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Civil society is often considered a western construct with little meaning and application in the eastern societies. To many western writers, the western civil societies emerging in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were harbingers of social development in Europe and America by promoting social welfare and education services in those regions. On the contrary, the masses in the eastern societies were thought to be illiterate and backward until the advent of the European colonial governments. However, history bears the evidence that education has been one primary goal of voluntary human associations in Indian Subcontinent since the ancient times. In this region the dissemination of religious and secular education was always considered a sacred duty performed or patronized by the state as well as the society. The Gurukulas, pathshalas and madrassahs established in the ancient and medieval periods by various communities in the Subcontinent have been agents of social change here. The trend became definitely obvious during the British period with a systematic education policy of the state and a vigorous nonprofit activity of the civil society. In this context, this paper is an attempt to bring forward various efforts of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the promotion of education in the areas which now comprise Pakistan during the various periods before the partition of 1947. It also tends to explore the impact of those efforts and the extent to which they could bring a social change in those areas and questions the western claims of bringing the light of knowledge to the ‘heathen peoples’ of South Asia. The paper has been completed with the help of various primary and secondary sources as well as interviews with some civil society activists who had some memories of the pre-partition days. It was actually started in 2003 but due to other engagements could not be completed on time. The author is particularly thankful to the wonderful educationists and civil society activists such as late Ms. Gool Minwala, Ibrahim Joyo, Qutubuddin Aziz and Maulana Shah Turab-ul-Haq Qadri for sharing their pre-partition experiences and insights with her. May their souls rest in peace!

Non-Profit Endeavors For Education in Pre-Partition Pakistan: A Historical Appraisal of Civil Society's Role as a Harbinger of Social Change