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Quaid e Azam: Kya Thay Kya Nahi Thay / قائداعظم: کیا تھے کیا نہیں تھے
127 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2012
6 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Mubarak Ali
245 books79 followersDr. Mubarak Ali (Urdu: مبارک علی) is an eminent historian, activist and scholar of Pakistan.[1]
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.
Ali obtained an M.A. in History from Sindh University, Jamshoro 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.[2]
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.[3]
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.”[4]
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.[5]
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".[6]
In 2005 Ali claimed that police were harassing him and investigating him to "verify his learning", and that he was considering leaving Pakistan forever.[1] Four First Information Reports were lodged against him in Lahore.[1]
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 t
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.
Ali obtained an M.A. in History from Sindh University, Jamshoro 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.[2]
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.[3]
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.”[4]
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.[5]
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".[6]
In 2005 Ali claimed that police were harassing him and investigating him to "verify his learning", and that he was considering leaving Pakistan forever.[1] Four First Information Reports were lodged against him in Lahore.[1]
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 t
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 6, 2017
It's not a book in itself but a compilation of articles by renowned columnists & an intense debate between Safdar Mehmood and Dr. Mubarak Ali on the persona of Mr. Jinnah, both have their own views that have credibility in itself though you can make your conclusion. All in all good read as it contains a lot of references to the books and authors if anyone wants to read in-depth about Mr. Jinnah.
December 12, 2020
An important, interesting and illuminating debate, which, unfortunately, loses its utility owing to the way the book is published.
A big problem with most of the books published locally is their treatment of the sources and references. Sources are either mentioned very casually in the write up or not referred to at all. A better way to write such a book is to use footnotes/endnotes to record the sources. It not only makes the main write up more reader-friendly but also helps navigate the references separately. This especially becomes inevitable when the book is on a historically rather controversial topic.
Unfortunately, it looks as if some newspaper columns or opinion pieces are just copied and pasted in the form of a book. Some important references are indeed provided (in the main text), but overall they are mostly overlooked. This, in my opinion, is a big loss to the objectivity and usefulness of the book.
A big problem with most of the books published locally is their treatment of the sources and references. Sources are either mentioned very casually in the write up or not referred to at all. A better way to write such a book is to use footnotes/endnotes to record the sources. It not only makes the main write up more reader-friendly but also helps navigate the references separately. This especially becomes inevitable when the book is on a historically rather controversial topic.
Unfortunately, it looks as if some newspaper columns or opinion pieces are just copied and pasted in the form of a book. Some important references are indeed provided (in the main text), but overall they are mostly overlooked. This, in my opinion, is a big loss to the objectivity and usefulness of the book.
January 16, 2015
It is no doubt a great book. It gives a great deal of information about the personality of our Quaid-e-Azam.
August 24, 2018
Raises some serious questions about safeguarding and presenting correct facts regarding Quaid-e-aZAM
December 28, 2018
Dr Mubarak Vs Safdar Mehmood.
March 15, 2020
Not a book per se; it's a collection of articles written by Dr.Mubarak Ali and Safdar Mahmood regarding some aspects of Quaid-e-Azam's life; and some others; who are trying to defend one or the other, published in newspapers during Jan-Feb 2004. The conflict is basically on some things about whether Quaid-e-Azam said it or not. For me, it was just a brain-cell killer.
February 19, 2017
ڈاکٹر مبارک علی ایک معروف مؤرخ ہیں جو کچھ حلقوں میں متنازع بھی ہیں۔ یہ کتاب دراصل کوئی تصنیف نہیں ہے، فقط کچھ کالموں اور مضامین کا مجموعہ ہے۔ قائدِ اعظم کی شخصیت کے بارے میں مبارک علی اور ڈاکٹر صدفر محمود کے درمیان کالموں کی جنگ شروع ہوئی جس میں مختلف افراد اور اہلِ علم بھی شریک ہوئے۔ اس کتاب میں جو کمی مجھے محسوس ہوئی وہ حوالہ جات کی ہے، اسی وجہ سے میں اس کتاب کو تاریخ کی کتب میں شمار نہیں کرتا۔ یہ صرف اخباری کالم ہیں جن کی کوئی علمی اور تاریخی حیثیت نہیں۔ بہتر ہوتا اگر ڈاکٹر مبارک علی اس کتاب کے حوالوں کی تخریج مناسب طور کردیتے۔
November 25, 2015
want to read this book.
Read
April 25, 2016articles by renowned historians. however, no specific conclusion is made
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews