The professor somehow got my contact number and messaged me if I could design the cover of his forthcoming book, Lahore Ki Saqafati Tareekh.

It was an honour he wanted to bestow upon me. I had never met him, though. Before I could send a note of compliance, he sent me a copy of his book, Trek to Pakistan. I was especially delighted that he had sent it to me via Pakistan Post which was more economical than the illegal couriers. It still is.

The contents of the book were so gripping that I spent many weeks studying them. After finishing the book I rang up the professor, praising his endeavours. The blurb also gives details on his impressive bio data and his previous publications.

I wanted to invite him to the House of NANNAs to discuss the contents of his manuscript, so that a suitable design could be worked on, but he expressed his inability because of him being indisposed. So, I decided to visit him. But before our meeting could happen, I received the sad news of his sudden demise. It’s a regret that has stayed with me to this day.

The book, as the title conveys, is a history of Pakistan in the making and has critical analysis of the last two centuries and takes into account some earlier events too. The cover aptly illustrates the struggle and hardships endured by the masses. Between the portraits of Iqbal and Jinnah is the Crescent and a five-pointed star. Beneath these are images of people migrating on train tops and bullock carts.

The book’s revised edition (2019), as published by the Pakistan Historical Research Institute, Lahore, is spread over 356 pages and modestly priced at Rs 350. The professor dedicated his book to the head master, late Khwaja Sadiq Hasan, of his alma mater, Chishtia High School.

The book covers the events that led to the revolt of 1857 and the gradual annexation of the various princely states under different pretexts. Any ruler without a male heir could lose his state after his death.

It may be mentioned here that in the Hindu religion, adoption of a male child by an issueless couple is mandatory. The state of Oudh was a victim whereby the Nawab was forced to pay Rs 1.6 million annually for military expenses. Later, he was asked to sign a document agreeing to hand over the charge of the state to the British. When he refused to do so, his palace was usurped. In the process, the royal ladies too were humiliated by the Company troops.

The “Mutiny,” as it was called by the Western historians, was a desperate attempt to break the economic and political stranglehold. It could have annihilated the Englishmen in India. It was also of the Company’s own making, as later investigations revealed. Thousands of soldiers who had been left jobless joined the uprising. Carnatic, Jhansi, Satara, Sambalpur, Jaipur and Tanjore were forcibly annexed by Lord Dalhousie. He would openly claim that it was his duty to increase the wealth of the dominions by whatever means.

From different sources one learns that the failure was more due to a lack of centralised leadership and coordination. There was no supply line and no money for the troopers. The rebellions occurred in the areas that had been economically most deprived.

The Company lands were very fertile and rich. Sikhs, Gurkhas and the Patiala and Jhind states too assisted the British. Technology, too, was available to the foreign rulers. The various posts were alerted via telegraph. On certain fronts, the Company troops were dispatched by the railways.

As is well documented, the last Mughal ruler was too aged and frail to lead the rebels or freedom fighters, and had no financial means to house and pay the arriving local soldiers. Though the use of cartridges, rumoured to be greased with pork and/or cow fat for the newly introduced Enfield guns, first introduced in 1852, was one factor.

There were other grievances: a native soldier in the service of East India Company could never hope to be promoted or get a pay similar to that of a European one. Even in administrative posts, locals could not be promoted against the British. In fact, European Grades afforded much higher pays to the ruling class.

Economics is the single biggest reality. When people were denied even the bare minimum to survive, they revolted, and rightly so.

Enter another epoch-making character: Sir Syed Ahmad Khan. His family had been associated with the Mughal court and, later, was in the service of the Company. He himself served in the courts of law in various capacities. He was also a very learned person with interest in sciences and history. His book, Asaar-ul-Sanadeed, offers a detailed study of the monuments of Delhi along with sketches and measurements with the use of astrolabe which he himself took by climbing the buildings, risking injury. He even recorded the inscriptions on monuments such as the Qutab Minar. In other words, he established the cultural achievements of the Muslims. The book, to this day, remains the most authentic reference.

His main mission was to promote the Western education among the Indians — Muslims and Hindus alike. He had had a chance to observe the functioning of educational centres in England during his long visit there. After his retirement from service, he actively pursued his dream of establishing an Anglo-Mohammadan University at Aligarh. He continued to write books and contributed to various gazettes. It was in the later phases when the Hindu leaders insisted on replacing Urdu with Hindi written in Sanskrit’s Devnagri script, that he was convinced that the two people could never reconcile and, in case of democracy, Muslims would never be able to win a single seat.

Thus, it can be safely said that Sir Syed sowed the seeds of the Pakistan Movement, writes the professor. He also mentions the founding of Muslim League at Dacca in 1906 thanks to the stubbornness of the Congress.

Cancellation of the division of Bengal was also a factor. The Muslim-majority East Bengal had benefitted economically when the province was divided. He makes a mention of the great names that the new generations need to be aware of.

The page of contents itself is an explicit summary of the book. Besides the above mentioned events, it deals with incidents like the Kanpur tragedy, Lucknow Pact, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Khilafat Movement, Simon Commission which was opposed by all (they tried to stop Simon coming out of the Lahore railway station and consequently Lala Lajpat Rai was wounded near the Do Moria Pul), the Allahabad Address, the Roundtable Conference, India Act, Lahore Resolution, Cripps Mission and the Radcliffe Award.

You also find a long list of Muslim leaders. A biography of books in English and Urdu has been appended at the end.

Post script: A reference is scheduled for January 25, at 11am, at Aiwan-i-Quaid-i-Azam, Johar Town. Another reference is due on January 26, at 11am, at the University of the Punjab’s Department of History and Pakistan Studies.

(This dispatch is dedicated to Prof Ahmed Saeed’s student, Amin ur Rehman)

The writer is a painter, a founding member of Lahore Conservation Society and Punjab Artists Association, and a former director of NCA Art Gallery. He can be reached at ajazart@brain.net.pk