Syed Mir Nisar Ali, better known as Titumir, was a Bengali revolutionary, who developed a strand of Muslim nationalism coupled with agrarian and political consciousness. He is famed for having built a large bamboo fort to resist the British, which passed onto Bengali folk legend.

Soon after the completion of 100 Greatest Britons poll in 2002, the BBC organized a similar opinion poll to find out the greatest Bengali personalities throughout the history of Bengali people. In 2004, the BBC's Bengali Service conducted the opinion poll from 11 February to 22 March, with the title Greatest Bengali of All Time. Bengalis around the world, specifically from Bangladesh, India and overseas Bengali communities participated in the poll.