Professor in the Department of History, University of the Punjab and areas of interest are Medieval India, Sufism, Travel Writing and Intellectual History of the Muslims of South Asia Address: Department of History and Pakistan Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
The present paper attempts to analyse the academic works of Pakistani historians produced in the ... more The present paper attempts to analyse the academic works of Pakistani historians produced in the last 75 years. It tries to present a view that Pakistani historiography can neither be dismissed out-rightly as mere propaganda nor can be glorified as creating new approaches and methodologies and purporting to international standards. The paper, therefore, contributes to intellectual debates surrounding history-writing in Pakistan in the past 75 years. It does not claim to be an exhaustive study and only highlights the contribution of a few Pakistani historians by focusing on some major trends and key issues.
The development of modern railways has had a profound impact on Chinese cities, especially, in th... more The development of modern railways has had a profound impact on Chinese cities, especially, in the context of the aggression to modern China. Harbin, once a rural area nearby Songhua River, has been transformed into an international city of modern China, the most significant reason is the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway during 1898-1903. It became the external force that changed Harbin. With the railway's opened, Harbin became the center of commodity trade exchange, while more and more people settled in Harbin. Immigrants who came from different countries and places brought their own culture and customs into Harbin, which impacted Chinese people who lived in Harbin. Therefore, this paper examines the impact of the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway on the cultural diversity of Harbin city from the perspective of railway-induced social change.
The article explores the accounts of European travellers of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries i... more The article explores the accounts of European travellers of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in the context of images and representations of India. During these two centuries, about hundred travellers came to India from Europe and wrote accounts of their experiences. As travel writing had developed into a very popular genre in the early modern Europe, some of these accounts were published many times, translated into important European languages and read extensively. Some of them were also included in the popular anthologies and collections of travel writings. These travel accounts, therefore, became the first means to represent the 'reality' of India. This study is directly concerned with these early European representations and narrative constructions and problematizes them in relation to the 'reality' of India.
KEY WORDS Travel Writing, Colonial India, European Imperialism, Early Modern Period, Orientalism
The research article compares the two concepts of history: Islamic and Western, and argues that t... more The research article compares the two concepts of history: Islamic and Western, and argues that the two concepts are based on different world views, conflicting epistemologies and divergent approaches towards life. The article is divided into three parts. The first part traces the concept of history in the Quran and its development in the early Islamic period, highlighting some of the major features of Muslim historiography. It argues that Muslim historiography originated and developed in the early period as an offshoot of Islamic theology and therefore, it retained strong influences of Quranic guidance about history and Hadith methodology. The second part discusses the concept of history in the West and traces its growth and development in modern times. It brings into limelight modern approaches, methods and philosophies developed in the West. Though apparently diverse, they conform to the mainstream Western thoughts focussing on materialism, individualism and secularism. The third part comparatively analyses the two traditions of history writing developed in the West and the Islamic world and focuses on the major points of divergence. It emphasises that the two traditions derive their major inspiration from their separate world views, variant epistemologies and contradictory approaches towards life.
History-writing in Pakistan is generally criticised for ignoring the influences raging at the int... more History-writing in Pakistan is generally criticised for ignoring the influences raging at the international level and mainly following a traditional style. In the 20 th century, one of the greatest contributions in historiography was made by the French historians, particularly belonging to Annales school. Marc Bloch, Lucien Febvre and Fernand Braudel greatly influenced the practice of historiography. With their innovative approaches and new methodological experimentation, they brought about major changes in the concept of history-writing and thus, expanded the domain of history. However, Pakistani historiography was hardly influenced by this 'New History'. The present article first introduces the major Annales historians and their new approaches and then attempts to see how these can be utilized for enriching Pakistani historiography. A major problem of Pakistani history-writing is that it has paid little attention to wider epistemological and conceptual debates about history raging at the international level. In the words of Prof. Naeem Qureshi, " Pakistani historiography had remained largely insular and linear—almost untouched by the contemporary intellectual movements abroad or even within the country. " 1 It has mainly failed to disentangle itself from the norms established by great nineteenth century German historian, Leopold von Ranke (1795-1886). 2 This type of history, now generally referred to as old or traditional history, has emphasised that documents are sacred and can quite objectively portray reality. Thus the historians " main task is to collect, read and analyse the documents, and let the facts speak for themselves. This " fetishism " with documents and archives became the hallmark of the nineteenth century historiography. This Rankean tradition naturally privileged political and diplomatic history as most of the written documents concerned these two areas. And dominant form of expression became the narrative. As a prominent French historian, Francois Furet, maintained that this kind of history-writing " gives history the structure of a novel, except that its plot must be composed of authentic facts verified according to rules of evidence; and this history is indeed
Learning and education in Mughal India has inspired divergent views and conflicting assessments. ... more Learning and education in Mughal India has inspired divergent views and conflicting assessments. The British historians during the colonial period generally portrayed it in negative colours accusing the Mughals for neglecting mass-scale education, ignoring scientific and technological advancements and following traditional system of rote learning which gradually became outdated and irrelevant. This criminal negligence, according to them, became the major cause of decline of the Empire and loss of political power. A comparison with the development of knowledge in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is often made to further the argument. This colonial estimation has become a dominant theme in modern academic discourse. The present paper challenges this dominant narrative and argues that it needs to be seriously revised in the light of the new evidence. It emphasises that the colonial viewpoint fails to note two important points: firstly, the colonial perceptions about literary practices in Mughal India were inspired by ethnocentric bias and this research paper by placing this perception in the conceptual framework of Orientalist discourse, reveals that this viewpoint was partisan, subjective and Euro-centric. Secondly, education and learning is a cultural process which cannot be divorced from its social context. If during the Mughal rule in India, the Western world was pulsating with a new vigour of philosophical and scientific ideas, it was not relevant to Indian context as the socio-cultural and epistemological basis on which these ideas developed was entirely different from that of Mughal India. Mughal rule in India is famous for its display of exorbitant wealth, grandeur of architecture, and development of aesthetic tastes. However, there is also a general view that the Mughal government showed apathy, if not antipathy, towards learning and education. It displayed no enthusiasm towards development of education in general and science and technology in particular. The governments in European counties, on the other hand, were far more sensitive to the educational needs of their subjects. The present article is an attempt to challenge this general perception. The article is divided into two parts and each part seeks to examine one basic question. The first part delves into how the colonial scholarship
Religion was an important identity marker in the early modern world. Whether in the East or the W... more Religion was an important identity marker in the early modern world. Whether in the East or the West, people distinguished themselves, among other things, with their adherence to a particular religion. In Europe, after Reformation in the early sixteenth century, the religious identities had got more sharpened and the Christian world was divided between the Catholics and the Protestants. Reformation strongly influenced the religious identities of European travellers and when they came into contact with the Indian religious beliefs and practices, they were “confronted with their own struggle for orientation. . . . and the pattern for describing foreign religions was [thus] the pattern of differences between Catholicism and Protestantism.” While in India, Hinduism and Islam were the two dominant religions, though there were other minor religious denominations, like Budhists, Sikhs, and Parsees etc. The article is mainly concerned with the European representations of Islam and Hinduism in India. Focussing on the sixteenth and seventeenth century travel accounts of Europeans to India, it argues that these perceptions were strongly shaped by their belonging to Christian faith and their experiences of Europe.
No one would, probably, doubt that Muslim civilization is facing a serious crisis since the 18th ... more No one would, probably, doubt that Muslim civilization is facing a serious crisis since the 18th century. It first resulted in political chaos and ultimately colonization of Muslim lands by Western powers. Later, Muslim civilization faced serious cultural and intellectual onslaught from the West which intensified and deepened the crisis. Though the period of Western colonization ostensibly came to an end in the middle of the 20th century, Muslim lands did not come out of the crisis. Despite some sincere efforts for Islamic revivalism, Muslim civilization has failed to respond to the modern crisis, particularly 9/11 incident has exposed the vulnerability of the Muslim world to Western political agenda, and its failure to respond effectively to Western civilizational challenges. The scholars are divided as to the cause of this crisis of the Muslim world and consequently, as to the measures to remedy the problem. Abdur Rehman Ibn Khaldun, a 13th century Muslim historian and intellectual, emerged at a time when the Muslim states in the Maghreb (North Africa) and Muslim Spain were passing through a phase of decline. His critical thoughts on the society (Al-Imran) and particularly his concept of social solidarity (Al-asabiyah), as propounded in his magnum opus, Maqaddimah (Prolegomena to History), can provide important insights into the present crisis of the Muslim Civilization. The present paper seeks to understand and explain this crisis with the help of the social analysis and critical ideas of Ibn Khaldun.
The present paper attempts to analyse the academic works of Pakistani historians produced in the ... more The present paper attempts to analyse the academic works of Pakistani historians produced in the last 75 years. It tries to present a view that Pakistani historiography can neither be dismissed out-rightly as mere propaganda nor can be glorified as creating new approaches and methodologies and purporting to international standards. The paper, therefore, contributes to intellectual debates surrounding history-writing in Pakistan in the past 75 years. It does not claim to be an exhaustive study and only highlights the contribution of a few Pakistani historians by focusing on some major trends and key issues.
The development of modern railways has had a profound impact on Chinese cities, especially, in th... more The development of modern railways has had a profound impact on Chinese cities, especially, in the context of the aggression to modern China. Harbin, once a rural area nearby Songhua River, has been transformed into an international city of modern China, the most significant reason is the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway during 1898-1903. It became the external force that changed Harbin. With the railway's opened, Harbin became the center of commodity trade exchange, while more and more people settled in Harbin. Immigrants who came from different countries and places brought their own culture and customs into Harbin, which impacted Chinese people who lived in Harbin. Therefore, this paper examines the impact of the construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway on the cultural diversity of Harbin city from the perspective of railway-induced social change.
The article explores the accounts of European travellers of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries i... more The article explores the accounts of European travellers of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in the context of images and representations of India. During these two centuries, about hundred travellers came to India from Europe and wrote accounts of their experiences. As travel writing had developed into a very popular genre in the early modern Europe, some of these accounts were published many times, translated into important European languages and read extensively. Some of them were also included in the popular anthologies and collections of travel writings. These travel accounts, therefore, became the first means to represent the 'reality' of India. This study is directly concerned with these early European representations and narrative constructions and problematizes them in relation to the 'reality' of India.
KEY WORDS Travel Writing, Colonial India, European Imperialism, Early Modern Period, Orientalism
The research article compares the two concepts of history: Islamic and Western, and argues that t... more The research article compares the two concepts of history: Islamic and Western, and argues that the two concepts are based on different world views, conflicting epistemologies and divergent approaches towards life. The article is divided into three parts. The first part traces the concept of history in the Quran and its development in the early Islamic period, highlighting some of the major features of Muslim historiography. It argues that Muslim historiography originated and developed in the early period as an offshoot of Islamic theology and therefore, it retained strong influences of Quranic guidance about history and Hadith methodology. The second part discusses the concept of history in the West and traces its growth and development in modern times. It brings into limelight modern approaches, methods and philosophies developed in the West. Though apparently diverse, they conform to the mainstream Western thoughts focussing on materialism, individualism and secularism. The third part comparatively analyses the two traditions of history writing developed in the West and the Islamic world and focuses on the major points of divergence. It emphasises that the two traditions derive their major inspiration from their separate world views, variant epistemologies and contradictory approaches towards life.
History-writing in Pakistan is generally criticised for ignoring the influences raging at the int... more History-writing in Pakistan is generally criticised for ignoring the influences raging at the international level and mainly following a traditional style. In the 20 th century, one of the greatest contributions in historiography was made by the French historians, particularly belonging to Annales school. Marc Bloch, Lucien Febvre and Fernand Braudel greatly influenced the practice of historiography. With their innovative approaches and new methodological experimentation, they brought about major changes in the concept of history-writing and thus, expanded the domain of history. However, Pakistani historiography was hardly influenced by this 'New History'. The present article first introduces the major Annales historians and their new approaches and then attempts to see how these can be utilized for enriching Pakistani historiography. A major problem of Pakistani history-writing is that it has paid little attention to wider epistemological and conceptual debates about history raging at the international level. In the words of Prof. Naeem Qureshi, " Pakistani historiography had remained largely insular and linear—almost untouched by the contemporary intellectual movements abroad or even within the country. " 1 It has mainly failed to disentangle itself from the norms established by great nineteenth century German historian, Leopold von Ranke (1795-1886). 2 This type of history, now generally referred to as old or traditional history, has emphasised that documents are sacred and can quite objectively portray reality. Thus the historians " main task is to collect, read and analyse the documents, and let the facts speak for themselves. This " fetishism " with documents and archives became the hallmark of the nineteenth century historiography. This Rankean tradition naturally privileged political and diplomatic history as most of the written documents concerned these two areas. And dominant form of expression became the narrative. As a prominent French historian, Francois Furet, maintained that this kind of history-writing " gives history the structure of a novel, except that its plot must be composed of authentic facts verified according to rules of evidence; and this history is indeed
Learning and education in Mughal India has inspired divergent views and conflicting assessments. ... more Learning and education in Mughal India has inspired divergent views and conflicting assessments. The British historians during the colonial period generally portrayed it in negative colours accusing the Mughals for neglecting mass-scale education, ignoring scientific and technological advancements and following traditional system of rote learning which gradually became outdated and irrelevant. This criminal negligence, according to them, became the major cause of decline of the Empire and loss of political power. A comparison with the development of knowledge in Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is often made to further the argument. This colonial estimation has become a dominant theme in modern academic discourse. The present paper challenges this dominant narrative and argues that it needs to be seriously revised in the light of the new evidence. It emphasises that the colonial viewpoint fails to note two important points: firstly, the colonial perceptions about literary practices in Mughal India were inspired by ethnocentric bias and this research paper by placing this perception in the conceptual framework of Orientalist discourse, reveals that this viewpoint was partisan, subjective and Euro-centric. Secondly, education and learning is a cultural process which cannot be divorced from its social context. If during the Mughal rule in India, the Western world was pulsating with a new vigour of philosophical and scientific ideas, it was not relevant to Indian context as the socio-cultural and epistemological basis on which these ideas developed was entirely different from that of Mughal India. Mughal rule in India is famous for its display of exorbitant wealth, grandeur of architecture, and development of aesthetic tastes. However, there is also a general view that the Mughal government showed apathy, if not antipathy, towards learning and education. It displayed no enthusiasm towards development of education in general and science and technology in particular. The governments in European counties, on the other hand, were far more sensitive to the educational needs of their subjects. The present article is an attempt to challenge this general perception. The article is divided into two parts and each part seeks to examine one basic question. The first part delves into how the colonial scholarship
Religion was an important identity marker in the early modern world. Whether in the East or the W... more Religion was an important identity marker in the early modern world. Whether in the East or the West, people distinguished themselves, among other things, with their adherence to a particular religion. In Europe, after Reformation in the early sixteenth century, the religious identities had got more sharpened and the Christian world was divided between the Catholics and the Protestants. Reformation strongly influenced the religious identities of European travellers and when they came into contact with the Indian religious beliefs and practices, they were “confronted with their own struggle for orientation. . . . and the pattern for describing foreign religions was [thus] the pattern of differences between Catholicism and Protestantism.” While in India, Hinduism and Islam were the two dominant religions, though there were other minor religious denominations, like Budhists, Sikhs, and Parsees etc. The article is mainly concerned with the European representations of Islam and Hinduism in India. Focussing on the sixteenth and seventeenth century travel accounts of Europeans to India, it argues that these perceptions were strongly shaped by their belonging to Christian faith and their experiences of Europe.
No one would, probably, doubt that Muslim civilization is facing a serious crisis since the 18th ... more No one would, probably, doubt that Muslim civilization is facing a serious crisis since the 18th century. It first resulted in political chaos and ultimately colonization of Muslim lands by Western powers. Later, Muslim civilization faced serious cultural and intellectual onslaught from the West which intensified and deepened the crisis. Though the period of Western colonization ostensibly came to an end in the middle of the 20th century, Muslim lands did not come out of the crisis. Despite some sincere efforts for Islamic revivalism, Muslim civilization has failed to respond to the modern crisis, particularly 9/11 incident has exposed the vulnerability of the Muslim world to Western political agenda, and its failure to respond effectively to Western civilizational challenges. The scholars are divided as to the cause of this crisis of the Muslim world and consequently, as to the measures to remedy the problem. Abdur Rehman Ibn Khaldun, a 13th century Muslim historian and intellectual, emerged at a time when the Muslim states in the Maghreb (North Africa) and Muslim Spain were passing through a phase of decline. His critical thoughts on the society (Al-Imran) and particularly his concept of social solidarity (Al-asabiyah), as propounded in his magnum opus, Maqaddimah (Prolegomena to History), can provide important insights into the present crisis of the Muslim Civilization. The present paper seeks to understand and explain this crisis with the help of the social analysis and critical ideas of Ibn Khaldun.
The Project aims to study the accounts of the Jesuits and to understand their perspective about t... more The Project aims to study the accounts of the Jesuits and to understand their perspective about the medieval society and culture, particularly religion. It aims to analyze the inter-faith dialogue and mutual religio-cultural perceptions in the early modern period. University of the Punjab has granted this research project for the academic year 2021-2022.
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KEY WORDS Travel Writing, Colonial India, European Imperialism, Early Modern Period, Orientalism
KEY WORDS Travel Writing, Colonial India, European Imperialism, Early Modern Period, Orientalism