MYSURU: Historian and former vice-chancellor of Goa and Mangalore University Prof B Sheikh Ali passed away in Mysuru on Thursday, after a brief illness. Prof Ali (98) is survived by his wife, son and daughter, and a host of admiring students. He was laid to rest at Old Khabrastan at Tipu Circle on Thursday evening.
Sheikh Ali was an authority on Mysuru rulers Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan, and had carried out extensive research on the Mysuru kingdom in the British era. He authored 32 books and edited others, including Tipu Sultan: A Study in Diplomacy and Confrontation; Tipu Sultan, a Great Martyr; British Relations with Hyder Ali; Dr Zakir Hussain — Life & Times, A Comprehensive Biography, besides other Urdu publications.
Sheikh Ali, a resident of Saraswathipuram, loved his morning walk in Manasagangotri campus. He was an alumni of the prestigious university. He had a strong belief in secularism, Gandhi’s non-violence ways, and respect for cultural diversity. He worked for the educational empowerment of the poor. Prof Ali had a string of degrees: BA (Hons), MA from University Of Mysore (rankholder) and doctoral degrees from Aligarh Muslim University and London University. He had served as faculty at Mysore University, and was president of Indian History Congress, 47th Session, in 1986, and president of Indian History Section, XXVIII International Congress of Orientalists, Canberra, Australia, besides founder-president of Karnataka History Conference.
He was the recipient of the prestigious Golden Jubilee Award of Mysore University for research in Humanities and Social Sciences, Rajyotsava award for Distinguished Educationist, Mythic Society of India Award for Distinguished Historian, and Maulana Jauhar Award in 2003. After his retirement, Sheikh Ali founded Sultan Shaheed Educational Trust, Mysuru, which established Deeniyat Madrasa and a dozen other institutions in Mysuru.