Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi

Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi () (20 November 1903 – 22 January 1981) popularly known as I.H. Qureshi), SP, HI, was a Pakistani historian, scholar, writer, and a professor of political history, first at the University of the Punjab and then at the Karachi University. Apart from his work as an academic historian he was also a well-known playwright.

An early activist of the historic Pakistan Movement, Qureshi served in the ministries of education and frontier regions as the secretary; in addition, he was elected a member of the parliament of Pakistan. But, due to his association with academia, he resigned from his government appointments and joined the academic faculty at the Columbia University as a professor of South Asian history. But soon, he returned to Pakistan and founded the National Language Authority (NLA) in the 1970s and helped set up the History Department at the University of the Punjab. Later, Qureshi joined the faculty of history at the  University of Karachi where he remained there the remainder of his life. Qureshi is also credited for editing a four-volume series on history of Pakistan.

Biography

Early life and education 

Qureshi was born on 20 November 1903 in a noble family of Patiyali, District Kasganj, a town in Uttar Pradesh, British India. He did matriculation in 1916, and joined Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College Aligarh. At this time, he took active part in Khilafat movement. He did graduation and M.A. in History from St. Stephen's College, Delhi with distinction. In 1927, he got M.A. in Persian. He served as Lecturer in History at St. Stephen's College from 1928 to 1944. Between 1937–40, he studied at Cambridge University for a PhD degree. The topic of his thesis was Administration of Sultanate of Delhi. During this period, he also briefly joined the Pakistan Movement founded by Choudhary Rahmat Ali.

After returning from England, he joined Delhi University where he was appointed Professor of History, and subsequently, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts. He also served as Acting Vice Chancellor of the Delhi University. In 1947, during the Partition riots, when the Muslim students of the St Stephen's College had to be evacuated to the Purana Qila, Dr Qureshi's library was completely burnt down by the mobs.

Career in Pakistan 
After seeing suffering from riots, he migrated to Pakistan in 1948. There, he continued his academic and political career, and served as a member of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. In 1949, he was appointed Professor of History at the University of the Punjab, Lahore. He also joined the Government of Pakistan as Minister of Refugee Rehabilitation, and later as Minister of Education. Later on, he joined the Columbia University, New York where he wrote his famous book, the Muslim Community of the South Asia, as a story of the trials and tribulations of the Muslims in the South Asia. On his return, he played a pivotal role in the establishment of the University of Karachi and remained its Vice-Chancellor for many years. His opponents criticise I. H. Qureshi, also known as the father of Pakistani historiography, for promoting right-wing agenda-- a prominent scholar on ethnic-nationalities in Pakistan, Feroz Ahmed, writes: "One of the favourite right-wing 'scholars' of the ruling alliance, I. H. Qureshi, went to the extent of stating that Bengalis were a different (implying inferior) race than the West Pakistanis."

Memberships 
He was:
 Member of the Indian as well as Pakistan Historical Records Commissions,
 Member of the Councils of the Indian and the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs,
 Member of the Executive Committees of the Indian History Conference and Pakistan History Society.
 Vice-President of the Pakistan History Society
 President of Pakistan Political Science Association.
 General President of Pakistan History Conference as well as Pakistan Political Science Conference.
 Director of the Central Institute of Islamic Research,
 Founding member of Urdu Language Authority Muqtadra Quami Zaban, and
 Vice-Chancellor of the University of Karachi (1961).

Political activities 
 Elected to the Constituent Assembly of India, and then to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan
 Between 1949–1954, he remained deputy minister, then minister of state and finally as minister with cabinet rank in Government of Pakistan.

Awards and recognition
 In recognition of his services, he was decorated with the order of Sitara-e-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan) by the President of Pakistan.
 On 20 November 2001, Pakistan Post issued a commemorative postage stamp in his name in its Men of Letters series
 The annual Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi Memorial Lecture continues to be organised by the History Society of St. Stephen's College.
 Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi was nominated as one of the founding members of Pakistan Academy of Letters in recognition of his services to Pakistani languages and literature.

Work 
His books on the history of Muslim community in the South Asia as well as other publications on the Pakistan Movement, Administration of the Mughul Empire, role of religious scholars in politics, brought him into the category of the distinguished historians of South Asia. After retirement he associated with writing and research.

English titles of History Work
 Administration of the Sultanate of Delhi (1942)
 Ulema in Politics
 Akbar, the Architect of Mughal Empire
 Education in Pakistan
 The Administration of Mughal Empire
 The Struggle for Pakistan
 The Muslim community of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, 610–1947: a brief historical analysis.  Gravenhage, Mouton. 1962
 The History of the Freedom Movement
 A Short History of Pakistan (General Editor)
 The Religion of Peace (1930)
 A Nation Born of Sacrifice (co-authors Altaf Husain & General Muhammad Musa)

Urdu Work
 But Tarash
 Band Lifafa
 Katt Putlian
 Gunha ki Diwar
 Mitthai ki Tokri
 Moalim Aswad
 Mullah Aala
 Nafrat ka Beej
 Hamzaad
 Neem Shab
 Naqsh-e-Akhir

See also 
 University of Karachi
 National Language Authority

References

External links 
 Profile at Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (archived)

Category:1903 births
Category:1981 deaths
Category:Pakistani scholars
Category:Pakistani historians
Category:Muhajir people
Category:Aligarh Muslim University alumni
Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:University of the Punjab faculty
Category:University of Karachi faculty
Category:Vice-Chancellors of the University of Karachi
Category:Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz
Category:Pakistan Movement activists
Category:Writers from Karachi
Category:People from Islamabad
Category:20th-century historians
Category:Urdu writers from Pakistan
Category:Urdu dramatists and playwrights
Category:Pakistani academics
Category:Pakistani MNAs 1947–1954