DARA SHUKOH: CONTEXT OF HISTORY, CONTEXT OF THE PRESENT

My Dear Friends, I am writing this note to you on the behest of the Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hind) and as its newly appointed General Secretary. I had mentioned the organization to many of you and the new steps that we are taking at Anjuman to keep abreast of the times and make a genuine contribution to the mainstream Indian cultural scene. We are primarily a literary organization working within the ambit of the Urdu world. However, the time is opportune to make a leap of faith and reach out to the world beyond the confines of just the Urdu cosmos. For this, several plans are already in place including publishing from other languages into Urdu and English; translating important Urdu works into English; conceptualizing a journal of culture and literature whose medium will be English but spirit will encompass all Indian languages; and our first decisive step—a three-day international, interdisciplinary seminar on Dara Shukoh (22-24 March, 2013), an unsung hero of Mughal India who best epitomizes the composite Ganga–Jamuni culture of Hindustan (the details of the seminar are pasted below this mail which can be viewed if you scroll down).We also have plans to publish a book following the seminar compiling the papers presented in the form of an edited volume. For this first modest step of ours, we solicit your kind presence at the three-day event which will be a ground breaking space for discourse on such an important topic.Therefore, those who want to participate in the seminar are requested to forward their contacts to us at gen.secretary@anjumantaraqqiurduhind.org OR farouqui@yahoo.com so that we may create a database of such interested participants for further programmes as well. This will also help us avoid unnecessarily bothering people who are not interested in such projects and whose interests lie elsewhere. If you could also forward this communication to your friends and colleagues who share similar interests, I would be eternally grateful. Warm regards and best wishes, Ather Farouqui  ANJUMAN TARAQQI URDU (HIND) is pleased to announce a three-day international seminar entitled  “DARA SHUKOH: CONTEXT OF HISTORY, CONTEXT OF THE PRESENT” VENUE: Urdu Ghar, 212, Rouse Avenue, New Delhi-110 002  DATES: 22 to 24 March 2013  THEME: Prince Dara Shukoh, probably the most tragic figure of Mughal history, was a lover of India’s syncretic tradition and immersed himself in exploring religious texts from both Islamic and Hindu traditions. His noble project was untimely halted when he was defeated and killed at Samugarh by his younger brother Aurangzeb. Confined to foot notes in the pages of history while Aurangzeb received fame and notoriety, Dara Shukoh continues to remain central to India’s dual traditions and the idea of the ‘confluence of oceans’. Was Dara Shukoh’s exploration a unique, one-off enterprise? Or was it part of the rich, syncretic and evolving Indian tradition that influenced both Islam and Hinduism? In our present troubled times, what is the strength of the tradition that Dara Shukoh represented? Would Indian history have taken a different turn in the mid-seventeenth century if Dara had not been betrayed at Samugarh and had become the next Mughal heir? To deliberate on these and many topical questions the Anjuman invites you to a seminar dedicated to one who was both a prince and a sage. You are welcome to make your presentations in any of the three languages—English, Urdu or Hindi. The papers presented will be published as an edited volume after the seminar.  ANJUMAN TARAQQI URDU (HIND) owes its origin to the All India Muslim Educational Conference, set up by the great social reformer and educationist Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in 1886. Assuming its current name in 1903, this pioneering Urdu organization has been working unstintingly for the promotion, dissemination and reinstitution of Urdu into India’s common civic space. It is a repository of valuable and extensive material on Urdu with a rich library and archives section. It hopes to bring Urdu closer to the world by translating seminal texts into English while continuing to publish meaningful books and journals in Urdu.  ALL SCHOLARS AND ACADEMICS WHO HAVE SENT THEIR CONFIRMATION ARE REQUESTED TO KINDLY SEND US A COPY OF THEIR PAPERS BY THE END OF FEBRUARY 2013 TO HELP US PLAN THE SEMINAR MORE EFFICIENTLY AND ENSURE THAT A RIGOROUS DEBATE IS INITIATED.    CONFIRMED PARTICIPANTS AND DIGNITARIES INCLUDE: Irfan Habib, Shamsur Rahman Faruqi, Gopalkrishan Gandhi, Harbans Mukhia, Naimur Rahman Farooqi, Ishrat Alam, Najaf Haider, Seema Chishti, Mohd Akram Lari, Azarmi Dukht Safavi, Shireen Moosvi, Prof Inayat Zaidi, Sunita Zaidi among others. Please actively participate and support our humble endeavour! Since our website is under construction, for any queries or suggestions please email gen.secretary@anjumantaraqqiurduhind.org Warm regards, Ather Farouqui -- Regards Ather Farouqui General Secretary Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu Hind,Urdu Ghar, Urdu Ghar Marg, Rouse Avenue New Delhi-11002. Contact (Ofc): +9111-2323 7210  (Fax): +9111-2323 6299