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{{Short description|Pakistani historian and author (1936–2020)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Suhail Zaheer Lari
| image = Suhail Zaheer Lari.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1936|11|13|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Gorakhpur]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|12|05|1936|11|13|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Karachi]], [[Sindh]], Pakistan
| occupation = Historian and author
| known_for = Preservation of cultural heritage
| spouse = [[Yasmeen Lari]]
}}

'''Suhail Zaheer Lari''' (13 November 1936{{spnd}}5 December 2020; {{langx|ur|{{nq|سہیل ظہیر لاری}}}}) was a Pakistani historian and author who focused on research and documentation of the history of the [[Sindh]] region in Southern Pakistan.

He was a co-founder of the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan, a conservation organization which sought to draw awareness to the region's art, architecture, and cultural heritage.

== Early life ==
Lari was born in [[Gorakhpur]], in modern-day [[Uttar Pradesh]] state in India, on 13 November 1936, in what was then undivided British India and was raised in [[Allahabad]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Masood|first=Salman|date=21 January 2021|title=Suhail Zaheer Lari, Force for Preservation in Pakistan, Dies at 84|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/obituaries/suhail-zaheer-lari-dead-coronavirus.html|access-date=25 January 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=24 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124145029/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/21/obituaries/suhail-zaheer-lari-dead-coronavirus.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lari|first=Suhail Zaheer|title=Gorakhpur|url=https://www.suhaillaripakistan.com/chapters/Gorakhpur/|access-date=25 January 2021|website=Suhail Lari Pakistan|language=en|archive-date=31 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210131121213/https://www.suhaillaripakistan.com/chapters/Gorakhpur/|url-status=live}}</ref> His mother, Qabila Khatoon, was a homemaker while his father, [[Zahirul Hasnain Lari|Zaheer ul Hasnain Lari]] was a judge and lawyer. The family was known to be close to India's first prime minister, [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]. The family did not leave for Pakistan during the [[Partition of India]] in 1947, but, remained in Allahabad until 1950, when they moved to Lahore and later to Karachi.<ref name=":0" />

Lari studied politics, philosophy and economics at [[St Catherine's College, Oxford]], where he gained admission after writing to British philosopher [[Isaiah Berlin]].<ref name=":0" />

== Career ==
Returning from England after his studies, Lari spent two decades in the corporate world, becoming the managing director of Khyber Insurance Company. He gave up his role when the company was nationalized by the government.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Kazim|first=Syeda Shehrbano|date=21 July 2016|title=Conserving the country's heritage|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1272168|access-date=25 January 2021|website=DAWN.COM|language=en|archive-date=26 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726210949/http://www.dawn.com/news/1272168|url-status=live}}</ref> Post his retirement from the corporate world, he immersed himself in research and documentation of the history of the Sindh region of Southern Pakistan.<ref name=":0" />

Along with his wife, [[Yasmeen Lari]], he founded the [[Heritage Foundation Pakistan]] in 1980, as a conservation organization to generate awareness about Pakistan's art, architecture, and cultural heritage. Specifically, they focused on the preservation of over 600 historical buildings, many of which were in advanced stages of decay.<ref name=":0" /> In one of his noted actions, he drew attention to the [[Makli Necropolis]], through multiple proposals for its conservation leading to the cemetery becoming a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].<ref name=":0" />

As an author and a photographer, he generated interest and attention to the history of the Sindh region in Southern Pakistan.<ref name=":0" /> He wrote more than 60 books on history, heritage and culture including ''An Illustrated History of Sindh'', ''Neither Islamic nor Persian'', ''Makli under the Samma'', ''Makli under the Sufi'', ''Makli under Timurid'', and ''Meri Society Ke Log.''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Reporter|first=The Newspaper's Staff|date=6 December 2020|title=Suhail Lari dies of Covid-19|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1594194|access-date=25 January 2021|website=DAWN.COM|language=en|archive-date=4 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104153622/https://www.dawn.com/news/1594194|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Renowned author Suhail Lari passes away in Karachi {{!}} SAMAA|url=https://www.samaa.tv/living/2020/12/renowned-author-suhail-lari-passes-away-in-karachi/|access-date=25 January 2021|website=Samaa TV|date=5 December 2020 |language=en-US|archive-date=6 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201206211425/https://www.samaa.tv/living/2020/12/renowned-author-suhail-lari-passes-away-in-karachi/|url-status=live}}</ref> His book ''Meri Mitti Ke Log,'' chronicled the rise of [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]], Pakistan's fourth President, while ''Meri Society Ke Log'' was a societal snapshot of guests at his home.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Grief in the time of pandemic|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/757666-grief-in-the-time-of-pandemic|access-date=25 January 2021|website=www.thenews.com.pk|language=en|archive-date=3 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103053145/https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/757666-grief-in-the-time-of-pandemic|url-status=live}}</ref> He also wrote his own memoirs online documenting his life.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lari|first=Suhail Zaheer|title=Suhail Lari Pakistan|url=https://www.suhaillaripakistan.com/|access-date=25 January 2021|website=Suhail Lari Pakistan|language=en|archive-date=21 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821040113/http://www.suhaillaripakistan.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

He was an advocate of [[rainwater harvesting]] as a means to conserve groundwater and means to avoid flooding.<ref>{{Cite web|date=4 September 2020|title=Solution to flooding|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1577875|access-date=25 January 2021|website=DAWN.COM|language=en|archive-date=4 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904140615/https://www.dawn.com/news/1577875|url-status=live}}</ref> He also advocated the need for low-cost housing to train manpower to build earthquake and flood resistant housing.<ref>{{Cite web|date=16 September 2019|title=Housing for poor|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1505514|access-date=25 January 2021|website=DAWN.COM|language=en|archive-date=20 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190920124118/https://www.dawn.com/news/1505514|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Lari met his future wife [[Yasmeen Lari|Yasmeen Ahsan]] (later Yasmeen Lari) when he was in Lahore and she went on to study architecture in [[London]]. With their parents objecting to their marriage, he would write in his memoir that they threatened to get married in Scotland where the legal age for marriage was lower than that in England; their parents subsequently agreed to the union.<ref name=":0" /> His wife, Yasmeen went on to become a prominent architect in Pakistan. The couple had two sons and a daughter.<ref name=":0" /> Their house would be the site for artists, politicians, and writers to meet.<ref name=":2" />

Lari died on 5 December 2020 from [[COVID-19]] related complications. He was aged 84.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

== Publications ==

* {{Cite book|last=Lari|first=Suhail Zaheer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LfFtAAAAMAAJ|title=A History of Sindh|date=1994|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-577501-3|language=en}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Lari|first1=Suhail Zaheer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fRtuAAAAMAAJ&q=Suhail+zaheer+lari|title=The Jewel of Sindh: Samma Monuments on Makli Hill : with 326 Illustrations, 50 in Colour|last2=Lari|first2=Yasmeen|date=1997|publisher=Heritage Foundation|isbn=978-0-19-577901-1|language=en}}
* {{Cite book|last=Lari|first=Suhail Zaheer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f2KPGwAACAAJ|title=An Illustrated History of Sindh|date=2002|publisher=Heritage Foundation, Pakistan|language=en}}
* {{Cite book|last=Lari|first=Suhail Zaheer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kzuHAAACAAJ|title=Neither Islamic Nor Persian: A History of Muslim Painting|date=2002|publisher=Heritage Foundation Pakistan|isbn=978-0-00-969865-1|language=en}}
* {{Cite book|last=Lari|first=Suhail Zaheer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ot7nxQEACAAJ|title=Meri Mitti Kay Log|date=2012|publisher=Heritage Foundation of Pakistan|isbn=978-969-8655-17-4|language=en}}
* {{Cite book|last=Lari|first=Suhail Zaheer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zlVQtAEACAAJ|title=Makli Under the Sammas|date=2017|publisher=Heritage Foundation of Pakistan|isbn=978-969-8655-29-7|language=en}}
* {{Cite book|last=Lari|first=Suhail Zaheer|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a8wFugEACAAJ|title=Makli During Mughal Rule|date=2018|publisher=Heritage Foundation of Pakistan|isbn=978-969-8655-34-1|language=en}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1936 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Pakistani historians]]
[[Category:Pakistani conservationists]]
[[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Sindh]]
[[Category:Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford]]
[[Category:21st-century Pakistani historians]]
[[Category:People from Gorakhpur]]
[[Category:Muhajir people]]

Suhail Zaheer Lari - Revision history

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