Identity: Eminent Historian, Educationist, eminent political scientist, Padma Bhushan Awardee, and Distinguished Scholar of Deccani History

Professor Haroon Khan Sherwani was born on 30 March 1891 in Datauli, district Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. He received his early education at Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental School, Aligarh; High School, Moradabad; and Paradise High School, London. He later went to England for higher studies, earned a B.A. (Honours) from the University of Oxford, and completed Bar-at-Law in 1912. His leadership, organizational skills, and commitment to public service were evident from his student days; during his time at Oxford, he was elected President of the Addison Club and the London Indian Association.

After returning to India, he became active in political and academic spheres. In 1915, he became a member of the Muslim University Foundation Committee and, during the same period, joined the Indian National Congress, participating in various Congress sessions and nationalist movements. In 1919, he was appointed Assistant Professor at Osmania University, marking the beginning of his distinguished academic career. In 1929, he was appointed Head of the Departments of History and Political Science at Osmania University, and in 1945 became Principal of Nizam College. From 1946 to 1948, he was associated with the renowned Anglo-Arabic College in Delhi. Between 1948 and 1951, he again served as Head of the Department of Political Science at Osmania University.

Professor Sherwani’s scholarly distinction rests particularly on his deep research into the history of the Deccan. He produced authoritative works on the Bahmani Sultanate, Deccani culture, Muslim political thought, and Islamic governance. His major publications include The Bahmani Sultans of the Deccan, Deccani Culture, Muslim Political Thought and Their System of Government, Principles of Political Science, Fundamentals of Political Science, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Hindu-Muslim Unity, The Quranic Theory of State, and History of Ancient Greece (translation). His writings are marked by scholarly rigor, intellectual honesty, and historical insight.

In recognition of his services to education and literature, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan in 1969, while Aligarh Muslim University conferred upon him an honorary D.Litt. degree in 1976. In acknowledgment of his academic stature, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad, established the Haroon Khan Sherwani Centre for Deccan Studies in his name, which remains an important center for Deccan-related research.

Death: He passed away in Hyderabad Deccan on 15 September 1980.