Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi

Biography

Early life and education Qureshi was born on 20 November 1903 in a noble family of Patiyali, Kasganj District, a town near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, British India. In 1927, he got M.A. in Persian. He served as lecturer in history at St. Stephen's College from 1928 to 1944. Between 1937 and 1940, he studied at Cambridge University for a PhD degree. The topic of his thesis was Administration of Sultanate of Delhi. During this period, he also briefly joined the Pakistan Movement founded by Choudhary Rahmat Ali.

Career in Pakistan After seeing suffering from riots, he migrated to Pakistan in 1948. There, he continued his academic and political career, and served as a member of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. In 1949, he was appointed professor of history at the University of the Punjab, Lahore. He also joined the Government of Pakistan as Minister of Refugee Rehabilitation, and later as Minister of Education. Later on, he joined the Columbia University, New York where he wrote his famous book, the Muslim Community of the South Asia, as a story of the trials and tribulations of the Muslims in the South Asia.

In the late 1950s, Qureshi was brought back to Pakistan by Ayub Khan's martial regime to aid in the crafting of state's new education policy.

Political activities Elected to the Constituent Assembly of India, and then to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan Between 1949–1954, he remained deputy minister, then minister of state and finally as minister with cabinet rank in Government of Pakistan.

Historiography and reception

Background Academic history writing had begun in the undivided subcontinent c. the first quarter of twentieth century. By and large, Hindu (as well as British) historians stereotyped Muslim rulers as despotic barbarians who had inflicted unprecedented damage on India for centuries. Beginning 1940s, as the Pakistan Movement gained strength, a section of Muslim historians became concerned with ensuring the historical legitimacy of the would-be state. To such ends, Qureshi traced a determinist narrative, where generations of Muslim rulers and subjects strove for the development of Muslim community in a foreign territory culminating in Jinnah's Pakistan.

Miscellaneous In 1952, Fazlur Rahman— then, Minister of Education—had convened another commission to draft an "authentic history" of "Muslim Freedom Movement" in "Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent" with Qureshi as a member.

Awards and recognition In recognition of his services, he was decorated with the order of Sitara-e-Pakistan (Star of Pakistan) by the President of Pakistan. On 20 November 2001, Pakistan Post issued a commemorative postage stamp to honor him in its 'Men of Letters' series.