Baloch scholar, historian, sindhologist, linguist and educationist
Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch (Sindhi: نبي بخش خان بلوچ; 16 December 1917 – 6 April 2011) was a Baloch research scholar, historian, sindhologist, educationist, linguist and writer. He predominantly wrote in Sindhi, but sometimes in Urdu, English, Persian and Arabic. He has been described as the "moving library" of the Pakistani province of Sindh.[1][2]
The author of some 150 books, he contributed to many subjects and disciplines of knowledge which include history, education, folklore, archeology, anthropology, musicology, Islamic culture and civilisation. He contributed two articles - on Sindh and Baluchistan - which appeared in the Fifteenth Edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, 1972.
Baloch did pioneering work on the classic poets of Sindh, culminating in the ten-volume critical text of Shah Jo Risalo, the poetic compendium of the Sufi poet of Sindh, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai. He edited 42 volumes on Sindhi folklore, with scholarly prefaces in English, under the heading of the Folklore and Literature Project.
In addition, he compiled and published a Sindhi dictionary, Jami'a Sindhi Lughaat[3] in five volumes which was later revised into three volumes. With Ghulam Mustafa Khan, he also compiled Sindhi-to-Urdu, Urdu-to-Sindhi dictionaries. His works also include the compilation and editing of classical Sindhi poets including Shah Inayat Rizvi, Qadi Qadan, Khalifo Nabibakhsh, and Hamal Faqir. In the field of history, he edited works including Tareekh Ma'soomee, Chachnama, Tuhfatul Kiram by Mir Ali Sher Qania, Lubb-i-Tareekh Sindh by Khudad Khan, Tareekh-i-Tahiree by Mir Tahir Muhammad Nisyani, Beglar Nama by Idrakee Beglaree.
Early life
Nabi Bakhsh Baloch, son of a farmer, was born in the village of Jaffer Khan Laghari, Sanghar District, Sindh, Pakistan, on 16 December 1917. His secondary education was undertaken at Naushero Feroz High School. He attended Junagarh College at Bombay University, then studied further at Aligarh Muslim University.[1][4] He studied at Columbia University, New York, for a Ph.D. in education. After this, he declined a post with the United Nations and returned to Pakistan.[1]
Career
In 1950, Baloch joined the Pakistan Ministry of Information. [citation needed] He initiated the monthly magazine Naeen Zindagi and numerous other publications about Pakistan to educate the public. In addition, he promoted the folk music and folk culture of the five provinces through radio.[citation needed]
In 1951, Baloch was appointed as Public Relations Officer for the Pakistan Mission in Damascus.[citation needed] However, he opted to participate in the establishment of the Sindh University, Hyderabad, Sindh, and once again returned to Pakistan.[citation needed] There he established the first Department of Education in Pakistan and later became Vice-Chancellor.[4] During his tenure at the university he was responsible for initiating several publications and editing monographs such as: Journal of Education, Journal of Research: Arts and Social Sciences, Historical Perspective on Education, Methods of Teaching Hasil-a-lNijh of Jafar al- Bubakani, and Report on Education in Sindh with an extensive introduction by Baloch (drawn by B.H. Ellis, first printed for the Government at the Bombay Education Society Press in 1856).[citation needed]
Baloch also played a key role in the establishment of various institutes associated with the University of Sindh. The Department of Sindhi began work in 1953. A Sindhi Academy, initiated earlier by Baloch, developed into the concept of the Institute of Sindhology. Baloch worked out the draft of the scheme to establish it and served as the Director. He initiated the publication of the monthly journal of the Institute under the name Ilmee Aa'eeno (Mirror of Knowledge).[5]
Parallel to these scholarly endeavours, Baloch during his tenure at the Sindh University was a guiding force for several institutes in Sindh. He worked as Honorary Secretary Bhitshah Cultural Centre[6][full citation needed] where he organized literary conferences during the annual functions. He promoted the rural cultural milieu, spreading the message of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai. In this regard he published studies on Shah Jo Risalo. The first biographical work on Shah Abdul Latif written in Persian by Mir Abdul Hussain Khan Sangi, Lutaif-i-Lateefee, was edited and introduced by Baloch and published by Bhitshah Cultural Centre in 1967. The manuscripts of Shah Jo Risalo were procured from London and published in 1969.[7][full citation needed]
Mehran Arts Council was established with Baloch as honorary secretary. He devised the idea, persuaded authorities to give grants, bought a plot for the council in Latifabad and had a building constructed.[citation needed] He wrote Musical Instruments of the Lower Valley of Sindh (1966), and an article as an appendix: '‘Shah Abdul Latif as the Founder of a New Musical Tradition'’. Baloch also edited Aziz Baloch's work, ‘'Spanish Cante Jundo and its Origin in Sindhi Music'’, published by Mehran Arts Council in 1968. Among other articles and monographs, the Council also published Sabhai Rangga (All Hues) on all aspects of folkloric poetry in 1969, edited and introduced by Baloch.[7][full citation needed]
On an international level, Baloch collaborated with Dr. Eugene Knez in setting up the ‘Sindhi House of Pakistan’ at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C., and made arrangements for the relevant material to be exported.[8][full citation needed]
It was also during Baloch's term as the vice chancellor of Sindh University (1973 - 1976)[2] that an international conference titled "Sindh Through the Centuries" was held from 2 to 7 March 1975 at Karachi, jointly hosted by Karachi and Sindh universities. Baloch, as one of the chief hosts, took the delegates to visit historical and archaeological sites, most of which had been discussed in the papers presented at the conference. Participants included H. T. Lambrick, Johanna van Lohuizen-de Leeuw, John Andrew Boyle, Simon Digby, Charles Fraser Beckingham, Annemarie Schimmel and E. I. Knez.[citation needed]
From January 1976 to June 1989, Baloch worked for the Government of Pakistan in Islamabad. He was Secretary for Culture, Archaeology, Sports and Tourism for one year. Important projects supervised and guided by Baloch include the Centenary Celebrations of Quaid e Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah (1976) and Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1977). He also served as Member Federal Pay Commission and Member Federal Review Board.[citation needed]
From 1 July 1979 and up to October 1979, Baloch was chairman of the National Commission on Historical and Cultural Research.[citation needed]
Baloch planned a project of 25 volumes of history of the Muslim Rule in the Subcontinent to be published by the institute.[7][full citation needed][clarification needed]
In November 1980, Baloch was appointed the first vice-chancellor of the International Islamic University, Islamabad. He resigned in August 1982 and continued his work at the National Institute of Historical Research until October 1982. From 1983 to 1989, Baloch served as adviser to the National Hijra Council. Here, he began work on the "One Hundred Great Books of Islamic Civilization" project. In all, eleven works were published out of which five were produced under Baloch’s supervision. The work on remaining six was finalized, but published after he left the organization and returned to Hyderabad.[citation needed]
Books that were edited with introductions by Baloch under the Great Books Project are as follows:
- Al Khawarazmi’s The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing, original Arabic text with Rosen’s translation, introduction by Ayidin Sayili, and explanatory notes by Mullek Dous, was published in 1989.
- Banu Musa, Kitab al-Hiyal (The Book of Ingenious Mechanical Devices), translated, annotated, and introduced by Donald Hill.
- Al-Jazari’s Kitabul Hiyal, (Integration between Theory and Practice in the Application of Mechanics), translated into English by Ahmad Y. al-Hassan and introduced by Donald Hill, 1989.
- Al-Biruni’s Kitab al-Jamahir fee Ma’ arifat al-Jawahir, translated by Hakim Mohammad Said, and edited by Baloch, 1988. The work discusses al-Beruni’s experiment which for the first time introduced the concept of specific gravity.
- Hamidullah Khan, The Prophet Establishing A State, 1989.[9]
In 1989, Baloch began the compiling, rearranging and editing the text of the anthology of Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Shah Jo Risalo. This project involved extensive research and deep understanding of the poet’s philosophy as well as expertise in the Sindhi language. In this regard he also produced a companion dictionary, Roshni, for the understanding of text.[10]
In 1991, the Sindhi Language Authority was established by the Government of Sindh, with Baloch as its chairman. He remained with this institute for 27 months during which numerous works were published on a multitude of topics pertaining the teaching and promotion of Sindhi Language. During his tenure, he was also given the additional charge of Minister for Education with the caretaker government for a period of three months.[10]
Baloch remained Professor Emeritus Allama I.I Kazi Chair, University of Sindh, established in 1990 until his demise.[citation needed]
Death and legacy
Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch died on 6 April 2011 at Hyderabad.[1] Among his survivors are five sons and three daughters. Among the personalities attending his funeral were Pir Mazharul Haq, Sassui Palijo, Dr Ghulam Ali Allana and Imdad Hussaini.[2]
Tributes were paid to him at an event organized by the Pakistan Academy of Letters. Mir Mukhtar Talpur of Sindhi Adabi Sangat said that Baloch worked hard all his life to document everything about Sindh and recalled his lifelong contributions in preserving the culture and folklore of Sindh. He added that Baloch visited every nook and corner of Sindh to preserve its history and culture.[1]
In 2017, a tribute was paid to him on his 100th birthday by Pakistan Academy of Letters Chairperson Muhammad Qasim Bughio.[12]
