His Life
Early years
He was born in Gilgit where his father Abdullah Sahib was governor during Dogra rule. Most of his schooling was in Kashmir, and there he excelled both in Urdu and English languages. Without telling anyone he wrote an essay and won the world competition by Reader's Digest, a rare achievement for any Indian Muslim in those days. Then he came to Government College Lahore for his college education.
Indian Civil Service
He was selected for Indian Civil Service and later volunteered himself for Bengal during famine years. He came under heavy fire of the authorities when he distributed one of the strategic wheat reserves to starving local community.
the trica of QUDRATULLAH SHAHAB, MUMTAZ MUFTI and ASHFAQ AHMAD has given new heights and glory to URDU addab,,, MAY ALLAH THE ALMIGHTY RESTS THEIR SOULS IN ETERNAL PEACE....AMEEN...
Pakistan and his career
After coming to Pakistan he was first posted to Azad Kashmir at Muzaffarabad as chief secretary of the new state. From there he came to Jhang, Punjab, as Deputy Commissioner. He then served as Director of Industries of Punjab and had to mostly deal with settlement issues concerning migration. He was first appointed by Ghulam Muhammad as his personal secretary. He remained there during Iskander Mirza and Ayub Khan’s time. He later went to Netherland as ambassador and also served as Secretary Education.
Retirement Years
Although he tried to resign couple of times during his career, it was not realized until he saw Yahya Khan’s military rule. His trouble with government circles forced him to leave Pakistan for United Nations, where he became member of UNESCO. He was denied pension from Government of Pakistan for few years. During that time in England he toured Palestine as an Iranian businessman to investigate the changes made in curriculum and education by the occupation authorities of Israel. His spying job was successful and all of his documentary evidences were accepted by UN. This mission was primarily sponsored by Arab representatives of the United Nations.
Family
Abdullah Sahib: His father was a graduate of Aligarh, and Governor of Gilgit
Mother: Karima Bibi (Shahab wrote Maan Ji on his mother)
Iffat Shahab: Wife (A doctor by profession) died in England in early 70s
Saqib Shahb: Only son who is a Medical doctor
Literary Circle
His circle of friends included writers like Ashfaq Ahmed, Bano Qudsia, Mumtaz Mufti, and Ibn-e-Insha.
Major works
Shahab Nama
Maan Ji
Surkh Feeta
Ya Khuda
His master piece, Shahab Nama, was finished but still unpublished when he died in 1986. It made him immediately a household name in Pakistan. Its idea came when he was visiting his friend Ibn-e-Insha in England and they were talking about the philosophy of life. He then started writing chapters and read them in reading circles. Some were published in newspapers and magazines.
This collection of Qudrat-ullah Shahab’s experiences includes anecdotes from the times gone by and associations with some unique and some very notable people. The first chapter itself, contains a record of Shahabs last meeting with Ibn- e –Insha, a noted humorist. As we read on, we meet Lala Din from Shahab’s school days, the caretaker of the school who admonishes Shahab for manually handling a mouse, which he considers to be a “plague ka chuha”.
Shahab’s posting at Barhampur brings us to a place, as yet unheard of, hidden from the world. With a major contingency of Hindus, the influences of Hinduism on Islam are a cause of both concern and confusion. Safdar Pandey and Kulsoom Devi, two locals, when disclosed as Muslims give an indication of the sort of influence mentioned above. It comes as a shock to learn that prayers were not considered obligatory among the Muslims in that part of the world. The only Islamic practice observed was to gather in numbers on every Thursday and kiss the fastening on the door of a Mosque, which was normally kept locked.
The insights, the author presents on various political issues is also a reason why one should get the book. Shahab encompasses the feelings of the nation as he summarizes Ayub Khan and Sikandar Mirza’s position in Pakistan’s politics. His visit to Makkah for Haj also makes for enlightening reading as every place, every incident accompanies some interesting commentary.
The ‘Shahabnama’ is a most wonderful book in its simplicity. In the main, a memoir of Qudrat-ullah Shahab, this book allows one to contemplate and think about what should be important in our lives and to relish those things before it is to late. His words and insights have a simple clarity, which would live on in the hearts of the readers.
The ‘Shahabnama’ is in effect, a candid, moving and entertaining memoir.
No comments:
Post a Comment