Mirza Kalich Beg

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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 Canal. His father was from Georgia, Russia going by the name of Mirza Faridoon Beg.

1 History
2 Education
3 A tragedy and a loss

[edit] History

In the late 1700s, the Talpurs had taken hold of the Pacco Qillo in Hyderabad and were declared official rulers of the city. It was during this reign of the Talpurs, that Mirza Faridoon Beg had migrated to Sindh and settled in the outskirts of this thriving city. In the years to come his father had made cordial relations with the then ruler Mir Karam Ali Talpur and became his courtier. He was invited to live in the Hyderabad fort (the Pacco Qillo) When the British took over Sindh, the Mirs were deported to Kolkata leaving Mirza Faridoon 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.

[edit] Education

Culture begged adolescents to be admitted in the village madressa, where Mirza read the Qur'an. Whilst his time at the madressa, 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 in 1873. He joined Elphinstone College where he came under the tutelage of Prof. Mirza Hairat, the noted teacher of Arabic, Persian and Turkish languages. 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.

[edit] 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.