GUWAHATI, May 12 � Prominent educationist and former principal of Cotton College, Prof Ashraf Ali breathed his last this morning. He was 91. He was a resident of FA Road, Machkhowa.
Prof Ali did his metric from Cotton Collegiate School in 1938 and completed his graduation from Cotton College before obtaining his MA degree from Dacca University in Economics and Political Science.
He served in Murarichand College in Sylhet district , which was then in Assam for a brief period before joining Cotton College in 1946 and subsequently became the head of the Civics, Political Science and Economics Department in 1968.
In 1968, at the request of the then Nagaland Chief Minister TN Angami and then Assam Chief Minister Bimala Prasad Chaliha, Prof Ali joined the Fazal Ali College as its founder principal. After serving the college for four years, he returned to Assam and joined the Education Department as the Inspector of Schools, Dibrugarh. Later he was transferred to Shillong as the Joint Director, Public Instructions.
In 1974-75, Prof Ali joined the Cotton College as its principal upto 1979 when he joined as the DPI and retired from service in 1981.
Prof Ali was also associated with the NCC and took training in Nagpur Institute of Civil Defence. He served as the secretary of the Bharat Sevak Samaj. He was associated with different socio cultural organisations including Guwahati Idgah, West Guwahati Bihu Sanmilan, Guwahati Kabarstan, Machkhowa Bura Masjid, Gandhi Mandap, etc all throughout his life.
The Cotton College family today mourned the death of Prof Ali in a condolence meeting, while, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi also condoled the death of the educationist.
