Name Khalifa Asadullah | ||
Died November 1949, Lahore, Pakistan | ||
Khalifa Mohammad Asadullah (1890 – 1949) 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.
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Early life
He was born on 6 August 1890 in Lahore, British India (now Pakistan) to Maulvi Mohammd Ziaullah and Alam Jan.
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.
Career
In 1916, he became the first qualified librarian of the Government College in Lahore. He then became the librarian of MAO College (now Aligarh Muslim University) in 1919. In 1921, he joined the Imperial Secretariat Library in New Delhi and Simla, a post he held for 8 years.
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. While there he started the library training programme.
Pakistan
In 1947, after the declaration of Pakistan's independence, he was made officer on special duty in the Ministry of Education.
Indian Library Association
In 1933, he was one of the founding members of Indian Library Association and was its first Secretary from 1933 to 1947.
Honours
He was honoured with the title of Khan Bahadur in 1935.
Death
He died on 23 November 1949 at Lahore. He was buried in his family section of the Ferozpur Road graveyard, Lahore.