Author, lawyer, educationist…
Hailing from an illustrious family, Mir Kamaluddin Ali Khan’s life makes for interesting reading
A love for education runs in his blood. He completed his matriculation at the tender age of 13 years and three months. He was so young, in fact, that his parents had to submit a medical certificate to school authorities, stating that he was fit to appear for exams.
Today, Mir Kamaluddin Ali Khan holds over half-a-dozen degrees — an LLB and LLM from Osmania University, PG Diploma in Labour Laws and Personal Management, PG Diploma in Insurance Laws from Nalsar University, to name a few. He is also a writer, lawyer, educationist… and much more.
“I was inspired to write by Mahbub Hussain Jigar and Abid Ali Khan of Siasat,” he said. His works, like Lekin Qasam Khuda Ki Madina Kuchh Aur Hai (History of Madina) in Urdu, has bagged the first prize from A.P. State Urdu Academy and three editions have been published. Kamaluddin Ali’s mother Hoorunnisa Begum was the granddaughter of eminent Sufi saint Khwaja Bande Nawaz Gesu Daraz, whose dargah in Gulbarga, Karnataka, is the second-most-revered shrine in India.
His father Mir Najabath Ali Khan is the son of Basalath Jung, who hails from the Asaf Jah family, the erstwhile rulers of Golconda and the Deccan. Yet, there are no high claims and he’s now busy with imparting education to thousands of girls and boys through the Mukarram Jah School, Old City area’s first ICSE school.
Having retired as the Electricity Board’s chief general manager, 67-year-old Kamaluddin Ali is the secretary of the Mukarram Jah Trust for Education and Learning, which runs a school and a junior college in Old City. He has served as CEO of the AP State Wakf Board and been a member of the State Labour Welfare Board, the Haj Committee and the Lok Adalat of AP Transco. He is also the secretary of the All India Sufi Board, an executive member of the Islamic History and Research Council, the secretary of Anjuman-e-Taraqie Adab and a member of the Khaja Education Society.
His wife Ahmedi Kamal says, “He has been working continuously for the last 48 years, without a break. And yet, I never felt lonely as he makes it a point to take me along with him even on official visits,” she said.
Recalling their first meeting, both Kamaluddin Ali and Ahmedi Kamal say it was love at first sight. “He used to run a school and we used to meet daily because I was the headmistress of the school. Love blossomed and we got married in 1979. We also performed Haj together in 2006. Our children, three sons and a daughter, owe their education to him,” she said.
Their eldest son, Mir Ahsan Ali Khan, is currently working in the UAE and their second son, Mir Mohsin Mohiuddin Ali Khan, went into the construction business, and stays in Hyderabad with his family. Kamaluddin Ali Khan’s daughter, Tahmeena Siddiqua, is an HR manager at the Azaan International School and her husband, Deen Ali Khan, works in the US. Their youngest son,
He has been working continuously for the last 48 years, without a break. But I never felt lonely as he takes me along even on official visits
–– Ahmedi Kamal, Mir Kamaluddin Ali Khan’s wife
Mir Khairuddin Ali Khan, is into the air ticketing business.
Says second son Mohsin, “We used to stay in Purani Haveli earlier, as a joint family. My father’s elder brother, Mir Jamaluddin Ali Khan, served as the bureau chief of the Press Trust of India. His younger brother inspired me to get into a business. Whatever we are today, is because of my father, who has been a huge source of inspiration. Even today we call him up for advice almost everyday,” he said.
Kamaluddin Ali is loved and respected by all in the family. His nephew Syed Abdul Haseeb Jafferi admits, “I can call up my uncle even in the middle of the night to take advice on anything, right from selecting the school to the subjects in junior college and specialisation at post-graduate level.” Says his wife Maria Samreen, “He (Kamaluddin Ali Khan) encouraged me to continue my education from my inlaws’ place. Now, I have started teaching a private school.”