Khushiram Motiram Kundnani (24 August 1904 - 7 November 1992), popularly known as Principal K.M. Kundnani, was an eminent educationist of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Born in Hyderabad, Sindh, he was the founder secretary of the

Hyderabad (Sind) National Collegiate Board The Hyderabad (Sind) National Collegiate Board or HSNC Board ( sd, حيدرآباد (سنڌ) نيشنل ڪاليجيئيٽ بورڊ HSNCB) is an Indian non-profit organisation founded in 1922 (or 1919) in the British India province of Sind and m ...

and founder principal of Kishinchand Chellaram (K.C.) College, Churchgate and R.D. National College & S.W.A. Science College, Bandra.

Early life and education

K.M. Kundnani was born on 24 August 1904 at

Hyderabad Sindh Hyderabad ( Sindhi and ur, ; ) is a city and the capital of Hyderabad Division in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the second-largest city in Sindh, and the eighth largest in Pakistan. Founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro of th ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(Now

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

). His father Motiram Kundnani was a humble soul and saint. He received early education at Hyderabad and then studied at D.J. Sindh College

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

and Elphinstone College Bombay (now

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

). He was a brilliant student and always stood first in his studies. He was also interested in indoor and outdoor games and represented the

University of Bombay The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...

several times. He obtained M.Sc. degree in Physics from Royal Institute of Science, Mumbai. Being deeply involved in sports, he became Chairman of the Inter-Collegiate Sports Committee and General Secretary for intergroup sports of the University of Bombay (Now

University of Mumbai The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed h ...

). He had also qualified as director of Physical Education from the YMCA College in Madras. In 1932, he joined the first Indian Himalayan Expedition Club, with excursions to

Pindari The Pindaris were irregular military plunderers and foragers in 17th- through early 19th-century Indian subcontinent who accompanied initially the Mughal army, later the Maratha army, and finally on their own before being eliminated in the 1817� ...

and Kolahoi glaciers in consecutive years.

Contributions

He joined the D.G. College (Now Government College University), Hyderabad as a lecturer in 1930 and became principal of the same college in 1947. After partition of the

, he moved to

and established the Rishi Dayaram Gidumal National College at Bandra in 1949, with critical assistance from Advocate

Hotchand Gopaldas Advani Hotchand Gopaldas Advani (22 April 1907 - 9 May 1991) was an Indian lawyer, educationist, social reformist and a businessman. He was one of the founders of K.C. College, K.C. Law College and Jai Hind Cooperative Bank of India. He served as fou ...

. This was the first college of the Sindhi community in India. This college was established by the

. Advocate Hotchand Gopaldas Advani was the founder president and Principal Kundnani was founder General Secretary of this board. After death of Hotchand Gopaldas Advani, on 9 May 1991, Kundnani took over as the president of the board. Under the umbrella of the board, Kundnani established Kishinchand Chellaram (K.C.) College at Churchgate,

in 1954. Afterwards, he established H.R. College of Commerce, K.C. Law College, C.M.H. College, B.Ed College of Education, Dr L H Hiranandani College of Pharmacy (Pharmacy College), Gopaldas Advani Law College, M.M.K. College, Thagomal Shahani Engineering College and other colleges.{{Cite book , last=Shailkh , first=Altaf , title=ممبئي منھنجي ڀاڪر ۾ , publisher=Roshni Publications , year=2012 , location=Kandiaro, Sindh, Pakistan

Honors and awards

* Golden Plate by the Education Minister, Government of Maharashtra,

* Gold Medal by the Governor of Maharashtra

Death

K.M. Kundnani died on 7 November 1992 in

References

People from Hyderabad, Sindh 1904 births 1992 deaths Sindhi people Indian educators 20th-century Indian educators