KARACHI, Jan 22: A noted scholar, folklorist and Sindhi writer, Shaikh Mohammad Ismail died on Thursday evening after protracted illness. He was 80. He was also the eldest brother of Shaikh Aziz, Dawn's edition-in-charge.

He worked for the Sindh education department. He was a scholar in lexicography and worked in various projects such as the Sindhi Dictionary Scheme, comprising 22 volumes; Sindhi-Urdu Dictionary, Urdu-Sindhi Dictionary, a collection of folklore comprising 48 volumes.

Besides, he was a compiler of Encyclopaedia Sindhica, of which two volumes are under print under the auspices of the Sindhi Language Authority. His funeral will take place at 1pm on Friday at Tando Agha, Hyderabad.