| Ahmed Shah Bokhari ( Patras) was born in Peshawar on 1st October 1898. His early education was in Peshawar. In 1916 he moved from Islamia College, Peshawar to joinGovernment College, Lahore. In 1922 he completed his M.A. in English from Government College, Lahore, and was appointed as lecturer at Government College, Lahore. He did this job from 1922 - 1925. In 1923 he married Zubaida Wanchoo, a Punjabi-speaking Kashmiri lady, and daughter of a Superintendent of Police. They had three children - two sons Mansoor & Haroon, and a daughter Roshan Ara. Roshan Ara died as a child. From 1925 - 1927 he studied at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University to complete a Tripos in English, with a first class first From 1927 - 1939 he was a Professor at Government College Lahore. During this period his literary pursuits and teaching skills flourished. In 1927 he published his famous essays "Patras Kay Mazameen", which had been written a few years earlier. In 1939 he was appointed Deputy Director-General of All-India Radio in Delhi. From 1941 - 1947 he remained Director General, All India Radio, Delhi 1947 - 1950 he was Principal, Government College Lahore. During this time he resurrected the Government College, and these years came to be known as the golden years of Government College Lahore. From 1951 - 1954 he served as Pakistan's first Permanent Representative at the United Nations. From 1954 - 1958, he worked with the Secretary General of the United nations, as the Under-Secretary of the United Nations, Head of Information He passed away on 5th December 1958 in New York and is buried in Valhalla Cemetery, New York. |