Ghulam Haider Gagroo
| Kh Ghulam Haider Gagroo | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 1912 |
| Died |
11 November 1975 Kishtwar |
| Resting place | Kishtwar |
| Pen name | Qaiser Kishtwari |
| Occupation | Magistrate and poet |
| Language | Kashmiri and Urdu |
| Ethnicity | Kashmiri |
| Education | High School Kishtwar |
| Alma mater | Saint High School Kishtwar |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Subject | Islam |
| Relatives | Kh Abdul Ghani Gagroo and Khurshid Beghum |
Kh Ghulam Haider Gagroo (February 1912 – 11 November 1975), also known as Qaiser Kishtwari, was a Magistrate in Kashmir who composed poetry in the Kashmiri and Urdu languages. Dr Zaheer Uddin describes Qaiser Kishtwari as "a popular Kashmiri and Urdu poet; he wrote a number of poems and articles, including Islamic books."[1]
Education
Kh Ghulam Haider Gagroo completed his basic education from High School Kishtwar, Interence from Saint High School Kishtwar, FA from Purtab College Srinagar, and BA from Prince Wales College Jammu. After graduation he joined Alighar Muslim University and completed an LLB in law. He was the first Muslim student among the 40,000 Muslim inhabitants of Udhampur Jammu & Kashmir who achiheved this degree.[2]
Judicial career
He started law practice in Kishtwar. His success as an attorney attracted the attention of the Government and was appointed as a prosecutor at Kishtwar, Jammu & Kashmir. His hard work and hard struggle made him the first registrar and then Munsif. He was transferred to Mirpur Jammu and Kashmir where he was working and the promoted as Magistrate to Mirpur where he remain until partition. During the partition in 1947 as he was with his family in Mirpur now known as Azad Kashmir, he did his duty in different areas of Asad Kashmir as a Magistrate until his force retirement in 1958 due to his honesty, integrity, and uprightnous. After his retirement he was also appointed as a Settlement deputy Commisoner at Okara Pakistan for a few months and again started law practise at Muzaffrarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir. When in 1935 the Anjuman-Adab Kishtwar was formed, Kh Ghulum Haider Gagroo became the first nominated president of this Anjuman.
Family life
The Gagroo Dynasty came from Srinagar to Kishtwar. One of the family members went with their family to Bhaderwah Tehsil Jammu kashmir and the other members came to Kishtwar. It was preliminary under Sikhism Rule. At this time, Hazoor Joo Gagroo was very famous in his dynasty and Kh Ghulam Haider Gagroo (also known as Qaisar Kishtwari) is the fourth generation in this family. His father was a great business person who through a lot of effort educated his son. Ghulam Haider Gagroo was born in 1912 to Kh Abdul Ghani Gagroo and Khurshid Beghum. In November 1975 when he went to visit his family in Kishtwar, he suffered a heart attack after only two days and died on 11 November 1975. He is buried in Kishtwar. He left behind twelve children, four of them died, others are in Pakistan including Waqar Haider a famous cardiologist and Farooq Haider, renowned engineer. The other two are in the United Kingdom including his son Yusuf Kishtwari who is now retired. He has a grand daughter by the name of Soraya Kishtwari who is a freelance journalist, and one son Ayaz Kishtwari, both are residing in the UK.