Ali Muhammad Rashidi ( ur, پیر علی محمد راشدی August 5, 1905–March 14, 1987) was a Pakistani

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or research ...

bureaucrat A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

. He was from Rashidi Syed and the elder brother of

Hassam-ud-Din Rashidi Hassam-ud-Din Rashidi ( sd, پير حسام الدين راشدي) (September 20, 1911 – April 1, 1982) was a Pakistani historian and scholar.

Early life

Rashidi's father Muhammad Hamid Shah lived in Bahman village, Ratodero Taluka,

Larkana District Larkana District ( Sindhi: ضلعو لاڙڪاڻو; ur, ) is a district of Sindh province of Pakistan. Its main city is Larkana on the banks of the Indus River. It is home district the of influential Bhutto family. The Larkana Bulls cricket t ...

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

. Rashidi got his early education from Muhammad Soomar and Muhammad Sidiq. He taught himself Persian,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

. He also studied English with Marmaduke Pickthall.

Career

Rashidi started his career as a

for the ''Sindh News'' newspaper in 1924. He was appointed as the secretary of Mohammad Ayub Khuhro in 1927. He was appointed editor of ''Al Rashid'' in 1928 at

Sukkur Sukkur (; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and Hyderabad, and 14th largest city ...

. He served as editor of '' Al Amin''. He started the newspaper ''Sitar-e-Sindh'' in 1934. In 1948, he became the editor of the English-language newspaper ''Sindh Observer''. He served as the president of the Pakistan Newspapers Editors Association.

Politics

Rashidi started his political career in 1926 by joining the Sindh Muhammadan Association where he fought for the election of Sindh in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

. In 1934 he joined the Peoples Party of Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto. He joined the

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. ** Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the orga ...

in 1938 where he supported the Pakistani cause for independence by holding the positions of Secretary of the Sindh Provincial Muslim League and Secretary of the Foreign Committee. According to the late Yusuf Abdullah Haroon (an elder statesman of Pakistan), Rashidi was involved in the drafting of the

Pakistan Resolution The Lahore Resolution ( ur, , ''Qarardad-e-Lahore''; Bengali: লাহোর প্রস্তাব, ''Lahor Prostab''), also called Pakistan resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlu ...

of 1940, also known as the Lahore Resolution. After 1947, he was instrumental in reinstating the Gaddi of

Pir Pagara sd, , image = , caption = , office = President of Pakistan Muslim League (F) , term_start = 1985 , term_end = 10 January 2012 , predecessor = ''Position established'' , successor ...

while ignoring the Frontier Regulation. He was elected

MPA MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * Mo ...

in the

Sindh Assembly The Provincial Assembly of Sindh ( ur, ) is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Sindh, and is located in Karachi, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution ...

in the election of 1953, thereafter appointed Minister of Revenue. In the era of Mohammad Ayub Khuhro, he served as the Minister of Health, Revenue and Information. He also served as the Federal Minister for Information under Prime Minister

Chaudhry Muhammad Ali Chaudhry Muhammad Ali (Urdu, pa, ; 15 July 1905 – 2 December 1982), best known as Muhammad Ali, was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the fourth prime minister of Pakistan, appointed on 12 August 1955. His government trans ...

Diplomat and author

He served as Pakistan's ambassador to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

from 1957 to 1961. He also served as the Ambassador to China for 10 months, during which he concluded negotiations for a border agreement between Pakistan and China that

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and Politician, statesman who served as ...

later signed on behalf of Pakistan. His work and journalism also took him to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. Rashidi wrote books in Sindhi,

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

and

on politics, biographies, local issues and diaries.

Selected publications

* ''Uhee Denhin Uhee Shenih'' (3 volumes) * ''Jager Dari Jo Khatimo'' * ''Sindh jee Nain Wizarat'' * ''Boodin Ja Imdadi Masla'' * ''Cheen jee'' (diary) * ''Imam Inqlaab'' * ''Sindh Ways and Days''

References