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Politics, Public Issues and the Promotion of Urdu Literature: Avadh ...

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86 • THE ANNUAL OF URDU STUDIESFirangi Mahal scholar Maul≥n≥ ◊afar A√mad, Fakhru ’d-Dµn had himselfbeen educated at Firangi Mahal <strong>and</strong> gained distinction for his remarkablerhetorical skills <strong>and</strong> his expertise in Islamic law. Like his predecessor,Fakhru ’d-Dµn, while serving as editor <strong>of</strong> AA, assisted <strong>the</strong> publishing housein various tasks, particularly as a pro<strong>of</strong>reader <strong>and</strong> translator <strong>of</strong> Persiantexts. At Naval Kishore’s instance he prepared <strong>the</strong> first <strong>Urdu</strong> translations<strong>of</strong> al-Ghazz≥lµ’s Kµmiy≥-e Sa‘≥dat <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Tafsµr-e ƒusainµ, a Qur’≥n commentaryby <strong>the</strong> fifteenth-century Persian moral philosopher ƒusain V≥‘µKh≥n. Written in fluid <strong>and</strong> lucid style, both texts were to assume specialimportance in <strong>the</strong> religious <strong>and</strong> moral instruction <strong>of</strong> Muslim women. 53Fakhru ’d-Dµn did not remain editor <strong>of</strong> AA for long. In 1866 he wassucceeded by Mu√ammad Mehdµ ƒusain Kh≥n, <strong>the</strong> ex-proprietor <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>Riy≥¤-e N∑r Press (est. 1851) <strong>of</strong> Multan <strong>and</strong> former editor <strong>of</strong> an <strong>Urdu</strong>weekly <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> same name. Apparently Mehdµ ƒusain Kh≥n had beenforced to close down his press in 1856, following a sentence <strong>of</strong> imprisonment<strong>of</strong> several years. He joined AA after his release from jail. 54In 1867 Mehdµ ƒusain Kh≥n in turn was succeeded by Maulvµ Raunaq‘Alµ (1846–76), a scholar <strong>and</strong> poet <strong>of</strong> Persian <strong>and</strong> <strong>Urdu</strong> who wrote under<strong>the</strong> pen names “Afs∑” <strong>and</strong> “Raunaq,” respectively. The son <strong>of</strong> a taluqdar<strong>of</strong> Barabanki district, Raunaq ‘Alµ had come to Lucknow in 1859 to receivehis higher education in Islamic learning. He was initially employed as apro<strong>of</strong>reader for AA but was soon promoted to <strong>the</strong> position <strong>of</strong> editor.Naval Kishore seems to have thought highly <strong>of</strong> him for in 1870 he senthim to Patiala to oversee <strong>the</strong> establishment <strong>of</strong> a new printing press in <strong>the</strong>princely state. From <strong>the</strong>re Raunaq ‘Alµ launched <strong>the</strong> Pati≥la Akhb≥r in53Published as Iksµr-e Hid≥yat (Kanpur: NKP, 1866), <strong>the</strong> translation <strong>of</strong>Kµmiy≥-e Sa‘≥dat was to figure among <strong>the</strong> books recommended especially forwomen in <strong>the</strong> st<strong>and</strong>ard works on Muslim female education, i.e., Alπ≥f ƒusainƒ≥lµ’s Maj≥lisu ’n-Nis≥’ <strong>and</strong> Ashraf ‘Alµ T^≥navµ´s Bihishtµ Z®var. The <strong>Urdu</strong>version <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Tafsµr ƒusainµ, entitled Tafsµr-e Q≥dirµ (Lucknow: NKP, 1879–80)headed <strong>the</strong> list <strong>of</strong> books that T^≥navµ deemed suitable for women. Details in GailMinault, Secluded Scholars: Women’s Education <strong>and</strong> Muslim Social Reform inColonial India (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1998), p. 46 <strong>and</strong> Barbara D.Metcalf, Perfecting Women: Maulana Ashraf Thanawi’s Bihishti Zewar (Berkeley:University <strong>of</strong> California Press, 1990), pp. 376–8.54 AA <strong>of</strong> 2 January 1874, cited in ¿≥birµ, pp. 58–9. For Riy≥¤-e N∑r, see alsoKh≥n 1991, pp. 259–65; <strong>and</strong> Khurshµd, p. 123.

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