Sheikh Abdullah (educationalist)
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Sheikh Abdullah (born Thakur Das; June 21, 1874 – March 1965), also known as Papa Mian, was an Indian educationalist,
social reformer A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...
,
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...
, founder of
Women's College, Aligarh Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a public central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College in 1875. Muhammadan Anglo-Orient ...
and a member of the Executive Council of the
Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...
who served to the post from 1920 to 1928. Later in 1902, he was appointed to the
All India Muhammadan Educational Conference The All India Muhammadan Educational Conference was an organisation promoting modern, liberal education for the Muslim community in India. It was founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, also the founder of the Aligarh Muslim University. All India ...
as a secretary for women's section. He is primarily known for his contribution to the Muslim women education during
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 ...
period. The recipient of numerous accolades, including a
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
, he also served a member of United Province Legislative Council, a legislature of
United Provinces of British India The United Provinces of British India, more commonly known as the United Provinces, was a province of British India, which came into existence on 3 January 1921 as a result of the renaming of the ''United Provinces of Agra and Oudh''. It corre ...
. During his time at AMU, he was associated with the
Aligarh Movement The Aligarh Movement was the push to establish a modern system of Western–style scientific education for the Muslim population of British India, during the later decades of the 19th century. The movement's name derives from the fact that i ...
. He worked at several posts at AMU such as Honorary Treasurer and University's court member from 1920 until he died in 1965.


Biography

He was born as Thakur Das to Mehta Gurmukh Singh on June 21, 1874 in Poonch district of
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
. He originally belonged to
Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests ( purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers ( ...
community of Kashmir. Das converted to
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
in 1891 after he went to
Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...
for
higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...
. He married to Waheed Jahan Begum (also known as Ala Bi), daughter of Mirza Mohammad Ibrahim in 1902, with which he had six children, including five daughters and a son. His daughter Mumtaz Jahan was appointed to the Aligarh Muslim University's principal for Women's College where he served for about thirty years. Mehta Mastram, a
lambardar Numbardar or Lambardar ( hi, नम्बरदार, pnb, ਲੰਬੜਦਾਰ, لمبردار, ur, لمبردار or نمبردار, bn, লম্বরদার/নম্বরদার, Lombordar/Nombordar) is a title in the Indian subcon ...
of Bhantani village was his paternal grandfather. He was trained in
Unani medicine Unani or Yunani medicine (Urdu: ''tibb yūnānī'') is Perso-Arabic traditional medicine as practiced in Muslim culture in South Asia and modern day Central Asia. Unani medicine is pseudoscientific. The Indian Medical Association describes Un ...
by Hakeem Maulvi Nooruddin, a court physician to
Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...
of Kashmir. The physician was a member of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim community Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
, which Thakur Das also joined. Later when he went to
United Province United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
, he met with
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, he ...
and adopted Sunni Islam, leaving the Ahmadiyya.


Education

He originally started his basic education with
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and
Sanskrit language Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the lat ...
from a Maktab in Poonch. He did his early schooling from an uncertain school in his village, and later he went to
Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...
where he received further education. In 1891, Abdullah did
matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...
in Lahore and then obtained Bachelor's of Arts and
Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...
from the Aligarh university.


Awards and accolades

In 1935, British India awarded him with an honorary title of " Khan Bahadur". After completing his education from the Aligarh, the university awarded him
Doctor of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL ...
, an honorary degree in 1950. In 1964, eighteen years later of the
partition of the Indian subcontinent The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakista ...
, the
government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
awarded him
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...
, the third-highest Indian civilian award, in recognition of his contribution to the female education. The university women's college, Abdullah College is named after him.


Death and legacy

He died in
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
, India in March 1965. His life is covered in a book titled ''Muslim Leadership and Women’s Education Uttar Pradesh, 1886–1947'' written by Dr. Nasreen Ahmad. The Abdullah School and Abdullah Hall, which comprises nine hostels for girls, in AMU are named after him. In 1975, a documentary titled ''Papa Miya of Aligarh'' based on his life and directed by
Khwaja Ahmad Abbas Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (7 June 1914 – 1 June 1987) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, novelist, and journalist in Urdu, Hindi and English. He won four National Film Awards in India. Internationally, his films won the Palme d'Or (Golden ...
was released.


Books

*


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullah, Sheikh 1874 births 1965 deaths Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University alumni Educators from Jammu and Kashmir People from Poonch district, India Founders of Indian schools and colleges Indian women's rights activists Converts to Islam from Hinduism 19th-century Indian Muslims Aligarh Movement Indian social reformers