The three-day international seminar on Dara Shukoh: Context Of History, Context Of The Present in Delhi last week, organised by Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hind), was an impassioned gathering of historians, litterateurs and composite culture enthusiasts, reports SAKINA YUSUF KHAN
The seminar was an ode to Dara Shukoh, probably the most tragic figure of Mughal history. Dara, the heir apparent of Emperor Shahjahan, was a great believer of India’s syncretic culture. He studied the Quran and Bhagwad Gita with equal zest. Had he not been defeated by his brother Aurangzeb, the history of India might have been very different, indeed.
“Our main concern was to take Dara out of the footnotes of history and examine him as a central figure of India’s Ganga-Jamani tahzeeb,” said Sadiqur Rehman Kidwai, the Anjuman’s president. In the course of three days, many questions relating to India’s religious and social heritage were examined. The issue of faith versus scepticism, tradition vs reformation, and hardliners vs spiritualists were also discussed.
Delivering the keynote address, eminent historian Irfan Habib said, “Dara’s greatest contribution was the translation of the Upanishads into Persian. It opened this treasure house of ancient Indian wisdom to the west and was followed up by translations into Latin and French.”Not many know that it was this Mughal prince who also got the Hindu scriptural text, the Yoga Vasishta, translated into Persian for the first time.
Noted litterateur, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, who presided over the first session, spoke on the poetry of Dara Shukoh and its relevance in today’s world. Sharing the dais with him were Justice Markandey Katju, and Ishrat Alam, member-secretary, Indian Council of Historical Research, who stressed the relevance of Dara’s philosophy of oneness in today’s divided world.
Several scholarly papers, highlighting Dara’s philosophy and contribution, were presented in the course of the three days, at the end of which Dara emerged as a tragic personality, far ahead of his times and a symbol of India’s composite culture. His relevance in the current context, when religious intolerance runs high, was emphasised by Ather Farouqui, general secretary of the Anjuman. Agreeing with him, Pakistani theatre group Ajoka’s director Shahid Nadeem lamented that the Mughal prince has been completely
wiped off history textbooks in Pakistan.
The valedictory address, delivered by Gopalkrishna Gandhi, in the form of an impassioned letter to Dara, drew parallels between his grandfather, M K Gandhi and Dara Shukoh. Both were hounded by hardliners who found them ‘inconvenient’. Both became ‘a victim of their own honesty’, he said. The letter ended on a note of optimism with hopes for a better tomorrow, where Dara’s philosophy of Oneness would assume centre-stage and make way for a syncretic and tolerant India.