Dayaram Gidumal
Dayaram Gidumal Shahani or Rishi Dayaram, was an Indian social reformer, judge, poet, and scholar. He was known as the godfather of Sindhi Hindus.
Life
Born in Hyderabad, Sindh, Dayaram received his early education in Persian at home from Akhoond Noor Mahammed. He later studied at Elphinstone College in Bombay and joined the Civil Service. He rose to the position of Judicial Commissioner in Sindh but chose not to accept a position as High Court Judge.He helped establish the D.J. Sindh College in Karachi and supported education for women. He was a scholar of Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit. He retired in 1911 to Bombay where he lived in a "Blue Bungalow" on the beach. He founded the Seva Sadan along with Behramji Malabari. He published numerous books including Sata saheliyun and Chabak mana lai ain rihan. Works in English include The History of a Humble Soul, Something about Sindh and a biography of Malabari with an introduction by Florence Nightingale. He wrote on religion and spiritualism under the pen-names of Zero, Bijal and Sigma.