Dr. Khalil Ahmed Ansari’s Death Marks the End of an Era

Dr. Khalil Ahmed Ansari, one of the greatest geniuses and architects of Modern Malegaon, passed away around 02:00 PM Saturday, September 5, 2026.

Sunday September 6, 2026 0:59 AM, Abdul Haleem Siddiqui

Malegaon: Dr. Khalil Ahmed Ansari, one of the greatest geniuses and architects of Modern Malegaon, passed away around 02:00 PM Saturday, September 5, 2026. He was 98.

His funeral prayers was held today after Maghrib Salah at Masjid Hamdiyia following which he was laid to rest at Bada Qabristan.

Dr Khalil Ansari had been bedridden for the past one year. His grandchildren, Dr. Shaheem and Moaz Ahmed, and his daughter-in-law (wife of Dr. Maqsood Khalil Ahmed) had spared no effort in taking his care during his last days.

The demise of Dr. Khalil Ahmed Ansari has marked the end of an era. Dr Khalil’s services and contributions were not only limited to medicine and surgery, but also found imprints in the educational, social, political, industrial and co-operative sectors.

May Allah have mercy on Dr Khalil. What a high-ranking person he was!

Dr Khali was a scholar, thinker and intellectual, an educationist besides being an expert in medicine and therapy. Certainly, great personalities like Dr. Khalil Ahmed Ansari are born in centuries.

Birth and Family Background

Dr Khalil was born in a weaver’s family in Islampura, Malegaon on January 03, 1929. His father, Qari Muhammad Hassan Qasmi, was a Graduate of Madrasa Baitul Uloom.

Qari Hassan was among the first from Malegaon who had graduated farom Darul Uloom Deoband, Uttar Pradesh. He was a contemporary of Maulvi Muhammad Usman and Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani.

Dr. Khalil's maternal grandmother, Zainab d/o Kamal, was the first female Councilor of the Malegaon Municipal Council. She was the member of the Malegaon Municipality from 1939 to 1950 for consecutive three terms.

Dr. Khalil's maternal grandfather, Kamal Jaan, was a Freedom Fighter. He was imprisoned Arthur Road Jail, Mumbai for 2 years for participating in the Khilafat Movement (Non-Cooperation Movement) of 1921.

Education and Career in Medical Profession

After passing the seventh final from Anglo-Urdu High School in 1946, Dr Khalil joined Ismail Yusuf College in Mumbai. In 1949, he got admission at Grant Medical College, J.J. Hospital, Mumbai. After MBBS degree, Dr Khalil also obtained Diploma in Public Health.

Back in Malegaon in 1955, Dr Khalil was appointed as Medical Officer, and later as Municipal Health Officer.

Dr Khalil started private practice at his clinic at Mushawerat Chowk in Nayapura in 1955. Till then, only three Muslim doctors were practicing in Malegaon - Dr. Sheikh Salim, Dr. Peer Mohammed Rahmani and Dr. Mahmood Ansari.

Dr Khalil’s expertise in diagnosis, treatment and surgery made him extremely popular. Dr Khalil Ansari, a respected figure by now, performed medical practice along with minor surgeries at his Mushawerat Chowk Clinic from 1955 to 2018 for 63 consecutive years.

Dr Khalil had also established the City Hospital – Malegaon’s first private hospital, at Mushawerat Chowk in 1965. The hospital operated with the help of Dr. Syed – the first Muslim Surgeon of Malegaon City.

Dr Khalil later built the present Noor Hospital building for City Hospital’s expansion. But because of financial crisis, Dr Khalil was forced to sell off this building to Khalil Seth who used it for his son Dr Saeed Faizee’s Noor Hospital.

Social, Industrial and Political Contributions

When Malegaon High School was started in 1956 by Anjuman Moinut-Tulba, Dr Khalil - as one of the oldest and founding members of the Anjuman, was among the forefront of this educational movement.

Dr Khaleel was also the one who started Tarbiyati Markaz - the first KG School of Malegaon, in 1963. It operated from the premises where Darul Uloom Muhammadiya Kidwai Road is currently located.

Dr Khalil became the Director and Chairman of the Malegaon Industrial Society in 1965, and remained on the post till 1978. Dr Khalil also played the pivotal role in establishing the Janata Co-Operative Bank (operational since 1973 till today).

In 1970, Dr Khalil started efforts to establish a Spinning Mill in Malegaon – a known textile hub. His efforts paid off and the spinning mill was inaugurated in 1980. It was the first Co-Operative Spinning Mill established and run by Muslim weavers in India.

Former MLA Haroon Ansari and former MLC and Ex-President of Malegaon Municipal Council, Shabir Seth, acknowledged that it was Dr. Khalil who made the paperwork and fulfilled all the legal requirements to establish the spinning mill from day one.

[Dr Khalil Ansari (First from Right in Third Row - January 1948/File Photo)]

Among Dr Khalil’s contribution in the field of education, there is also a mention of the “children's garden” that was started near Noor Hospital. This was also a KG school.

Dr Khalil lent all his support to Haroon Ansari in establishing the JAT Campus to provide education to the girl students. During his tenure as the President, he got the land on which the JAT Campus is currently located approved by the Malegaon Municipality.

Dr Khalil’s political journey was also extraordinary. In those days, only two political parties used to rule in Malegaon - the Socialist Party of Nihal Ahmed and the Congress Party of Haroon Ansari and Shabir Seth.

Dr. Khalil came with the concept of the Third Front for the first time. He contested the Malegaon Municipal elections from the front. The front won 18 of the total 42 seats based on which Dr Khalil got elected as the President of the Malegaon Municipal Council.

During his one-year presidential term, Dr Khalil carried out countless quality and memorable work that included establishment of Shahidon ki Uadgar at Qedwai Road, the purchase of land for Aziz Kallu Cricket and Kabaddi stadium, providing land for the JAT Campus, and construction of cement concrete roads in the Powerloom City.

It was during his tenure the construction of Khandelwal School at Aman Chowk was approved. While serving as the President of the Malegaon Municipality, he had also established a school on Jamiat-ul-Salihat Road.

In 1977, through his efforts, the Power Loom Service Center was started at Kidwai Road with the approval of the Central Government’s Ministry of Textiles.

Besides, Dr Khalil conceived the idea of a filter plant in Malegaon. The paperwork for the project was started when he was the President of the Malegaon Municipality. Since his presidency was for a very short period, the credit for the construction and completion of the filter plant went to the only female MLA of Malegaon, Ayesha Hakim.

Interestingly, it was the political strategy of Dr Khalil Ansari that helped Ayesha Hakim win the Maharashtra Assembly Elections in 1972 and become MLA.

Dr. Khalil Ahmed Ansari was highly educated. Despite being very busy, he remained at the forefront of all religious and national affairs. Under the leadership of Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani, he played a leading role in all the national movements from 1960 to 2000.

Dr Khalil was also a Trustee of the Madrasa Mahad e Millat and also worked from the platform of the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat.

He also established the Power Loom Owners Association, and also led the formation of Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) at the state level. He was also associated with the Malegaon Society of Education, Mumbai.

Political leadership and dignitaries like Indira Gandhi, Dilip Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, George Fernandes, Devi Gowda, Shankar Rao Chauhan and others visited Malegaon. During these visits, it was Dr Khalil Ansari who would apprise them about the problems faced by the local residents and powerloom weavers.