Laurence Frederic Rushbrook Williams, (1890–1978) was a British historian and civil servant who spent part of his working life in India, and had an abiding interest in Eastern culture.

Life and work

Williams was a Fellow of All Souls' College,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He built up a school of

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

studies at the

University of Allahabad , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

,Williams, L.F. Rushbrook, editor (1974). ''Sufi Studies: East and West'', E.P.Dutton & Co., p. 259. . where he was professor of Modern Indian History. He was briefly Eastern Services Director of the

B.B.C. #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the ...

, and also worked on the editorial staff of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' (London). He acted as a government advisor on Middle East and Asian affairs, and contributed to publications like the

Royal Central Asian Society The Royal Society for Asian Affairs (RSAA) is a learned society based in London (United Kingdom). Its objective is to advance public knowledge and understanding of Asia through its worldwide networks, its public events, its publications and its s ...

''Journal'' and the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...

''. He became interested in

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

through his contact with

Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah ( hi, सरदार इक़बाल अली शाह, ur, ; 1894 in Sardhana, India – 4 November 1969 in Tangier, Morocco) was an Indian-Afghan author and diplomat descended from the Sadaat of Paghman. Born and e ...

and later edited an anthology of contributions to a symposium in honor of the work of the noted

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

author,

Idries Shah Idries Shah (; hi, इदरीस शाह, ps, ادريس شاه, ur, ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el- Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي) and by the pen name Arko ...

.Williams, L.F. Rushbrook, editor (1974). ''Sufi Studies: East and West'', E.P.Dutton & Co., p. 18-19; 259. .

Works

Williams wrote several works on India, Asia and the Middle East, among them the following: *''Pakistan Under Challenge'' *''What About India?'' *''The State of Israel'' *''India in 1921-22: A report prepared for presentation to Parliament in accordance with the requirements of the 26th Section of the Government of India Act'' *''An Empire Builder of the Sixteenth Century: A Summary Account of the Political Career of Zahir-Ud-Din Muhammad, Surnamed Babur'' *''Ethnic diversity in India'' *''The black hills: Kutch in history and legend: a study in Indian local loyalties'' *''Handbook for Travellers in India, Pakistan and Nepal'' *''The East Pakistan tragedy'' *''The State of Pakistan'' *''Great Men of India''

Notes

External links

* British expatriates in India British historians of religion 20th-century British writers 1890 births 1978 deaths Commanders of the Order of the British Empire {{UK-historian-stub