Abdullah Sahib

Abdullah Sahib was the Governor of Gilgit during Dogra rule and was one of the earliest graduates of Aligarh. He was the father of eminent Pakistani writer Qudrat Ullah Shahab.

Life

He was born in Punjab, British India, and at the age of six became orphan. After seeing the loss of his father's property in loan servicing he decided to build a property unable to be taken by anyone. He dedicated his life to education and became the first Muslim student who topped Matriculation exam in Ambala District, Punjab province, this was during the early period of the Aligarh Movement led by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Abdullah Sahib soon joined Aligarh college where he excelled in English, Arabic, Persian, Philosophy, and Mathematics. When he finished his BA he was one of the earliest graduates of Aligarh.

Sir Syed arranged a scholarship for Sahib to take the Indian Civil Service exam in England, which he refused due to his mother's request. Sir Syed was furious and he expelled him from Aligarh and asked him not to show his face to him again. Abdullah Sahib honoured his words and became a Clerk at Gilgit, a far off place even today. He was soon made Governor of the province. He spent eighteen to twenty years in Gilgit, and all his children, three sons and three daughters were born there. He was a close associate of Maharaja Pratap Singh, and was an expert on International Relations especially with Russia and China.

ee also

*Qudrat Ullah Shahab, his son
*Aligarh Muslim University

References

"Shahab Nama", by Qudrat Ullah Shahab