Max Arthur MacAuliffe (11 September 1838 − 15 March 1913), originally known as Michael McAuliffe, was a senior British administrator, prolific scholar and author. MacAuliffe is renowned for his partial translation of

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

scripture

Guru Granth Sahib The Guru Granth Sahib (, ) is the central holy religious scripture of Sikhism, regarded by Sikhs as the final, sovereign and eternal Guru following the lineage of the ten human gurus of the religion. The Adi Granth (), its first rendition, w ...

and history into English.

Early life and education

MacAuliffe was born in Ireland at

Newcastle West Newcastle West () or simply Newcastle (''An Caisleán Nua'', formerly anglicised Castlenoe) is a town in west County Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county, excluding Limerick city. It is also the county t ...

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, on 10 September 1841. He was educated at Newcastle School, Limerick, and Springfield College. He attended Queen's College Galway between 1857 and 1863, being awarded junior scholarships in the Literary Division of the Arts Faculty for 1857–58, 1858–59, and 1859–60. He was awarded a B.A. degree with first class honours in Modern Languages in 1860. He obtained a senior scholarship in Ancient Classics for 1860-1, and a senior scholarship in Modern Languages and History for 1861-62. He also served as Secretary of the college's Literary and Debating Society for the 1860–61 session.

Career

MacAuliffe entered the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British Raj, British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 3 ...

in 1862, and arrived in the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

in February 1864. He was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Punjab in 1882, and a Divisional Judge in 1884. He retired from the Indian Civil Service in 1893. MacAuliffe also wrote a rendition, English translation of the Sacred scriptures of the Sikh religion, the ''

''. He also wrote ''The Sikh Religion: its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors'' (six volumes, Oxford University Press, 1909). He was assisted in his works by Pratap Singh Giani, a Sikh scholar. Photograph of Max Arthur Macauliffe wearing a turban

Photograph of Max Arthur Macauliffe wearing a turban

MacAuliffe converted to

Sikhism Sikhism is an Indian religion and Indian philosophy, philosophy that originated in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent around the end of the 15th century CE. It is one of the most recently founded major religious groups, major religio ...

in the 1860s and was even derided by his employers for having "turned a Sikh". His personal assistant remarked in his memoirs that on his death bed, MacAuliffe could be heard reciting the Sikh morning prayer,

Japji Sahib ''Japji Sahib'' (, pronunciation: ) is the Sikh thesis, that appears at the beginning of the '' Guru Granth Sahib'' – the scripture of the Sikhs. ''Jap'' is the original name of the prayer and to show respect, it is called ''Jap ji Sahib''. I ...

, ten minutes before he died.SikhChic
/ref> MacAuliffe is held in high esteem by the Sikh community, for his translation into English of the Sikh Scriptures, the

. At a lecture at the annual session of the Lahore Singh Sabha Macauliffe proclaimed that the Guru Granth was matchless as a book of holy teachings. He was awarded the degree of M.A. (honoris causa) by his alma mater in 1882. MacAuliffe died in the United Kingdom at his home in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 15 March 1913.

Publications

The Sikh Religion Vol I (1909

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References

External links

*

Max Arthur Macauliffe : First Western Gateway To Study of Sikhism

Max Arthur Macauliffe – He Introduced Sikhi to the English-Speaking West
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macauliffe, Max Arthur 1841 births 1913 deaths British people in colonial India People from Newcastle West Converts to Sikhism Irish Sikhs Sikh writers