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Samuel Martin Burke

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Samuel Martin Burke
Born3 July 1906
Lyallpur, Punjab, British India
Died9 October 2010(2010-10-09) (aged 104)
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Occupations
  • Civil servant
  • diplomat
  • writer
  • professor
Relatives

Samuel Martin Burke or S. M. Burke (3 July 1906, Martinpur – 9 October 2010)[1][2] was a Pakistani diplomat, writer and professor.[1][2] He was also a member of the Indian Civil Service until 15 August 1947, when he became the only Asian to retire.[1][3] After Pakistan's independence, he joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan and was appointed as a counselor at the Pakistani High Commission in London.

Martin Burke served as a minister in the Pakistani embassy in Washington, D.C. in 1952.[4] In 1953, he became the first Pakistani Christian head of a diplomatic mission when he was appointed Minister to Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark.[1] He also served as chargé d’ affaires in Rio de Janeiro, deputy high commissioner in London, followed by being appointed as Pakistan's ambassador to Thailand, and finally as the High Commissioner to Canada between 1959 and 1961, following which he retired.[4]

Upon retirement he became professor at the University of Minnesota from 1961 to 1975.[2] Burke has authored a number of books covering Pakistan's history and foreign policy.[4] He was honoured with Sitara-e-Pakistan by the Government of Pakistan.

Personal life

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Samuel Burke was born in a Punjabi Christian family of twelve brothers and sisters in Martinpur, a village in the Punjab Province of British India (now in Pakistan). His sister was the Indian Hindi and Punjabi film actress Chand Burke who appeared in veteran actor Raj Kapoor's award winning film, Boot Polish (1954), where she played the pivotal role of Baby Naaz and Rattan Kumar's tormenting aunt - thus making him the grand uncle of Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh.[5][6]

Awards

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Books

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  1. Pakistan's Foreign Policy: An Historical Analysis (1973)
  2. Mainsprings of Indian and Pakistani Foreign Policy (1974)
  3. Akbar, the Greatest Mogul (1989)
  4. Bahadur Shah, the Last Mogul Emperor of India (1995)
  5. The British Raj in India: An Historical Review (1995)
  6. Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah: His Personality and his Politics (1997)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Professor Samuel Burke The Telegraph 17 November 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2015
  2. ^ a b c Samuel Martin Burke Obituary The Guardian 14 November 2010 Retrieved 16 August 2015
  3. ^ a b Samuel Martin Burke (1906-2010): Civil Servant, Diplomat, Historian Pakistaniat 1 December 2010 Retrieved 16 August 2015
  4. ^ a b c Bangash, Yaqoob Khan (10 November 2019). "When Christians were partitioned in the Punjab -- I". The News. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Did you know that Ranveer Singh's grandmother Chand Burke was a popular Bollywood actress?". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Did you know Ranveer Singh's grandmother Chand Burke was an actress". Filmfare. Retrieved 1 August 2020.


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