Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni

Bio:
Abdul Qadir Badauni, the most controversial author of his time, belonged to a family having a
low rank in Mughal imperial establishment. Despite this, he got education from the learned and
spiritual men of his age. Regular attendance in the circle of Sufis and Islamic scholars created
great scholarly qualities in him. He had acquired deep knowledge of Quran, Hadis and Islamic
jurisprudence. Further he had acquired the knowledge of Islamic History, different schools of
thought and the different sects. Being well versed in all traditional services, he also acquired
proficiency in other forms of cultural and intellectual activities and also had deep knowledge on
science. He was a great scholar of Persian and Arabic poetry, mathematics, astronomy and music.
But at heart he remained orthodox having belief in traditional Islam. As a versatile and
accomplished scholar he wrote Muntakhab-ut Tawarikh, Najat-ur Rashid and few others original
works. He also translated a number of important works from Arabic, Sanskrit and Persian such as
Mahabharata and Ramayana etc.
The views of Jhon F. Richards a renowned historian of our time is Abdul Qadir Badauni's
Mimtakhab-ut Tawarikh is a standout amongst the most essential wellsprings of Akbar's rule.
However, his honest remarks on Akbar and his policies particularly on his religious approach
have been firmly reprimanded by various modem history specialists. As per Athar Abbas Rizvi
'he composed to laud the triviality of his vision and parsimony of soul, of most shroud bound of
conventional ulema'. Harbans Mukhia recommends that 'he composed with a retaliation'. For the
most part his perspectives are rejected, on the grounds that he is seen as a staunch devotee.

However without a nearby investigation of Badauni's works, no adjusted history of Akbar's rule
could be composed. In actuality Akbar's religious arrangement and its resultant turmoil and
social strain may have stayed covered under the blandishment of expert polished Abul Fazl.

Contribution:
The literary commitments of Badauni were enormous which can't be ignored and had
extraordinarily advanced the way of life of Mughal period. The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
in India saw the development of new groups with new religious methodologies such as Nuqtavis,
Mehdvis and Roushania. Nuqtavi group was established by an Iranian specifically Mahmud
Basakhawani. As indicated by him iota of dust (Nuqta-i Khaq) is the birthplace of human life.
Transmigration of soul was an imperative part of his philosophical thoughts. Niiqtavis
considered him as guaranteed Mehdi. They did not believe in hell and heaven , revival of human
bodies or the Day of Judgment and had no confidence in the Day of Judgment.

Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-03428-0 - Expanding Frontiers in South Asian and

World History: Essays in Honour of John F. Richards 141, 14346, 155

Their thinking was inverse to Islamic essentials. Because of abuse of Safavids, Naqtavis came
to India and got managerial post in Mughal organization. Abdul Qadir Badauni reprimanded

Niiqtavis for the deviation of Akbar's idea from his ancestors religion and utilized brutal dialect
for them.
' Badauni through his composition gives this feeling Niiqtavis were in charge of Akbar's longing
to achieve a preeminent position as a ruler as well as a religious head. They persuaded Akbar that
he was Sahib-i Zaman or renovator of new period. Further Abul Fazl portrays Akbar as Farr-i
Izdi (light from God). Abul Fazl who had ill will against universal Ulema because of his
sufferings in the high school, found a scholarly backing to instruct a lesson to the Ulema of the
court. As per Badauni Akbar affected by Nuqtavis connected reason and rationale in religion
which are not admissible to some degree in customary Islam. Badauni's contemporary Shaikh
Ahmad Sirhindi's compositions additionally bolster Badauni's discernment about Nuqtavis.
Abdul Qadir Badauni being a universal scholar was not prepared to acknowledge these religious
advancements. He utilizes differ brutal and oppressive dialect for Nuqtavis
Major works:
The Muslim scholar cAbd al-Qadir Bada'uni (d. ca. 1615) provides us with extensive
information about the Kathdsaritsdgara. Today he is especially well known for his historical
work Muntakhab al-tawarikh (Selections from the Histories), a biting critique of the reign of
Akbar, whose service he entered in 1575. In this work, he informs the reader that the beginning
of the Ocean of Streams of Stories had already been translated by order of Sultan Zayn
al-'Abidin the padishah of Kashmir, and that it was called Bahr al-asmar (Sea of Tales). Bada'uni
himself was first instructed to render the last volume of the Kathdsaritsdgara, which had not yet
been translated, into Persian within five months. In the course of that period, Akbar summoned
him one night into his private sleeping quarters and had him read stories from the book until

morning. Obviously pleased with what he heard, Akbar consequently entrusted Bada'uni with the
task of transforming the first part of the Kathdsaritsdgara, which had already been translated
under Sultan Zayn al-Abidin, into contemporary Persian so that it might be intelligible to
everyone. Bada'uni informs us that he was initially told to trans late only the last book. After he
had finished that task, he was ordered by Akbar to go over the first part, which had already been
rendered into Persian under Zayn al-cAbidin. We do not know whether he ever finished this
revision or not, but presumably Akbar entrusted al-'Abbasi with this task because Bada'uni could
not go on with his work for some reason or other. In this case, al-Abbasi would have received his
orders sometime between 1595 and 1598.

Franke, Heike. "AKBAR'S KATHASARITSAGARA: THE TRANSLATOR AND

ILLUSTRATIONS OF AN IMPERIAL MANUSCRIPT." MUQARNAS: AN ANNUAL ON THE
VISUAL CULTURES OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD, VOL 27 27 (2010): 313-356.

Another notable work of Bada'uni is Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh (Selection of Chronicles)

or Tarikh-i-Bada'uni (Bada'uni's History) composed in 1004 AH (1595). This work in three
volumes is a general History of the Muslims of India. The first volume contains an account
of Babur and Humayun. The second volume exclusively deals with Akbar's reign up to 1595.
This volume was kept concealed till Akbar's death and was published after Jahangir's accession.
This book is written from the point of view of an orthodox Sunni Muslim and gives a biased

view regarding the development of Akbar's views on religion and his religious policy. The third
volume describes the lives and works of Muslim religious figures, scholars, physicians and poets.
The first printed edition of the text of this work was published by the College Press, Calcutta in
1865 and later this work was translated into English by G.S.A. Other works by Bada'uni include
the Bahr-ul-Asmar, a work on Kitab al-Hadith "book of sayings [of Muhammad]", (lost), a
chapter in the Tarikh-i-Alfi (History of the Millennium), commissioned by Akbar to celebrate the
millenary of the Hijrah and the Najat-ur-Rashi (1581), a summary of the Jami al-Tawarikh the
"Universal History" of Rashid-al-Din Hamadani.He translated the Hindu works, the Ramayana
and the Mahabharata (Razmnama).

B. G. L. Swamy
Bio:
Bengaluru Gundappa Lakshminarayana Swamy (1918-1980) also known as B. G. L. Swamy,
was an eminent Indian botanist and Kannada writer; He served as professor and head of the
department of Botany and as Principal of Presidency College, Chennai. He was the son of D. V.
Gundappa one of the most respected Indian writers and philosophers. Dr. B.G.L. Swamy towed
his own line in writing. He topped the list among science writers in Kannada besides expressing
his multi talents in drawing, painting, music, research in languages and history. He figures
among top-botanists of the world and has about 300 articles in English to his credit. His mothertongue was Tamil and knew Telugu and Sanskrit very well. But he wrote in Kannada language,
the language nearest to his heart and enriched it in no small measure. Dr. Swamy was a prolific
writer. Humor in various forms was his forte. He crafted science or research article in a way that
was entertaining and educative at the same time. His works could be divided into four categories,
viz those pertaining to botany, other scientific works, historical, travel-stories and satires which
reflect social life of our times.
Encouraged by Prof. A.R. Krishnasastry, he started writing as early as 1939-1940 in "Prabuddha
Karnataka" which Prof. Shastry was editing. It was a highly claimed quarterly of Mysore
University. His hand-book to newly weds and biography of the unborn were unique. His
American travelogue. "Americadalli Nanu" (1963) became very popular due to depiction of
American Society through Indian eyes. He could give humorous tilt to any situation and though
exaggerated many a time, it could be informative and educative. Dr. Swamy was shy of publicity
and wanted quiet time with his pipe, plants, pen and palette. Once his relative and Kamat's

writer-friend, S. Diwakar took Kamat to Swamy's residence in Bangalore, where he had settled
temporarily. Kamat extensively photographed B.G.L. Swamy on that day in 1979, in many
informal moments.
Swamy studied in Central College, Bangalore, and obtained his bachelor's degree in botany. He
obtained his PhD from the University of Mysore in 1947, and had a brief post-doctoral period at
Harvard University, under Dr Irving Bailey. From 1953, he served as professor of botany (and
later Principal) at Presidency College, Chennai.
http://www.bdu.ac.in/schools/life_sciences/plant_science/jlsbc/docs/about_bgls.pdf
http://www.kamat.com/jyotsna/blog/blog.php?BlogID=1055
Contribution:
Swamy's literary works encompass a large range of topics. A large number of them are related to
botany, and introduce botanical concepts to the layperson. A few of his books cover common
plants used in everyday life in a scientific manner - an example is Namma hotteyalli Dakshina
amerika (South America in our stomach). Other works by Swamy pertain to literature, and some
are partially autobiographical, dealing with his experiences as professor and principal.
Apart from being an acclaimed botanist, BGL Swamy was also widely respected in the history
and literary circles. He extensively studied and researched the histories and literatures of both
Kannada and Tamil languages.
His book Tamilu Talegala Naduve (Among Tamil heads), is devoted to examining theories
pertaining to languages' origins (especially the claims that were being made in those days by the

Dravidian parties) and mostly debunking them.[citation needed] In his book he has also
debunked some of the theories of Tamil historians like Iravatham Mahadevan, Nilkanta Shastri,
to name a few. He has raised several questions regarding gaping holes and contradictions in their
theories.

Major works
He widely concentrated on and investigated the histories and writings of the Kannada and Tami
dialects. His book Tamilu Talegala Naduve ("Among Tamil heads") is dedicated to analyzing
theories relating to dialect's starting points (inspecting the cases that were being made in those
days by the Dravidian parties) and generally exposing them. In this book he exposes a percentage
of the hypotheses set forward by Tamil etymologists and history specialists, for example,
Iravatham Mahadevan and Nilkanta Shastri. He brought up issues in regards to expanding gaps
and disagreements in their theories.
His works include:
Hasiru Honnu - the Green Gold
Colleju Ranga
Pradhyapakana Peethadalli
Tamilu Talegala Naduve
Diary of a Botanist

 Namma hotteyalli Dakshina amerika

Panchakalasha Gopura
Americadalli naanu
Maisooru dairy
Dourgandhikapaharana

N. Ranganatha Sharma (1984). Preface to Marula Muniyana Kagga. Kavyalaya Publications,

Mysore Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs.
nanthesha nempu. "Tamilu talegala naduve". sampada. Retrieved 23 August

Bhaskar Anand Saletore

Bio:
Bhaskar Anand Saletore (pronounced saa-lae-tho-rae) was born in 1902 and had his school and
college education at Mangalore. He did his B.T. from Madras and M.A. from St. Xavier's
college, Bombay. A brilliant student throughout he had double doctorate degrees, one from the
London University in History (1931) and a second one from the German University of Giessen
in Politics (1933). He knew several Indian languages, besides English and German. He had
illustrious teachers like Rev. H. Heras and Dr. L.D. Barnett who need little introduction. His
liking for details combined with painstaking research has found expression in a dozen of books
and nearly hundred articles on different aspects of Indian history, from ancient Indian trade
contacts to diplomatic relation from a textbook of civics to ancient Indian political thought, from
Riverside trade to trans-oceanic contacts. The wide range of his historical knowledge is
staggering. He died in 1963 when he was only 61, hardly after a year of his retirement leaving a
number of incomplete works, vast notes and a valuable library of rare books
Students of Vijayanagar history are far too familiar with his two volumes of "Social and Political
Life in the Vijayanagara Empire" which formed his doctoral thesis submitted to the University of
London. Theories regarding the origin of Vijayanagar empire and Sangama dynasty have been
hot favorite items of the scholars for nearly five decades now and it may continue for decades to
come, whenever a new epigraph or manuscript comes to light in support of or against the

Kannada origin. But what the scholars have done till now in this region is only to add and
confirm whatever Saletore could propound in early 1930s with fewer sources at his disposal.
He started his career as professor of History at Sir Parshurambhau College in Pune in 1938, and
later worked at University of Ahmedabad. He worked with the Bombay Educational Service he
became the Director of National Archives of India, retiring in 1960. Thereafter, he started his
tenure as professor, later Head of Post Graduate Department of History, and finally Director at
Kannada Research institute at Karnataka University, Dharwad.
Contribution
He was the first scholar to utilize epigraphical sources for the study of social history which he
invariably tried to corroborate with the observations of the foreign travelers, an approach being
followed by other young scholars. Though the work was completed in London it is a wonder that
he has not left Kannada sources unexplored. Some of the Sanskrit manuscripts. he referred in
India Office, London are yet to be studied in detail.
It is surprising that in many works on Vijayanagar history that followed, the pattern of study and
division of chapters on social and economic conditions, as social legislations, institutions,
corporate life etc., several scholars owe him a lot whether they acknowledge it or not. He was
indeed a pioneer to throw light on various aspects of socio-economic polity of Karnataka whose
scope has enriched with countless epigraphs and other sources in later years. Whatever has been
written anew, only supplements Saletore.
The book is studied from five points of view a) Legendary, b) domestic, c) foreign relations of
Alupa rulers, mainly, based on epigraphs, (d) folk and traditional sources, and finally (e) literary

sources. He introduced Grama Paddhati, a work on Tuluva tradition for the first time. The book
is a compendium on life and times in Tuluva depicting village organization, duties of local
officials, system of land distribution, modes of punishment, judicial administration, and
historicity of some families like Hollas, Mayyas, Ballalas and Karanths. The chapter on everyday
life brings out many industries like ship-building, toddy-tapping, manufacture of cloth, hats and
umbrellas, dress, and ornaments, amusements, means of communication, food etc., and life in the
Budu or manorial house of Tuluva chieftains. A large number of epigraphs discovered in that
region after Saletore wrote this book may not confirm what he tried to establish earlier. But
tapping of sources like legends, mythology, folklore and tradition for the study of History was
again a novel method.
Medieval Jainism with special reference to Vijayanagar Empire came out in 1938. It deals with
early migration of Jainism to Karnataka in 297 BC and traces its history for twelve centuries.
Jainism was a live force in Kannada polity and the contribution of Jain Gurus to prosody,
grammar, science are mentioned. The patronage extended by the Ganga, Kadamba, Rashtrakoota,
Chalukya and the Hoysala dynasties as also a number of princely families like the Chellaketana,
Kongalvas, Chengalvas and the Shilaharas, Rattas and nobles like those of Nagara Khanda are
dealt with.
Religion unrelated to political power does not leave permanent effect on society. Jain sages, the
great exponents of ahimsa have encouraged great generals. This land teams with the Bhawyas,
who were great devotees and preceptors who attained salvation through sallekhana. Generals
like Chavundaraya, Shantinatha, Boppa, Punisha and others are depicted in the light of their
conquests and benevolence.

He further analyzes three sinews of political expansion, energy, enterprise, and wealth which
became part of Kannada heritage and resulted in an age-long contact of the region with more
vigorous and ancient peoples. These included Babylonia, Assyria, Java and Indonesia. According
to Saletore, following traits which form cultural life of Karnataka are borrowed from Babylonia:
a) The cult of Mother Goddess; b) Symbols of boar, bull and elephant; c) Linga worship; d)
Gandabherunda: the legend of double headed Eagle, and finally e) the legend: of a prince killing
a lion-resulting in the symbol of Hoysalas. According to him legends lose a good deal of their
exterior from but retain their kernel when transmitted from age to age and from land to land. He
further derives the descendance of Hoysalas from Shatavahanas or Shalivahanas. With more and
more evidence being discovered of India's ancient contacts with West Asia, since Saletore's
observations, he may again shine as a pioneer of this theory.
Major works
Salatore was a polyglot. His works spanning several books and hundreds of articles cover a wide
range of subjects including ancient Indian history. During his early years he was guided by world
famous historians like H. Heras and L.D. Barnett. In the 1930s, he wrote a well-known
book Social and Political Life in the vijayanagara empire, a book that includes the much debated
topic of the origin of the Sangama brothers and the origin of the empire itself. This book was his
PhD. thesis while at the University of London. The work contains a bibliography of 55 pages,
running to thousand and odd books and articles.
Origin of Vijayanagar Empire Saletore was the first among scholars from Karnataka to
emphatically prove the Kannada origin of the empire. He resoundingly argued against a Telugu
origin propounded by N. Venkataramanayya with literary and numismatic evidence. While the

hour of need during the time of the empire was to ward off Muslim invasion into south India and
the people and the administrators of the empire were generally bilingual, Saletore beyond doubt
proved that the empire had its origins in Kannada country only. Study on political and social
history was divided into

Revenue administration

Administration of central government

Administration of local government

Law and Justice

Foreign relations

Army.

Study on cultural history divided into

Social institutions

Position of women

Social legislation

Public service

Habitation, food and dress

Corporate life

Festivals, games and amusements.

In appreciation of his work, historian S. Krishnaswamy Aiyangar sums up Saletore's efforts in a

nutshell. "The very extent of the subject and the vastness of details available, would baffle in this
direction ordinarily. But Dr. Saletore has succeeded in producing a creditable work bearing on
the vast subject. The work gives a correct and complete view of the life of the people under the
empire, during the three centuries of its fight to preserve Hindu institutions and Hindu
civilization".
He is said to be the first historian to use epigraphical sources for the study of social history which
is what current days students of history do. He is said to be a pioneer in throwing light on socioeconomic policy of Karnataka over the ages. His last book, Ancient Indian Political Thought and
Institutions, written just before his death, is said to be a masterpiece. The book is said to be a
comparative study of great Indian political minds of ancient times including kautilya.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270363090_Ancient_Indian_Political_Thought_and_In
stitutions_By_B_A_Saletore_pp_xiv_695_Asia_Publishing_House_Bombay_1963

Bipin Chandra
Bio:
Bipan Chandra (27 May 1928 30 August 2014) was an Indian historian, who mainly focused
in economic and political history of modern India. He was a Professor in modern history at
Jawaharlal Nehru University, he specialized on the Indian independence movement and is
considered to be one of Indias topmost scholars on Mahatma Gandhi. He wrote several books,
including The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism. Chandra was born in Kangra
in Punjab, British India (now in Himachal Pradesh). He was educated at Forman Christian
College, Lahore, Stanford University USA and the University of Delhi, where he completed his
Ph.D. under the supervision of Professor Bishweshwar Prasad
Chandra, a Padma Bhushan awardee, had played many roles including that of chairperson of the
Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Member of the University Grants

Commission (UGC) and the Chairman of the National Book Trust (NBT). As NBT chairman,
Chandra successfully revived the Nehru-era organization.
Contribution:
The story of the forging of India, the worlds largest democracy, is an exemplary and inspiring
work. This volume, a sequel to the best-selling Indias Struggle for Independence, studies the
challenges India has faced and the successes it has achieved, in the light of its colonial legacy
and century-long struggle for freedom. The book tells us how the Constitution was framed, as
also how the Nehruvian political and economic agenda and basics of foreign policy were evolved
and developed.

It dwells on the consolidation of the nation, examining contentious issues like party politics in
the Centre and the states, the Punjab problem, and anti-caste politics and untouchability. This
revised edition offers a scathing analysis of the growth of communalism in India and the use of
state power in furthering its cause. It also documents the fall of the National Democratic Alliance
in the 2004 General Elections, the United Progressive Alliances subsequent rise to power and
the Indo-US Nuclear Deal that served to unravel the political consensus at the centre.

The following is an article by The Indian express after the death of bipan Chandra

It is a measure of Bipan Chandras achievement as a historian that he defined the mainstream

establishments self understanding of Modern India for a very long time. Other historians have
been more scholarly or more conceptually innovative. But few historians weaved together a
narrative of Modern India in a way that had the power of becoming a default political common
sense. Our understanding of Modern India has to, even when we disagree, come to terms with
the framework he laid out. Most historians are remembered because they were gifted in some
way. Chandras achievement was more elusive: he became inescapable.
Chandra also managed to tie the project of political secularism to a historiography of secularism.
It rested on a claim that the way we represent the past will bear on the way we think of the
future: if the past turns to be the site of communalism, so will the future.
It has less space for Hedley Bulls thought that history might turn out to be subversive of all
kinds of claims, good and bad. It had the consequence of making all history, political and all
politics coterminous with a historical narrative. At one level it raised the stakes in historical
inquiry; at another level it made genuine historical inquiry difficult. This is the legacy we are still
coming to terms with. The second assumption is that history as a moral drama is more blackwhite than 50 shades of grey. This was clearly on display in what was perhaps his most
controversial book, In the Name of Democracy: J P Movement and the Emergency, a book that
was a sophisticated apologia for Indira Gandhis authoritarian politics.
To simplify somewhat, in Chandras major works, modern Indian history is broadly on the
trajectory of an inclusive passive revolution. But it is subverted by woolly headed political
mobilisers like JP, especially when they give space for the RSS. In a sense, strangely for
Marxists, history, rather than emerging as a product of a complicated economic, social and even

cultural churn, ends up being a drama where forces of disorder need to be curbed in the name of
something called a secular order. In some ways, Chandras world view captured that of the
historical protagonist he subtly defended Indira Gandhi: secular, economic nationalist but
unable to fathom complex process as anything other than a conspiracy. The strange CongressLeft elective affinity was forged less by a fear of the RSS than by the fact that the Congress,
during the 70s, gave up its own complex historical sensibility and substituted it with the Left.
Chandra was the key protagonist in that significant historical transformation and therefore
dominated like few historians have. His greatest triumph was to make this view of history so
inescapable that even his opponents were forced to practice it. Animating this deep conflation of
history and politics was perhaps an admirable ethical impulse: it was the fear that if the past did
not tell a comforting story, the future will not as well. Even as we struggle to escape from the
limitations of that framework, the questions Chandra asked about the relationship between
politics and history will haunt us for a long time.
Major works:

The Making of Modern India: From Marx to Gandhi, Orient Blackswan, 2012

History of Modern India, Orient Blackswan, 2009

Communalism: A Primer, (New Delhi, 2004)

In the Name of Democracy: The JP Movement and the Emergency, (New Delhi, 2003)

Essays on Colonialism, (New Delhi, 1999)

India Since Independence, (jointly with Mridula Mukherjee and Aditya Mukherjee),
(New Delhi, 1999)[15]

Ideology and Politics in Modern India, (New Delhi, 1994)

Essays on Indian Nationalism, (New Delhi, 1993)

Essays on Contemporary India, (New Delhi, 1993)

The Epic Struggle, (New Delhi, 1992)

India's Struggle for Independence, 1857-1947, (New Delhi, 1989)

Indian National Movement: The Long Term Dynamics, (New Delhi, 1988)

Communalism in Modern India, (New Delhi, 1984)

The Indian Left: Critical Appraisal, (New Delhi, 1983)

Nationalism and Colonialism in Modern India, (New Delhi, 1979)

Freedom Struggle, (jointly with Amalesh Tripathi and Barun De), (New Delhi, 1972))

The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India: Economic Policies of Indian
National Leadership, 1880-1905, (New Delhi, 1966)

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/bipan-chandra-the-man-whose-viewof-modern-india-is-inescapable/#sthash.0J6EwKFO.dpuf