Maulvi Mohammad Zakaullah or Munshi Zakaullah (20 April 1832 – 7 November 1910) was a British Indian Urdu writer and translator. He wrote Tarikh-e-Hindustan, a fourteen-volume compilation of Indian history in Urdu.[1]
Early life and education
Zakaullah was born on 20 April 1832 in Delhi. His father Mohammad Sanaullah was the tutor of one of the princes in the Mughal courts.[2] He commended his studies under his grandfather Hafiz Mohammad Barkatullah and got his education in the Delhi College under professor Ramchundra, who was a distinct mathematical teacher.[1] His other teachers include Mamluk Ali Nanautawi.[3]
He started his service as a scholar at the Delhi College and continued to serve in the education department until he was 55.[1] At Delhi College he also headed the Vernacular Translation Society in translating texts in western sciences, history and philosophy into Urdu.[4] In 1855, he was appointed Deputy Inspector of Schools of Bulandshahar and Muradabad.[5] In 1866, he was then appointed the head master for the Normal School in Delhi.[6] In 1872 he was appointed professor of vernacular literature and science at the Muir Central College in Allahabad.[7] He retired on pension from Allahabad in 1877. Shortly before his retirement he was awarded the title of Khan Bahadur and Shams-ul-Ulema. After his retirement he spent some time in Aligarh working for the literary movement of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and his friend Maulvi Samiullah.[1] He was an early supporter of the Aligarh Movement and translated works for Scientific Society along with his contemporaries Maulvi Nazir Ahmad and Altaf Hussain Hali.[2][8]
He died on 7 November 1910 at Delhi, aged 78. He was survived by his son Inayatullah Delhvi who was also an Urdu writer and translator.[1]
^Govt. Sectt., N.W.P. and Oudh (1881). "Educational department". History of services of gazetted officers employed under the government of the N.W.P. and Oudh. Allahabad: North-Western Provinces and Oudh Govt. Press. p. 296.
