>Rodw at 07:00, 19 June 2021

2021-06-19T07:00:34Z

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{{Short description|Educationist from South Asia (1830–1895)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox person
|name= Hassan Ali Effendi
|birth_date = 14 August 1830
|birth_place= [[Hala, Sindh|Hala]], [[Sindh]], [[British India]]
|death_date= {{death date and age|1895|8|20|1830|8|14|df=y}}
|nationality= Indian
|occupation= [[Educationist]], [[Social worker]]
|known for= Founder of [[Sindh Madrasatul Islam]] in 1885
|movement= Devoted himself to educating the Muslims in Sindh
}}

'''Hassan Ali Effendi''' ({{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|حسن علی افندی}}}} {{lang-sd|حسن علي آفندي}}; b. 14 August 1830 – 20 August 1895) was an [[educationist]] in [[South Asia]] who is credited as the founder of one of the first Muslim schools in [[British India]]: the [[Sindh Madrasatul Islam]] (established in 1885), located in [[Karachi]] in modern-day [[Pakistan]].<ref>Soomro, Faiz Mohammad (1977). Cultural history of Sind. Karachi: National Book Foundation. p. 2. OCLC 5147200.</ref> [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]], the founder of Pakistan, became among the school's famous graduates.<ref name=findpk>[http://www.findpk.com/pof/hassanally_effendi.html Profile of Hassan Ali Effendi and image of the commemorative postage stamp on findpk.com website] Retrieved 7 March 2019</ref><ref name=TNI/>

Other notable graduates of the school include [[Shahnawaz Bhutto]], [[Abdullah Haroon]], [[Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah]] and [[Allama I.I. Kazi]].

==Background==
Effendi belonged to a respectable family of [[Akhund]]s from [[Hyderabad, Sindh]]; he had [[Turkish people|Turkish]] ancestry.<ref>Shaikh, Muhammad Ali (1995). Sindh Madressah: a journey through times. Sindh Madressatul Islam. p. 22. OCLC 35861879.</ref>

While still very young, he lost his father and was brought up by his elder brother Umed Ali Akhund. As according to the tradition of the Akhund family, he was enrolled in a local [[madrassa]] to read and study the [[Qur'an]] and learn the basics of the [[Persian language]].

Upon the completion of this traditional education, Ali found work as a clerk in the office of the Deputy Collector of [[Naushahro]]. One of his Christian colleagues there persuaded him to learn English, a language that was at the time avoided by Muslims in the [[Indian subcontinent]]. Nevertheless, he devoted all his leisure hours to the pursuit of learning English and soon acquired reasonable proficiency in reading, writing and speaking English.

Later, Effendi started to work for the ''Indus flotilla'', a shipping company. In the mid-1860s, while he still worked for the company, a British judge from Karachi by the name of Middleton, happened to cross the Indus river by ferry, spending the night on the ferry boat in order to cross the following morning. Middleton found Hassan Ali Effendi reading an English book by the dim light of an oil lamp. Surprised to discover that the man was a [[Muslim]], he was impressed enough to offer him a role as a translator in the Karachi District Court on the magnificent salary of sixty [[rupee]]s a month. Hassan Ali Effendi accepted the offer and moved to Karachi to assume his new responsibilities. Impressed by his performance, Judge Middleton allowed him to practice law before the court without passing any formal degree in law. This was the turning point in Hassan Ali Effendi's life. At that time, there was not a single Muslim advocate apart from him in the entire province; the lawyers tended to be either [[English people|English]] or [[Hindu]]s. Soon he was appointed as the [[Public Prosecutor]], the first non-European in [[Sindh]] to be in charge of that post, which he would retain for 14 years.

His family includes [[Wajid Shamsul Hasan]], former High Commissioner of Pakistan to the United Kingdom and the former [[President of Pakistan]], [[Asif Ali Zardari]], is Effendi's great grandson through his mother's family.<ref name=TNI>[https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/257423-delay-in-execution-of-projects-likely-to-anger-top-govt-officials Delay in execution of projects likely to anger top government officials] The News International (newspaper), Published 4 September 2010, Retrieved 7 March 2019</ref>

==Sindh Madrasatul Islam==
{{Main|Sindh Madrasatul Islam}}
Effendi began to take an interest in the welfare of the Muslim population in Sindh, and especially the spread of education in these communities. He was the life-long President of the Managing Board of the above Madrasa.<ref name=findpk/> Much of his drive was influenced by the Indian Muslim educationist Sir [[Syed Ahmed Khan]], founder of the Muhammedan Anglo-Oriental College.<ref name=TNI2>[https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/159756-rangers-occupy-hostel-of-historic Rangers occupy hostel of historic (significance)] The News International (newspaper), Published 6 February 2009, Retrieved 7 March 2019</ref> Wishing to replicate Syed Ahmed Khan's efforts, Effendi even travelled to [[Aligarh]] (present-day India) where he sought guidance from him.<ref name=TNI2/>

In 2011, [[Sindh Madrasatul Islam]] School was upgraded to a university and renamed as [[Sindh Madressatul Islam University]].<ref name=TNI1>[https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/337451-quaid%E2%80%99s-alma-mater-upgraded-to-university Quaid's alma mater upgraded to university] The News International (newspaper), Published 23 December 2011, Retrieved 7 March 2019</ref>

==Commemorative postage stamp==
[[Pakistan Post|Pakistan Post Office]] issued a commemorative postage stamp to honor Hassan Ali Effendi for his services in 1990 in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' postage stamp series.<ref name=findpk/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Effendi, Hassan Ali}}
[[Category:1830 births]]
[[Category:1895 deaths]]
[[Category:Pakistani educational theorists]]
[[Category:Pakistani people of Turkish descent]]
[[Category:People from Hyderabad District, Pakistan]]
[[Category:Sindhi people]]
[[Category:Members of the Bombay Legislative Council]]

Hassan Ali Effendi - Revision history

>Rodw at 07:00, 19 June 2021