Draft:Moinuddin Cowlas

Moinuddin Cowlas (1915 - 12 December 1980) was Kiladar of Kowlas Fort, journalist, poet and a member of the All-India Muslim League.

He was the eldest son of Maulvi Muhammad Jamaluddin Sheikh who was appointed by the Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan in 1915 as the Kiladar of Kowlas Fort. Moinuddin was born with the surname of Sheikh but when he succeeded his father as the Kiladar, he changed his surname to Kowlas. He graduated from Osmania University as a Journalist, and wrote for the Nizam Gazette newspaper. During the 1947 Partition he chose to stay in Hyderabad and work towards it's accession to Pakistan.

In the 1948 Annexation of Hyderabad, Moinuddin Cowlas was detained by the Indian forces due to his involvement in the Pakistan Movement, subsequently his properties were seized. He was given a choice to either stay in India or migrate to Pakistan, he chose the latter and was banned by the Indian authorities from India. Upon migrating to Karachi on 15th September 1948, Moinuddin anglicized his surname from Kowlas to Cowlas therefore allowing him and his family to visit India. He remained as the hereditary titular Kiladar of Kowlas until his death on 12th December 1980 in Karachi.