Ghulam Husain Tabatabai
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Ghulām Husayn Hān Ṭabāṭabā'ī Hassanī, author and historian, spent most of his life in the midst of the political vicissitudes during the waning days of the Mughal Empire, in particular those events related to the area of what is today the district of West Bengal, India. By profession he was a munshi (secretary) with a praiseworthy ability in letter writing, but it was politics that seemed to lead his traveling from place to place and his continuous switching of patrons and supporters He appears to have had a great talent for “create connections with contemporary men of position” and politicking.
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[edit] Mughal service
Ghulam Husain Tabatabai's grandfather Latfula Sidik was a honored nobleman during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah. Ghulam Husain Tabatabai himself served as a former Mughal official and even commander of the Mughal Army against the British in Bengal during the reign of Shah Alam II, he deeply lamented the drain of wealth from the Mughal Empire caused by the high officials of the British East India Company. Ghulam Husain Tabatabai also provides some very interesting insights to the developments that took place during the Seven Years' War.
Everyone of the English holds it to be a divine obligation, i mean that of scraping together the wealth of this country as they can and packing it in emmense sums and transporting it to the kingdom of England...these two customs blending together shall be forever be undermining and ruining this country.
[edit] Works
Ghulām Husayn Hān composed several works across a wide range of genres, among his works are:
- Brief history on the lives of his ancestors (Tabatabai Han's)
- Prerogatives of Ali and his descendants
- Tafsir (exegesis) on the Quran.
- Commentary on Rumi.
- Diwan of poems Ghazals.
- Siyar al-Muta'ahirīn (completed 1781) is a work of history from the time of Mughal ruler Aurangzeb's death in 1707 to 1781.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- His biographical note at the Packard Humanities Institute online, from where this material is taken.
- Siyar al-Muta'ahirīn online at the Packard Humanities Institute online
