Ahmad Hasan Dani

Ahmad Hassan Dani, FRAS, SI, HI (, 20 June 1920 – 26 January 2009) was a Pakistani archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology and history.

Throughout his career, Dani held various academic positions and international fellowships, apart from conducting archaeological excavations and research. He is particularly known for archaeological work on pre-Indus civilization and Gandhara sites in northern Pakistan.

Biography

Early life Ahmad Hasan Dani was born on 20 June 1920 into an ethnic Kashmiri Muslim trading family of the Wain clan in Basna, in the Central Provinces and Berar in British India (now in Chhattisgarh, India). He graduated in 1944 with an MA degree in Sanskrit, becoming the first Muslim graduate of Banaras Hindu University. He stayed there for six months. In 1945, he started working as a trainee in archaeology under the guidance of Mortimer Wheeler.

Visiting, research and honorary positions During his associate professorship at Dhaka University, Dani worked as a research fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (1958–59). He also made a number of discoveries of Gandhara sites in Peshawar and Swat valleys, and worked on Indo-Greek sites in Dir. From 1985, he was involved in research focusing on the documentation of the rock carvings and inscriptions on ancient remains from the Neolithic age in the high mountain region of Northern Pakistan along with Harald Hauptmann of Heidelberg Academy of Sciences, University of Heidelberg. He also led the UNESCO teams for the Desert Route Expedition of the Silk Road in China (1990) and the Steppe Route Expedition of the Silk Road in the Soviet Union (1991). Nor was there any invasion from the seaside during the Bronze Age, although the coastline facilitated maritime trade. The major influence, according to Dani, came from Central Asia in the west. He asserted that the hilly western borderland that appears as a boundary to the external eye is actually a network of hill plateaus where the local people have always moved freely. He therefore argued that the cultural history of Pakistan is more closely related to Central Asia through Buddhist, Persian and later Sufism influences.

Awards and honours

Despite being the first Muslim student of Banaras Hindu University, Dani scored highest in the graduation exams and received the J. K. Gold Medal from that university in 1944. 1998 Légion d'honneur, President of the French Republic 1997 Aristotle Silver Medal, UNESCO 1996 Order of the Merit, Government of Germany 1994 Knight Commander, Government of Italy 1990 Palmes Academiques, Government of France 1986 Gold Medal, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh 1969 Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) Award by the Government of Pakistan

Publications Ahmad Hasan Dani had more than 30 published books and numerous journal articles to his credit. He spoke 35 languages and dialects, and was fluent in Bengali, French, Hindi, Kashmiri, Marathi, Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Seraiki, Sindhi, Tamil, Turkish and Urdu languages. He also published various texts in most of these languages.

Books History of Pakistan: Pakistan Through Ages. Sang-e-Meel Publications. 2007. Historic City of Taxila. Sang-e-Meel Publications. 2001. History of Northern Areas of Pakistan (Up to 2000 AD). Sang-e-Meel Publications. 2001. Romance of the Khyber Pass. Sang-e-Meel Publications. 1997. New Light on Central Asia. Sang-e-Meel Publications. 1996. Central Asia Today. Sang-e-Meel Publications. 1996. Human Records on Karakorum Highway. Sang-e-Meel Publications. 1995. Peshawar: Historic City of the Frontier. Sang-e-Meel Publications, (2nd Revised edition). 1995. A Short History of Pakistan, Book One: Pre-Muslim Period. University of Karachi. (3 editions, 1967, 1984, 1992). History of Northern Areas of Pakistan (Historical studies). National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research. 1989. Perspectives of Pakistan. National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-e-Azam University. 1989. ASIN B0000CQNUB The Historic City of Taxila. Centre for East Asian Cultural Studies. 1986. Chilas: The City of Nanga Parvat (Dyamar). 1983. ASIN B0000CQDB2 Thatta: Islamic architecture. Institute of Islamic History, Culture & Civilization. 1982. ASIN B0000CQD43 Indus Civilization: New Perspectives. Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. 1981 Alberuni's Indica: A Record of the Cultural History of South Asia About A.D. 1030. University of Islamabad Press, Islamabad. 1973 Indian Palaeography. Clarendon P. 1963. ASIN B0000CM0CB Dacca: A Record of Its Changing Fortunes. S.S. Dani (Publisher). 1962. ASIN B0000CQXMU Prehistory and Protohistory of Eastern India: With a Detailed Account of the Neolithic Cultures. K.L. Mukhopadhyay. 1960 Bibliography of the Muslim Inscriptions of Bengal. 1957

Co-authored works With J-P. Mohen (eds.), History of Humanity, Volume III, From the Third Millennium to the Seventh Century BC. New York: Routledge/Paris: UNESCO. 1996. . With V.M. Masson (eds.), History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Unesco, Paris. 1992- (6 volumes) (v.1)