Sunday, November 25, 2001		Books

ONE of the serious consequences of the partition of India in 1947 is lack of intellectual discourse between the people of India and Pakistan. We in this country do not know what is being produced and published in Pakistan, nor are the people in Pakistan aware of the ideas current in this country. Thus an intellectual and cultural barrier exists, which has created misunderstanding between the two countries which at one time boasted of a common cultural heritage. It was therefore a breath of fresh air when a young Indian historian visiting Lahore and Peshawar brought a number of books written by Pakistani scholars — and what aroused my special interest was a small, unpretentious Urdu book "Tazkira-e-Shehar-e-Marhoom" (Story of a city dead) by Khwaja Azhar Hasan (published at A/125 Model Town,Lahore, pages 263, Rs 40).

Author Azhar Hasan belonged to Panipat where his ancestors from Afghanistan migrated to India in the 13th century and settled in Panipat. Azhar Hasan’s father Akthar Hasan was Professor of Persian in Delhi University. Azhar was educated in Holy Muslim School, Panipat, and went to complete his MA in political science in Aligarh Muslim University. Later he served as a junior officer in the Records Office, Lahore. As an old resident of Panipat, Azhar reconstructs the history of his native town to which he is still deeply attached.

The origin of Panipat situated about 50 miles (80 kilometres) north of Delhi is lost in the mist of antiquity. Legend has it that in the hoary past the town was founded by Arjuna, the hero of the Mahabharata war. Panipat was the scene of three battles, the first fought on April 21, 1526, the second on November 1, 1556, and the third on January 14, 1761. The third battle changed the destiny of India and ushered in a new era with the British colonial rulers taking over for about 150 years.

In the first battle. Babar, a ruler of Kabul, defeated Delhi sultan Ibrahim Lodhi at Delhi by using guns which caused consternation among Indian troops. Lodhi died heroically and is buried in Panipat, close to the Grand Trunk Road. In the second battle, the young emperor Akbar defeated Hemu, the Hindu general of an Afghan claimant, and in the third battle, the Marathas led by the self-righteous, proud and pompous chief Sadashiv Rao, was vanquished by Ahmad Shah Durrani.

In his account of these three decisive battles, author Hasan says nothing new. He does not add any local colour to his narrative. To him these battles were fought in the name of Islam; he does not mention Kabul Bagh where Babar prayed after his victory nor does he tell us why he laid this garden and built a mosque in Mongolian style. He does not give the slightest hint about Suraj Mal’s wise counsel to the Maratha chief not to fight the Afghans in a pitched battle, but to resort to guerrilla warfare to which the Marathas were drawn by instinct.

The author focuses on Panipat as a seat of Muslim learning and culture which produced a galaxy of Sufis and learned men who are a pride of any nation. He gives a list of such distinguished personalities including the spiritual guide, Sheikh Sharf-ud-Din, Bu Ali Shah Qalind er (who migrated to India during the time of Qutb-ud-Din Aibek), Khwaja Shams-ud-Din Turk and Sheikh Jalal-ud-Din. These extraordinary men, scholars and philosophers were independent-minded who never bowed to the authority of Delhi rulers and enjoyed great popularity both among the Hindus and Muslims because of their message of peace, amity and goodwill.

Hasan throws light on the literary contribution of some outstanding men associated with Panipat of whom Altaf Hussain Hali was the most distinguished. Born in Panipat in 1837, Hali heralded a new movement in Urdu prose and poetry free from jargon and verbiage. The best known of his poems and his claim to fame is "Musaddas-e-Hali". To Hali also goes the credit of being the first to introduce the genre of biography.

Hali owes his greatness to the training he received from his teacher Ghalib. He is buried in Panipat close to the tomb of Bul Ali Qalinder. Hali’s grandson Ghulam Sayyidayn, born at Panipat and educated at Hali Muslim School and later in Aligarh Muslim University, became an eminent writer, educationist and thinker. He was one of a small group of Muslim intellectuals who were aware of the manifold problems that confronted the Muslim community. His nephew, another Panipat man, Ahmad Abbas made a name for himself in Urdu literary criticism and in film industry by writing scripts.

Azhar Hasan gives an eye-witness account of the communal tension that prevailed in Panipat in early 1947 on the eve of partition. According to the author, the communal situation was explosive and it seemed as though the town would be ablaze due to riots. The Muslim population concentrated in the interior of the town was thoroughly equipped with arms to defend itself from any attack. The author conceds that Mahatma Gandhi’s visit to Panipat in early 1947 had a salutary effect on the situation. Gandhi was accompanied by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

Hasan asserts that it was the Muslim solidarity and strength in Panipat that prevented any harm to the community. By this queer argument, he undermines the splendid impact of Gandhi’s visit in preventing communal riots.

In his account of communal tension, Hasan overlooks the reality of the situation. He ignores the role of the local administration that took drastic measures to prevent a communal flare-up. Chowdhry Roshan Lal, a god-fearing man, was the deputy commissioner of Karnal district. Mehta Dewan Chand, IPS, the superintendent of police, known for his integrity, boldness and fearlessness, took stringent measures to round up urchins and ensured the safe migration of the Muslims from Panipat to Pakistan without any loss of life. By his bold and timely action in saving Muslim lives Mehta Dewan Chand was publicly applauded by Mahatma Gandhi in his Birla House prayer meeting.

This work hastily written is completely one-sided. The author portrays Panipat strictly as a town of Muslims, for Muslims and by Muslims, mentioning only one Hindu name, a police officer Baij Nath who was dismissed by the local administration for his aggressive attitude towards the Muslims. To the author, nothing else matters except Muslim culture, Muslim history and Muslim schools. Such a partial and blinkered attitude, a sort of optical illusion, reflects the trend of historical writing current in Pakistan, which is bound to create baneful and perverse influence on students of history in Pakistan.

History is an austere and ruthless discipline of seeking truth and explaining the past from all angles to understand how things came to be what they were. This object of history and its purpose has been completely ignored by the author.

What Gandhi wrote

I wish to tell you something about my visit to Panipat. Maulana Abul Kalam Azadaccompanied me during my visit. Rajkumari was also expected to accompany me, but she was at the Government House and I could not wait beyond 10.30 according to my watch.I am glad I went to Panipat. I saw the Muslim patients in the hospital there. Some of them have been badly wounded. But they are being given the best possible attention, because Rajkumari has sent there four doctors, nurses and medical assistants. After that we met the representatives of the Muslims, local Hindus and the refugees. More than 20,000 refugees are reported to be in Panipat. We were told every day more and more refugees are pouring in. The Deputy Commissioner and the Police Superintendent see great danger in this trend. I am glad to say that these officers have earned great praise from me.

1. The Nizam wanted "Hyderabad to be an independent sovereign state" and refused to accede to India. Prolonged discussions between the Government of India and the Nizam were conducted by their emissaries.

The Nizam utilised the interregnum provided by the negotiations to build up his armed strength by importing weapons from Europe.

2. Gandhiji spent a few minutes with every patient, occasionally covering a patient properly with the sheet.

From the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, page 512 the Hindus as well as the Muslims. And, as for the refugees, they have nothing to complain. They are satisfied with them.