Khalifa Mohammad Asadullah
Khalifa Mohammad Asadullah (1890 – 1949)[1] was a pioneer of the library movement in the Indian subcontinent before 1947. He was also the first prominent librarian to opt for Pakistan at the time of independence in 1947.[1]
Early life
He was born on 6 August 1890 in Lahore, British India (now Pakistan) to Maulvi Mohammd Ziaullah and Alam Jan.[2]
Marriage and family
In 1908, he married Hameeda Begum in Lahore and fathered 14 children. His sons-in-law included AVM Saeedullah Khan and Pakistani diplomat, Enver Murad; his daughters-in-law included Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah and his great granddaughters include the Pakistani novelist, Uzma Aslam Khan.
Training
He studied under Asa Don Dickinson in 1915 at the University of the Punjab.[3]
Career
In 1916, he became the first qualified librarian of the Government College in Lahore.[4] He then became the librarian of MAO College (now Aligarh Muslim University) in 1919.[5] In 1921, he joined the Imperial Secretariat Library in New Delhi and Simla, a post he held for 8 years.[5]
In 1930, he was appointed the Librarian of the Imperial Library (now National Library of India) in Calcutta, a post which he held for about 17 years.[6] While there he started the library training programme.[7]
Pakistan
In 1947, after the declaration of Pakistan's independence, he was made officer on special duty in the Ministry of Education.[5]
Indian Library Association
In 1933, he was one of the founding members of Indian Library Association[8] and was its first Secretary from 1933 to 1947.[5]
Honours
He was honoured with the title of Khan Bahadur in 1935.[4]
Death
He died on 23 November 1949[9] at Lahore. He was buried in his family section of the Ferozpur Road graveyard, Lahore.
References
- 1 2 Syed Jalaluddin Haider, Pioneers of Library Movement in Pakistan Pg 3, Online at: http://eprints.rclis.org/10348/1/PJLIS_1_Haider.pdf accessed 25 Jan 2013
- ↑ Biographical Encyclopedia of the World, Institute for Research in Biography, Inc, New York, NY, USA 1st edition, 1940
- ↑ http://web.missouri.edu/~umcellislibraryoms/pdf/Dkn/dkn.pdf
- 1 2 :.GC University Lahore
- 1 2 3 4 Syed Jalaluddin Haider, Pioneers of Library Movement in Pakistan Pg 4, Online at: http://eprints.rclis.org/archive/00011342/01/PJLIS_1_Haider.pdf
- ↑ History of the National Library, India
- ↑ Encyclopaedia of Library and Information Science, Edited by: Allen Kent, Harold Lancour and Jay Daly vol 21 1977 Pg 257
- ↑ Indian Library Association
- ↑ World Libraries: The Pioneers: Abdul Moid