SOAS Research Online

Abstract

I. The available material dealing with this subject is very scanty, largely unscientific, and often based on second-hand information. Even the Catalogues have many mistakes in them. Therefore it was necessary to study the original Urdu and Persian manuscripts (both literary and historic) in the British Museum, India Office Library, Edinburgh University Library, and the Bibliotheque National, Paris. II. New Discoveries. a. Nearly 70 poets hitherto unknown are here discussed, see list of Marsia-writers, p. 297. The others are:-1. Atishi 2. Maqimi 5. Mahmud 6. Feroz 3. Khushnad 7. Shauqi 4. Amin 8. Khiali 9. Ghulam'Ali b. The following Urdu works were also not known before:-1. Qutub Mushtari of Vajhi; 2. Padmavat of Ghulam 'Ali; 3. Jusuf Zalikha of Khushnud 4. The Diwan of Rustumi (3 and 4 Not Contained in any European Libraries) III. Some misunderstandings about important writers have been corrected:-1. The author of Hasht Behisht is Khushnud, not Muhammad Shah (p. 121). 2. The author of Candar Badan-o-Mahyar is Muqimi not'Aziz (p. 103). 3. The real author of Bahram-o-Banu Husn was Amin, not Daulat who only completed it (p. 107). 4. Information given about this Daulat, otherwise unknown (p. 123). 5. The name of Kamal kha was Rustumi, not Rasmi (p.114); information given about his Khavar Nama (p.p.114-117) 6. The name of Junaidi was not Shaikh Ahmad but 'Ali Akbar (p. 212). 7. Nusrati's Guldasta-e-'Ishq not a masnavi but a collection of ghazals (p. 146). 8. Ibn-e-Nashati not translated a Tuti Nama (p. 216) 9. The Dah Majlis attributed to Vali Aurangabadi re by Vali of Vellore (p. 263). 10, Confusion about certain poets cleared up:- (a) The 4 poets called Amin (pp. 106, 221, and 255) (b) " 2 " " Nuri (pp. 109 and 227). (c) " 3 " " Mirza (pp.160 and 229). (d) Hashim and Hashimi (pp. 152 and 284). IV. Much new information based on M.S. study about:- 1. Vajhi (p. 189) 2. Rustumi (p. 114) 3. Nusrati (p. 126) 4. Ibn-e-Nashati (p. 213) 5. Hashim 'Ali (p. 284). V. The writer has here presented some new views about the origin and development of Urdu. In this connection he has taken advantage of his belonging to the Dakhan in discussing the divergence between the northern and southern forms of Urdu.