Khalifa Mohammad Asadullah
Khalifa Mohammad Asadullah was a pioneer of the library movement in the Indian subcontinent before 1947. He was also the first prominent librarian to opt for Pakistan at the time of independence in 1947.
Early life
He was born on 6 August 1890 in Lahore, British India to Maulvi Mohammd Ziaullah and Alam Jan of Simla. He received his basic education in Lahore and graduated from Forman Christian College, Lahore in 1913.Marriage and family
In 1908, he married Hameeda Begum in Lahore and fathered 14 children. His sons included Khalifa Mohd Iftikharullah TQA, Khalifa Mohd Naseemullah, Khalifa Mohd Hameedullah, Khalifa Mohd Ihsanullah, Khalifa Mohd Zafarullah, Khalifa Mohd Aminullah. His sons-in-law included AVM Saeedullah Khan and Pakistani diplomat, Enver Murad; his daughters-in-law included Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah and his great granddaughters include the Pakistani novelist, Uzma Aslam Khan.Training
He studied under the American librarian Asa Don Dickinson in 1915 at the University of the Punjab.Career
In 1916, he became the first qualified librarian of the Government College in Lahore. He then became the librarian of MAO College in 1919. In 1921, he joined the Imperial Secretariat Library in New Delhi and Simla, a post he held for 8 years.In 1930, he was appointed the librarian of the Imperial Library in Calcutta, a post which he held for about 17 years from 1930 - 1947. While there, he started the library training programme.