Ahmad Hassan Dani (
Urdu:
احمد حسن دانی)
FRAS,
SI,
HI (
20 June 1920 –
26 January 2009), was an eminent
Pakistani
archaeologist,
historian, and
linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on
Central Asian and
South Asian
archaeology and history.
[Joffe, L (2009). , The Guardian, 31 March, p.37. Retrieved on 4 September 2009] He introduced archaeology as a discipline in higher education in Pakistan and
Bangladesh.
[The Times (2009). , 18 February. Retrieved on 4 September 2009] Throughout his career, Dani held various academic positions and international fellowships, apart from conducting archaeological excavations and research. He is particularly known for archaeological work on pre-
Indus Civilization and
Gandhara sites in
Northern Pakistan. He was also the recipient of various
civil awards in
Pakistan and abroad. As a prolific linguist, he was able to speak 35 local and international
languages and
dialects.
[, Ahmed Hasan Dani and his wife's live interview on Pakistan Television. Retrieved on 4 September 2009] Biography
Early life
Dani, an ethnic
Kashmiri, was born on
20 June 1920 in
Basna,
British India.
[Khan, M.N. . Salaam. Retrieved on 15 May 2008.] He graduated in 1944, with an
MA degree, to become the first
Muslim graduate of
Banaras Hindu University. He scored highest marks in the exams which earned him a Gold Medal. This also qualified him for a teaching fellowship from the same university. Although he was provided with the grant, he was not allowed to teach owing to his religious beliefs.
He stayed there for six months. In 1945, he started working as a trainee in archaeology under the guidance of
Mortimer Wheeler. At this time, he participated in excavations at
Taxila and
Mohenjo-daro. He was subsequently posted at the Department of Archaeology of British India at
Taj Mahal,
Agra.
Career
After the
Partition of India, Dani migrated to
East Pakistan. There, between 1947-49 he worked as Assistant Superintendent of the Department of Archaeology. At this time, he rectified the Verandra Museum at
Rajshahi. In 1949, he married Safiya Sultana. Together, they had three sons (Anis, Navaid and Junaid) and a daughter (Fauzia). In 1950, Dani was promoted to the position of Superintendent-in-Charge of Archaeology. In the same year, he became General Secretary of Asiatic Society of Pakistan in Dhaka. Later on, in 1955, he took the position of President, National Committee for Museums in Pakistan. For a period of twelve years (between 1950-62), Dani remained Associate Professor of History at
University of Dhaka, while at the same time working as
curator at
Dhaka museum. During this period, he carried out archaeological research on the Muslim history of
Bengal.
Dani moved to the
University of Peshawar in 1962 as Professor of Archaeology and remained there until 1971. During this time, he led the resetting and renovation works for the
Lahore and
Peshawar Museums. He became Chairman of Research Society in University of Peshawar in 1970. In 1971, he moved to
University of Islamabad to become Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences. He left the post in 1975 to concentrate on research as Professor of History. Meanwhile, the university was renamed Quaid-e-Azam University in 1976. He continued to work in various positions until his retirement in 1980 when he was made
Emeritus Professor. During this period, he also served as President of the Archaeological and Historical Association of Pakistan (1979) and Co-Director of the Pak-German Team for
Ethnology Research in Northern Areas of Pakistan (1980).
He received an
Honorary Doctorate from Tajikistan University, (
Dushanbe) in 1993. During the same year, Dani established the Islamabad Museum. Between 1992–96, he was appointed Advisor to the
Ministry of Culture of Pakistan, on archaeology. Between 1994-98, he remained Chairman of the National Fund for Cultural Heritage in Islamabad. In 1997, Dani became Honorary Director at the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations. He held the position until the time of his death.
On 22 January 2009, he was admitted to
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in
Islamabad with heart, kidney and
diabetes problems. He died on 26 January 2009 at the age of 88 years.
Visiting, research and honorary positions
During his Associate Professorship at Dhaka University, Dani worked as a Research Fellow at the
School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London (1958–59). Later, in 1969 he became Asian Fellow at the
Australian National University,
Canberra. In 1974, he went to the
University of Pennsylvania in
Philadelphia as a visiting scholar. In 1977, he was Visiting Professor at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison. Over the span of his career, Dani was awarded honorary fellowships of Royal Asiatic Society of Bangladesh (1969),
German Archaeological Institute (1981),
Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsMEO) (1986) and
Royal Asiatic Society (1991).
In 1991, Dani was made Honorary Citizen of
Bukhara and Honorary Member of Paivand Society in
Tajikistan. He was made Honorary Life Patron of Al-Shifa Trust,
Rawalpindi in 1993.
Research contributions
thumb|250px|right|Indus basinDani remained engaged in excavation works on the pre-
Indus Civilization site of
Rehman Dheri in
Northern Pakistan.
[Khan, O (1998). in Islamabad, on 6 January. Retrieved on 15 May 2008] He also made a number of discoveries of
Gandhara sites in
Peshawar and
Swat Valleys, and worked on Indo-Greek sites in
Dir. From 1985, he was involved in research focusing on the documentation of the rock carvings and inscriptions on ancient remains from the
Neolithic age in the high mountain region of Northern Pakistan along with Harald Hauptmann of Heidelberg Academy of Sciences,
University of Heidelberg.
In 1990–91, he led the
UNESCO international scientific teams for the Desert Route Expedition of the
Silk Road in
China and the Steppe Route Expedition of the
Silk Road in the
Soviet Union.
From his extensive fieldwork and research experience, Dani refuted any influence of
South Indian culture on the Indus Valley Civilization.
Using a geographic perspective of the socio-political systems and cultural distribution of the
Indus Basin and surrounding hinterland, he observed that the
Indo-Gangetic Plain did not play any significant role in the development of Indus Valley culture. Nor was there any invasion from the seaside during the
Bronze Age, although the coastline facilitated maritime trade. The major influence, according to Dani, came from
Central Asia in the west. He asserted that the hilly western borderland that appears as a boundary to the external eye is actually a network of hill plateaus where the local people have always moved freely. He therefore argued that the
cultural history of Pakistan is more closely related to Central Asia through
Buddhist,
Persian and later
Sufism influences.
And he strived to revive this relationship by promoting organisations such as
Pak-Central Asia Friendship Association.
Dani maintained that despite the
Arabian Sea allowing the
Meluhhans to establish trade relations with
Mesopotamia and
Ancient Egypt, the majority of historical movements occurred between Central and South Asia. The geographic location as a link between the two regions has characterised the relationship "between the people of Pakistan and those of Central Asia in the field of culture, language, literature, food, dress, furniture and folklore".
Awards and honours
Despite being the first Muslim student of Banaras Hindu University, Dani also scored highest in the graduation exams and received the J. K. Gold Medal from that university in 1944. Among the national awards, Dani received
Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 1969, Aizaz-e-Kamal in 1992 and
Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 2000 from the
Government of Pakistan. In 2004, he was awarded the title of 'Distinguished National Professor' by the
Higher Education Commission in recognition of his contributions and achievements.
Internationally, his services in archaeology, linguistics and ancient history were commended through various prestigious honours and awards such as:
- 1997 Aristotle Silver Medal, UNESCO
Publications
Dani had more than 30 published books and numerous journal articles to his credit. He spoke 35 languages and dialects, and was fluent in
Bangla,
French,
Hindi,
Kashmiri,
Marathi,
Pashto,
Persian,
Punjabi,
Sanskrit,
Seraiki,
Sindhi,
Tamil,
Turkish and
Urdu languages.
He also published various texts in most of these languages.
Books
- History of Pakistan: Pakistan through ages. Sang-e-Meel Publications. 2007. ISBN 978-9693520200
- Historic City of Taxila. Sang-e-Meel Publications. 2001. ISBN 978-9693509472
- History of Northern Areas of Pakistan (Up to 2000 AD). Sang-e-Meel Publications. 2001. ISBN 978-9693512311
- Romance of the Khyber Pass. Sang-e-Meel Publications. 1997. ISBN 978-9693507195
- New Light on Central Asia. Sang-e-Meel Publications. 1996. ISBN 978-9693502947
- Central Asia Today. Sang-e-Meel Publications. 1996. ISBN 978-9693507065
- Human Records on Karakorum Highway. Sang-e-Meel Publications. 1995. ISBN 978-9693506464
- Peshawar: Historic City of the Frontier. Sang-e-Meel Publications, (2nd Revised edition). 1995. ISBN 978-9693505542
- History of Northern Areas of Pakistan (Historical studies). National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research. 1989. ISBN 978-9694150161
- Perspectives of Pakistan. National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-e-Azam University. 1989. ASIN B0000CQNUB
- The historic city of Taxila. Centre for East Asian Cultural Studies. 1986. ISBN 978-4896565003
- Indus Civilization: New Perspectives. Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. 1981
- Alberuni's Indica: A record of the cultural history of South Asia about A.D. 1030. University of Islamabad Press, Islamabad. 1973
- Indian palaeography. Clarendon P. 1963. ASIN B0000CM0CB
- Dacca: A record of its changing fortunes. S.S. Dani (Publisher). 1962. ASIN B0000CQXMU
- Prehistory and Protohistory of Eastern India: With a Detailed Account of the Neolithic Cultures. K.L. Mukhopadhyay. 1960
Co-authored works
- With J-P. Mohen (eds.), History of Humanity, Volume III, From the Third Millennium to the Seventh Century BC. New York: Routledge/Paris: UNESCO. 1996. ISBN 0415093066.
- With V.M. Masson (eds.), History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Unesco, Paris. 1992- (6 volumes) ISBN 9231027190 (v.1)
See also
