Dr Abu Salman Shahjahanpuri remembered for his scholarly works

It’s our national tragedy that we don’t give due recognition to the scholars who prefer to work silently without any desire for fame, according to Ambreen Haseeb Amber, the head of the literary committee of the Arts Council.

She was speaking on Friday at a condolence reference for literary scholar and historian Dr Abu Salman Shahjahanpuri, who, despite having more than 150 books to his credit, didn’t get enough attention only because he preferred to stay out of the limelight.

The scholar, who passed away earlier this month, was paid rich tributes for his research works and books, especially those on the towering religious, literary and religious personality of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and other scholars of the Deoband school of thought.

Academic Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan, who was taught by the late scholar during college years, remembered him as an erudite person. He said Dr Shahjahanpuri was a supporter of the stance of Muslim scholars like Azad and Hussain Ahmed Madani, who believed in a joint struggle of all the religious and ethnic groups of India against the British.

Dr Khan lamented that we had removed from our textbooks the names of many Muslim scholars who suffered exile and imprisonment in the British rule just because they did not agree with our ideology. He said that many great religious leaders of Deoband wanted a joint struggle against the British and we had ignored them in our history books.

He suggested that Azad’s version be included in our curriculum and our youths be taught about the stance of people like Madani because that would help contain extremism in our society that has caused much bloodshed. He said we should discuss Dr Shahjahanpuri’s books setting aside our prejudices.

Dr Khan also remembered Dr Shahjahanpuri as a humanist who never blamed a group over the misdeeds of some individuals. He said that during the riots in Karachi in the 1980s between Urdu-speaking and Pashto-speaking groups, Dr Shahjahanpuri’s library, which had many rare books and journals, was set on fire and much of his treasure was destroyed, but the late scholar did not stoke the tensions, claiming that during the incident, a Pakhtoon of his neighbourhood had come to his help and rescue.

Hafiz Tanveer of Maktaba-e-Rasheedya, which now has the library of Dr Shahjahanpuri, recounted how once the late scholar made him write an article on Ehtishamul Haq Thanvi. He said the late scholar published many rare documents such as Azad’s letters.

Academic Dr Jaffar Ahmed started his talk by reminiscing about his childhood. He said that during his school years, he saved his pocket money to buy books and magazines from roadside stalls in Saddar. He added that one of the magazines that he purchased was ‘Chataan’, in which he first read Dr Shahjahanpuri’s articles.

Comparing Dr Shahjahanpuri with Namdev, a selfless gardener whose famous sketch was penned by Maulvi Abdul Haq, Dr Ahmed said the late scholar had no worldly ambitions and was totally immersed in his scholarly work with no concern for fame and recognition. He said that had Namdev been a writer, he would have been Dr Shahjahanpuri.

The speaker added that the late scholar was a self-made man who continued his education despite living in poverty. Dr Ahmed recalled once meeting Dr Shahjahanpuri and how the late historian presented his books to him and made a bundle of them with ropes in a peculiar fashion. Upon asking, he told Dr Ahmed he had worked as a labourer, due to which he knew that technique of making bundles of books with ropes.

Despite giving all credit to the late scholar for his research work, Dr Ahmed raised some questions regarding the idea of a single nation in India. He said that although Gandhi preached non-violence for multiple decades, the Subcontinent experienced one of the worst bloodsheds in the human history at the time of Partition.

He also cited the example of BR Ambedkar, a leader in the freedom movement who belonged to a Scheduled Caste. Ambedkar headed the committee that was tasked with formulating India’s constitution. Later, however, he was so disappointed with religious discrimination against the Scheduled Castes that he converted to Buddhism along with his followers.

Mufti Mahmood Academy Director Farooq Qureshi read out pieces written by other academics and literary luminaries such as Habibur Rahman Sherwani, Mushfiq Khwaja and Prof Shafqat Rizvi in praise of Dr Shahjahanpuri.

The late scholar’s friends Dr Moinuddin Aqeel and Dr Younus Hasni were the last speakers. They both highlighted how prolific a writer Dr Shahjahanpuri was. They said that despite having published more than 150 books, the late scholar must have many other manuscripts, letters and literary documents that needed to be reviewed by researchers and published.

The late scholar’s daughter Tauseef Abu Salman and granddaughter Tayyaba Qudsia discussed Dr Shahjahanpuri’s personal life, and remembered him as a kind and benevolent person.