Imdad Ali Imam Ali Kazi

Imdad Ali Imam Ali Kazi (April 1886 – 13 April 1968), also known as Imdad Ali Kazi,  was a scholar, philosopher, jurist, and educationist. He is considered to be a founding father of the University of Sindh at its present location at Jamshoro. He published works of Sindhi art, literature, mysticism, education, religion and history.

Education and early life
Imdad Ali Imam Ali Kazi was the second son of the second wife of Kazi Imam Ali Ansari, the District Magistrate of Hyderabad, then in British India. He was born in April 1886 (sources vary regarding the exact date), at Hyderabad. His family was originally from Paat in Dadu District. He studied the Quran, Persian language, Arabic, Sindhi language and Urdu language with a private tutor.

Kazi went to London in 1907 for higher education, studying Economics at the London School of Economics and taking numerous other courses. In 1910, he married a German woman, Elsa, who was well-versed in literature. In 1911, Kazi received the degree of Bar-at-Law, after which he returned home to Hyderabad with his wife.



Kazi studied Arabic in Cairo in 1932 and in 1933 continued those studies at the London School of Oriental and African Studies.

While he was studying in England, he was a contemporary of Allama Iqbal and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Career
The British offered the young barrister the post of Civil Judge of Tando Muhammad Khan. He also served as the district and sessions judge of Khairpur during the British rule.

Kazi served as Vice-Chancellor of University of Sindh from 1951 to 1958.

Along with his wife Elsa, he wrote a book on comparative religion, The Adventures of the Brown Girl in her Search for God, which was published by Arthur H Stockwell Ltd., England, in 1933. They also worked on a translation of the verses of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai.

Death and legacy
Kazi died on 13 April 1968 in Hyderabad, Pakistan. He was buried at the campus of University of Sindh at Jamshoro. Several books and articles have been written on the life of Kazi and tributes paid to him annually on the anniversary of his death.

Many well-known scholars such as Abul Kalam Azad, Allama Iqbal, Ubaidullah Sindhi and George Bernard Shaw, were deeply impressed by his writings.