[Reader-list] Fwd: A disgraceful book on 1857

[Ajmal Kamal]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: C.M. Naim <cmnaim at sbcglobal.net>
Date: Sep 25, 2007 10:03 PM
Subject: A disgraceful book
To:

I just got a book that is the shittiest piece of scholarship I've
seen in recent years. Its subject matter looked so interesting and
promising that  I got a friend to bring it all the way from India.
Now as I read it, I find that each page contains something that gets
me seething.  After about a 40 minutes of seething I sat down and
hammered out the following.  For your edification. For circulation to
others for their edification. This book should be shredded right away.

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A DISGRACEFUL BOOK ON 1857


The book has two title pages: one for the English section says, '1857
Revisited: Based on Persian and Urdu Documents,' the other, for the
bulkier Urdu section, reads, 'Dastawezat-e Ghadar 1857' [Documents of
the Mutiny, 1857]. The editor/compiler is S. M. Azizuddin Husain, who
is described on the flap as a Professor of History and the Director
of Premchand Archives and Literary Centre at the Jamia Millia
Islamia, New Delhi. It is published by Kanishka Publishers, New
Delhi, and sells for Rs. 750.

The learned editor has delved into numerous archives—a long list is
given by him—and chosen 150 Persian and Urdu documents to put
together this book. In doing so, he claims to commemorate the 150th
anniversary of the events. I imagine, if asked, Prof. Husain would
describe his book as consisting of a detailed introductory essay in
Urdu, translated into English for the larger public, followed by 150
selected documents, also translated into English for the general
good. It would sound like a most commendable project; unfortunately,
it has been executed deplorably.

In the introduction, Prof Husain has many axes to grind, and he
grinds them well: historians don't know Urdu and Persian; archives
are not properly maintained; archivists fail to do the minimum; ICHR
ignores its academic mission; Aligarh Muslim University and the Jamia
Millia fall short in historical research. To that I say, well and
good, for a few of them are my 'axes' too. But then I wait for him to
tell me what is the first thing of importance in any anthology: the
over-arching or defining purpose behind it. He never bothers with
that issue, except to say that he was instructed by a friend to not
miss the chance of publishing a book at the 150th anniversary of the
events of 1857. He never lays out in any fashion his criteria for the
selections he made.

The documents reprinted here are in Persian and Urdu. Prof Husain
deplores the decline in Urdu and Persian scholarship at Indian
universities, but then he himself fails to ensure accurate
reproduction of these precious texts. Apparently, careful reading of
proofs is not a part of the scholarship he champions. He is, of
course, not alone in that regard. Reading most newly published Urdu
and Persian books in India is a now painful experience. This book,
however, is worse than many. Perhaps I should not blame only the
editor for it. I know from my own experience that the people who
compose Urdu books on computers do not like to be corrected, and
unless one persists they let their errors stand. Exasperated by
endless errors of misreading or mistyping, I turned to the English
translations and discovered a greater horror. I had assumed it was a
bilingual book, containing Urdu and Persian original texts, together
with their English translations. I badly was mistaken. The
translations are by no means full; they are abridgments and summaries—
a fact that Prof. Husain fails to mention in his introduction. Much
worse, the translations are often deliberately misleading. One
example will suffice, and it occurs on the very first page of the
main text (page 33 of Urdu).

"Document No. 2: (NAID No. 130-185, 18th April, 1857. Bearing seal
(not readable)."
A document in Urdu, it is a note sent by Sad (sic) Bakhsh Khan and
Buniyad Singh, both Deputy Kotwals, to all the thanedars in the city.
Its main text consists of eleven lines, of which only the first three
are entirely legible. The rest of the text barely makes sense here
and there; mostly it is gibberish. It has been translated as follows:
"General Taley Yar Khan visited the Kotwali and directed that an
order should be issued to all the Thanedars of the city that during
the month of Muharram prohibit the playing of music. Send this order
to all to follow the direction." Yes, eleven lines of Urdu have been
distilled into two English sentences. But that is not all.

Prof. Husain refers to this document in his introduction. His Urdu
version gives the date wrong; the English version has the date right,
and reads: "Bahadur Shah issued an order dated 18th April, 1857,
banning the music during the days of Muharram. Sufis laid the
foundation of azadari of Muharram in India during the 13th century
and made it a part of Indian society and Culture (sic). Mughal
Emperors were having a great regard for ahl-i-bait (family members)
of Prophet Muhammed. Bahadur Shah's order for banning the use of
music during the days of Muharram shows his respect to (sic) Imam
Husain. Bahadur Shah directed the Kotwal of Shahjahanabad to sent the
copies of this order to all the thanedars of Shahjahanabad."

Anyone who has seen Muharram processions in India knows that drum
beating, not to mention other kinds of 'martial' music, is often an
integral part of them. The three legible lines of the text clearly
say that General Taley Yar Khan, apparently a military man, went to
the Kotwali and asked the two deputy kotwals to send a note to all
the thanedars, which was done. The thanedars, in their turn, put
their names and seals on that paper to indicate that they had
received the instructions. The general also gave his reasons. This is
what the text says: "You should strongly instruct the thanedars that
no music should be allowed to be played during Muharram because it
might drown out the sound of the [alarm] bugle and let the enemy
[make a surprise attack]." The rest is so badly transcribed that it
makes little sense, but at one place it seems to discourage the
making of other loud noises too. Obviously, Prof. Azizuddin Husain is
so concerned to be politically correct in this '150th year' that he
sees no harm in distorting what the document actually says.

I saw the book advertised and eagerly asked a student to bring it for
me from India where she was visiting briefly. Now I feel ashamed that
I put her to all the trouble for a book that cost her 750 rupees but
is not worth the price of the paper it is printed on.


C. M. Naim,
Professor Emeritus
University of Chicago

- -- 
Ajmal Kamal
City Press
Publishing House, Bookshop and Film Club
316 Madina City Mall, Abdullah Haroon Road, Saddar, Karachi 74400, Pakistan.