Sirajul Haq Memon

Who was Sirajul Haq Memon?

Sirajul Haq Memon was an acclaimed Pakistani Sindhi language novelist, journalist, historian, scholar, linguist, story-writer, and advocate of the Supreme Court. He was born in Tando Jam town, Hyderabad District to school-teacher and poet Mohammad Yaqub Niaz on October 24, 1933, in a house of ten siblings. After completion of his early education, his family shifted from his native town to Hyderabad where he completed his matriculation in 1950, after which he moved to Karachi. Studying at DJ National College, he also started working as a part-time sub-editor at the weekly Sindh Observer to meet the expenses of education and boarding at the Jinnah Courts. Later he shifted back to Hyderabad, where he worked with Mohammad Usman Diplai at his printing press and later as an assistant in the Sindhi Adabi Board, where he along with Mohammad Ibrahim Joyo and Ghulam Rabbani Agro translated classical works from English to Sindhi.

In 1957 he passed civil services examination and was appointed in the income tax department. During his government job he continued to write and meet politicians at will, which angered the government.