Sirajussajidin Katki

Sayed Sirajussajidin Katki (1939–2006) was an Indian Islamic scholar, poet, and orator. He dedicated almost his entire career to Jamia Islamia Markazul Uloom, Sungra. He also served as the 4th President of Jamiat Ulama Odisha and the second Amīr-e-Sharī'at of Imārat-e-Shar'ia, Odisha.

Early life and education
Sayed Sirajussajidin Katki was born in 1939 in Daryapur, Sungra, in the Cuttack district of the Indian state of Orissa (now Odisha). He received his primary education in Persian and Arabic languages from Muhammad Ismail Katki, Abdul Quddus Katki, Abdul Ghaffar Maninathpuri, Muhammad Ishaq Daryapuri, Muhammad Ismail Patnavi, etc. at Madrasa Arabia Islamia Sungra (now Jamia Islamia Markazul Uloom, Sungra).

His contemporaries include Manzoor Ahmad Qasmi, Amīdul Islam Qasmi, Abdul Matīn Miftahi, Ghulam Kibriya Miftahi, Muhammad Jalal Qasmi, Ikramul Haque Qasmi, Abdur Rahim Miftahi, and Muhammad Ishaq Patnavi, etc.

For higher education, he moved to Darul Uloom Deoband, where he enrolled and graduated in 1380–79 AH (1960–61 AD). His classmates include the former mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband, Kafilur Rahman Nishat Usmani.

His Hadith teachers at Darul Uloom Deoband include Sayed Fakhruddin Ahmad, Muhammad Ibrahim Balyawi, Fakhrul Hasan Muradabadi, Bashir Ahmad Khan Bulandshahri, Zahūr Ahmad Deobandi, Sayed Hasan Deobandi, and Muhammad Tayyib Qasmi.

Career
After graduating from education, Katki started working at the school, and after that, he started serving as a teacher at Jamia Islamia Markazul Uloom under the guidance of his teacher Sayed Fakhruddin Ahmed and his father Sayed Zainul Abidīn. Then he was deputy rector until the demise of Muhammad Ismail Katki, but in spite of being deputy rector, Ismail Katki entrusted him with the full responsibility of the seminary in the presence of the Ulama and the people of Odisha on the occasion of the Ulama conference in the nineties. In this way, he dedicated his whole life to the development of Markazul Uloom.

He was the successor of his teacher, Sayed Muhammad Ismail Katki. In an interview, Ismail Katki said: "I have many disciples; among them, I have chosen Maulana Sayed Sirajussaajdīn, and I am confident that he will take these concerns and carry this caravan forward."

On November 2, 1986 (28 Safar 1407 AH), after the establishment of the Imārat-e-Sharī'a of India, in 1987, on the occasion of the Imārat Conference in Odisha, Ismail Kataki elected him deputy Amir-e-Sharī'at for Orissa; then, in 1992 or 1993, he was elected as the official deputy Amir-e-Sharī'at. During the lifetime of Ismail Katki, Sirajussajidin Katki was chosen as the vice president of the Jamiat Ulama Orissa and the president of the Majlis-e-Tahaffuz-e-Khatme Nubuwwat, Odisha. Then, before the funeral prayer of Ismail Katki on February 21, 2005 (11 Muharram 1426 AH), in the presence of scholars of Odisha, Sirajussajidin Katki was elected as the second Amir-e-Sharī'at of Odisha.

Similarly, after the demise of his teacher, he was also nominated as the president of Jamiat Ulama Odisha and the "Association of the Islamic and Arabic Seminaries of Odisha", a provincial branch of the All-India Association of Islamic and Arabic Seminaries, Darul Uloom Deoband. He held all these positions until his last breath. He has also been a member of the Odisha Waqf Board.

Other activities
Katki started his political life with the Communist Party of Odisha. He was also the vice president of the Odisha Communist Party. Then in the eighties, the former Chief Minister of Odisha, Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, who was associated with the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC), requested Ismail Katki to give me Maulvi Sirajussajidīn in any way. On Ismail Katki's insistence, Katki joined the "OPCC" and remained a member for life.

After the deadly cyclone in Odisha in 1999, Ghulam Nabi Azad came to Odisha and participated in a program held at CDA, Cuttack, in which Katki was also invited. At that time, after Katki's speech, Azad told Katki that people like you should participate in central politics.

Katki remained a member of the above-mentioned party during his life; his opinion was valued in the party, and his influence in the party was such that sometimes the members of the party went to Jamia Islamia Markazul Uloom Sungra to meet and consult with Katki.

Death
Sayed Sirajussajidin Katki died on October 21, 2006 (27 Ramadan 1427 AH) and was buried next to his teacher, Muhammad Ismail Katki, on the left side of the mosque at Jamia Islamia Markazul Uloom, Tabligh Nagar, Kood, in the Cuttack district of Odisha.

On his demise, regret was expressed in the meeting held on Monday, December 4, 2006 (12 Dhu al-Qadah 1427 AH) of the All-India Association of the Islamic and Arabic Seminaries, Darul Uloom Deoband.