Bridglal Pachai (30 November 1927 – 27 November 2019) was a South African-born Canadian educator, historian and author. Born in Umbulwana, Natal, he went to school in nearby

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queensl ...

, and later graduated with a doctorate in 1963.

Career

Pachai earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in History from the

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

and a Ph.D. in History, from the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

. His thesis was the twenty-one years that

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...

spent in South Africa from 1893 to 1914. From 1947 to 1962 he worked as a school teacher for the Department of Education in Natal, South Africa. Pachai's first university post was as a Lecturer in History, at the University College of Cape Coast, Ghana, from 1962 to 1965, after which he moved to the

University of Malawi The University of Malawi (UNIMA) is a public university established in 1965 and until 4 May 2021, when the university underwent a delinking, was composed of four constituent colleges located in Zomba, Blantyre, and Lilongwe. Of the four colleges, ...

where he taught history from 1965 to 1975, becoming Professor of History and Dean. In 1979, Pachai returned to Africa, becoming the inaugural Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the

University of Sokoto Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), also known as UDUSOK, is a public research university located in the city of Sokoto, north western Part of Nigeria. It is one of the initial twelve universities founded in Nigeria by the federal gover ...

, Nigeria (1979-1985). Many years later, he would spend a year teaching in

The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 c ...

(1998) Pachai returned permanently to Nova Scotia in 1985, where he became the executive director of the Black Cultural Centre (1985 to 1989) and, subsequently, the

Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission (the “Commission”) was established in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1967 to administer the Nova Scotia ''Human Rights Act''. The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission is the first commission in Canada to engage ...

(1989 to 1994).

Author and historian

He became an authority on African Nova Scotian history, penning several books on the subject, including ''Beneath the Clouds of the Promised Land'' (Volumes 1 and 2, 1987 and 1991), ''Peoples of the Maritimes: Blacks'' (1987, 1993), and ''Historic Black Nova Scotia'' (2006). He wrote about his life in two autobiographies, ''My Africa, My Canada'' (1989) and ''Accidental Opportunities'' (2007). In all, he published some 20 books.

Personal life

Pachai and his wife Leela had five children; three sons and two daughters.

Death and legacy

He was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2002 and in 2006 was a recipient of the

Gandhi, King, Ikeda Award , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

(Morehouse College).NS Archives
Bridglal Pachai Fonds
/ref> He died in Halifax on 27 November 2019 at age 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pachai, Bridglal Academic staff of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Members of the Order of Nova Scotia Members of the Order of Canada Academic staff of the Dalhousie University Naturalized citizens of Canada South African emigrants to Canada Expatriates in the Gambia South African expatriates in Ghana South African expatriates in Malawi South African expatriates in Nigeria People from KwaZulu-Natal 1927 births 2019 deaths South African people of Indian descent Academic staff of the University of Malawi