Hotchand Molchand Gurbakhshani
Hotchand Molchand Gurbakhshani هوتچند مولچند گربخشاڻي | |
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| Born | Hotchand 08 March 1884 Hyderabad, Sindh, British India |
| Died | 11 February 1947 Karachi, British India |
| Occupation | Scholar, Educationist, Academic Leader |
| Nationality | British India |
| Citizenship | British India |
| Education | PhD |
| Alma mater | D.J. Sindh College, Karachi, Wilson College Mambai, University of London |
| Genre | Prose |
| Notable works | Shah Jo Risalo |
Hotchand Molchand Gurbakhshani (or Gurbuxani) (Sindhi: هوتچند مولچند گربخشاڻي) (March 8, 1884 - February 11, 1947) was a leading academician, an educationist and scholar who is well known for his annotated translation of the Sufi poetic compendium Shah Jo Risalo.[1] He served as Principal of D.J. Sindh College Karachi. He also served as the first president of Sindh Historical Society.
Biography
Hotchand Gurbakhshani was born in a well educated Hindu Amil family of Hyderabad, Sindh, British India (Now Pakistan) on 8 March 1884.[2] His father Deewan Molchand was employee of Revenue Department. His grandfather Deewan Nainsukhdas was a landlord.[3] After attending Primary School, he was admitted in the Nevelrai Hiranand Academy of Hyderabad from where he passed matriculation examination in 1899. Then he went to Karachi and received Bachelor of Arts degree from D.J. Sindh College. It was one of the best colleges of Sindh at that time. He received Master of Arts degree in English and Persian from Wilson College Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1907.[4] He was one of the best students of this college and based on merit he was offered position of Assistant Professor in the same college. He worked on this position only for a few months and then returned to Sindh and joined his Alma matter D.J. Sindh College Karachi as a Professor of Persian. In 1928, he went to UK and received PhD degree from University of London. The title of his PhD thesis was Mysticism in the Early 19th Century Poetry of England.[5] He spent rest of his life in D.J. College and served as Dean Faculty of Arts, Vice Principal and then Principal of this college.[6] On 14 November 1921,[7] on the request of Bombay University, he presented a scholarly report on Sindhi Literature to the University. Based on this report, the Bambay University decided to include Sindhi in college curriculum.[8] Thus he laid the foundation for recognition of Sindhi language and literature in India.[9] Dr Gurbakhshani was also founding President of Sindh Historical Society.[1] The Journal of this society published valuable research articles on history of Sindh. This Society was founded for restructuring the history of Sindh.[10]
His father and grandfather were devotees of Shah Inayat Sufi, the great Sufi saint of Sindh, so he himself was attracted towards Sufism since childhood. He used to quote poetry of Moulana Rumi and Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai in his lectures and speeches. He proved himself as a dedicated and best teacher. He produced many notable students including Dr Umar Bin Muhammad Daudpoto, Syed Miran Muhammad Shah and Khan Bahadur Muhammad Ayub Khuhro.
Literary Contributions
The most significant scholarly contribution of Dr Gurbahshani was compilation of Shah Jo Risalo, the poetry collection of great Sufi poet Hazrat Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai.[11] He planned to publish this Risalo in four volumes. However, only three volumes could be published. The fourth volume is missing. Some sources say that he gave his unpublished fourth volume to one his students for proofreading who misplaced/lost it and could not return it to the author.[12] Other sources are of the opinion that the author could not publish it due to financial problems.[13]
The first volume published in 1923 contained five surs (melodies), 500 baits, 32 wais, along with the meaning and etymology of words and terms.[13] He also explained various verses and discussed the background and the folktales used in the surs. This volume included the Introduction called Muqadema consisting of the Shah's biography, his personality and religion.[14] This introduction was later slightly revised and published as separate booklet Muqdama-i-Lateefi, in 1936, was translated into English by Dr Habibullah Siddiqui and published by the Institute of Sindhology in 2009.[15]
The second volume was published in 1924 which contained six surs (938 baits, 78 wais). The third volume published in 1931 contained 601 baits and 32 wais.[13]
His other publications included the following:
- Shah Namah Abul Qasim Hassan Firdousi (Translation from Persian), Union Steam Press Karachi, 1918.[16]
- Rooh Rihan, 1933[17]
- Noor Jahan (Novel)
- Lunwaria Ja Lal (The Saints of Lunwari)[7]
Book on Hotchand Molchand Gurbakhshani
Jettley M., Jotwani M.L. (Editors), Dr Hotchand Molchand Gurbakhshani: Sadin Jeewan Churpur and Rachnaoon ڊاڪٽر هوتچند مولچند گربخشاڻي: سندن جيون چرپر ۽ رچنائون), New Delhi, India, 1983.[2]
Death
Dr Gurbakhshani died on 11 February 1947 at the age of 64.[18] He had one son Mohan who was married with Sati, the daughter of renowned scholar Bherumal Meharchand Advani.[3]
References
- ^ a b Michel Boivin, Matthew Cook & Julien Levesque, “Introduction”, in Michel Boivin, Matthew Cook & Julien Levesque (eds.), Discovering Sindh’s Past: Selections from the Journal of the Sindh Historical Society, 1934-1948, Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2017, p. 1-13, ISBN 9780199407804
- ^ a b Junejo, Abdul Jabbar (2010). زنبيل. Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan: Sindhi Adabi Board. pp. 16–17.
- ^ a b Syed, G.M. (1967). Dr Hotchand s/o Mr Molchand Gurbakhshani. In Janab Guzarium Jin Seen (جنب گذاريم جن سين). Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan: Sindhi Adabi Board. p. 19.
- ^ "شاهه عبداللطيف ڀٽائيءَ جا پارکو شارح ۽ مترجم1 : (Sindhianaسنڌيانا)". www.encyclopediasindhiana.org (in Sindhi). Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ "Mysticism in the Early 20th Century Poetry of England by H.M. Gurbuxani: Very Good Hardcover (1980) | Panoply Books". www.abebooks.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ "ڊاڪٽر هوتچند مولچند گربخشاڻي". SindhSalamat. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ a b Datta, Amaresh (2005). Encyclopedia of Indian Literature. New Delhi, India: Sahitya Academy. p. 1518.
- ^ Malkani, M.U. (1977). Sindhi Naser Ji Tareekha (سنڌي نثر جي تاريخ). Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan: Zaib Adabi Markaz Hyderabad. p. 32.
- ^ "Sindhi Literature". lisindia.ciil.org. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ Ali, Mubarak (23 November 2014). "Writing the history of Sindh". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ "شاهه جا رسالا قلمي ڇپيل ۽ ترجما : (Sindhianaسنڌيانا)". www.encyclopediasindhiana.org (in Sindhi). Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ Newspaper, From the (27 July 2017). "Shah Jo Risalo". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ a b c Sanai, Muhammad Habib (23 July 2017). "POLEMICS: THE FORGOTTEN SCHOLAR". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
- ^ Fatimi, S.Q. (2002). "Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and the East India Company". Islamic Studies. 4: 495–505 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Gurbak̲h̲shāṇī, Hoticandu Mūlicandu; Siddiqui, Habibullah; University of Sind; Institute of Sindology (2009). An introduction to Shah: Muqqadmah Latifi. Jamshoro: Institute of Sindhology, Univ. of Sindh. ISBN 978-969-405-092-8. OCLC 793503343.
- ^ Catalog of India Office Library, Vol. 2, Part 6, pp. 512, Persian Books.
- ^ Gurbakhshani, H.M. (1971). Rooh Rihan (روح رهاڻ). Kandiaro, Sindh, Pakistan: Roshni Publication.
- ^ Mufti, Tahmina (June 2019). "ڊاڪٽر گربخشاڻيَء جو تحقيقي مقالو: هڪ اڀياس". Sindhi Boli Research Journal. 12 (1). Sindhi Language Authority, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan: 114–134.