WRITING literary history is not easy. Writing literary history with all its social and historical background is even more difficult. And writing literary history with all its prerequisites and that too in a prose that is highly literary yet flowing and gripping is almost impossible. Dr Jameel Jalibi is one of those few persons who have achieved this great literary feat.
Dr Jameel Jalibi’s literary works spread over numerous fields and span about 70 years, but his Tareekh-i-adab-i-Urdu, or the history of Urdu literature, in four volumes, is the kind of work that has eclipsed almost all other literary histories of Urdu and has made Jalibi a legendary figure in the history of Urdu literature. It has also overshadowed Jalibi’s other works as well, though his other literary achievements are too great to be overshadowed by any work, let alone his own.
Born Mohammad Jameel Khan into a Yousufzai family on June 12, 1929, in Aligarh, UP, India, Jameel Jalibi has just turned 89. In fact, according to some sources, he is 90. Some writers have mentioned his year of birth as 1928. Some have mentioned July 1, 1929, as his date of birth and Saharanpur, UP, as his place of birth. Some have mentioned July 30 as his birthday. But Prof Abdul Aziz Sahir in his book Jameel Jalibi: shakhsiyet aur fun (Pakistan Academy of Letters, 2007) has clarified that Dr Jalibi was born in Aligarh on June 12, 1929, though in official records July 1, 1929, is noted as his date of birth.
So the publication of a new book on the life and works of Jameel Jalibi coincides with his 89th birthday. The book, aptly subtitled Bari mushkil se hota hai chaman mein deeda var paida, is a tribute befitting and well-deserved. Edited by Dr Mohammad Khaavar Jameel and published by Niaz Mandaan-i-Karachi, the 759-page tome is a collection of articles written by some of the most prominent and celebrated writers, intellectuals, researchers and critics of the Indo-Pak subcontinent.
A researcher, critic, lexicographer, translator, children’s writer, historian, cultural critic and editor, Dr Jameel Jalibi truly deserves this glowing tribute as he has given this nation some of the most remarkable books and has done remarkable work as writer, researcher, critic and administrator. Dr Jalibi has held high posts at various literary and educational organisations, too.
Jalibi received his early education at Aligarh and passed his matriculation exam from Saharanpur in 1943. He did his BA from Meerut College, Meerut, in 1945, where Prof Karrar Hussain and Dr Shaukat Sabzwari were his teachers. In 1947, Jalibi migrated to Pakistan and did his MA (English) from Sindh University in 1949. In 1950 he did his LLB, in 1971 PhD (under the supervision of Dr Ghulam Mustafa Khan), and in 1973 DLitt.
In 1949, Jalibi worked as assistant editor for about six months for Payam-i-mashriq, an Urdu weekly published from Karachi. Between 1950 and 1953 he served as headmaster at Karachi’s Bahadur Yar Jang School. In 1953, he passed Central Superior Service (CSS) exams and became an official at the income tax department. Keeping in view his literary and research work, Dr Jalibi was made Karachi University’s vice chancellor on September 1, 1983, a post that he held till August 31, 1987. From November 1987 to November 1994, he headed National Language Authority. During 1991 and 1998, he was also serving as the president of Urdu Dictionary Board.
While busy with his official duties, Dr Jalibi kept on doing his research work and writing articles and books. His four-volume history of Urdu literature, though still incomplete as the last volume covers Urdu’s literary works and writers of the late 19th and early 20th century, has made him a legend. His research on the earliest literary pieces of Urdu, especially the ones written in Deccan in the 15th and 16th century, has pushed back the history of Urdu literature by one-and-a-half century. His discovery of Urdu’s first literary work, Masnavi Kudam Rao Padam Rao and some other classical works, such as Divan-i-Hasan Shauqi and Divan-i-Nusrati, have earned him the reputation as one of the most celebrated research scholars of Urdu.
His other books include Janveristan (an Urdu translation of George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm), Eliot ke mazameen (an Urdu translation of essays by T.S. Eliot), Pakistani Culture, Qadeem Urdu ki lughat, Arastu se Eliot tak, The Changing World of Islam, Tanqeed aur tajraba, Qaumi angrezi Urdu lughat, Adabi tehqeeq and many others. He also edited Naya daur, a prestigious Urdu literary journal. For his services he has been awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Dawood Literary Award (four times), Baba-i-Urdu Award and Mohammad Tufail Award.
We are a nation that loves the dead and pays rich tribute to just about anyone who happens to pass away — and then forgets them. Some few lucky ones are remembered once a year, but they too are forgotten soon. So it is quite a celebration in itself when the achievements of a deserving writer and scholar are celebrated in his or her lifetime and they are paid the tributes they deserve.
Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2018
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.