By Imran Inamdar for TwoCircles.net
In recent times, the country’s past has become an extremely polarising point for its citizens. Many people have been brainwashed to believe that the advent of Islam in India and the subsequent period of Muslim rule across major parts of India was a period of dark ages. However, it is also no secret that many scholars have convincingly argued otherwise, and now a Solapur-based Research Centre is doing the same. Named after pioneering activist Advocate Sayed Shah Gaziuddin, the centre is publishing books in Marathi and Urdu languages to help people understand and value the secular fabric of the nation.
The inspiration for this works comes from the life and works of Advocate Sayed Shah Gaziuddin, who strongly believed in social binding and communal harmony and always wanted Muslims to be aware of the social conditions of India. Through his Urdu books, he introduced life and work of many social reformers, including Jyoti Ba Phule, Shahu Maharaj, Dr. B.r Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji. Dr. Ambedkar Hayat aur Karname ( Life and work of Dr Ambedkar) and Urdu translation of Govind Pansare’s Marathi Book “Shivaji Kon Hota” ( Who was Shivaji) are masterpieces of his literary work.
After Adv. Gaziuddin passed away in January 2014 at the age of 79, some of his like-minded friends decided to establish a research centre to continue his vision and mission. In January 2015, the centre came into existence and started extending its literary services. Taking a cue from the works of Gaziuddin, his friends also started working on similar projects. Sarfaraz Ahmed’s Marathi book on Tipu Sultan became popular in a very short time, with the book selling over 10,000 copies in a year. The fourth edition of the book is now ready to hit the market. Apart from a book on Tipu Sultan, Ahmed has also written Marathi books on Haider Ali, scholars of Medieval India. Also, Prem Hanvate’s “ Shivranche Muslim Sainik” ( Muslim soldiers of Shivaji ) was translated into Urdu by Sayed Wayez, the English book of Sayed Dawood “The Administration of the Deccan during Aurangzeb” has been translated into Urdu by Sayed Ismail. In total, ten books have been published till now and work on some more books are in full swing, with ten young people also volunteering with the centre.
Talking about the centre, Vice president of the centre Ram Gaikwad said, “Late Adv. Gaziuddin was a dedicated progressive activist he has done a superlative job of bringing out the real history of social reformers of the majority community. His History research helps us in spreading brotherhood among Marathas and Muslims. For the last ten years, I am also a part of his historical research panel and fortunately got an opportunity to continue this social work under his name.”
According to founder member and young historian Sarfaraz Ahmed identity of each and every community is based on its iconic personalities and social character is based on its history. “We carry out publication work by collecting donations from members. All the members from across Maharashtra are volunteers and they are all the under 30. I must thank Sayed Ismail (Osmanabad) Sahil Shaikh (Sangli) Asif Mujawar (Latur), Kaleem Azeem (Pune) Prof. Mujeeb Kazi (Ambajogai) our President Samiullah Sheikh, Secretary Adv. Mahboob Kotimbre, Vice President Ram Gaikwad, Sayed Shah Wayez and our advisors B.G Kolse Patil, Shrimant Kokate, Sayed Iftikhar and M.I sheikh for their contributions.”