Jamal Mian's death

Maulana Jamaluddin Abdul Wahab Frangi Mahali, better known as Jamal Mian, who died in Karachi at age 93 represented the best in the subcontinent's old traditions in religious, literary and political spheres. He was born into a famed family of religious scholars and Sufis who made a major contribution to Islamic studies and culture.
Jamal Mian was a worthy representative of that tradition, learning the holy Quran by heart at the tender age of nine, going on to acquire graduation degrees in Persian and Arabic - regarded as the languages of learning until the first half of the 20th century - before turning his attention to literary and political pursuits. He was equally comfortable in spiritual settings hosting 'milad' every year to celebrate Holy Prophet's (PBUH) 12 Rabiul Awwal birthday at his Karachi residence and delivering a sermon on the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), meeting with ordinary people, and at an earlier time rubbing shoulders with the likes of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, M.K Gandhi and Pandit Jawahar Lal.
Jamal Mian was also an enthusiastic participant in the activities of the Muslim League during Pakistan's formative years. He published a newspaper out of his hometown Lucknow to propagate the party's stand point, and in 1946 got elected as a member of the UP legislative assembly. A year on, when the Muslim League attained its goal of a separate homeland for the Muslims, Jamal Mian stayed back, like millions of other Muslims. But his affection for the new county would stay with him. His Indian passport was impounded for suspected sympathies for Pakistan, forcing him to migrate to the other side, though to Dhaka in East Pakistan rather than Karachi in the western wing where anyone from UP would be more at home given cultural similarities between the two places. The events leading up to the break-up of the country though would urge him to move once again, this time to Karachi for the rest of his life. But he was always to remain above sectarian, ethnic and cultural biases - the qualities that are as important today as they were in Jamal Mian's time. May his soul rest in peace.