Three Mughal Poets: How and Where to Locate them?

(Abstract of a new working paper)

Raziuddin Aquil

Scholars of Indian history have been obsessed with Sanskrit for Ancient period, Persian for Medieval and English for Modern. However, such a narrowly framed tripartite division of history and its sources is increasingly being questioned. Medieval and early modern India witnessed a strong tradition of writing history in several languages across the Subcontinent. Often these histories were embedded in literature in a variety of genre, but they are generally not considered reliable enough by modern historians. Some recent researches have ensured that older assumptions will have to be modified. Besides, literary compositions in various fictional forms, which may not be identified as history, remain important for a newer political and cultural history. Recent trends have shown how, for instance, medieval Indian history cannot remain tied to a small set of Persian chronicles, whereas the vast corpus of Persian literature remains ignored. Indeed, the huge corpus of medieval and early modern literature is awaiting new historians, with ability to work with both Persian and Indian vernaculars, not only for the appreciation of their literary value, but also for writing a more nuanced history. 

We will be highlighting here the significance of some fresh new forays in related areas, including contributions focusing on critical interconnections between literature and history. The paper will especially focus on some fascinating examples of literary compositions by three formidable personalities of Ja'far Zatalli, Nazir Akbarabadi and Mirza Ghalib - the central concern being how and where to locate them. Conventional historiography of Mughal India has tended to hide behind the old assumption that poetry doesn't fulfil the need for hard facts historians deploy in their writings. Happily, new historians of early modern literature are sensible enough to recognise the value of the circuitous relationship between literature and society - literature is a product of a society, it thus reflects the society in which it is produced. Historians are also giving up their prejudiced opinion that literary scholars have no sense of history. Literary scholars, in turn, have also began to take historians seriously. It is a productive situation for all concerned. The poets themselves have offered a lot of sexy stuff worth relishing, writing primarily in a language identified as Rekhta or Urdu, which remained at the margins of political relations in their times and ours, and yet its significance cannot be obliterated from the pages of history. It remains relevant as an important marker of cultural excellence even today.

"Puchhte hain woh ke ghalib kaun hai 

Koyi batlao ke ham batlayen kya"