dr. n. a. baloch: the high and humble taj joyo muhammad
TRANSCRIPT
Dr N A Baloch The High and Humble
Dr Baloch an exemplary scholar Dr Baloch Hiku Misaalee
Aalim
(انگريزي مضمون)ڊاڪٽر بلوچ هڪ مثالي عالم، مرتب تاج جويو
Part 3 (Essays in English)
Compiled by Taj Joyo
DR. N. A. BALOCH:
THE HIGH AND HUMBLE
A Presentation Volume
by his Admirers
Compiled by:
Taj Joyo
Published by:
Muhammad Usman Mangi, Patron-in-Chief,
Sindh Manik Moti Tanzeem,
نظيم تسنڌ ماڻڪ موتي
Hyderabad, Sindh
2001 A.D
ENGLISH SECTION (of the work,
entitled: Dr. Baloch Hiku
Misaalee ‘Aalim
Contents
Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch: Renaissance
Man of Sindh: Dr. Hamida Khuhro:
Achieving the Hieghts of Knowledge
:Muneeza Hashmi
Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch: as I have
known him: Professor Nazir Ahmed
Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch: Scholar and
Educationist. Aziz Malik
Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch: An Insight
into a Living Legend: Dr. Habibullah
Siddiqui
Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch: An Endless
Journey: Seema Qureshi
.
Appendix:
Dr. N.A. Baloch: Introduction to Al-Beruni's
book: Kitab al- Jamahir fi Ma'arafat al Jawahir کتاب
الجماهر في معرفت الجواهر
Dr. Baloch's Publications : Taj Joyo
Contributors
Dr. Hamida Khuhro is a renowned
scholar and historian, formerly
Professor of History, University of
Sind.
Muneeza Shamsie, an experienced
Scholar who writes feature articles
published in DAWN etc.
Professor Nazir Ahmad: Professor
Government College Lahore, and,
subsequently Joint Secretary, Cabinet
Division Government of Pakistan
(Retired.)
Aziz Malik, Bureau Chief of DAWN,
Hyderabad Sindh.
Dr. Habibullah Siddiqui, an Educationist,
Ex. District Education Officer, Secretary
Sindhi Adabi Board, Secretary Sindh Text
Board, Ex. Director Bureau of Curriculum
Jamshoro.
Seema Qureshi, Columnist DAWN
(Our grateful thanks are due to them for
their learned contributions)
Dr. Hamida Khuhro
Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch:
Renaissance man of Sindh
Dr. Baloch is a man with the curiosity of an
explorer and the application of a scholar. He
is a natural born researcher who has devoted
his life to uncovering every stone, as it were,
of Sindh and revealing the life underneath to
our gaze. A man of great mental capacity, an
indefatigable worker and devoted to the
cause of learning and knowledge. Dr. Baloch
has helped Sindh make monumental leaps in
its knowledge about itself. There is no corner
of Sindh's folk literature, culture, history,
geography and anthropology that is not
researched by him. It would not be an
exaggeration to call him an encyclopaedia of
Sindh.
Dr. Baloch has been generous in sharing his
knowledge and it is to be found in the dozens
of books that he has written on these
subjects. His tally of books is very
impressive for the number published and for
the variety of subjects covered. They are of
such excellence and cover such a wide field
that the most exoteric interests in Sindh are
to be found in his work. He himself is
proudest of his ten volume definitive edition
of the poetry of Shah Abdul Latif, the
national poet of Sindh. But in my view
perhaps his most valuable work is on the
five-volume dictionary of Sindhi that must
be regarded as a seminal work on the Sindhi
Language. It is a comprehensive work of
great erudition and places Sindhi as a
developed modern language of the
subcontinent. The fact that Dr. Baloch has
done the work himself with the help only of
every small team of assistants is proof, if
proof were needed of his immense
knowledge of the language and his
dedication to it. He has thus laid the basis of
the language as an instrument of modern
learning. The plain facts of the career of Dr.
Baloch speak for themselves.
Born in a small village in the district of
Saghar his brilliance as a student became
apart early. He studied at the Madressah and
High School of Sindh. He obtained First
class and the second position amongst the
Muslim candidates of Sindh in the
Matriculation examination. He graduated
with Honours from Bahauddin College in
Junagadh getting first Class and 3rd position
in Bombay University which maintained the
highest academic standards in India. He then
did his M.A from Aligarh University getting
the first position in the University. He was
given a scholarship by the British
Government of India and got his Masters and
Doctorate in education from Columbia
University in New York.
Dr. Baloch's working career has been equally
distinguished. He was selected for the
superior services of Pakistan but gave up,
what surely would have been a great career
in the Government Service of Pakistan, for
his first love, the academic world. Here his
career has been a roll call of honour and
distinction. As professor of Education he
founded the first Department of Education in
Pakistan that later he developed into an
Institute of Education and Research. He is
the pioneer in the field of higher professional
education of teachers in Pakistan.
He has been Vice Chancellor of the
University of Sindh (1973-1976) He founded
the department of Pharmacy and the Centre
for Pakistan Studies in the University. He
fully supported the establishment of the Shah
Abdul Latif Campus of the Sindh University
and at the main campus (Allama I.I. Kazi
campus) he strengthened the University
Library and the Institute of Sindhology. He
had the grant of the University increased and
managed to get a number of scholarships and
grants for the University.
From 1976 the Federal Government at
Islamabad acquired the services of Dr.
Baloch. He was O.S.D Secretary Ministry of
Education and Secretary Ministry of Culture.
He was Chairman National Institute of
Historical and Cultural Research where he
initiated a vigorous programme of research
and publications. As advisor to the National
Hijra Council set up to celebrate the 15th
century of the Islamic era, Dr. Baloch
devised on ambitions programme of historic
publications. These were the hundred great
books of Islamic world. Chosen with great
care, these hundred books were to be
translated and edited and published in
English.
Dr. Baloch was the first Vice Chancellor
of the Islamic University at Islamabad and
set it up as a fully working University within
a very short time. On his return to Sindh Dr.
Baloch became the founding Chairman of
the Sindhi Language Authority. In this
capacity he continued his services to the
Sindhi Language. In addition to the work on
Sindhi, Dr. Baloch has written numerous
books in Urdu, Arabic, Persian and English.
In his retirement Dr. Baloch continues to
work hard at writing and researching. His
travels take him to every corner of the
province where he finds not only congenial
company of sughars, story tellers and
musicians but also discovers interesting
historic clues through which he identifies
water wells constructed in specials manner
which date them back three thousand years at
a conservative estimate. His immense
contribution to the fund of knowledge about
Sindh is a monument to his genius. His 44
volumes of folk literature, more than 15
volumes on Shah Abdul Latif, his work on
classical historical texts of Sindh, on Muslim
scholars like Al-Beruni, Allama I.I. Kazi, on
different aspects of the culture of Sindh
including music and musical instruments, on
education, on the language including the
dictionaries, are such accomplishments that
it is difficult to imagine them equalled let
alone surpassed. May God grant him health
and a long life to continue the valuable work
that he has devoted his life to.
Muneeza Shamsie
Achieving the heights of
knowledge
Dr. N.A. Baloch is one of Pakistan's most
distinguished scholars and historians. He
knows Persian and Arabic, is fluent in English
and Urdu and "picked up Balochi and
Punjabi" along the way.
He established the pioneering Institute of
Education at Sindh University and became
the University's Vice-chancellor in 1973 and
later, Director of the Institute of Historical
and Cultural Research in Islamabad. His
remarkable academic career however had an
unlikely beginning: Dr. Baloch was born in a
small Sanghar village, where there were no
schools.
"My father died when I was six months old
and my uncle brought me up." Dr. N.A.
Baloch said, "There was no canal system in
those days. The river would flood and the
water would rise up for 10 weeks sometimes.
As children we often did not have much to
eat and we skipped meals. When I was five
my grandfather taught me the suras of the
Quran, which I memorized, my uncle told
me "When your father was dying, he said
`Educate my son'. You must learn. "My
uncle took me to the local baniya to teach me
the baniya alphabet." He later attended a
school a mile away from his village.
An Education official, who used to travel
around on a camel, wearing sola topee saw
Dr. Baloch's work and said, "This child is
brilliant. He should go to a high school."
The village teacher had no idea what a high
school was.
The distances that Dr. Baloch and his
uncle travelled on foot in their quest for
education were vast. The middle school was
13 miles from their village. The high school
meant a train journey and a walk of 14 miles
from the station.
A quiet, soft spoken man, with on old-world
courtesy and beautiful, quaint manners, Dr.
Baloch topped in the matriculation
examination among Muslims of Sindh and
found his way to Junagadh, where Muslim
boys paid no fees, There he joined
Bahauddin Collage which had "a
magnificent domed building with
laboratories, libraries and spacious grounds".
There were excellent sports facilities,
which Dr. Baloch thoroughly enjoyed. He
saw the All-India hockey team play. He
recalls Hanif Muhammad who was a little
boy in those days and played cricket. Dr.
Baloch attended many cultural activities too,
including brilliant mushairas in which Jigar
Moradabadi frequented.
Dr. Baloch graduated with flying
colours and was awarded Nawab Mahabat
Khan Fellowship with a stipend of Rs. 100/=
but failed to get clearance from Bombay as
he had joined and organized the Khaksar
Tehrik. "We used to carry belches and we
marched up and down, a hundred strong."
The Principal said "Do what I tell you. Go to
Aligarh." "He gave me letter for the Vice
Chancellor".
"Aligarh opened up a new world", he
recalled. "I met men of great learning. They
were known internationally. The tradition at
Aligarh was that students behaved
immaculately in class. There was always a
pin-drop silence.
Otherwise, Aligrah students were a terror.
They used to travel to Delhi free and never
bought a train ticket, but no one dared
question them. We fought it out. There was
also this custom that seniors were honoured
by juniors, although they could tease juniors
mercilessly on the first night which was
called Junior's Night.
"Aligarh was a world of students. We had
student autonomy. We came from different
parts of India, but sat and ate together. The
local students never made us feel like
outsiders. People from other provinces were
elected as presidents and office bearers.
"Aligarh was a Muslim university in the true
sense. We found equality between rich and
poor. We learned respect for our teachers
and we learned student power. I was still the
leader of the Khaksar Tahrik and I was the
first to suggest that we should give an
official salute to the Quaid-i-Azam".
Dr. Baloch who studied Persian and Arabic in
Junagadh, continued with Arabic at Aligarh
and topped in his Masters exam taking a law
degree simultaneously. He went on to do
historical research on “Early Arab Islamic
Rule in Sindh.” Since then he has written
books and papers on Islamic and South Asian
history, including Islamic science. He has also
challenged the British colonial interpretation
of Indo-Muslim history.
http://www.sindhiadabiboard.org/catalogue/Personalties/Book47/Boo
k_page22.html
"The study of history never existed in the
true sense in the British time", he said.
"Because they were propagating certain
ideas. These ideas divided Hindus and
Muslims. They would refer to eye witnesses
as "native historians", and imply that they
wrote unscientifically and subjectively to
please local rulers. They denigrated Akbar
and Aurangzeb and chose not to compliment
the Mughals. It was the Muslims who coined
the word Hindu and Hindustan. They created
India. True, the Muslims broke idols because
they believed in the one God, but they
integrated Hindus into the system. They even
married Hindu wives. The Muslims studied
Sanskrit, the Hindus studied Islam and
Islamic languages.
"This was destroyed by the colonial
historians. The Muslim contribution to the
subcontinent was downgraded. This tradition
has continued in India today, where Indo-
Muslim history is being studied and turned
topsy-turvy. No one in Pakistan is doing
anything. That is why Pakistanis are
demoralised. They don't know anything
about themselves."
"The study of history", he continued" gives a
sense of identity and culture to nation. This
has been entirely neglected in Pakistan. The
problem is that the source books are in
Persian and Arabic so students have to rely
on secondary sources written by British or
Hindu historians. I am the only person who
has done some work on the early Muslim
period. I have come to the conclusion that
there was no written history in India until the
Muslims came and published the
"Chachnama"
One of Pakistan's foremost authorities of
Sindh, Dr. Baloch has edited the
"Chachnama" with introduction in English.
He took advantage of a 13 month period of
unemployment to wander across the interior
collecting and compiling Sindh folklore
which has become a milestone in Sindhi
Studies.
A lively and entertaining conversationalist,
Dr. Baloch was still in Aligarh, when Pir
Elahi Bakhsh persuaded him to come and
teach at Karachi's new Islamia College.
Shortly afterwards, Dr. Baloch won a
competitive government scholarship to
Columbia University for higher studies in
education. He did his Masters and his
Doctorate there and was selected for a UN
internship programme. While he was in New
York, Pakistan came into being. On his
return, Dr. Baloch was selected by the Public
Services Commission.
Here he fell foul of provincial wrangling
in the Ministry of Education and after a time
in the wilderness, joined External Publicity
in the ministry of Information. He has many
lively anecdotes to tell about the aggressive
broadcasts that he developed to counter
Indian and Afghan propaganda. He joined
the faculty of Sindh University when the
campus moved from Karachi to Hyderabad
in the 1950's. He worked here for 25 years.
He still lives in Hyderabad.
"In Pakistan", he said "we say funds are not
available for education but almost 80% could
be corrected without funds. It's a question of
management. We must correct the apparatus
of education. We must see that teaching is
done."
"Students attend, exams are taken, and all
other functions are performed as they should
be. Appoint a principal and hold him/her
responsible. At present no one cares because
there is no reward and no accountability.
Discipline has been thrown to the winds."
"The British were not interested in educating
the masses and we have followed that
legacy. They set up universities and colleges
to recruit colonial administrators and we still
think those are more important than primary
education. The fact is that a normal child,
with six years of planned primary education,
can be better prepared to participate in nation
building activities, than the distracted youth,
who graduates through a disorganized effort
of years of misdirection."
(Daily Dawn, Karachi)
Professor Nazir Ahmed
DR. NABI BAKHSH KHAN
BALOCH AS I HAVE
KNOWN HIM
I first read about Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Khan
Baloch (Dr. N. A. Baloch) in a letter of Faiz
Ahmed Faiz written on 8 June 1953 to Mrs.
Faiz from Hyderabad Jail, and included in
the collection ’مينلآ دريچـلآ صليبين مير‘
published from Karachi in 1971. Faiz
describes him as a pleasant visitor, a
professor in the local University who
brought for him translations of Shah Abdul
Latif Bhitai, Sindh's great mystic poet. He
recalls with affection the kind words of Dr.
Baloch and the useful discussion with him on
poetry and educational matters. A few years
later when I was at the Ministry of
Education, Islamabad and we were preparing
lists of scholars from within the country and
from abroad who could speak or write on
Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah in
connection with his centenary celebrations,
Dr. Baloch's name came up and he compiled
a booklet on quotes from the Quaid-i-Azam
in Urdu for students.
‘ کہا کيا سوچا اور کيا ںےقائداعظم : طلُبه اور تعليم)
نبي بخش بلوچ، اسلام آباد اکڻر ڈ: اور مرتب: مؤلف
(97: ع، ص6791
It continues to be a useful reference book
despite the fact that Dr. S.M. Zaman has
more recently published a comprehensive
reference book on the subject. In 1975 in
connection with “Sindh Through Centuries”
Seminar, I heard Dr. Baloch speak on
folklore and music with authority and
aplomb, and it left on my mind an indelible
impression of his multifaceted personality,--
as a scholar with multi-disciplinary
approach, a scholar in the traditional mould
having to do something or the other with the
entire corpus of knowledge. Two of the
major articles in the introductory brochure
brought out on the occasion by Pyar Ali
Allana, Minister for Education and Cultural
Affairs, Government of Sindh, and
Chairman, Central Committee, “Sindh
Through Centuries Seminar”, were by Dr.
Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch, Vice Chancellor,
University of Sindh, Jamshoro, namely:
(1) 'Sindh, a Historical Perspective' and
(2) 'Sindhi Folk Arts and Crafts'
I came in contact with him in 1976 when
after having been Vice-chancellor,
University of Sindh, Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Khan
Baloch was posted as O.S.D (Secretary) in
the Ministry of Education, Islamabad. The
work assigned to him for supervision
included programmes of century celebrations
of the founding fathers of Pakistan, Quaid-i-
Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Allama
Mohammad Iqbal, the programmes in the
preparation of which I had played a pivotal
role as secretary to the two Executive
Committees concerned but I had in the
middle of 1976 been posted abroad as
Education Attaché at the Pakistan Embassy
London. My predecessor there, Dr. S.M.
Zaman (presently, Chairman, Council of
Islamic Ideology) had returned home. I was
fully prepared to leave as Mumtaz Daultana,
ambassador of Pakistan in the United
Kingdom had urged that the new Education
Attaché should join immediately now to his
assignment. Dr. Baloch probably felt that in
my absence he might experience difficulties
in implementing the centenary programmes.
He therefore in a meeting convened by the
Education Minister, Mr. Abdul Hafeez
Pirzado brought up the subject and the
Minister remarked that if the officer was so
indispensable for the job, he should be
stopped from proceeding abroad. A friend of
mine who met me in Aabpara in the
afternoon informed me about the
development and sympathized with me.
However, in an interview the following
morning, the Education Minister okayed my
going abroad and decided to host a reception
bidding me farewell.
Thus my contact with Dr. Baloch started on a
discordant note which was, without loss of
time, smoothed away for us, me as a junior
and him as a senior, to resume a friendly
relationship which continues to flourish.
I returned from England in March 1981 and
was posted in the Cabinet Division where
circumstances again put me in touch with
him but before I reminisce about those times,
a word about activities of Dr. Baloch in the
interval.
Dr. Baloch consolidated his position and
emerged as a figure of considerable
consequence beginning from 1977. Late Mr.
A.K. Brohi's association with the
government of General Zia-ul-Haq as
Minister turned out to be a helpful factor for
him. Among other things Mr. Brohi headed
the National Hijra Committee setup in April
1978 to mark the occasion of
commencement of the 15th century of Hijra
in a befitting manner in line with decisions
taken in the meeting of Foreign Ministers of
the Organization of Islamic Countries. One
of the proposals of the committee led to the
establishment of the Islamic University,
Islamabad, Dr. Baloch was appointed the
first Vice-chancellor of this University.
He also came to head the Institute of Islamic
History, Culture and Civilization, a research
organization which had earlier been
established as Commission for Historical and
Cultural Research with Professor K.K. Aziz
the well known historian as its chairman. Dr.
Baloch as director of the institute continued
with its programme of publication and
research but reoriented it to suit new
requirements and his own experience as a
scholar.
Recalled here are two books of the period:
1) Dr. N.A. Baloch, ed, Pakistan: A
comprehensive Bibliography of Books and
Government Publications with Annotations
1947-80, Islamabad, Institute of Islamic
History, Culture and Civilization, 1981, pp
515,
2) Dr. N.A. Baloch. Ed, Fatahnamah-i-Sind.
Islamabad, Institute of Islamic History
Culture and Civilization, 1982, pp A-
English 158. B-Persian 279
The comprehensive bibliography is the joint
compilation of the research scholars of the
Institute who worked under the direction of
Dr. Baloch. It is based on different
bibliographical sources, and, besides
English, lists books in Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi
and Pashto, It also draws on government
publications, documents and reports.
Primarily relating to the post Independence
Period (1947-80), the bibliography contains
8,385 entries which cover a wide range of
subjects such as:
(1) Reference Works.
(2) Land and the people.
(3) History.
(4) Geography
(5) Politics
(6) Government
(7) Economics
(8) Foreign Affairs
(9) Defence
(10) Culture and Civilization
(11) Art Architecture and Archaeology
(12) Language and Literature
(13) Education
(14) Religion and Philosophy
(15) Sciences and Technology
(16) Health and Medicine
(17) Migration and
(18) Mass Media and Information.
In its general outline, the bibliography
brings to one's mind the series titled “Books
From Pakistan” published by the Pakistan
Book Council under the supervision of late
Ibne Insha.
Fatahnamah-i-Sindh is a scholarly edition of
a manuscript, work of Dr. N.A. Baloch in its
entirety. He visualized for implementation
by the Institute of Islamic History, Culture
and Civilization a 25- Volume Project
dedicated to the original sources of the Indo-
Muslim History, and issued Fatahnamah-i-
Sindh as volume- I Part-I of the project. It
has two sections,
A- English (notes and commentary) and
B- Persian (text).
The manuscript contains the original record
of the Arab conquest of Sindh by
Mohammad b. Qasim (712-15-A.D). Besides
detailed reports of the campaign in general
and eyewitness accounts of different battles
in particular, Fatahnamah also contains
information on ethnological dissemination
and Buddhism in Sindh, and on relations
between the kingdom of Sindh and other
contemporary kingdoms.
An eminent literary scholar named Ali b.
Hamid b. Abu Bakr Kufi found an Arabic
work on the early history of the Arab
conquest of Sindh in the form of a
manuscript preserved by an illustrious family
of Aror and Bakhar in Sindh. For wider
dissemination of its contents Ali Kufi
translated the Arabic manuscript into Persian
in 1216. A.D.
By drawing on Arabic sources of the 8th
and 9th centuries A.D., Dr. N.A. Baloch has
illuminated the scholarly background of the
manuscript translated by Ali Kufi. He has
also assessed the translation for its
faithfulness (or otherwise) to the original. In
doing so his objective has been to establish
the correct Persian text of Fatahnamah -i-
Sindh, important as it is as the first truly
historical work about historical events which
took place during a known historical period,
ever compiled in the South Asian
Subcontinent.
In his research on Fatahnamah, Dr.
Baloch has followed incremental approach,
building the quantum of research gradually
over a long period of time as the sources
became available, and by taking into account
English translation of the work in modern
times. He has commented on and
acknowledged the value of late Dr. U.M.
Daudpota's research who first edited the
Persian text based on five manuscripts and
published in 1939. Dr. Baloch started his
journey from where Dr. Daudpota left it and
sustained it from 1943 onwards till the
present edition with a tenacity and
farsightedness of a genuine research scholar
looking up major repositories of manuscripts
in the subcontinent and the U.K. for
materials relevant to his purpose, reading
those materials with an incisive intellect and
using them objectively to establish what is
historically authentic in Fatahnamah and
explaining what needs to be replaced in the
text. The end result should be described as a
major academic achievement. The work as
published is Volume-I part of an unfulfilled
dream, 25 volume projects on the original
sources of Indo-Muslim History starting with
the years 712 and ending in 1947 when
Pakistan emerged as a sovereign state.
After Dr. Baloch's is tenure as the Vice
chancellor of the Islamic University and as
Director Institute of Islamic History, Culture
and Civilization came to an end, the question
of further utilization of his services was
examined in the mid eighties by the
Establishment and Cabinet Division in the
light of a directive issued by the late
President General Zia-ul-Hq. As a
consequence of this exercise, I was asked to
draft and issue, after due process, a
government resolution setting up National
Hijra Council, raising its status from a
committee to an autonomous body under the
administrative control of the Cabinet
Division located at 20 Masjid Road F 6-4,
Islamabad. Late Mr. A.K. Brohi remained its
chairman and Dr. N.A. Baloch became
advisor to the Council. He continued his
scholarly work with unabated devotion.
Three publications of the National Hijra
Council during this period stand out vividly
in my recollection. Those are:
1. S-Amjad Ali, ed., “the Muslim World
Today”, Islamabad, National Hijra Council,
1985, pp 627.
2. Lois Lamya al-Faruqi, “Islam and Art”,
Islamabad, National Hijra Council, 1985,
pp 236.
3. Dr. N.A Baloch, ed, Muslim Luminaries,
Leaders of Religious, Intellectual and
Political Revival in South Asia,
Islamabad, National Hijra Council 1988,
pp 402.
The Muslim World Today is profusely
illustrated survey of forty-six independent
Muslim countries plus Palestine. A part of
the book is devoted to the resurgence of
Islam in Europe and America, The text was
written and designed by S. Amjad Ali,
Preface contributed by Dr. N.A. Baloch and
foreword by late Mr. A.K. Brohi. It was
printed by the Elite Publishers, Karachi in an
extremely attractive manner.
The book contains information on
various aspects of the countries concerned
some of which has become outdated but the
major theme of the book namely, release of
the Muslim world from imperialist
domination to an era of freedom is of
enduring historical value.
Collection of the information that went
into the making of the book required
coordination of truly gigantic proportions,
informed by vision and administrative
efficiency. This was provided by Dr. N.A.
Baloch with his characteristic sobriety in the
publication of this unique book.
The Muslim World Today was launched
with late Prime Minister Mohammad Khan
Junejo as the chief guest. He made a generous
grant on this occasion to help the Hijra
Council continue with its publications
programme devoted to promoting
consciousness of the historical role of Islam.
Islam and Art are authored by Dr. Lois
Lamy al Faruqi, Professor of Religion and
the Arts at the Temple University,
Philadelphia, U.S.A. with a preface by Dr.
N.A. Baloch. The book attempts to state the
aesthetic principles of art and their uses with
the principles of Islam in general, and to
survey the artistic expression of Muslim
sensibility in various forms and lands in the
historical perspective. Calligraphy which is
central to art in Islam has been discussed as
arabesque with copious illustrations of
contemporary scripts, and the various
functions it has performed in the Islamic
Culture. From calligraphy discussion moves
to architecture. Common components in
Islamic buildings such as enclosed courtyard,
dome, aisled sanctuary, mihrab (محراب), etc,
have been identified. Arabesque decoration
and its motif vocabulary as used in
architecture, ceramics, carpets, textiles, and
metal work have been high lighted. The last
chapter deals with music.
All in all, Islam and Art is a compact
and concise volume sensitively conceived
and aesthetically presented.
The Muslim Luminaries is the first volume in
the 3-volume project prepared by Dr. N.A.
Baloch and approved by late Mr. A.K. Brohi
who died in September 1987, a few months
before the first volume was issued. Late Mr.
A.K. Brohi's essay on Allama I.I. Kazi
(1888-1963) is included in the book. The
contributors and luminaries are as follows:
1. Dr. Burhan Ahmed Faruqi on Shaikh
Ahmed Sarhindi (1563-1624)
2. Prof: G.N. Jalbani (Ghulam Hussain) on
Shah Waliyullah (1704-1763)
3. Prof: M.Y. Abbasi, on Syed Ahmed
Khan (1817-1898) and Syed Amir Ali
(1849-1928)
4. Dr. Afzal Iqbal, on Maulana
Mohammed Ali (1879-1930)
5. Justice Dr. Javed Iqbal, on Dr.
Mohammad Iqbal (1877-1938)
6. Dr. M. Moizuddin, on Maulana
Obaidullah Sindhi (1872-1944)
7. Prof: Sharif al Mujahid, on Mohammad
Ali Jinnah (1876-1948)
8. Syed Shabir Hussain, on Inayat ullah
Khan El-Mashriqi (1888-1963)
9. A.K. Brohi, on I.I. Kazi (1888-1963)
10. Qazi Hasan Moizuddin, on Syed Abul
A'la Maududi (1903-1979)
As would appear from the outline given above,
selection of thinkers and leaders is faultless
and so is the choice of scholars to write their
biographies. The luminaries came alive on the
stage of history and among themselves
crystallized a period of nearly four centuries in
which life of Muslims went through many
changes but shaped up around great ideals
emanating from their faith in Islam.
The editor of the Muslim Luminaries (Dr.
Baloch) has done a commendable job in
getting quality material and producing a
fascinating volume.
One of the projects on which late Mr. A.K.
Brohi expressed his views in quite a few
meetings of the Hijra Council was based on
the proposed publication of one hundred
great works in English translation
representing various aspects of Islamic
culture and civilization down the ages. Dr.
N. A Baloch took it up assiduously and
prepared a conspectus of the project by
listing works of scholarship which could
mirror Islamic culture, and started
consultation meetings with scholars in the
Muslim world. Dr. Baloch implemented the
project with rig our and published four
volumes continuing further work on a dozen
more. But the project could not be completed
and it remained an unfulfilled dream of a
fertile mind after Dr. Baloch departed from
the Hijra Council.
My reminiscences of Dr. Nabi Bakhsh
Khan Baloch in Islamabad have focused on
his academic pursuits. Fact of the matter is
that his dominant impression on my mind is
that of an academician par excellence with
profound interest in the Islamic world view
in various fields and the evolution of Muslim
Identity in the subcontinent.
He carries on the tradition of classical
scholarship deeply rooted in Persian and
Arabic with a touch of the spirit of the Aligarh
movement. He has been rightly complimented
for his encyclopaedic knowledge of the Sindhi
culture but he rises above this level to the
status of a scholar who should figure
prominently on the national sense in Pakistan
and simultaneously find a respectable mention
in the Muslim world as a whole.
In my official dealings with Dr. N.A.
Baloch I was struck by his sagacity. A few
examples would suffice here.
For some years he chaired the meetings of
the scanning committee of the National
Documentation Centre. I was the secretary of
the committee. Our job was to finalize in
consultation with historians and archivists
selections of British Period historical
materials for acquisition from the India
Office Library and Record, London. Dr.
Baloch would listen to everyone with
enormous patience without wearing his own
scholarship on his sleeve and imposing it on
others. Practical consideration guided his
course of action.
For sometimes we were both concerned
in different capabilities, with our annual
celebration of Independence Day. Each year
I would convene a meeting at the Cabinet
Division for one particular item, the
publication programme for the day. The
meeting was attended by representatives of
all ministries and divisions concerned and
Dr. Baloch chaired the meetings from the
very beginning he was clear in his mind that
the set of publications to be prepared each
year for distribution among school children
should be memorial in character, in memory
of the event being celebrated. It should not
have anything to do with the government of
the day. The programme was implemented
along those lines and everybody endorsed
this approach.
When late Mohammad Khan Junejo
became the Prime Minister and the main
celebrations on 14th August had to move out
of the Presidency, a venue was to be selected
to the purpose, Final choice of venue in front
of the Parliament house was proposed by Dr.
N. A. Baloch and adopted officially without
much discussion.
Aziz Malik
Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Khan
Baloch:
Scholar and Educationist
I have known Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Baloch for
the last 50 years but have always maintained
a respectful distance. So for me writing
about him proved to be a Herculean task.
The problem was how to approach the
elusive professor, as he has always shunned
publicity. But like all great men he is the
embodiment of humility. I could not believe
my luck when Dr. Baloch himself called me
to comment on a report I had filed and asked
me to join him over a cup of tea.
Those who know Dr. Baloch 'The
renaissance man of Sindh', also know how
busy he was. He reads, sleeps, drinks, eats
and writes books. Dr. Hamida Khuhro
describes Dr. Baloch as "a man with the
curiosity of an explorer and the application
of a scholar. He is a born researcher and an
indefatigable worker devoted to the cause of
learning and knowledge. There is no corner
of Sindh's folk literature, culture, history,
geography and anthropology that has not
been researched by him. It would not be an
exaggeration to call him an encyclopaedia of
Sindh."
Born in small village of Sanghar district, Dr.
Baloch has had a brilliant academic career.
He was initially schooled at a local school
and then went on to do his matriculation
from High School Naushahro Feroze. Then
came graduation with honours from
Bahauddin College, Junagadh, and a Masters
Degree from the Aligarh Muslim University.
Yet another feather in his cap was his degree
in Law.
Based on his academic performance, he was
selected by the British Government of India
for higher studies abroad with specialization
in Education. Selection in those days was
made purely on merit: out of 600 candidates
only about a dozen candidates were selected,
Dr. Baloch being one of them. He proved his
worth by obtaining Master’s and Doctorate
degrees from Columbia University, New
York. Since then Education has remained his
passion and first love. Later he was also
selected for a ten-week information
techniques course by the U.N.
The real educationist in Dr. Baloch emerged
on the scene when he was appointed Press
Attaché in the Middle East. He called on the
great Allama I.I. Kazi, the Vice Chancellor
of the Sindh University, when it was being
shifted to Hyderabad. The Allama asked Dr.
Baloch to join university and when he asked
about the tenure, Dr. Baloch was told, "Till
you retire". Without a moment's hesitation,
Dr. Baloch tendered his resignation from the
Ministry of Interior, Information and
Broadcasting Division, where he was
serving, and joined the university to become
the founder of the Department of Education
in Sindh University, which till then did not
exist in any other university of the country.
He then helped the other universities
establish their Education Departments. His
love for education is so profound that when
he became the Vice Chancellor of Sindh
University in the early 70's, he did not give
up teaching, under his leadership; this
department later became a full fledged
Institute of Education and Research. It will
not be exaggeration to say that Dr. Baloch is
a pioneer in the field of higher professional
education of teachers in Pakistan.
Dr. Baloch served as a Vice Chancellor of
Sindh University from December 1973 to
January 1976, when his services were
acquired by the federal government. In
Islamabad he held important position as
secretary (O.S.D) Ministry of Education and
Ministry of Culture: Chairman, National
Institute of Historical Research: Member of
Pay Commission: Member of Federal
Review Board: Advisor to the National Hijra
Council: but perhaps his singular distinction
is that he was the first Vice Chancellor of the
Islamic University (now International
Islamic University).
As the first chairman of Sindhi Language
Authority, Dr. Baloch presided over and
participated in a number of national and
international seminars and conferences. A
recognized scholar of international repute, he
is the author of a large number of research
papers, and the author and editor of more
than 80 books in five different languages:
English, Sindhi, Urdu, Persian and Arabic.
He developed and directed the monumental
"Great Books Project" of the Hijra Council,
Islamabad aimed at translating and editing
into English one hundred great books of
Islamic civilization. Earlier, he had directed
another important project of the Sindhi
Adabi Board, the 'Folklore Project'. He has
published forty volumes on Sindhi folklore,
ten volumes of the poetry of Shah Abdul
Latif Bhittai and five volumes of dictionary
of Sindhi, which according to Dr. Hamida
Khuhro "must be regarded as a seminal work
on the Sindhi language."
Dr. Baloch has received Tamgha-e-Pakistan
and Pride of Performance Awards, and the
"Twentieth Century Scholar Award" from
"Kalhora Seminar" organizing committee
held in Karachi in 1996.
At present he is Professor Emeritus
(Education) University of Sindh, Jamshoro.
Only a scholar can assess the man who is a
peerless educationist, historian, linguist,
researcher and a literary giant.
(Daily "DAWN" Karachi)
Dr. Habibulla Siddiqui
Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Khan
Baloch:
An Insight into a Living
Legend of Sindh
تو جو ڏيئو ڀانئيو، سا سورج سهائي،”
“اونداهي، جي رات وهامي ڏينهن ٿيو ن انڌ
(لطيف، رامڪلي هشا)
What you thought was a lamp,
Was indeed the sun shine,
It is dark for the blind,
Though the night has ended and the day has
dawned.
A chilly morning of January 1957, a
heavy down pour and gushing northern wind,
we were waiting for Dr. Baloch to come and
preside the debate scheduled for the day. We
thought and wished that a word would come
from him that the debate is postponed: but at
the exact time he appeared plodding his way
through the rain. He gave us a quick smile
and said, "It's a wonderful morning! Let us
get to work."
A cast steel disciplinarian, who would
never allow a letup in work, has himself
passed 84 years working incessantly and
indefatigably. One can peep into his profile.
The Profile
Dr. Nabi bakhsh Khan S/o Ali
Muhammad Khan s/o Arz Muhammad Khan
Baloch, his ancestors migrated from Dera
Ghazi Khan and settled in Saghar area,
during Kalhora rule- was born on 16th
December, 1917 A.D. Father died after four
months and the uncle Wali Mohammad
Khan took over the guardianship of the
orphan nephew. There was no primary
school in village Jafar Khan Laghari where
he was born, so when he became of school
going age, he was admitted in a primary
school at village Palio Khan Laghari at a
distance. Four standards of primary
education he passed successfully, after
playing truant and being punished for his
weakness in arithmetic. For secondary
education, he got admitted in the historic
Naushahro Feroz Madresah & High School
in 1929. An indigent bright student, he
passed seven standards in seven years and
matriculated from Bombay University in
1936. Bahauddin College Jhungarh, run by
the philanthropist Nawab, offered a venue
and he went there for four years more and in
1941 got the degree of B.A (Hons) with first
class third position in the Bombay
University. Then he had to move out of
Jhungarh due to his Khaksar activities, which
the State did not approve of. He went to
Aligarh Muslim University and did his M.A,
L.L.B there with first class first position in
M.A, and first class ranking in L.L.B. When
the Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
visited the University, he led the Khaksar
contingent to present to him the guard-of-
honour. On return from Aligarh, he served as
lecturer at the Sindh Muslim College
Karachi in 1945-1946.
Due to his first class first position in
M.A, he got scholarship from the British
Government of India to prosecute further
studies at the University of Columbia in New
York City. He did M.Ed. and Ph.D. during
1946-1949, which were hot years of burning
debate over the "two-nation-theory" in the
sub-continent, discussed abroad with
interest. An Indian scholar, Taraknath Das,
was at the rostrum in New York outrightly
condemning the two nation theory. Youthful
Baloch, a student from the Columbia
University, took his turn during the question
answer time and raised such finding points
that the speaker Taraknath Das could not
refute and walked out. "Khan Baloch" won
the day and became a popular debater. He
had already organized a Muslim Students
Association in the Columbia University. As
its secretary, now he participated in the
debates in important cities of the United
States and Canada. At the first
independence-day-celebration held in New
York City in 1947, scholarly Baloch presided
and presented a map of Pakistan to illustrate
his presidential address. Then he went round
the States and Canada to collect
contributions in cash and kind for the
rehabilitation of Muslim refugees uprooted
from India.
Nabi Bakhsh Khan became Doctor of
Education, from the Columbia University, in
1949. He had an offer for employment in the
UNO, but he preferred to get back home and
engage in its development. Back home in
May 1949, he found that the promised job
had already been filled and he had to go
unemployed for at least a year. Undaunted
by adverse circumstances, he drew his own
action-plan. During the year 1949-50, he
visited many places in Sindh: its villages,
hamlets and towns, organized kutchehris
with the folk and educated himself about the
culture and traditions of Sindh, and visited
schools to address young students. He visited
Dadu High School in 1950, when I was a
student of IV Standard. His speech infused
the spirit or organization amongst us. Soon
we formed an English Debating Society and
a Sindhi Bazm-i-Adab.
In 1950, Dr. Baloch got a job in the Pakistan
Information Division, and then in the
Foreign Service, but he left good jobs to
become a professor in the University of
Sindh. The University of Sindh had been
established in Karachi on 3rd April 1947,
replacing the Bombay University as an
examining authority for the colleges and
high schools then existing in Sindh. After
four years, the nascent University of Sindh
got its godfather Allama I.I. Kazi as its
second Vice Chancellor, who looked for
talented young professors, who could help
him turn the University of Sindh into a
teaching University. Dr. N.A. Baloch was
identified and picked up, along with a few
more. A Department of Education was the
first teaching institution which was made
functional in September 1951 with Dr. N.A.
Baloch as its founder Director. During the
academic year 1952-53, the Department of
Sindhi started working. It became the
additional assignment of Dr. Baloch. Allama
Kazi loved, appreciated and trusted him and
he was also getting popular with the students
community all over Sindh. The Sindh
University was shifted to Hyderabad on 4th
May 1951, and housed in what is now called
the Old Campus, since named Elsa Kazi
Campus, and Dr. N. A. Baloch took his
residence there and is living and working
there continuously ever since.
Allama I.I. Kazi resigned from the Vice-
chancellor's post on 25th May 1959, and
passed away on 13th April 1969. Dr. N.A.
Baloch continued to develop the Department
of Education, raised it to the status of
Institute of Education & Research and
produced pristine research works on the
history and culture of Sindh, since
unprecedented. He was inspired by Allama
I.I. Kazi and had turned a visionary for
educational advancement of Sindh. He keeps
the memory of his ideal alive by managing
Allama I.I. Kazi Memorial Society, on behalf
of which he has published a number of books
on the teachings of the great sage of modern
Sindh.
Dr. N.A. Baloch was made the Vice-
chancellor of the University of Sindh in 1973
and remained as such up to 1976, when he
was called to Islamabad.
He was appointed as OSD (Jan 1976 to
August 1977) in the Ministry Of
Education,
then posted as secretary Ministry of
Culture, Archaeology, Sports and
Tourism (as a right man for the right
job), where he worked from September
1977 to March 1979, and
simultaneously during 1978-79 he
remained a member of the Federal
Review Board.
On the first of July 1979, he joined the
National Institute for Research in
History and Culture, at first as
Chairman. Within three months he
institutionalized it as "National Institute
of Historical and Cultural Research"
and became its founder Director (1979-
1982). In the meantime the
International Islamic University was
established in Islamabad in 1980 and he
was chosen as the founder Vice
Chancellor. He laid its foundation and
raised its organs for two year (1980-
1982):
When the 15th century celebrations
were launched in 1983, he was taken up
as Advisor of the Hijra council. He
joined on 22nd November 1983 and
worked for 7 years (1983-1990) on his
100 “Great Islamic Books Project” in
right earnest. A number of useful books
were translated and published with his
scholarly editing and annotations.
The Sindhi Language Authority was
established on 4th December 1990 and
Dr. N.A. Baloch was called up to
become its founder –Chairman. He laid
the foundations of the Sindhi Language
Authority and developed it till 1994.
In the mean while, he was assigned
additional job of Minister for Education
in the care-taker Government of Sindh
Province.
He returned to the University of Sindh
as professor emeritus, managed the
Allama I.I. Kazi Chair and ran Allama
I.I. Kazi Memorial Society. He, as a
founder of institutions, is ever busy at
work, gets ready for the office/field
work every morning. He has proved
that a true teacher never retires.
He has been decorated by the Government of
Pakistan with four awards so far.
Tamgha-i-Pakistan,
Sitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam,
President's Award for Pride of
Performance,
and this year's Sitara-i-Imtiaz,
(announced on 14th August 2001)
The Personality
A student may feel proud to be associated
with the prodigious personality of his ideal
teacher; So I do. My ideal teacher, Dr. Nabi
Bakhsh Khan Baloch, reflects the traditional
Islamic pattern of "simple-living and high
thinking". He puts his thoughts into practice
and digs deep into knowledge which he
proliferates through his lectures, addresses
and writings.
During 1961-62, he taught us
Anthropology. He entered the class room at
the exact minute and did not leave a minute
before time. All the time, he lectured
according to the outlines prepared by him,
and used the blackboard like a school
teacher. We were required to note down the
points and further study the relevant books in
the seminar-library. He would not even let us
heave a copy of his outlines; rather he
stopped the supply of last years question
papers which helped students cram answers
accordingly.
His life style is simple, super and
salutary, all the three aspects combined into
an unassumingly stern and active personality
called Dr. Baloch. Oliver Goldsmith (1730-
1774) described his village school master as:
"A man he was stern to view,
I knew him well,
And every truant knew."
I do not feel any different, Forty years
ago I was his student but the impact of his
robust personality, I have carried up till now.
He is regular in his evening walk, not a
stroll rather a march. One evening I
shuddered to encounter him on his way back
from his walk. I was returning from the
seminar library of which I was the secretary.
"What are you doing here at this time?" He
asked me, and I told him, "How many
students come to the library in the evening
hours?" He asked next, and I told him that
some lady teacher-trainees attended
regularly. He looked at me and said," I hope
you don't come for them" and I really
shivered in my shoes.
One evening I saw cots laid outside Dr.
Baloch's residence a 3- room quarter. I asked
my name-sake, Habibullah, who was Dr.
Baloch's personal friend and expert of Shah
Abdul Latif Bhittai's Risalo, about the
guests. He told me that besides an office
clerk and a student who cannot afford
lodging and boarding hostel and live
permanently with Dr. Baloch's family.
Artisans and artists who came to
Hyderabad to perform on Radio Pakistan or
come on personal errands, also stay here and
partake rice and pulses which Dr. Baloch can
afford to offer them.
Later on I learnt that Dr. Baloch had
eleven cats, each with a name, a female hog-
deer, chickens and other pet animals and
birds, with whom he conversed, calling them
by name, and feeding them personally on
time every day. The hogdeer was donated to
the municipal garden, where Dr. Baloch
sometime went to meet her.
He has a strong aesthetic sense and has
abundant collection of fine arts, artefacts etc.
He watches T.V for the National
Geographic documentaries, the animal world
and wrestling.
He is free with his family members and
plays with his children, now grandchildren,
chess, cards and every other in-door game.
Those days, I smoked pattay-ji-beeri but I
did not know then that my ideal teacher also
did the same. He was never seen smoking
and nobody would believe that he could
ever. As I know now, he went on with
cigarettes, trying the finest and the cheapest
brands, 555 to K-2, then cigars and finally
the pipe, and then he gave up smoking after a
heart by-pass when he was in Islamabad due
to incessant heavy work. He was used to
stimulation by tea taking and smoking. He
has since given up the usual stimulation but
not his life long work habit.
He may be unkindly described as a penny
pincher but honestly speaking he is not a
miser. He spends where necessary, but he
does so wisely. He saves prudently and
manages economically.
In 1987, Dr. Baloch received a sum of
Rs. 8, 47,544, left by the late Allama I.I.
Kazi with the late Mr. A.K.Brohi. It was the
seed-money for the Allama I.I. Kazi
Memorial Society of which Dr. Baloch was
the General Secretary. He kept the money in
fixed deposit and ran the society out of the
mark-up earned each year. About 30
publications have been brought out (from the
savings of this deposit) to proliferate the
thought and teachings of Allama I.I. Kazi.
An essay competition on the life and work of
the great philosopher-educator was initiated
at the 20th death anniversary on 13th April
1981. I got Rs. 4000 from the funds of the
society sat the first prize, and my monograph
was published by the Pakistan Study Centre
on the initiative of Dr. Baloch. "Allama Kazi
Cultural Centre" has been established by him
adjacent to the Mausoleum. Yet the un-
touched seed-money now stands at Rs. 9 lac.
A financial wizard! No?
I have seen him in relaxed mood as well.
The first time, during 50's, when he came to
our village to meet a sughar, uncle Haji
Abdul Qadir Siddiqui. He sat through the
night and got all his abiyat (poetry)
transcribed, while listening to him and
appreciating his art. He has had many such
sittings in his research galore, through the
length and breadth of Sind, and has collected
much more material on the culture and
literature of Sindh than has been published
so for.
The contribution
For me it is difficult to circumscribe the
contribution of Dr. Baloch towards the
renaissance of Sindh, revival of its
educational tradition and enriching the world
of knowledge. He is a prolific writer with
over 100 published books and a lot
unpublished. He has done original research
on the life and poetry of Shah Abdul Latif
Bhitai (10 volumes) as well as compiled,
edited and published the poetry of other
prominent classical poets of Sindh. He has
explored and published Sindhi folk-lore, (44
books) and helped promote arts, museums,
libraries and art galleries. His services
towards developing the Sindhi Adabi Board,
the Sindh University, the Mehran Arts
Council and Sindh's almost all literary,
cultural and educational institutions, is a
record so far in Sindh history. At the federal
level, too, he has immensely contributed
towards institution- building and
advancement of knowledge. Indeed he has
laid firm formations for continuous research
in history, literature and education, with us
he is a precious asset and golden apportunity
for an overall advancement into the 21st
century.
Shah Latif, the mentor of Dr. Baloch and
of us all, says:
“اوطاقن ۾( آهن )تان ڪي ساڻن اور، جان آهين ”
converse with them (the saint scholars) till
they are available at open houses).
May he live long, but the mortal will leave us
one day. After him, we will have to set a
research institute to study the life and work of
Dr. N. A. Baloch. (It would be) better to avail
of his benevolent presence amongst us, these
days. It requires a sharper insight. I would like
to sum up my observations with the following
couplet of Allama Iqbal: ہزار چشمہ ترے سںگ راہ سے پھوٹے
ضرب کلیم پیدا کرخودی میں ڈوب کر
And conclude with a prayer, and blessing
from Shah Latif.
سُڻان،جکرا جيئين شال، تنهنجو ڪنين مدو م ”
.جيئن تو اچي ڪالهه، نالائق نوازيا
Seema Qureshi
Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Baloch:
An Endless Journey
(Summarised …)
He is the son of the soil, a man of folk
wisdom. Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Baloch has
devoted much of his time to Sindhi literature
(oral as well as written) and culture, an
academician by profession, but a Sindhologist
by instinct, he is a tireless traveller who has
combed every nook and corner of Sindh to
discover and record its past and present. From
the life and times in the Indus valley, Sindh's
mountains, deserts and plains to its people,
it's fairy tales and political turmoil, from
kings to poets, beggars to thieves, past
civilizations to the present times, Dr. Baloch
has discovered, collected, compiled,
researched and authored a formidable range
of subjects. "Dr. Nabi Bakshs Baloch never
retires, "say his friends and foes in Sindh.
He simply attributes all the plaudits to
his simple upbringing. I come from a land of
folklore, so it was but natural that I imbibe it,
says Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Baloch. Born in
December 1917, his father Ali Muhammad
Khan Baloch hailed from a peasant family
from Jafar Khan Laghari Village (District
Sanghar), whose inhabitants are known to be
staunch followers of Pir Pagaro.
Reminiscing over his childhood days, he
says, "I still remember the socio-economic
fabric of my village long before the
introduction of canals in Sindh. There were
the cobblers, the blacksmiths, and the
potters. Peasants would irrigate their lands
with naar (a wooden wheel fitted with clay
pots that draws water from below and is
driven by a pair of bullocks in a circle). It
used to make a fascinating sound."
The lifestyle and customs had a
profound effect on Nabi Bakhsh Baloch's
childhood. He was enrolled in the famous
Naushahro Feroz Madressah and High
School, which has produced men of high
calibre like Allama Umar Bin Muhammed
Doudpoto and Justice Muhammed Bachal
Memon (who fearlessly authored Sindh High
Court's historic judgment against the
dissolution of Pakistan's first Constituent
Assembly). Dr. Baloch did his matriculation
from the same madressah with second
position among the Muslim candidates from
Sindh and graduated from Bahauddin
College Junagadh.
His youthful years in the 1930's were
spent in Sindh. It was the time when the
movement for separation of Sindh from
Bombay was launched by Muslim nationalist
politicians like Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto and
Muhammad Ayub Khuhro. "Sindh, at that
time, was a neglected province annexed to
Bombay and Sindh Muslim masses were
kept underprivileged," he says of those days.
"Sindh progressed considerably after its
separation from Bombay Residency and the
introduction of the canal system," he
elucidates further.
These were the times when the Hur (the
disciples of Pir Pagaro) were engaged in
their revolt against the British in Sindh. After
his B.A. (Honours) from Bahauddin College
Junagadh he enrolled in the Aligarh Muslim
University, then a hub of the Muslim
nationalist student's movement. His thesis
was on Islamic civilization. Dr. Baloch also
actively participated in the Khaksar
Movement at Aligarh. He did his master’s
and law degrees from Aligarh in 1941-43.
He was selected by the British Government
for higher studies abroad with specialization
in Education and got his master’s and
doctorate from Columbia University, New
York.
Dr. Baloch was in the United States
when Pakistan came into being. According to
him he had a lot of intellectual and political
conflicts with the then Hindu think-tanks like
TarakNath Das. "I believed in what Mr.
Jinnah stood for in the Lucknow Pact, "he
says.
Dr. Baloch established the Pakistan
chapter of Muslim Students Association in
the United States. "The main object of the
association was to counter propaganda
against movement for Pakistan."
While there, Dr. Baloch joined the
United Nations Internship and worked in the
NGOs department (of ECOSOC) "long
before the word 'NGOs' became fashionable
here," he says.
During his stay in the USA, Dr. Baloch
also concentrated on oriental studies in
context of the Islamic civilization. Dr.
Baloch had left good impression as an
interne in the U.N. and he was offered a
'lucrative' job in the NGO division by the
Hungarian boss Mr. Laslo Hamorie, but he
refused responding: "Don't you know
Pakistan has come into being."
He opted for his newly liberated country and
with great difficulty got a job in the Ministry
of Interior, Information and Broadcasting as
an OSD. later on, Sindhi Adabi Board was
set up and was drawing an outline on a
comprehensive Sindhi dictionary (an idea
originated by G.M Syed during his tenure as
Sindh Education Minister). Dr. Baloch
offered his services for the project. "The time
limit for compiling the dictionary was three
years. I worked for 20 hours a day with my
team comprising of energetic young men,
Sardar Ali Shah Zakir,
Mumtaz Mirza,
Shaikh Muhammed Ismail
and completed the project."
After that he took upon himself the
gigantic task of collecting and compiling
various generic varieties of Sindhi folklore.
For that he travelled to every nook and
corner of Sindh and came across hundreds of
sughars (wise men and women). The
publication of more than 40 volumes of
Sindhi folklore published by Sindhi Adabi
Board goes to his credit, to the majority of
people in interior Sindh. Dr. Nabi Bakhsh
Baloch is known for his works on Sindhi
folklore. Then the Sindhi Adabi Board
stopped publishing Sindhi folklore
completely. "By doing so, they killed all
ideas and prospective projects on Sindhi
folklore and culture," he says.
Dr. Baloch’s first appointment was OSD
(Officer-on-special duty) in Information
Broadcasting Division of Ministry of Interior
from when he resigned in 1951. He was
offered a job as professor of Education by
the then Sindh University's Vice Chancellor
saintly scholar Allama I.I. Kazi (Now Dr.
Baloch is married to one of the nieces of
Kazi Sahib). He had been teaching at the
Sindh University, until he was appointed
Vice Chancellor by the government of
Zulifiqar Ali Bhutto in the wake of unrest in
various Jamshoro campuses by Sindhi
nationalist students. During his tenure as
V.C., Sindh University, Shah Latif
University Campus at Khairpur Mirs, S.U.
Engineering College at Nawabshah, and the
Department of Pharmacy and Pakistan
Studies at Jamshoro campus were founded.
He remained Vice Chancellor from 1973 to
1976 until he was replaced by Shaikh Ayaz.
Zulifiqar Ali Bhutto wanted him in
Islamabad-- "which proved to be a blessing
in disguise for me, "he says
He was appointed as a Secretary (OSD)
in the Federal Ministry of Education and
Culture. Dr. Baloch was appointed by the Zia
government as the first Vice Chancellor of
Islamic University. It was during his tenure
that the university became completely
functional. He also undertook an impressive
“One Hundred Great Books” project for the
Hijra Council Islamabad. The aim of the
project was to translate and edit books on
Islamic science and civilization into English.
The books included Khawarzmi's book of
Algebra, Bairuni's on Mineralogy (Precious
Stones) Banu Musa's on Meachanical
Devices and Automata and Jazari's work on
Hydraulic Technology etc.
Besides all this, he has 80 books on
literature, education, history, culture,
lexicography, music and folklore to his credit
(they are either authored or edited by him).
He has also served as a member of
UNESCO's International Editorial
Committee on the preparation of History of
Central Asian Civilizations, and the first
chairman of Sindhi Language Authority.
Presently, Dr. Baloch is professor
Emeritus of Sindh University and Honorary
Professor on the Allama I.I. Kazi Chair.
Currently, He is busy working on a ten
volume standard edition of Shah Jo- Ressalo
of which seven volumes have so far been
completed.
"I have never seen Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Baloch
but I have always imagined and visualized
him since my childhood, when I started
learning Sindhi alphabet, as I had read his
name on our first Sindhi primary text-book
edited by him," says Najma Baloch, a
housewife in Hyderabad.
With his very objective and professional
approach as a historian, and his workaholic
nature towards all the scholarly pursuits that
he undertakes, he has often been subjected to
criticism by a certain section of Sindhi
writers and political activists, but Dr. Nabi
Bakhsh Baloch counters it in his own
characteristic manner saying, "History can
only be judged on the basis of evidence,
because it's the past. It can not be decided by
votes". (The Daily "DAWN" Karachi
The Review, March 18.12.1998
Dr. N.A. Baloch
Introduction to Beruni's book
Kitab al-Jamahir fi
Ma'arafalat-Jawahir
Beruni's book Kitab al-Jamahir fi
Ma'arafalat-Jawahir is presented to the
reader, in English translation, under the
Great Books Project.
This solid work, historically the first worthy
text on mineralogy, has not received the
scholarly attention commensurate with its
importance, though the need for its detailed
study has been felt for a long time. It was
during the thirties of this century that Fritz
Krenkow edited the Arabic text which was
published by the Da'irat al-Ma'arif,
Hyderabad Deccan, in 1355 A.H./1936 A.D.
He used all the three known manuscripts of
the book. the more complete and correct
Tope Kapi Sarai Ms. (Tibb. 2047)
transcribed in 626 A.H. the less accurate
Escuarial Ms. and the more legible Rashid
Effendi Ms. (Qaysariyah) and also offered
the following description of the Tope Kapi
Sarai Ms.:
"The copyist of this manuscript (Tibb. 2047)
calls himself at the end Ahmad b. Siddiq b.
Muhammad, the physician, and says that he
completed the copy for his own use and of
those after him, on the first day of the month
of Safar, 121 A.H…
In the margins of this copy are frequent
notes often correcting or disputing statements
of Beruni, by another scholar who claims to
have had other works of our author at hand,
and calls himself Muhammad b. Ahmad
Khatib Dariya in the Salihiyya of Damascus.
He lived somewhat later as he cites the book
of drugs by Ibn al- Baitar. In a note on the
front page he states that he acquired the
manuscript in 678. A.H. The next owner is
Muhammad b. Ibrahim b. Sajd al-Ansari. I
have not been able to find a biography of the
first, but the second is beyond doubt the
celebrated Ibn al- Akfani who died in 749
A.H. of plague. He also composed a work on
jewels (Nukhab ad- Dhakha'ir, a short treatise
of 15 pages, published by Cheikho in the
journal al-Mashriq in 1908)"
With modifications wherever necessary, the
present translation is based on the Arabic text
as edited by Krenkow, with some of the gloss
supplied by Khatib Dariya translated under
the footnotes (pp. 231-235) which follow the
text. In his epilogue (in Arabic), Krenkow
mentioned his grappling with the terse style
of Beruni (with whom economy of words and
purposive brevity was a must) and the
difficulty involved in identifying the
unknown place names mentioned in the text.
This would indicate the need for preparing a
more thoroughly annotated edition of the
book through a joint effort of specialists from
different disciplines. It is to be hoped that the
publication of this translation will, in a
measure, facilitate this task.
In the Arabic edition, the contents are
placed in the following order.
The text of Kitab al-jamahir, beginning
with the first Part (Fasl) comprising the
introduction (pp. 1-31),
followed by the second Part (Fasl)
divided into two Discourses,
o Maqala-I (pp.31-228) and
o Maqala-II (pp. 228-267).
Here the text of Kitab al- Jamahir ends with
the attestation of Ahmad b. Siddiq who
transcribed it in the year 626 A.H.
There after, is places a 'Supplement'
(Mulhq) on 'The Mines of Yaman'(pp.
268-271) by someone who composed it
from the various manuscripts of Al-
Hamadani's AL-IKLIL (Book- VIII) its
date of transcription is 1112 A.H.
(though it might have been added at an
earlier date?).
Page 272 contains editor's references to
the manuscripts used by him, and page
273 a note by the publishers (Majlis
Da'rat al-Ma'arif).
Then in eleven pages, numbered
separately (pp.1-11), is reproduced a
part of the text of Kitab al-Jamahir
which was mistakenly left out in the
print (after line 14, page 141 of the
Arabic text).
This is followed by editor Krenkow's
khatimah or epilogue (1-4 pages in
Arabic),
and finally the index of personal and
place names (pp.1-41).
The above sequence has been re-adjusted in
this edition. In main, the mistakenly left out
part has been put in its proper place (in this
edition p. 116 line 25-p. 125-line28):and thus
after reconstructing the complete text of
Kitab al-Jamahir (pp. 1-227), is placed the
supplement (Mulhaq) on 'The Mines of
Yaman' (pp. 227)-231) which is followed by
three constitutes Appendix-I, which is
followed by Appendix-II and Appendix-III
contributed by Hakim Mohammad Sa'id to
show how gemstones, pearls, minerals and
metals are utilized as effective ingredients in
the Tibb System of Medicine.
The multidimensional merit of this work
as well as the versatile genius of Beruni have
been underlined both in the 'Foreword' to the
text and in the 'Evaluation' that follows it.
Beside much of common sense, philosophy,
anthropology, evolution, history, geography,
lore and literature, the specifically scientific
content (physics, geo-chemistry, botany,
marine biology, mineralogy, metallurgy) is
writ large in the text of Kitab al-Jamahir. In
different contexts, Beruni has often made
observations of scientific import. For
example:
- The crystal in its pristine state was liquid in
motion (p.163). The crystal is congealed
water (p. 160).
- Milk, a liquid, forms bones, and the harder
fruit stones are formed by water (p. 167).
- The magnet piece which is in direct
contact with the air and the sun loses its
(magnetic) force (p. 184).
- The capacity of the lightening to melt solid
objects that can be melted, argues for the fact
that air accompanies lightening and thunder
bolt (p.215).
- The alchemists (al-kimya'un) claim that
they can make better gold than the natural
gold….. can remain a claim only their
product, which they call humtan, to say the
least, is corrupt (pp. 211-12)
Of great importance is his calculation of
relative weights and volumes and specific
gravities, which has engaged the attention of
discerning scholars. Long back, Krenkow
had observed:
No other work in Arabic or Persian of which
I have knowledge treats the subject in such a
scientific manner, and as a rule other works
made no pretence of investigating the
specific weights, hardness and probable
origin of the precious stones and minerals
discussed. (The Chapter on Pearls).
Of all the books on jewels and mined stones
beruni's book enjoys superiority in that he
has established the specific gravity of most
of the stones and jewels he has described. It
is only through the knowledge of the specific
gravity of stones that imitation can be
detected and the precious stones saved from
imitation. (Khatima at the end of the Arabic
ed.)
More recently, attention was called
particularly to the "scientific problems raised
by al-Biruni in this work –viz. the origin of
minerals and metals, growth of minerals and
the progressive formation of metals, and the
determination of specific gravity of metals
and minerals. (Anawati, G.C.: The Kitab al-
Jamahir, Al-Biruni Commemorative
Volume, Hamdard Academy, Karachi.
1979).
In view of all sorts of tales and claims about
quality and purity of precious stones and
metals, Beruni saw the need for devising a
scientific method where by genuine metals
and gemstones could be distinguished from
the corrupt ones and also the comparative
degree of excellence of each could be
precisely established. The idea of standard
weights and specific gravity had dawned
upon him, and he sat down to prove it
experimentally. Thus he devised a specific
gravity flask and operating it in combination
with his 'Water Balance' he determined
relative weights and specific gravities of
different metals and minerals.
All this has not been elaborated by Beruni in
Kitab al-Jamahir, but on the basis of his
experimentation and verification, he has
given relative weights of a number of metals
and minerals and also made other relevant
observation as under:
(a) With gold as the axis (qutb) having the
standard weight of 100. the relative
weight. With equivalence in volume, of
mercury= 71 (p. 199), tubal iron 41-1/3
(p. 215), copper= 45.2/3 (p.211). Shibh
(yellow copper) = 44-7/8 (p. 225), lead=
60-1/8 (p. 221).
(b) With ghubari ruby as the axis (qutb)
having the standard weight of 100,
a. the relative weight, with equivalence
in volume, of the red ruby = 97-1/8
(p. 64), bussed 64-13/24 (p. 166),
b. lapiz lazuli= 67-7/12 (p. 168).
c. Emerald 791/2 (p. 142),
d. Subaj (about)=28 (p. 172),
e. Kehruba = 21-5/12 (p. 182),
f. hajar al-awz = 1033/4 (p. 186).
g. Syrian glass = 62-19/24 (p. 191),
h. and Green glass= 99-1/3 (p. 194).
(c) Weight being the same, gold is less in
volume than silver (p.26).
(d) Weight of gold. As compared to any
other metal/mineral of an equivalent volume,
always remains less in value (p. 202).
(e) Volume being the same, silver is less in
mass and heavier than copper (p. 26).
(f) Ratio of weight-gold ten dirhams: silver
fifty dirhams: brass fifteen manma (p. 26).
(g) Ratio in volume of iron and gold. Both
of same weight is 151:63 as verified by me
by means of the water balance (p. 202).
(h) I have not verified the relative weights
of bijadhi and ghmbari (rubies) (p.73).
In this context. Beruni has also stated that he
has authored a special Monograph (Maqalah)
on this subject (p. 64). Its full title is to be
found in the Fihrist (list) of his own works.
Drawn up by Beruni himself as Maqalah fi
al-nisab allati bayn al-filizzat wa al-jawahir
fi al-hajm (The Treatise on Ratios in Volume
of Metals and Precious Stones). As the
Fihrist was compiled by him in 427 A.H.
(1035). the Maqalah was obviously
composed by him earlier. Being a scientific
work of a pioneering nature. it was used
subsequently by scientists for the next tow
centuries. Though it continued to echo in
scholarly circles for centuries thereafter.
Abu Jafar Al Khazini (d. 550 A.H. / 1155)
extracted it in the Third Part (maqalah) of his
own work Mizan Al-Hikmat2 (The Balance
of Wisdom) referring to it as Abu Rayhan
Beruni's "Kitab al-nisab bayn al-filizzat wa
al-Jawahir fi al-hajm3"
Later on the scholastic Sa'id al-Din Al-
Taftazani (d. 791 A.H. / 1389) recorded a
description of Beruni's apparatus and
experiment (most probably based on the
Maqalah) in his own work Sharh al-Maqasid
(see below).
Both in Khazini's extraction and in
Taftazani's description it is stated that the
sample of water used by Beruni for filling in
his specific gravity flask was drawn by him
from one fixed place in the section of the
Oxus (Jayhun) river adjacent to the capital
city of Jurjaniyah. This confirms that Beruni
had started studying gemstones, minerals and
metals long before his arrival in Ghaznah in
408/1017. This was during his stay in
Jurjaniyah on the Oxus, the capital of the
Mamunid Princes (opposite to Kath on the
other side which was the capital of the
previous Banu Iraq dynasty) of Khwarazm.
On the basis of the recorded events, the
period of Beruni's stay in Jurjaniyah can
more or less be precisely fixed from the year
399 A.H. to 407 A.H. (1008-1016/17 A.D.).
He was born (Thursday, 3 Dhu'l Hijjah 362
A.H.) in his native city of Kath, the then
capital of Khwarazm where after completing
his education. he engaged himself in
independent scientific research beginning at
least from the year 380/990 when he made
an astronomical observation. He continued
his work uninterrupted for the next five years
until 385/995 when civil war broke out and
Beruni left the country. He remained out of
Khwarazm for the next fourteen years (385-
399) except for a temporary visit to Kath in
387/997 to observe a lunar eclipse. He
finally returned to his country some time
before or early in 399/1008. This time to
Jurjaniyah the capital of Abu al-Hasan Ali,
the ruling Prince of the new Mamunid
Dynasty, who had specially invited him.
It was on the basis of his specialized
knowledge based on his experimentally
verified conclusions during this period that
he came to be recognized as an authority on
gemstones and was officially assigned the
responsibility to oversee the annual dispatch
of presents which would include precious
stones of rare quality, to the Ghaznavid
Sultan Mahmud (cf. k. al-jamahir, present
ed. p. 47) by his brother-in-law Prince Abu
al-Abbas Mamun of Khwarazm 399-407
A.H. Thus, mainly it was during the period
of about 9 years (399-407 A.H.) prior to his
arrival in Ghaznah in 408/1017, that Beruni
had devised and perfected his apparatus and
instruments. conducted his experiments and
determined relative weights and volumes as
well as specific gravity of a number of
metals and gemstones with precision.
On the hydrostatic method of finding
specific gravity, Beruni observed thus:
“Scientific men determine by means of water
the measure of these differences in weights.
They prepare a vessel filled with water in
which they introduce 100 mithqals of each of
the metals: the quantity of water thrown out
by each gives the difference in volume and
weight:
that one which displaces the largest
bulk of water has consequently the
largest volume but the least density,
and that one which displaces the least
water is the heaviest.”
The special flask for holding water which he
designed was rightly called by Khazini after
the name of Abu al- Rayhan Al- Beruni as
“The Conical of Instrument of Abu al-
Rayhan”.
While experimenting with it, Beruni detected
the capillary action which caused the water to
rise in the mizab, with drops thereof
remaining suspended in its curvature also.
Beruni visualised the solution that if the
mizab were given a circular flexure, made
shorter than a semi circle and pierced with
holes, the water will flow down through it
smoothly without any of the droplets
remaining suspended. He also understood it
that the length and the diameter of the flask’s
neck affected the experiment and noted that
“he could have made it narrower than the
little finger” but for the difficulty of inserting
through it down into the vessel and again
taking out of it the somewhat larger pieces of
metals/minerals. After gaining such insights,
he modelled to near perfection what
historically became “Beruni’s Specific
Gravity Flask”.
Besides the shape of the flask, some other
factors which caused variations in results
were also detected by Beruni. The one was
the absolute cleanliness of the metal/ mineral
and purity of the water used. and the other, a
more subtle one, temperature of water,
Beruni knew that temperature influenced the
density of water and of other liquids: and he
had also determined it that difference
between the density of cold and hot water
was 0.041677 (N. Khanik off, p. 80). Beruni,
therefore sounded the warning that in the
kind of experiments conducted by him to
determine specific gravity, it was but
necessary to control the water factor, because
of the changes occurring in water due to its
different sources and coursed and the
temperatures to which it was subjected
during the four seasons. nn the analogy of air
“Therefore he says “in all our experiments
we used the water drawn from one fixed
place from the oxus river adjacent to
Jurjaniyah in the beginning of the autumn
(kharif) season. However he also explained
the general principle that even the ordinary
drinking water was good enough provided
the same water under the same conditions
was used while experimenting with different
metals and minerals, and yet the scientists
after Beruni kept following him faithfully,
not only in their careful use of the balance
but, as Khazini informs they also related the
process of finding the specific gravities to a
determined sort of water, similar in density
to the water of Jayhun of Khwarazam,
exclusively of other waters (Mizan-al-
Hikmat, p. 70 & Introduction, Section 5)
Beruni’s keen observation, insights and
understandings, and his ability to design and
refine his apparatus, contributed to the
success of his experiments in determining
the specific gravity of gemstones, metals and
other minerals with remarkable accuracy. In
his study (Jr. Asiatique XI. 1858). j. j.
Clement-Mullet produced a table of
comparative figures of specific gravities for
18 metals/minerals as given by Beruni with
modern figures (in 1858) to show the
remarkable accuracy of Beruni’s
calculations. Subsequently, H.C. Bolton also
gave modern figures in his study in 1876 as
in the following table.
The scholastic Sa’d al- Din Taftazani’s
concise and interesting description of
Beruni’s experimentation in Jurjaniyah,
Khwarazm, may be noted:
In order to determine the comparative
difference between metals and some stones
from the point of volume, lightness and
heaviness, Abu Rayhan had devised a vessel
resembling the tabarzad, on the neck of
which was mounted a curved tube (mizab) as
it is in abariq (flasks). He filled the vessel
with water and put into it one hundred
mithqal (of a given metal/mineral) - say of
gold, below the tip (ras) of the mizab, he
placed one pan of the balance (to hold water)
Values as
determined
Modern Authorities
by Abu
Rayhan
Beruni
Figures
cited by
Clement-
Mullet
Figures
cited by
Bolton
Gold 19.05 19.26 19.30
Mercury 13.58 13.59 13.568
Lead 11.33 11.35 11.346
Silver 10.35 10.47 10.52
Bronze 8.82 10.47 8.05 to
8.95
Copper 8.70 8.85 8.78
Brass 8.57 8.85 8.58
Iron 7.74 7.79 7.79
Tin 7.31 7.29 7.29
Sapphire 3.97 3.99 3.99
Oriental
Ruby
3.85 3.90 3.90
Ruby 3.58 3.52
mohs
3.52
Emerald 2.75 2.7373 2.73
Pearl 2.69 2.75 2.75
Lapis
Lazuli
2.60 2.90 2.90
Cornelian 2.56 2.61 2.61
Amber
(?)
2.53 1.08 1.08 (?)
Rock
crystal
2.50 2.58
mohs
2.58
where by he intended to find the volume
weight of water displaced from the vessel. For
this experiment, it was first ensured by him
that the metal/ mineral were clean and so also
the water. The water used by him in his
experiments was that of the Jaylum (Oxus)
river in (the capital of) Khwarazm drawn
during the kharif (autumn) season, for
undoubtedly the results (according to him)
depended on the quality of the water used in
its changing conditions in different regions
and seasons. From the weight/volume of the
water displaced from the vessel on immersion
of 100 mithqal of each metal/mineral he
determined the relative difference between
their weights and volumes… Abu Rayhan and
his followers have prepared a standard table of
the quantity of water that pours out of the
vessel when (i) 100 mithqal of gold, silver or
any other metal/mineral are put into it: (ii)
when nine different metals/minerals
equivalent in volume of 100 mithqal of gold,
are put into it” (iii) when gemstones
equivalent in volume to 100 mithqal of
Celestial Hyacinth (al-Yaqut al-Asmanjuni)
are put it: and (iv) when any weights, which
have volume equal to that of 100 mithqal
when out of water and different when inside
water (al-Taftazani: Sharh Maqasid fi ‘Ilm
Usul Aqaid al-Din, Al-Haj Muharram Effendi
Press, Istanbul, Jumada-I, 1305 A.H., p. 376)
References in Khazini’s Mizan al-Hikmat
indicate that Beruni had continued his
specific gravity experiments after his advent
and settlement in Ghaznah here he had
brought more of metals and liquids under
study and increased the unit mass from 100
mithqal to ‘one cubit cube’ to determine
relative weights. Recounting the history of
the water balance and its use by scientists
from early times, Khazini says in the
introduction to his book that during the rule
of the ‘House of Nasir al-Din’ (i.e. the
Ghaznavid Sultan Mahmud and his
successors), the balance was used with
expertise by Abu Rayhan (Beruni) “who took
observations on the relations of (different)
metallic bodies and precious stones, one to
another, as indicated by this balance, and
carried his deductions so far as to distinguish
one from another (in a compound), exactly
and scientifically, without melting or
refining by arithmetical methods.”
This interesting observation shows than
the 6th /12th century Central Asia, when
Khazini wrote in Merv, the practice of
determining the degrees of purity of gold by
melting and refining was common and
known, though the practice was not a
scientific one. In much later times, one such
practice known as banwari which had been
developed in India by the experts in the
imperial Mint of Emperor Akbar (1556-1605
A.H.) has been explained in detail by Abu’l
Fazl in The A'in-i-Akbari (Engl. tr. by H.
Blochmann, (“Ain 1: Banwari pp. 67-20”),
the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 2nd ed.
Calcutta 1927)
In Chapter IV of the third Part, Khazini has
described one of Beruni’s experiments in
Ghaznah in which he used a cubit cube as the
standard unit of volume/weight instead of
100 mithqals as before.
Abu Rayhan ordered a cube of brass to be
made, with as much exactness as possible
and that it should be bored on its face at two
opposite angles, with two holes, one for
pouring water into it and the other for the
escape of air from it and he weighed it in the
flying balance first empty and hollow, then
filled with fresh river-water of the city of
Ghaznah……etc. etc.
Khazini took this from Beruni’s Maqalah
but he had also used Beruni’s Kitab al-
Jamahir from which he only summarized
(under Part IV, Chapter 60) Beruni’s
observations on eight precious stones. It is
also clear from the present text of K. al-
Jamahir that Beruni has not described in it
any of his experiments based on cubit cube
as a unit. However he has cited the following
one result which is based on the value of a
cubit cube.
Weight of a cubit cube of water is one
nineteenth part of a similar cube of gold (p.
204).
This was most probably determined by him
in the experiments which he conducted in
Ghaznah.
It may therefore, be concluded that though
Beruni finished composing K. al-Jamahir
during the reign of the Ghaznavid Sultan
M’udud (732-440 A.H./1040-1048 A.D.)
most of his observations in it about relative
weights/volumes of metals/gemstones are
based on his early experiments of Jurjaniyah,
conducted during the years 399-407 A.H.
where he used the water of the Oxus; while
his observation about the relative weights of
a cubit cube of water and of gold is based on
the experiments which he conducted at
Ghaznah between 408 A.H. and 427 A.H. in
which he used fresh water of the Ghaznah
river.
With this much said about Kitab al-Jamahir,
it is a pleasant duty to acknowledge that
publication of this volume became possible
mainly through the courtesies and co-
operation of Hakim Mohammad Sa'id.
Philanthropist and patron of learning, who
made available a complete typescript of this
edition so that it could be printed under the
Great Books Project with which he has been
closely associated.
Islamabad,
N.A. Baloch
69 Dhu’l Qa’dah 6707 A.H.,
Project Director
22 June 1989 A.d. &
Advisor, Pakistan Hijra Council
1.
Taj Joyo
Books in English
authored/edited by Dr. N. A.
Baloch
(1) A Programme of Teacher Education
for the New state of Pakistan: (Ph.D
Thesis): 1949, Columbia University, New
York. (Published in parts, Sindh
University Educational Journal)
(2) Arts and Crafts of the lower Indus
Valley: 1964, Mehran Arts Council,
Hyderabad.
(3) The Musical instruments of Sindh: 1967, Mehran Arts Council, Hyderabad.
(4) Spanish Cante Jondo: It's origin in
Sindh Music (by: Aziz Baloch: English
Translation & one chapter addition by;
Dr. N.A. Baloch) 1968.
(5) Kitab Hasil-al-Nahj: (The Earliest work
on Education in the Sub-continent in
Persian, authored by: Makhdoom Jaffar-
al Bubakai (Distt: Dadu). Discovered and
edited with a chapter-wise summary in
English by Dr. N.A. Baloch, 1969,
Institute of Education, Sindh University.
(6) Education in Sindh: Before the British
conquest and the Educational policies of
the British Government, 1971, Sindh
University Press.
(7) The Education Policy 1972:(
Implications and implementations) Edited
by: Dr. N.A. Baloch.
(8) Development of Music in Sindh: 1973,
Sindh University Press.
(9) The Historical Sindh Era(Monographs):
1975.
(10) Curriculum And Teacher Education: The volume on Muslim Education, First
World Education Conference, Makka,
1977, Edited by N.A. Baloch jointly
with M.H. Al-Affendi, published by:
Hodder and Stoughton King Abdul-Aziz
University, Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, 1980.
(11) Seminar on the Documentation of
Current History of Pakistan: Proceedings and Recommendations
1947-80, NIHCR, Islamabad, 1980
(12) Advent of Islam in Indonesia: 1980,
NIHCR, Islamabad.
(13) World of Islam Today: Proceedings,
Recommendations and papers of the
National Hijra Council on History and
Culture, July 1980, NIHCR Islamabad,
1981.
(14) Pakistan: A Comprehensive
Bibliography of Books and Government
Publications with Annotations 1947-80:
Institute of History, Culture and
Civilization, Islamic University
Islamabad, 1981, (Edited).
(15) Knowledge for What? Proceedings and
Papers of the Hijra Seminar on
Islamization of knowledge held on 7- 9
Rabi'al Awal 1402 H/ 4-6 January 1982,
Institute of Education, Islamic
University, Islamabad 1982. (Edited)
(16) Fathnama-i-Sindh: (Persian Text with
Comprehensive introduction in English,
Islamabad, Institute of Islamic History,
Culture and civilization 1982.
(17) Beruni's Geodical Experiment on
Nandana Fort: (Distt: Jhelum)
Monographs: 1983, Islamabad.
(18) Muslim Luminaries: Leaders of
Religious intellectual and Political
Revival in South Asia (711-1206A.D.),
National Hijra Council, Islamabad, 1988.
(Edited)
(19) Great Books of Islamic Civilization: National Hijra Council, Islamabad, 1989.
(20) The Educator speaks: thoughts of
Allama I.I. Kazi, 1989, Sindh University
Press Hyderabad, Sindh.
(21) I.I. Kazi: Reflections on Evolution: 1992, Allama I.I. Kazi Memorial Society,
Hyderabad, Sindh.
(22) Lands of Pakistan: (Perspectives,
historical and cultural), El. Mashriqi
Foundation, Islamabad, 1995.
(23) Sindh: Studies in History: (A
Preliminary Version), Kalhora Seminar
Committee, Karachi, 1996.
(24) Islamabad: The Capital City of
Pakistan etc.
(25) Allama I.I.Kazi: Unpublished Speeches
& Writings, 1999, Allama I.I.Kazi Chair
Publication, University of Sindh.
(26) Education Based on Islamic Values,
imperatives and Implications: 2000,
Pakistan Study Centre, University of
Sindh.
Articles, Papers & Monographs:
(1) Papers on "Bolochi Literature" included
in the "Cultural Heritage of Pakistan" a
work first published by the Department
of Advertisement and Publications Govt:
of Pakistan, Karachi, 1954.
(2) "A Survey of Traditional Cultures of
Pakistan and the Impact of Modern
Development on Cultural Tradition" (A
field study prepared for UNESCO), 1956
(3) A chapter on "Teacher Education" For
National Education Commission of
Pakistan, 1960.
(4) "Folk Literature of Pakistan": A general
Survey read at the Pakistan Folklore
Seminar, Dacca, 1968.
(5) "Education in Pakistan-1947-1970": A
research survey, published in the book
"Education in South East Asia", Sydney,
Australia.
(6) "Higher Education in Pakistan" Paper
Published in Encyclopaedia of Higher
Education.USA.
(7) "A North Western Dialect of Swat-
Kohistan": A paper read at the Pakistan
Oriental Conference, Dacca.
(8) "Folk Dances of West Pakistan": A paper
published in the UNESCO sponsored
journal of Traditional Cultures, Madras,
India.
(9) "Balochi Alphabet and Transliteration":
Sindh University Research Journal, 1970.
(10) "Historical Writings on Pakistan
Tradition and Progress": Paper presented
at the Congress of Pakistan History and
Culture, University of Islamabad, April
1973.
(11) "In Search of the Early Indus Sites".
Paper presented at the International
Seminar on Mohen-jo-Daro (1973),
Published in the proceedings of the
Seminar and in Bulletin Institute of
Sindhology, Jamshoro, July 1973.
(12) "Amir Khusru's Discoure on
Differntiation in the Fundamental and
Subsidiary Principles of Music: Research
Paper presented at the 700th Anniversary
of Amir Khusrau, Islamabad, 1975.
(13) "Objectives of Curriculum in the Pakistan
Society before Colonial Rule": A research
paper published in "Arabic and Islamic
Garland. Historical, Educational and
Literary Studies", the Islamic Cultural
Centre, London, 1977.
(14) "Teacher Education in the Muslim
Society:" A paper contributed at the First
World Conference on Muslim Education,
Makkah, Saudi Arabia. 1977.
(15) "Measurement of Space and Time in the
Lower Indus Valley of Sindh": Research
Paper, presented at the Science
Conference, Islamabad. 1979.
(16) Address at the conference on "Evolution
of political thoughts in the Muslim
World" Bahauddin Zakaria University,
Multan, 1981.
(17) "Early Irrigation System in the Indus
Valley" Paper presented at the Sukkur
Barrage Conference, Department of
Irrigation, and Government of Sindh.
(18) "World Decade for Cultural
Development": An Article published in
1998.
(19) "The Regions of Sindh, Baluchistan and
Multan: The historical, social and
economy setting." Article printed in the
book "History of the Civilization of
Central Asia", Volume IV, Multiple
History series, UNESCO, 1998.
(20) Article on "Baluchistan" and Article on
"Sindh", in the latest edition of the
Encyclopaedia Britannica.
(21) The Following chapters contributed to
the comprehensive historical work
published by the Pakistan Historical
Society, Karachi:
(i) Pre-Islamic period of Indian
History,
(ii) The Muslim Conquest of Sindh.
(iii) The Ghaznavid Rule in India.
(iv) The Ghurid conquest in India.
(22) The Advent of Sultan Jalal al-Din
Khwarizm Shah in the Trans-Indus
Territories (Present Pakistan): published
in Quarterly Journal of the Pakistan
Historical Society, Oct-Dec: 2000 (Vol:
XIVIII-No:4)
(23) Foundations of Talpur Power, in Sindh:
Hakim Mohammad Said Memorial
lecture, delivered at the 19th Pakistan
History Conference, Golden Jublee
Session, Karachi, 20 October, 2001.
1. Krenkow, F.: ‘The chapter on Pearls in the Book on
precious stones by Al-Beruni, the Quarterly Islamic Culture,
(Hyderabad Deccan, Oct. 1941, pp. 399-402)in which Krenkow
also mentioned that he had then made a ‘complete translation’
(English) of this book which “may see the light some day.”
2. Mizan al-Hikmat, Arabic edition, Hyderabad Deccan,
India, 6357 A.H. ‘Analysis and expacts’ of it by N. Khanik off
the Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. VI, 1859,
H.C. Bolton, ‘The Book of the Balance of Wisdom’ (The
American Chemist, May 1876), reprint New York, 1876.
English translation of this scientific work of great importance is
being published separately under the Great Books Project.
3. Maqalah Monograph or (Treatise) as mentioned by Beruni
himself, though also a book (kitab) in a general sense as
mentioned by Khazini. For discussion of this ‘Treatise by modern
scholars see J.J. Clement Mullet (jr. Asiatique, ve se’rie, Vol. XI,
1858), and E. Wiedemann (Sitzungsber. D. phys. Med. Soz, in
Erlangen, Vol. XXXVIII, 1906)
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