Muhammad Usman Diplai
Encyclopedia
Muhammad Usman Diplai, popularly known as Diplai (13 June 1908 – 8 February 1981), was a figure of Sindhi literature
and journalism. He was awarded Pride of Performance
for his works by President of Pakistan
General Pervez Musharraf
on 23 March 2004.
He was born at Diplo
(Tharparkar District
) to a middle class family. As per family traditions, he had to engage himself in business. Due to unfavourable circumstances, however, he could not even complete his education. In early life, he worked with some Landlords (zamindar
s), of the area as a clerk, but continued reading newspapers and magazines. He also acquired proficiency in Gujrati, Hindi, Gurmukhi, Urdu and working knowledge in English and Persian languages.
He founded Islamia Press, Quran Press and the Islami Dar-ul- Ishaat, the Adar-i-Insanyat, the Diplai Academy right before the Second World War one after another, at the historic town of Mirpurkhas, and then moved to Hyderabad in 1942 to complete his mission. He was an essayist, journalist, publisher, distributor, and printer of the Sindhi language.
published from Delhi by Khwaja Hassan Nizamani, which carried an article about the conquest of Sindh by the young warrior Muhammad Bin Qasim
. Diplai wrote a letter in Urdu to the editor pinpointing certain historical inaccuracies in the write-up. Hassan Nizami was so much impressed by the letter that he published it as an article. It proved a source of inspiration to Diplai and he started contributing to 'Munadi' and Deen-o-Duniya (Urdu) journals regularly. Later, his Sindhi stories appeared in the Sindhi monthlies such as Taraqqi and Ilm Dunya.
Sindhi literature
Sindhi literature is very rich and is generally considered to be among the world's oldest. Its writers have contributed extensively in various forms of literature both in poetry and prose.- Sufi literature and poetry :...
and journalism. He was awarded Pride of Performance
Pride of Performance
Pride of Performance , is one of the highest civil award given and conferred by the Pakistan Government to Pakistan's citizens in recognition of distinguished merit in the fields of Literature, Arts, Sports, Medicines, and Science for civilians in most particular cases.The announcement of civil...
for his works by President of Pakistan
President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
General Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
on 23 March 2004.
He was born at Diplo
Diplo, Pakistan
Diplo is a town in the Sindh province of Pakistan. It is located at 24°28'0N 69°35'0E with an altitude of 26 meters . It is located in Thar desert....
(Tharparkar District
Tharparkar District
Tharparkar District is one of twenty three districts of Sindh province in Pakistan. It is headquarters is at Mithi. It has the lowest Human Development Index of all districts in Sindh.-Demography:...
) to a middle class family. As per family traditions, he had to engage himself in business. Due to unfavourable circumstances, however, he could not even complete his education. In early life, he worked with some Landlords (zamindar
Zamindar
A Zamindar or zemindar , was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, who held enormous tracts of land and ruled over and taxed the bhikaaris who lived on batavaslam. Over time, they took princely and royal titles such as Maharaja , Raja , Nawab , and Mirza , Chowdhury , among others...
s), of the area as a clerk, but continued reading newspapers and magazines. He also acquired proficiency in Gujrati, Hindi, Gurmukhi, Urdu and working knowledge in English and Persian languages.
He founded Islamia Press, Quran Press and the Islami Dar-ul- Ishaat, the Adar-i-Insanyat, the Diplai Academy right before the Second World War one after another, at the historic town of Mirpurkhas, and then moved to Hyderabad in 1942 to complete his mission. He was an essayist, journalist, publisher, distributor, and printer of the Sindhi language.
Literary career
In 1923, it so happened that he came across an issue of the Urdu weekly MunadiMunadi
Munadi is an Indonesian footballer who is currently playing for Persib in the Indonesian Super League. The 2009/2010 season is his first season playing as a professional footballer. Before, he played in the Persib junior team.-Amateur:...
published from Delhi by Khwaja Hassan Nizamani, which carried an article about the conquest of Sindh by the young warrior Muhammad Bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim Al-Thaqafi was a Umayyad general who, at the age of 17, began the conquest of the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born in the city of Taif...
. Diplai wrote a letter in Urdu to the editor pinpointing certain historical inaccuracies in the write-up. Hassan Nizami was so much impressed by the letter that he published it as an article. It proved a source of inspiration to Diplai and he started contributing to 'Munadi' and Deen-o-Duniya (Urdu) journals regularly. Later, his Sindhi stories appeared in the Sindhi monthlies such as Taraqqi and Ilm Dunya.