Prof Haroon Khan Sherwani (1891–1980) was an Indian historian, scholar, and author. Maulana Azad National Urdu University had created Centre for Deccan Studies in his honor.

Education

Haroon Khan Sherwani was educated in Aligarh Muslim University, London, Cambridge, Oxford, Grenoble and Geneva. At the age of 15, he went to London to pursue higher education. There he went on to receive degrees from both the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

and the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He was called to the bar two years later. He also spent extensive time studying French at the

University of Grenoble The Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA, French: meaning "''Grenoble Alps University''") is a public research university in Grenoble, France. Founded in 1339, it is the third largest university in France with about 60,000 students and over 3,000 resea ...

in France and the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...

in Switzerland. He became head of the Department of History and Political Science at

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate university, collegiate Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farma ...

and was later appointed Principal of

Nizam College The Nizam College is a constituent college of Osmania University established in 1887 during the reign of Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI, in Basheerbagh, Hyderabad, Telangana. History The Nizampur University College was originally the "Mirsa ...

, Hyderabad (1945–1946) and then of Anglo-Arabic College, Delhi (1947-1948). Professor Sherwani was a scholar of Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, English, French, and Persian, and made significant contributions to the study of Deccan history.

Awards and distinctions

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

given by the Government of India to recognize his contributions in the field of literature and education in 1969 *Honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

, Aligarh University, 1976 *Elected Fellow of the

Royal Asiatic Society The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, commonly known as the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), was established, according to its royal charter of 11 August 1824, to further "the investigation of subjects connected with and for the en ...

of Great Britain, London, 1978 *President, Non-European History Section, VIII International Congress of Historical Sciences, Zurich, 1938 *President, Medieval Section, Indian History Congress, 1943 *President, Fifteenth Indian Political Science Conference, Alighar, 1952 *Member, Indian Delegation to the Commonwealth Relations Conference, Lahore, 1953 *President, Indian History Congress. Jubilee Session, Poona, 1963 *President, Central and South Asian Section, International Conference of Asian History, Hong Kong also known as capital of china (H.K), 1964 *Member, Committee appointed by Indian Parliament to translate the Constitution of India into Urdu

Prominent books

*Muslim Political Thought and Administration by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Munhshiram Manoharlal; 1st Indian edition (1981); 215 pages This book is a comprehensive study of the political theories of Muslim thinkers. His survey of Muslim political thought begins with the Ideal State as depicted in the Quran. He provides an insight into the working of the political minds of some of the most eminent Muslim thinkers of each era. Alongside the author provides a running commentary about the workings of the political institutions under which they lived in order to find out whether there was any connecting link between their political ideas and the atmosphere in which they flourished. *The Bahmanis of Deccan by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi, India 1985; 364 pages Bahmani history covers a very important part of the history of medieval India and corresponds to the period of a unified Deccan. Pre-Bahmani medieval Deccan extended to just half century when the land was governed rather precariously by the Sultans of Delhi, while the two countries between the fall of the Bahmanis and the establishment of the Asaf jahi rule was a period of complete disunion. Perhaps the first attempt at a comprehensive history of a part of the Bahmani rule was made by Professor Sherwani in his book, Mahmud Gawan, the great Bahmani Wazir which was published in 1941. The book was exceedingly well received. The age of Mahmud Gawan forms only a small though a glorious part of the history of Bahmani Deccan which is now being presented to the learned public. *Studies in the Foreign Relations of India, from the earliest times to 1947 by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, India 1975. *Cultural Trends in Medieval India: Architecture, Painting, Literature & Language by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Bombay, New York, Asia Publication House 1968. *History of Medieval Deccan, 1295-1724 by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Printing and Publication Bureau, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh (1973) *Cultural Understanding in Medieval India by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Hyderabad, Deccan; 1962 *History of the Qutb Shahi dynasty by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers (1974); 739 pages *The Bahmani Kingdom by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: National Information & Publications (1947) *Mahmud Gawan, the Great Bahmani Wazir by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Allahabad: Kitabistan, 1942. *Muhammad-Quli Qutb Shah, founder of Haidarabad by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: London, Asia Publication House, 1967. *Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Karachi, Pakistan Historical Society, 1962. *The Origin of Islamic Polity: the Qur'anic State by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Hyderabad : Deccan, 1936. *A Muslim Political Thinker of the 9th century, A.C. by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Allahabad: Kitabistan, 1942 *Muslim Colonies in France, Northern Italy and Switzerland by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Pakistan : Sh. Muhammad Ashraf, 1955. *The Islamic Conception of Sovereignty by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Woking Muslim Mission and Literary Trust (1957) *Five Great Oriental Political Philosophers by Haroon Khan Sherwani Publisher: Hyderabad Printing Works (1934)

Major Translations

Urdu Translation of Adolf Holm's 'History of Ancient Greece' Member, Committee for the Urdu Translation of the Constitution of India English Translation of Joseph Toussaint Reinaud's French book entitled 'Invasions des sarrazinz en France, et de France en savoie en piedmont et en suisse' published in 1836

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwani, Haroon Khan 20th-century Indian historians 1891 births Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education 1980 deaths Indian Muslims Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society Aligarh Muslim University alumni Indian people of Pashtun descent