Ahmad Salim or Muhammad Salim Khawaja (born 26 January 1945 in
Miana Gondal
Miana Gondal is a village in Mandi Bahauddin District, Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan. This city is in Mandi Bahauddin District, which is the so-called the Land of Judges.
As of 2008, the total population is about 30,00
There are many other ...
,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
) is a writer, archivist and co-founder of the
South Asian Resource and Research Centre, a private archive established in 2001. He currently lives in
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...
.
Early life
Born Muhammad Salim Khawaja in the village of
Miana Gondal
Miana Gondal is a village in Mandi Bahauddin District, Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan. This city is in Mandi Bahauddin District, which is the so-called the Land of Judges.
As of 2008, the total population is about 30,00
There are many other ...
in
Gujrat District
Gujrat ( Punjabi and ur, ), is a district of Punjab Province in Pakistan.
It is bounded on the northeast by Mirpur, on the northwest by the River Jhelum, which separates it from Jhelum District, on the east and southeast by the Chenab Ri ...
,
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
, Pakistan, Salim was the fourth among seven brothers and sisters.
Salim's early education was in Miana Gondal, before going to
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
for matriculation. While studying in Peshawar, Salim made acquaintance with writers and poets; notably
Farigh Bukhari
Ahmad Shah (11 November 1917 – 13 April 1997), known by his pen name as Farigh Bukhari ( ''romanized'': Fārigh Buk̲h̲ārī), was a Pakistani multilingual poet and progressive writer. He wrote books, including poetry on various subjects such ...
,
Mohsin Ahsan,
Raza Hamdani, and
Jauhar Meer.
After matriculating from Peshawar, Salim moved to
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
for his intermediate education. He got admission in Urdu College. Around that time Ahmad Salim participated in a competition arranged by
Afkar, a literary magazine. Participants were asked to write their thoughts on
Faiz Ahmad Faiz
Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi:
فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...
's poetry. Ahmad Salim's poem on Faiz got first prize in the competition. At that time Faiz was the principal of
Abdullah Haroon College. On Faiz's invitation Ahmad Salim joined Abdullah Haroon College. A close association grew between Faiz and Ahmad Salim, and continued till Faiz's death in 1984.
Career
After completing high school (Intermediate) Ahmad Salim joined the National Bank in 1968. Later he was transferred to Rawalpindi where he continued working for that bank through 1969. Ahmad Salim then moved to Lahore and started teaching at Shah Hussain College. During 1969–71 he was associated with
National Awami Party
The National Awami Party (NAP), translated from Urdu to English as National People's Party, was the major left-wing political party in East and West Pakistan. It was founded in 1957 in Dhaka, erstwhile East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh), by A ...
(NAP), and was briefly put in jail in 1971 for his criticism of Pakistan Army's operation in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
In 1972
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and Politician, statesman who served as ...
appointed Faiz as the Chairman of National Council of Arts. On Faiz's invitation Ahmad Salim joined the council. During his association with the National Council of Arts from 1972 through 1975, Ahmad Salim operated the Folklore Research Centre and published material on Punjabi and Sindhi folklore. Ahmad Salim left the Council shortly after Faiz left that institution in 1974.
1976–77, Ahmad Salim taught at
Sindh University
The University of Sindh ( ur, ; sd, سنڌ يونيورسٽي; informally known as Sindh University) is a public research university in Pakistan located in the city of Jamshoro. It is one of the oldest universities in Pakistan and was certifi ...
, Jamshoro. He taught a course on Pakistani languages—the course material was developed by him. At that time
Shaikh Ayaz
Shaikh Ayaz SI ( ur, , ) born Mubarak Ali Shaikh ( ur, , ) (March 1923 – 28 December 1997) was Sindhi language poet, prose writer and former Vice Chancellor of University of Sindh. He is counted as one of the prominent and great Sindhi po ...
was the Vice-Chancellor of Sindh University. Ahmad Salim enjoyed good relations with Shaikh Ayaz, as he had translated Ayaz's poetry into Punjabi. Ahmad Salim's principal work at the Sindh University was to translate
Shah Hussain
Shah Hussain ( pa, ; ; 1538–1599), also known as Madhoo Lal Hussain, was a 16th-century Punjabi Muslim Sufi poet who is regarded as a pioneer of the Kafi form of Punjabi poetry. He lived during the ruling periods of Mughal emperors Akbar ...
's poetry into Sindhi, and Bhitai's work into Punjabi, though he could not complete the latter. During his stay at the Sindh University Ahmad Salim also completed his Bachelor of Arts degree.
After Bhutto imposed martial law, Ahmad Salim moved to Karachi in late 1977. There he wrote reviews of TV programs for
Daily Aman (Editor: Afzal Siddiqui). For supplemental income Ahmad Salim did a lot of translation work too, and came to popularly known as Ahmad Salim Muttarajjim (translator). In 1979 he got admission in MA Philosophy at
Karachi University
The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (whi ...
. He completed MA with a gold medal. It was around that time that Ahmad Salim got married. Starting from 1981 he edited
JafaKash, a labour magazine. 1985–88, Ahmad Salim taught a course on Pakistani languages at Karachi University — the same course that he had taught at Sindh University. After separating from his wife in 1988 Ahmad Salim moved to Lahore. He has one daughter from that marriage.
When Pakistan's National and Provincial assemblies were dissolved by President Ghulam Ishaque Khan in 1990, Jang group asked Ahmad Salim to write a book on Pakistan's history related to dissolution of assemblies. Ahmad Salim quickly learned the scarcity of research material and the difficulty in obtaining information from government institutes. He started collecting and archiving material of historical importance. Thus became his career in archiving.
1996– June 2007, Ahmad Salim worked as the Director of Urdu Publications for Sustainable Development Policy Institute, an NGO. He still does part-time research work for that organisation. In 2010 he received Islamic Republic of Pakistan's Pride of Performance Award in recognition of his contribution in the field of literature.
South Asian Research and Resource Centre
In 2001, Salim and his Christian friends, Leonard D'souza and Nosheen D'souza (https://web.archive.org/web/20111009143044/http://www.thecypresstimes.com/article/Christian_News/Christian_News_International/A_PAKISTANI_COUPLE_AND_THEIR_SONS_HAVE_FACED_DEATH_THREATS_AFTER_COPRODUCING_DRAMATIC_DOCUMENTARY_CALLED_BURNING_ALIVE_THE_FATE_OF_PAKISTANI_CHRISTIANS/31711), formed the South Asian Research and Resource Center (SARRC). SARRC is a private, non-profit archive, focusing on development and peace with special emphasis on the rights of religious minorities and indigenous people. It has pioneered resource and documentation services in the Pakistani non-profit sector.
Research Studies Conducted since 2003 include:
*Bonded Labour in Pakistan 's Mines Sector – 2002, for the International Labour Organisation. Islamabad/Geneva
*Messing Up the Past: Text Books of Pakistan 1947–2000, conducted for Ford Foundation, 2003
*Studies on Curricula and textbooks reforms – Development Department, Embassy of Netherlands, 2002–2003 (with co-authorship Dr. A.H Nayyar)
*Critical Issues in Education Policy – A Citizens' Review of the National Education Policy 1998–2010, Commonwealth Education/Save the Children – UK, Islamabad, 2006 (with co-authorship Dr. A.H. Nayyar)
*Violence against Women for Ministry of Women Development, Govt. of Pakistan, 2004
*Violence, memories and Peace building for Christian Socialists in Sweden/SIDA/Olof Palme International Centre, Sweden, 2005
*Tolerance, a pilot project, University of Uppsala, Sweden, 2006
*Equal Citizens? Friedrich Neumann Foundation, FNS, Islamabad 2006
*Role of Minorities in Nation Building with Focus on Karachi, Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan, Karachi 2006
*Pluralism and Diversity in Asia : Protecting and Promoting the rights of religious minorities through education and training, minority rights Group International, UK 2007
*Common spiritual Heritage for Peace and Harmony, Heinrich Boll foundation, Pakistan/Afghanistan, (German Organization), Lahore 2008
*Religious Fundamentalism and its Impact on non-Muslim, Christian Study Centre, funded by Church of Sweden, 2008
*The Issues of Joint and Separate Electorates Systems, Christian Study Centre, funded by Church of Sweden, 2008
*Sufism and Peace, Church world Service, Pakistan / Afghanistan, Karachi 2008
*State Accountability and Education rights of Minorities in Pakistan (A pre-roundtable background paper), 2008, IDRC, Canada
*Textbooks for Religious Studies (Ethics) Grade III to Grade XII for National Book Foundation, Ministry of Education, Government of *Pakistan are being prepared for 2009–2010, education sessions.
*Textbooks on parliamentary Democracy (Grade V, VIII and X) for SDPD (United Nations Development Programme)
*Development of 10 textbook modules for non-Muslims students in Pakistani schools. These proposed texts have been developed as alternative educational materials with the support of Minority Rights Group, UK
SARRC contains a wealth of information on minorities, development, gender, security and violence which have been focal to the evolution of history and society of the region. The SARRC has acquired and preserved information including fact-sheets, unpublished material, manuscripts, policy papers and official reports of various Commissions and Committees.
Almost all of the important newspapers, periodicals, books, reports and documents published during the last two centuries are preserved under one roof.
Bibliography
Salim has written several books on Pakistani history.
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salim, Ahmad
1945 births
Pakistani male journalists
Living people
Pakistani archivists
University of Sindh faculty
Pakistani translators
People from Gujrat District
University of Karachi faculty