Ahmed Ghulamali Chagla

Ahmed Ghulam Ali Chagla (31 May 1902 – 5 February 1953) was a Pakistani composer and writer who composed the music of Pakistan's national anthem in 1949: it became the first anthem melody played officially, and his tune was adopted as Pakistan's first national anthem music. Born in Karachi into a prominent Khoja Ismaili family known for wood carving, he studied both Western and Eastern music in India and England, travelled widely in the East and the West researching the history and theory of music and the cultures of many countries, and died before the anthem was officially adopted in August 1954. ^{1 2}

Chagla was born in Karachi into a prominent Khoja Ismaili family known for wood carving, which had achieved considerable affluence. He attended the Sindh Madressatul Islam school in Karachi and the National College of Arts, took a bachelor's degree in Eastern classical music from the Oriental College of Music in Poona, then studied Western classical music in London, becoming a Licentiate of Trinity College of Music in 1928; he also studied the Greek, Rajputani and European systems of music. The English article adds that he was an active member of the Theosophical Society. His family's Ismaili origin and his Theosophical membership are both recorded here as the sources give them; neither stands as a recorded school affiliation of his own. ¹

Chagla worked in Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Ceylon, Burma and India, researching the history and theory of music and the culture of each country, and practised both Western and Eastern classical music. By 1935 he had composed at least 43 works, including music for stage plays, piano pieces and songs. His most noted work came in 1949: in December 1948 the Government of Pakistan formed a committee to select a national anthem, and in March 1949 his "Pak Sar Zameen" was placed among the top three compositions; his music was adopted in August 1949 as the anthem tune, to which the poet Hafeez Jullundhri later wrote the words. ^{1 3}

His books include Selection of Music for Pakistani Films (1951), and he wrote articles on music and culture. ¹

Chagla died in Karachi on 5 February 1953, about a year and a half before the national anthem was officially adopted in August 1954. Decades later, on 23 August 1996, the Government of Pakistan posthumously awarded him the Pride of Performance. ^{1 2}

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