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It is a sad fact that the standard of Urdu research is falling. Though it has not been very high in the not-so-distant past either, it has suffered from rather a tangible lapse lately.
Some may argue that even in recent past some scholars used to write (as ghost-writers) dissertations for students of MA (Urdu) and even PhD (Urdu) for a handsome amount and this fact is an open secret in the literary circles, so no need to name them here (such services are being offered online now — quite shamelessly). But when you look at the great research works of Urdu that some giants carried out in past and compare it with the works of younger researchers, you have that sinking feeling in your stomach.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, this writer has been asked on many occasions to evaluate some research dissertations penned to earn an MPhil or PhD in Urdu and submitted to some Pakistani or Indian universities. In some cases this writer had to stand as examiner conducting the viva voce for awarding PhD or MPhil. The viva voce is sometimes called ‘open defence’ these days since it is conducted in an open-to-all session and in which everybody is allowed to raise a question or objection. Some of those dissertations were well-written and truly deserved the degree, which was duly recommended and awarded. But they, too, were not without some shortcomings while some were utterly lacking in several respects and the candidates were asked to either correct certain portions or rewrite the dissertation and resubmit. Here, without mentioning any names or pointing finger at any candidate or university, general conclusions drawn from reading these dissertations and conducting those exams are presented with a view to highlight the shortcomings and with the hope that new researchers might learn a thing or two:
Hypothesis: In a recently held viva voce examination for a PhD in Urdu, I asked the candidate to describe what her hypothesis was and if she, at any stage of the research, felt that it was turning into an antithesis. What we gathered from her evasive answers was the fact that she did not understand the question, since she had no idea what a hypothesis was, though before the candidate starts any research he / she must have some assumed theory as a basis on which to develop further and prove it with evidence. It is expected that a researcher at the very outset will clearly define what he or she aims to find, prove or establish and what the paradigms are. Research, in other words, is creation of knowledge and a researcher must know what he or she is going to add to the shared knowledge of humanity.
Topic: The topic of research of a thesis sent to this writer from an Indian university was an Urdu poet, not much known or considered an important one even in India. The topic was chosen, perhaps, because the so-called ‘research’ on a living person is considered easy. Students must not think in terms of difficulty or ease while choosing topic of their research. The more important the topic, the more valuable the dissertation is, notwithstanding the pain one has to take. Paraphrasing: A researcher must be able to describe an idea more succinctly and more clearly in his/ her own words, though the source/book he/ she cite might have put it in a long-winded and complex way (giving reference is a must).
But most of the students working on their PhD in Urdu do not know whether paraphrasing is the species of a bird, an exotic vegetable or the name of dreadful rare disease. They simply haven’t heard of it and quote paragraphs after paragraphs verbatim, some of them spreading over a few pages. This writer has had a rare opportunity to see a PhD thesis, consisting almost entirely of quotations. A mere sentence or two connected the very long passages copied down word for word, albeit not without proper references. It seemed the research supervisor either did not bother to have a look at it before signing it or he, too, simply did not know what paraphrasing was. The irony is that the thesis was accepted for degree, published by an organisation working for the promotion of Urdu language and literature (financed by the exchequer) and launched with much fanfare.
Citations: Though students are told to strictly follow the rules regarding quoting the sources used, many students writing dissertations think that not every source has to be acknowledged, especially while writing some historical background. In recent years I have found in a number of PhD and MPhil dissertations that citations for historical facts, supposedly furnishing cultural and social background, were simply missing. When pointed out as a discrepancy at the viva and told even a single line is to be acknowledged and properly cited, the students were quite surprised, though it might had jeopardised their thesis on the charges of being plagiarised.
Endnotes/bibliography: When I visited my scholar friend Muhammad Ahsan Khan in Lahore a couple of years ago, I found in his drawing room a girl student waiting for me with a copy of her dissertation for which she was awarded an MPhil. She wanted me to see it before she got it published. On random checking I noted that endnotes, a very important part of any research work, were not properly structured. She simply did not know how to mention in the endnotes any work cited and how to enlist the bibliographical details. The supervisor, a big name in contemporary Urdu research and criticism, was too busy to check such “trivial” things, although he had helped her a lot with the sources and concepts about the topic. Research students must remember that the manner and sequence in which the names of authors, titles, years of publication and other bibliographical details are shown are quite important.
Parlance: The language of a research work has to be quite different from that of the works of fiction. It has to be objective, impartial, without any prejudices and non-poetical (Urdu is otherwise very poetical and there is a lot of euphemism and dysphemism, too). Some students write their dissertation in quite a serious and no-nonsense tone but when it comes to writing the foreword they feel quite relaxed to use an informal style. Some even try to be funny or satirical. This only hurts the impression of seriousness and objectivity that a research work must exhibit.
Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2015
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