BiographySyed Muhammad Jafari
Syed Muhammad Jafari was born in Bharatpur, India, in December, 1905. According to the prevalent custom, his early education and training was carried out at home. He earned the 'sanad' of Munshi Fazil at the age of 14 and learned both Urdu (nastaleeq) and English calligraphy. He also learned the Quran and its qiraat at home. His uncle Syed Mohammed Abdullah Rizvi was an educationist and a learned man of letters in his time. He taught Syed Mohammed Jafari during his childhood in addition to private tutors.
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His father Syed Mohammed Ali Jafari was an educationist. With a M.A. in History and a M.A. in Political science, his father was the first principal of Islamia College, Railway Road, Lahore.
Syed Mohammed Jafari entered the D.A.V. School in Lahore, presently Islamia College, and passed his matriculation with distinction in 1922. Subsequently, he was admitted to Government College, Lahore and obtained a B.Sc.(Hons.) degree in Chemistry in 1928.
With a natural inclination towards literature, he completed M.A. in Persian from Oriental College Lahore and M.O.L (Master of Oriental Languages) from Oriental College Lahore as well.
Syed Muhammad Jafari went back to Government College, Lahore, to earn is M.A. in English literature and also joined Mayo College of Arts, presently National College of Arts and learnt painting and sculptor. His teachers at the Mayo College included the famous Abdur Rahman Chughtai.
He attended the Teacher's Training College in Lahore and keeping with the family tradition started his career as a teacher. He first taught at Government Central Model School, Lahore, followed by teaching assignments at Government School in Jehlum and Government College, Lyallpur.
Syed Muhammad Jafari joined the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the Press Information Department in New Delhi around 1940. He held assignments in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Tehran, Iran. He went to Iran in February 1964 as Press and Cultural Attaché. He retired in 1966 and settled in Karachi. He passed away in Karachi on January 6, 1976.
