Noted historian Ahsan Raza Khan passes away

Historian Ahsan Raza Khan, whose students include Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, has passed away after a brief illness here.

He breathed his last at IGMC hospital here last evening.

Khan, 72, is survived by two daughters, family said.

He started his career as fellow from Aligarh Muslim University and later moved to Indian Institute of Advance Studies Shimla.

Khan joined Himachal University in early eighties and held prestigious positions including founder chairman of Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.

He also had the honour of having Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai as his student in HP University.

A member of Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) for a long period, Khan also served at the Central University of Hyderabad for a brief period.

Khan wrote "Chieftains in the Mughal Empire during the reign of Akbar" in 1977, and "The Ayodhaya Syndrome" in the aftermath to the demolition of Babri Mosque.

Vice-Chancellor and teachers of HP University have condoled the death of the historian.