The Story Behind English Translation of Gulabnama

Hilal Mohiuddin

hilalmohiuddin614@gmail.com

Gulabnama is the biography of Maharaja Gulab Singh, the founder of the Dogra dynasty of Jammu and Kashmir. Originally written in Persian by Diwan Kirpa Ram, the work chronicles the establishment of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1846 and traces the life and political career of Maharaja Gulab Singh. It offers valuable insights into his statecraft, administrative policies, and the strategies he employed to consolidate and safeguard the frontiers of his kingdom during a turbulent period.

Initially, Maharaja Gulab Singh was reluctant to have his life documented, fearing that sensitive family matters and personal details might be made public. For this reason, he was unwilling to entrust the task to the court historian, Ganesh Das Badhera. Instead, the responsibility was later assigned to Diwan Kirpa Ram, the son of Dewan Jawala Sahai, who served as Gulab Singh's Prime Minister. The book faced significant hurdles in reaching the public. It took over a century for it to be accessible to common readers. Diwan Kirpa Ram completed the draft by roughly 1865-1866, but it was not printed until 1875 in Srinagar. It was finally published in 1875 at the Tofa Printing Press in Srinagar, Kashmir. However, it became rare quickly, and various attempts to translate it into English over next century were unsuccessful due to fundings, translation quality and institutional hurdles.

Recognizing its historical importance, Raja Amar Singh, the father of Maharaja Hari Singh, wrote to Maharaja Pratap Singh in 1901, recommending that an annual budget of Rs. 500-1,000 be set aside for translating and publishing Gulabnama. Unfortunately, the proposal could not be implemented because no suitable translator could be found. A similar effort had earlier been undertaken for Kalhana's Rajatarangini, which had been translated into English by M. A. Stein. The government sanctioned about Rs. 3,000 for that project, with nearly Rs. 1,500 spent on paper, printing, and distribution. This demonstrates the state's willingness to invest in publishing important historical works.

Professor Arnold of the University of Lahore was the first scholar approached to translate Gulabnama into English. However, after translating only the first sixty pages, he abandoned the project for personal reasons. The search for a competent translator continued. In 1902, Raja Amar Singh again approached Maharaja Pratap Singh, who constituted a committee to supervise the translation. Raja Amar Singh served as its President, while Diwan Diya Krishna, Bhagwan Narayan Das, and Dr. Suraj Bal were appointed as members. The committee engaged Babu Jagadish Chandra Banerjee to prepare an English translation for publication in Calcutta and paid an advance of Rs. 500. However, his translation was later rejected because it did not accurately reflect the original Persian text of Diwan Kirpa Ram. Another attempt was made during 1915-16 under Maharaja Pratap Singh, but it also remained unsuccessful. Later, efforts were made to translate the work into Urdu and Sanskrit, but these projects likewise remained incomplete.

A major breakthrough came when Professor Sukhdev Singh Charak, Principal of Himachal Pradesh University, voluntarily undertook the English translation. He began the work in 1965 and completed it in 1976, devoting eleven years to the task. A benevolent man who appreciated the importance of the work offered Professor Charak a grant of Rs. 5,000. However, the total cost of publication was estimated at around Rs. 12,000. He was advised to seek financial assistance from the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, but the Academy declined to provide funding. In 1975, Professor Charak was involved in a severe accident that left him critically injured. At the time, he felt that his survival was uncertain and that he might only have a few hours left to live. Facing what he believed to be the end of his life, he reached out to ensure that his life's mission the translation of this book would be fulfilled. He even wrote a letter to a contact expressing that it was his final wish to have the book published. Fortunately, Professor Charak survived his injuries .Following his recovery, he returned to Jammu in 1976 to finalize the manuscript. The book was subsequently sent to the printing press later that year, finally appearing in 1977. The English translation of Gulabnama was formally released by Dr. Karan Singh, bringing to fruition a project that had witnessed more than seven decades of unsuccessful attempts.

(The author is a Contractual Lecturer at Government Degree College Boys Udhampur)