Zakaullah Dehlvi
Maulvi Mohammad Zakaullah, also known as Munshi Zakaullah Dehlvi, (20 April 1832 – 7 November 1910) was an Urdu writer, translator and professor in British India. He wrote Tarikh-e-Hindustan, a fourteen‑volume history of India in Urdu.
He was born in Delhi. His father, Mohammad Sanaullah, tutored a Mughal prince. He studied with his grandfather Hafiz Mohammad Barkatullah and at Delhi College, where he learned from teachers including Ramchundra and Mamluk Ali Nanautawi.
Zakaullah began his career as a scholar at Delhi College and worked in the education department until retirement at age 55. At Delhi College he led the Vernacular Translation Society, translating Western science, history and philosophy into Urdu.
In 1855 he became Deputy Inspector of Schools for Bulandshahr and Muradabad. In 1866 he was headmaster of the Normal School in Delhi. In 1872 he became professor of vernacular literature and science at Muir Central College in Allahabad, retiring in 1877 with a pension. He was awarded the titles Khan Bahadur and Shams-ul-Ulema.
After retirement he supported the Aligarh Movement, working with Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Maulvi Samiullah, and he translated works for the Scientific Society alongside Maulvi Nazir Ahmad and Altaf Hussain Hali.
He died in Delhi on 7 November 1910, aged 78. He was survived by his son Inayatullah Delhvi, who was also an Urdu writer and translator.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:03 (CET).