Mirza Kalich Beg
Encyclopedia
Shams-ul-Ulema Mirza Kalich Beg is a renowned scholar hailed for his contributions to the Sindhi literature. He was born on October 7, 1853 in a small village named Tando Thoro that is at the banks of the Phuleli
Phuleli
Phuleli is a canal in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan....

 Canal in Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Sindh
is the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the seventh largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot...

, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. His father Mirza Faridun Beg was from Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...

, Georgia (country)
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

.

History

The ancestors of Mirza Kalich Beg, were from Georgia (country)
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

, his grandfather was a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 Emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...

 in Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...

, due to subsequent turmoil between Nadir Shah and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

; Georgia (country)
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 was annexed and the grandfather of Mirza Kalich Beg was captured along with his son Sedini (later named Mirza Faridun Beg by Nadir Shah).

Mirza Faridun Beg, converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 and served in the Qizilbash cavalry units of Nadir Shah. He served along side Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...

 Tala Khan (the founder of the Talpur dynasty
Talpur dynasty
The Talpur dynasty was a dynasty of the Talpur tribe that conquered and ruled Sindh, and other parts of present-day Pakistan, from 1783 to 1843. The Talpur army defeated the Kalhora Dynasty in the Battle of Halani in 1783 to become rulers of Sindh. The Talpur dynasty was defeated by the British...

). They sacked the fortifications of the ruling Kalhora
Kalhora
The Kalhora are of Sindhi origin they trace their origins to a Sindhi warrior named, Sultan Ahmad Kalhora who married a daughter of Raja Rai Dhorang Sahta, receiving much territories as dowry. Amir Fathullah Khan Kalhora, is the recognized ancestor of the dynasty. He conquered the bhangar...

 Nawab
Nawab
A Nawab or Nawaab is an honorific title given to Muslim rulers of princely states in South Asia. It is the Muslim equivalent of the term "maharaja" that was granted to Hindu rulers....

s of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

 and probably served during the dramatic Battle of Karnal
Battle of Karnal
The Battle of Karnal , was a decisive victory for Nader Shah the emperor of Persia during his invasion of India. Shah's forces defeated the army of Muhammad Shah, the Mughal emperor in little more than three hours thus paving the way for the Persian sack of Delhi...

.

In the late 18th century, the Talpur
Talpur
Talpur ; is a Baloch tribe settled in Sindh. Talpurs settled in northern Sindh, spoke Sindhi language very soon their descendants and allies formed a confederacy against the Kalhora dynasty. Later, however, they enjoyed good relations with the Kalhoras and were invited by them to help organize...

s had taken hold of the Pacco Qillo in Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Sindh
is the second largest city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is the seventh largest city in the country. The city was founded in 1768 by Mian Ghulam Shah Kalhoro upon the ruins of a Mauryan fishing village along the bank of the Indus known as Neroon Kot...

 and were declared official rulers of the city and the Emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...

s of Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

. It was during this reign of the Talpurs, that Mirza Faridoon Beg settled in the outskirts of this thriving city. In the years to come his father had made cordial relations with the then ruler Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...

 Karam Ali Talpur and became his courtier. He was invited to live in the Hyderabad fort (the Pacco Qillo) and married a Talpur
Talpur
Talpur ; is a Baloch tribe settled in Sindh. Talpurs settled in northern Sindh, spoke Sindhi language very soon their descendants and allies formed a confederacy against the Kalhora dynasty. Later, however, they enjoyed good relations with the Kalhoras and were invited by them to help organize...

 princess. When the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 led by Charles Napier
Charles Napier
Charles Napier may refer to:*Charles Elers Napier , British naval officer*Sir Charles James Napier , British general*Sir Charles Napier , Scottish admiral of the Royal Navy...

 took annexed Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...

 after the Battle of Miani
Battle of Miani
The Battle of Miani was a battle between British forces under Sir Charles Napier and the Talpur Amirs of Sindh, Pakistan.-Background:...

, the remaining Mir
Mir
Mir was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, at first by the Soviet Union and then by Russia. Assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996, Mir was the first modular space station and had a greater mass than that of any previous spacecraft, holding the record for the...

s surrendered and were imprisoned in Calcutta leaving Mirza Faridun Beg no one to serve and he resorted to the small fishing village of Tando Thoro on the banks of the Phuleli Canal. It was here that Mirza Kalich Beg was born.

Education

Culture begged adolescents to be admitted in the village Maktab
Maktab
Maktab , also called kuttab , is an Arabic word meaning elementary schools...

, where Mirza read the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

. Whilst his time at the Maktab, he began more and more interested in languages most notably Arabic, Persian and Sindhi and pursued related courses. Completing his schooling, he was later admitted to the Government High School, Hyderabad and in 1872, he passed his matriculation and was awarded a special prize for distinction of achieving a first division.

Pursuits for further education left him to Bombay
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...

 in 1873. He joined Elphinstone College where he came under the tutelage of Prof. Mirza Hairat, the noted teacher of Arabic, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

 and Turkish language
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...

s. He bemused the tutor when he saw that Mirza had a very high command over the Persian language and had him appointed a fellow at the Mumbai University. Once he had graduated in mid-1870s, Kalich Beg was employed at the same prestigious institute as a professor of Persian language.

A tragedy and a loss

He was well placed on the highest rungs of his educational career ladder, when his mother died in 1876. He couldn't cope with the tragic events of his mother's death and fell short of scoring well on his examinations and fell seriously ill. He decided he'd return home to Sindh.

Mirza Kalich Beg sought a job in a government department on his return to Sindh. He was appointed as a Tehsildar in Shikarpur and rose to the rank of Deputy Collector. After serving the British government as Deputy Collector for thirty years, he retired in 1910.
The lives of the Mirza family and their Georgian connections are a subject of the 2005 book A Georgian Saga: From the Caucasus to the Indus by family's scion Meherafroze Mirza Habib, Vice President of All Pakistan Women's Association
All Pakistan Women's Association
The All Pakistan Women's Association, or APWA, as it is commonly known, is a non-profit and non-political Pakistani organization whose fundamental aim is the furtherance of the moral, social and economic welfare of the women of Pakistan....

.

Books

Mirza Kalich Beg wrote more than 400 books, which are categorized under Drama, Articles, Research books, Novels, and History. His famous books are:

Maqalat-ul-Hikmat

Khoodyari

Alamat-ul-Quran

Bagh ae Bayani

Hashrat-ul-Arz

Zameen pokhin jo ilm ae Hunr

Keemya-e-Saaat

Karo Pan Ya Syo Pan (Auto-Biography)
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