Mubarak Ali
Encyclopedia
Dr. Mubarak Ali is an eminent historian, activist and scholar of Pakistan
.
Ali was born in Tonk
, British India in April 1941. He wrote in one of his books (Dar Dar Thokar Khaaey) that he made up his birthdate because his parents did not know it accurately.
in History from Sindh University, Hyderabad in 1963. In 1972, he went first to London and then to Germany
for higher studies and attained a PhD (on the Mughal Period of India) at Ruhr University, Bochum
, Germany
in 1976. Later he became head of the History department at the University of Sindh
. He was the director of the Goethe Institute
in Lahore
until 1996. He is also the editor of the quarterly journal Taarikh ("History"). He has been widely interviewed by electronic and print media in India
, Pakistan
, and the Middle East
.
In 1999, while speaking at a seminar in Mumbai
organized by the NGO Khoj, Ali referred to fundamentalism's effects on historical scholarship in his country. He described how after 1965, ancient history stopped being taught in Pakistan, barring a mention of the Indus Valley Civilization
. The official line is that anything outside of the syllabus "is not part of our history". He further stated that official historiography in Pakistan is committed to the two-nation theory
. Questioning it can lead to imprisonment for ten years under the Pakistan Ideology Act of 1991.
Speaking at the “National Seminar on Rani Kot”, he called for reading and writing history from a different angle, in which invaders should not be acclaimed as “great”. He said that archaeological sites do have their own significance and referred to the discovery of Mohenjo-daro
, reflecting a great civilization of the region which played a dominant role in the independence movement of the subcontinent, because until its discovery, people of this part of the world were not considered literate or civilised.
He has written a number of books and articles on Indo-Pak history, and has been widely acclaimed as an anti-establishment thinker and historian. He stated in an interview that “No authentic history has yet been written about Pakistan and its independence. There is a lot of confusion among the so-called pro-Establishment historians and educationists. Whatever has been written so far is distortion of history and entirely unbalanced.”
Dr Mubarak Ali has called for the rewriting of the subcontinent’s history and correction of what he called “historical aberrations”, so that the hatred and misunderstanding prevailing between the people of India and Pakistan could come to an end. He said textbooks in the two countries had been systematically distorted and that the time had come to reverse the trend.
Ali has said that “any system based on oppression, coercion and authoritarianism [is] the first problem in the way of writing history”. Pakistan’s history has been dictated, he said, by politics and the personal ideologies of autocratic rulers. He also reiterated his call for "history to be analysed and rewritten from the perspective of the masses instead of the viewpoint of rulers".
In 2005 Ali claimed that police were harassing him and investigating him to "verify his learning", and that he was considering leaving Pakistan forever. Four First Information Report
s were lodged against him in Lahore.
In 2007, three of his books were launched: Qadeem Hindustan ("Ancient India"), Ahd-i-Wusta ka Hindustan ("India of the Middle Ages") and Bartanvi Hindustan ("British India"), published jointly by the NGO ActionAid
and the Fiction House. These books were geared towards young readers. Speaking at the launch, Ali also stated that the Pakistani curricula did not contain any citation about Ashoka the Great, whose reign witnessed peace and religious harmony. According to Ali, "it was the British who destroyed the harmony and sowed the seeds of hatred among Hindus and Muslims as the Mughals' policy of religious harmony continued to be applied despite all sorts of hiccups".
According to Ali, textbook reform in Pakistan began with the introduction of Pakistan Studies
and Islamic studies by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1971 into the national curriculum as a compulsory subject. Former military dictator Gen Zia-ul-Haq, as part of a general drive towards Islamization, started the process of historical revisionism in earnest and exploited this initiative. "The Pakistani establishment taught their children right from the beginning that this state was built on the basis of religion — that's why they don't have tolerance for other religions and want to wipe out all of them."
Speaking at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
office in May 2009, Mubarak Ali said, "democracy in Pakistan had an imprint of martial laws and what we were witnessing today could at best be described as 'feudal democracy'. It’s the third generation of feudals who are ruling Pakistan,” he remarked. He said although Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
(MMA) lost the elections, religiosity has grown in Pakistan to such an extent that “every political party in the National Assembly
is an MMA and it’s the assembly that approved Nizam-e-Adl regulation
.”
His most recent comprehensive book in Urdu
, Taareekh Ki Daryafat is considered his most concise work. The first part of the book deals with heroism and society, historiography in the 20th century, how we should write history, and autobiography, while the second part comprises a large number of topics. These interpretations are like revival of some controversies, for example about Mughal Muslim India, relation between Ottoman and Mughal, religion and its political use, Islamic Scholars and modernism, French revolution, Indus Civilization, imperialism and fundamentalism, history of coil and coffee, honour killing, forgetful men and the latest trends in historiography
.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
Ali was born in Tonk
Tonk, India
Tonk is a town in Rajasthan state, India. The town of Tonk is situated by road south from Jaipur, near the right bank of the Banas River. It is the administrative headquarters of Tonk District. Tonk was also the capital of the eponymous princely state of British India from 1817 to...
, British India in April 1941. He wrote in one of his books (Dar Dar Thokar Khaaey) that he made up his birthdate because his parents did not know it accurately.
Career
Ali obtained an M.A.Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in History from Sindh University, Hyderabad in 1963. In 1972, he went first to London and then to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for higher studies and attained a PhD (on the Mughal Period of India) at Ruhr University, Bochum
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in 1976. Later he became head of the History department at the University of Sindh
University of Sindh
The University of Sindh informally known as Sindh University is the second oldest university in Pakistan accredited by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan....
. He was the director of the Goethe Institute
Goethe-Institut
The Goethe-Institut is a non-profit German cultural institution operational worldwide, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations. The Goethe-Institut also fosters knowledge about Germany by providing information on German...
in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
until 1996. He is also the editor of the quarterly journal Taarikh ("History"). He has been widely interviewed by electronic and print media in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
In 1999, while speaking at a seminar in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
organized by the NGO Khoj, Ali referred to fundamentalism's effects on historical scholarship in his country. He described how after 1965, ancient history stopped being taught in Pakistan, barring a mention of the Indus Valley Civilization
Indus Valley Civilization
The Indus Valley Civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that was located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, consisting of what is now mainly modern-day Pakistan and northwest India...
. The official line is that anything outside of the syllabus "is not part of our history". He further stated that official historiography in Pakistan is committed to the two-nation theory
Two-Nation Theory
The Two-Nation Theory proposed by Allama Iqbal is the ideology that the primary identity of Muslims in the Indian subcontinent is their religion, rather than their language or ethnicity, and therefore Indian Hindus and Muslims are two distinct nationalities, regardless of ethnic or other...
. Questioning it can lead to imprisonment for ten years under the Pakistan Ideology Act of 1991.
Speaking at the “National Seminar on Rani Kot”, he called for reading and writing history from a different angle, in which invaders should not be acclaimed as “great”. He said that archaeological sites do have their own significance and referred to the discovery of Mohenjo-daro
Mohenjo-daro
Mohenjo-daro is an archeological site situated in what is now the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Built around 2600 BC, it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, and one of the world's earliest major urban settlements, existing at the same time as the...
, reflecting a great civilization of the region which played a dominant role in the independence movement of the subcontinent, because until its discovery, people of this part of the world were not considered literate or civilised.
He has written a number of books and articles on Indo-Pak history, and has been widely acclaimed as an anti-establishment thinker and historian. He stated in an interview that “No authentic history has yet been written about Pakistan and its independence. There is a lot of confusion among the so-called pro-Establishment historians and educationists. Whatever has been written so far is distortion of history and entirely unbalanced.”
Dr Mubarak Ali has called for the rewriting of the subcontinent’s history and correction of what he called “historical aberrations”, so that the hatred and misunderstanding prevailing between the people of India and Pakistan could come to an end. He said textbooks in the two countries had been systematically distorted and that the time had come to reverse the trend.
Ali has said that “any system based on oppression, coercion and authoritarianism [is] the first problem in the way of writing history”. Pakistan’s history has been dictated, he said, by politics and the personal ideologies of autocratic rulers. He also reiterated his call for "history to be analysed and rewritten from the perspective of the masses instead of the viewpoint of rulers".
In 2005 Ali claimed that police were harassing him and investigating him to "verify his learning", and that he was considering leaving Pakistan forever. Four First Information Report
First Information Report
A First Information Report or FIR is a written document prepared by the police in India, Pakistan and Japan when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence. It is a report of information that reaches the police first in point of time and that is why it is called the First...
s were lodged against him in Lahore.
In 2007, three of his books were launched: Qadeem Hindustan ("Ancient India"), Ahd-i-Wusta ka Hindustan ("India of the Middle Ages") and Bartanvi Hindustan ("British India"), published jointly by the NGO ActionAid
ActionAid
ActionAid was founded in 1972 as a child sponsorship charity when 88 UK supporters sponsored 88 children in India and Kenya, the focus primarily being to provide children with an education. Global accounts are now reported in Euros and in 2007 and 2008 turnover was close to 180m Euros...
and the Fiction House. These books were geared towards young readers. Speaking at the launch, Ali also stated that the Pakistani curricula did not contain any citation about Ashoka the Great, whose reign witnessed peace and religious harmony. According to Ali, "it was the British who destroyed the harmony and sowed the seeds of hatred among Hindus and Muslims as the Mughals' policy of religious harmony continued to be applied despite all sorts of hiccups".
According to Ali, textbook reform in Pakistan began with the introduction of Pakistan Studies
Pakistan Studies
Pakistan studies curriculum is the name of a curriculum of academic research and study that encompasses the culture, demographics, geography, history, and politics of Pakistan. The subject is widely researched in and outside the country...
and Islamic studies by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in 1971 into the national curriculum as a compulsory subject. Former military dictator Gen Zia-ul-Haq, as part of a general drive towards Islamization, started the process of historical revisionism in earnest and exploited this initiative. "The Pakistani establishment taught their children right from the beginning that this state was built on the basis of religion — that's why they don't have tolerance for other religions and want to wipe out all of them."
Speaking at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan , or HRCP, is an independent, non-profit organization, founded in 1987, which is not associated or affiliated with the government or any political party. It is committed to act with impartiality and objectivity in all matters...
office in May 2009, Mubarak Ali said, "democracy in Pakistan had an imprint of martial laws and what we were witnessing today could at best be described as 'feudal democracy'. It’s the third generation of feudals who are ruling Pakistan,” he remarked. He said although Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal is a coalition of Islamist parties that was formed in 2002 to electorally challenge the Pakistan Parliament's incumbent parties...
(MMA) lost the elections, religiosity has grown in Pakistan to such an extent that “every political party in the National Assembly
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also compromises the President of Pakistan and Senate . The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad...
is an MMA and it’s the assembly that approved Nizam-e-Adl regulation
Nizam-e-Adl Regulation 2009
The Nizam-e-Adl Regulation was a controversial act, passed on April 13, 2009, of Pakistan's central government that formally established Sharia law in the Malakand division.-Background:...
.”
His most recent comprehensive book in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Taareekh Ki Daryafat is considered his most concise work. The first part of the book deals with heroism and society, historiography in the 20th century, how we should write history, and autobiography, while the second part comprises a large number of topics. These interpretations are like revival of some controversies, for example about Mughal Muslim India, relation between Ottoman and Mughal, religion and its political use, Islamic Scholars and modernism, French revolution, Indus Civilization, imperialism and fundamentalism, history of coil and coffee, honour killing, forgetful men and the latest trends in historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
.
Books
- Taareekh ki Daryafat, Dost Publications-wordmate, Islamabad, 2009
- Mulhid ka Overcoat, Fiction House, Lahore, 2nd Ed. 2004
- In the Shadow of History, Nigarshat, Lahore
- History on Trial, Fiction House, Lahore, 1999
- Tareekh Aur Nisabi Kutub, Fiction House, Lahore, 2003.
- Shaahi Mahal (Royal Palace), Fiction House, Lahore, 1992, Pages 232.
- Taarikh kee Roshnee (Light of History), Fiction House, Lahore, 3rd Ed. 2005, pages 160.
- Aakhri Ehad Mugliah kaa Hindostaan (India in Last Mughal Rule), Fiction House, Lahore, 6th Ed. 2005.
- Gumshudah Taareekh (Lost History) Fiction House, Lahore, 2005
- Taareekh aur Daanishver (History and Intlectual), Fiction House, Lahore, 1995.
- Taareekh aur Sisaayset (History and Politics), Fiction House, Lahore, 4th Edition 2005.
- Taareekh aur Aaj Kee Duniyaa (History and Today's world, Fiction House, Lahore, 2005.
- Dar Dar Thokar Khaaey, Autobiography, Fiction House, 18-Muzang, Lahore, 5th Ed. 2005
- Taareekh, Thug aur Daacu (History, Thug and Bandit), Fiction House, Lahore, 1997
- Bartaanvi Raaj (British Era), Fiction House, Lahore, 2nd Edition 2005
- Gulaami aur Nasel Parasti (Slavery and Racism), Fiction House, Lahore, 1998
- Taarikh aur Falsfa-e-Taarikh (History and Philosophy of History, Fiction House, Lahore, 4th Ed. 2005
- Mughal Darbaaar (Mughal Court), Fiction House, Lahore, 2004
- Achoot Logoun Kaa Adab (Literature of Untouchables) Co-written by Razi Abdi, Fiction House, Lahore, 1994
- Bar-e Sagheer Mein Mulsmaan Muashrey kaa Almeya, Fiction House, Lahore, 6th Ed. 2005
- Niji Zindgi Ki Tarrekh (History of Private Life), Fiction House, Lahore
- Traikh Shinaasi, Fiction House, Lahore
- Tarikh Kay Badaltey Nazriaat, Fiction House, Lahore
- Tarikh aur Mazhabi Tehreekein, Fiction House, Lahore
- Akbar kaa Hindostan, translated by Dr. Mubarak Ali
- Europe kaa Arooj (Rise of Europe), Fiction House, Lahore
- Jadeed Taarikh (Modern History), Fiction House, Lahore
- Taarikh aur Tehqeeq (History and Research), Fiction House, Lahore
- Pather kaa Zamaanah (Stone Age), Fiction House, Lahore
- Kaansi Kaa Zammanah (Bronze Age), Fiction House, Lahore
- Lohey Kaa Zamanah (Iron Age), Fiction House, Lahore
External links
- Mubarak Ali Papers, International Institute of Social HistoryInternational Institute of Social HistoryThe International Institute of Social History is a historical research institute in Amsterdam. It was founded in 1935 by Nicolaas Posthumus. The IISG is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences....
- http://tribune.com.pk/story/254236/call-for-teaching-philosophy-at-school-level/
- http://www.paktalibanisation.com/?p=2266
- http://criticalppp.com/archives/19838