Shahid Rahimullah

Shahīd Rahimullah of Baraikhali (; died 25 November 1861) was the leader of native resistance in the Sundarbans of Bengal, against the colonial officers and indigo cultivators of the British Raj. He was killed in 1861 while leading rebel farmers in a battle against the landlords' forces.

Background and family Rahimullah was born in the 18th century to a Bengali Muslim family from the village of Baraikhali in the Sundarbans. The area was subsequently named as Morrelganj.

Rahimullah was trained in a traditional Bengali martial art known as lathi khela. At a later age, he moved to Calcutta where he intended to pursue an education and learn the English language. He developed a relationship with the likes of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Michael Madhusudan Dutt. However, Rahimullah's Anglophile aspirations did not last too long, as he received news of the poor treatment of the natives of Baraikhali. Thus, Rahimullah's sojourn in Calcutta was cut short, despite Chatterjee's requests to stay, and he returned to his home village. After his father's death, Rahimullah became the chief of a group of rebel farmers in the area. Already a trained lathial (stick-fighter) himself, Rahimullah rose to popularity. The resistance ensued a fierce clash between both sides. Haley's forces fled eventually fled the battlefield after the death of their sardar, Rāmdhan Mālo, and seven others. Dennis Haley and Henry Morrel were captured and sent to Rahimullah but were released after they promised to never invade his land again.

Aftermath Bankim Chandra Chatterjee who initiated an enquiry into Rahimullah's death. The erstwhile Magistrate of Khulna Subdivision, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, directed an inquiry into the conflict. He himself went to Morrelganj and found Haley guilty and gave a long report to the district magistrate. He also issued an arrest warrant in Haley's name when he fled with Henry Morrel and Durga Charan. Many of Haley's associates were arrested, with Henry Morrel being arrested in Bombay and Durga Charan in Vrindavan. At that time, Haley tried to intimidate Chatterjee by giving him a bribe of up to 100,000 rupees. The case went on for fifteen years and the Jessore Sessions Court ordered the execution of one person and the deportation of 34 others. Only the native accomplices of Haley were prosecuted. Haley was released as no one was able to identify him.

Morrelganj survived as a name for the local area throughout the British Raj and after independence as the Morrelganj Upazila. Locals continue to demand the renaming of Morrelganj to Rahimganj or Rahimnagar though it has not been fulfilled.