Renowned historian and former Vice-chancellor of Goa and Mangaluru Universities, Prof B Sheik Ali died on Thursday in Mysuru after a brief illness.
He was 98.
A well-known authority on Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, Ali was the author of more than 30 books on various aspects of the history of Karnataka and India, according to The Cognate.
Born on November 10, 1925, Prof Ali’s academic achievements include a first rank and gold medal in BA (Hons.) at the University of Mysore in 1945 before securing the second rank in MA at the University of Mysore in 1946.
His work on the reigns of Hyder Ali and Tipu began in Aligarh in 1949 when Mohammed Habib, a well-known medieval Indian historian at the time, encouraged him to pursue the topic. After obtaining his Ph.D. from Aligarh, he followed it up with a second one from the University of London in 1960, The Cognate reported.
He was the general president of the Indian History Congress at its 47th Session in 1986 and the founder president of the South India History Congress in 1985.
A recipient of the Rajyothsava award, Prof Ali served the University of Mangalore and the University of Goa as their first Vice Chancellor in the eighties.
Ali was President of Mountain View Chain of Institutions in Chikmagalur, which run pre-primary schools to higher education institutes for 2,500 children.
Ali was also the President of the Muslim Education Society in Mysuru. As the President of the Central Muslim Welfare Council, Mysuru, Ali instituted the Micro-Finance Credit Scheme benefiting hundreds of poor Muslim women and their families, together with coaching classes both for High School and PUC classes, according to Star of Mysore.
Professor Ali had also served as Editor-in-Chief of Premier Urdu newspapers ‘Daily SALAR’ and ‘Weekly SALAR’.
