January 15, 2002

IN the early twenties, a national university known as Jamia Millia was founded in Aligarh by Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, who was not satisfied with the British-based system of education that had been introduced there. In 1925, this institution was shifted to Delhi and two reputed brothers, Hakim Ajmal Khan and Dr Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, struggled hard to consolidate it. It was under the able guidance of the noted educationist, Dr Zakir Hussain (who later became the President of India), that the Jamia evolved into an innovative institution to impart education to the Muslims of the subcontinent.

Primary and secondary classes were started at the grass roots.To cater to the need of the students, a publishing house, better known as Maktaba-i-Jamia, was created which rendered laudable service to the cause of education of the young by producing children’s literature. The books published by this organization are among the best produced for teenagers in that period.

Mostly written by competent and experienced teachers of the Jamia who were well-trained, the publications met admirably the intellectual needs of the children by laying emphasis on the educational and informational dimension. In the team of writers at Jamia Millia, Delhi, there was a young man whose motherland was Sindh and his mother tongue was Sindhi. Yet he wrote about fifty books in Urdu ranging from Islamic history and folk tales to religion and biography. All these titles are still considered to be outstanding gems in children’s literature produced indigenously.

This man who made such a profound impact on Urdu literature for the young was Abdul Wahid Sindhi. Later he rose to be the editor of the government-owned Sindhi journal, Naeen zindagi, which was published from Karachi.

Abdul Wahid Sindhi was born in village Haleyjee Sharif, in district Sukkur, in 1905. He was educated initially in Ghotki and then he went to Jamia Millia, Aligarh for higher education. In 1933, Dr Zakir Hussain appointed him as a teacher in the Jamia. He devoted the best period of his life to this institution. Since he was entrusted with the task of teaching primary classes, Sindhi used this opportunity to observe the habits, tastes and psychology of the young. His intimate interaction with the teenagers gave him an insight into the intellectual needs of the youth, the kind of literature they love to read, and the language and style which they enjoy most. His long experience as a schoolteacher in Delhi equipped him for the task of book production for the young.

Sindhi had a talent for story telling. Before he embarked upon the task of writing stories, there was a great dearth of such material. Though Munshi Prem Chand, Tajwar Najibadi and Mohammadi Begum (mother of Imtiaz Ali Taj) had written some fiction for children, their books were not in common use in the educational institutions, and as such were limited in their readership. Children from all over India were enrolled in the Jamia Millia and supplementary reading material for them was in short supply. Keeping in view the scarcity of children’s books, Dr Zakir Hussain, the Vice-Chancellor, encouraged Sindhi to fill the gap.

Abdul Wahid Sindhi took up this assignment in real earnest and a number of interesting and informative stories in Urdu flowed from the pen of this great scholar from Sindh. Keeping in view the different age groups of his readership, he graded his writing according to the age and taste of the children. His works are considered to be of qualitative excellence. His stories went a long way towards introducing into children’s literature original themes, innovative style and language, lively characters, suspense, an indigenous environment, and simple dialogues.

The main characteristics of Sindhi’s stories are that the child himself is the central character. The themes of all the stories have a direct bearing on the actual life of the young readers. Nothing in the books is unfamiliar to them. His works are unique in their character, specially those written for the youngest age groups with graded vocabulary. His grasp of children’s psychology remains firm and unrivalled.

Abdul Wahid Sindhi wrote stories, which lured the young readers, way back in the 1930s. Some of the titles became hits in the subcontinent seven decades ago.

Sindhi also wrote books on issues of direct relevance to Islam. His most well-read book is the biography of the Holy Prophet entitled Rasool pak kon thay. It was originally written with the idea of being included in the syllabus of the Jamia Millia as a course book. But in view of its attractive narrative style, vivid descriptions and simplicity of language, this book came to be prescribed in all the primary schools of undivided India. This title has gained so much popularity that until now more than twenty editions have rolled out of the press.

Besides the above-mentioned title, he also wrote a number of books on religious topics which are very easy to read and simple to understand.

Abdul Wahid Sindhi also undertook the task of introducing children to the brave soldiers of Islam. His book Islam kay mashoor sepah salar is highly remarkable in this context. Although 70 years have passed since the said book was written for the students of Jamia Millia, Delhi, it still remains unmatched in its realistic presentation of historical facts and figures in a very lucid style. His other book of note is the one written on the famous admirals of Islam. These two books are so informative that they should be prescribed in all the primary schools of Pakistan.

It may not be out of place to mention here that during 1969-70, Dr Mahmud Hussain, the founder President of Jamia Millia, Karachi, and Vice-Chancellor of Karachi University, launched a journal, Sitara for children from the Jamia. Its editorship was assigned to Abdul Wahid Sindhi, who had just retired from the ministry of information, Sindh, as editor Naeen zindagi. He put all his energy into setting up the magazine. Under his able editorship, the Sitara attracted young readers and its circulation grew by leaps and bounds. But, due to some financial setbacks, the magazine had to be closed down and Abdul Wahid Sindhi, a talented writer for children, faded from the literary scene.

In 1980, when I was working as the incharge of general and children’s books in the National Book Foundation, Islamabad, I went to Karachi and tried to persuade Sindhi Sahib to write books for the juvenile readers in his own inimitable style. To my great surprise he declined. The reason? He said that he felt he was not needed any more by the nation. He was of the view that after the emergence of Pakistan, he was never asked by the ministry of education to write books for children of the kind he had prepared at Jamia Millia, Delhi, under the patronage of Dr Zakir Hussain, Prof Muhammad Mujeeb and Dr Abid Hussain. He looked highly frustrated.

That frustration and disappointment was devastating and Sindhi breathed his last on January 2, 1988 in Karachi. He had faded into oblivion and no news of his sad demise appeared in the national dailies. Thus, a champion of children’s literature in Urdu was totally ignored by our mass media. He was a remarkable man. Sindhi was his mother tongue, but he wrote only in Urdu in the best period of his youth for a salary of Rs30 per month, thousands of miles away from his native place Sukkur, Sindh.

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