Eminent Muslim scholar Omar Khalidi dies in US

HYDERABAD - Eminent Muslim scholar and writer Omar Khalidi died in a train accident in Boston Monday, according to his family sources here.

He was 57 and survived by his wife and a daughter.

Hyderabad-born Khalidi, who articulated voice of Indian Muslims during many crises, was Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture librarian at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

According to the information reached here, Khalidi was hit by a train in Boston on the morning of Nov 29. His wife Nigar came to know of his death only in the evening when he did not return home and she contacted police.

The accident occurred when, Khalidi, who had gone to MIT, was trying to catch a train to buy medicines at the next station.

Khalidi’s death has sent shock waves in the Muslim community in India and abroad. Condolence messages poured in from the Indian diaspora in the US, Canada, Britain and the Gulf. His friends here expressed shock and profound grief over his death.

He was the author of more than two dozen books and scores of academic articles. His famous book “Hyderabad: After the Fall” captured the events during the police action in then Hyderabad State in 1948 and the subsequent developments.

His other books include “Khaki and Ethnic Violence in India: Army, Police, and Paramilitary Forces During Communal Riots” and “Muslims in Indian Economy”.

He did his BA in history at the Wichita State University, Kansas, ALM from the Harvard University School of Extension Studies, and PhD from the University of Wales-Lampeter, Britain.

He worked at the King Saud University in Riyadh in 1980s and then moved back to the United States and joined MIT.

He was also associated with Indian Muslim organisations in the US including the American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin, the Indian Muslim Relief and Charities, the Indian Muslim Council, and the Association of Indian Muslims.