Mohammad Ishaq Khan

Mohammad Ishaq Khan (9 January 1946 – 5 April 2013) was a Kashmiri academic and historian of Kashmir. He served as the dean of academics, dean of faculty of social sciences, professor, and head of the history department at Kashmir University.

Biography

Ishaq Khan was the son of a businessman, Ghulam Ahmad Khan, who was part of the local hotel industry (Kashmir Guest House at Lal Chowk until 1978) in Kashmir. Being a staunch supporter of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, Ahmad Khan was jailed for his underground political activities and died on 4 April 1956 after his release. In his Weekly Khalid (April 1956), Khwaja Sadruddin Mujahid, editor, and jailmate of Ghulam Ahmad Khan along with Ghulam Mohiuddin Shah, alleged that the illness and subsequent death of his friend was caused by slow poisoning in the Central Jail of Srinagar (See Ishaq,Crisis of a Kashmiri Muslim: Spiritual and Intellectual). While from his father's family, Ishaq traces his genealogy to the Pathans of Rampur (See Ishaq Perspectives on Kashmir: Historical Dimensions, 1983, his mother belonged to the known family of Baigs who had settled around the Hariparbat Fort in Srinagar after the Mughal invasion of Kashmir in 1586. Ishaq's wife, Mahmooda Khan, taught English at the Tyndale Biscoe Memorial School, Srinagar for nearly four decades. His eldest son, Mohammad Aamir Khan (B.A. International Islamic University, Malaysia; M.A. Central University, Hyderabad) works at The Tribune.

Education and work Ishaq Khan completed his PhD under the supervision of Mohibbul Hasan in 1975. He was the first PhD of Kashmir University in the faculty of social sciences. Khan served as lecturer (from 1970 to 1982) and reader (from 1982 to1988) before being promoted to full professor of history at Kashmir University and held the post from 1988 to 2005. and was also offered a fellowship by St Cross College, Oxford.

Khan retired in 2005 and was made the director of the newly founded Institute for Kashmir Studies and later held the Shaikhul Alam Chair at Kashmir University until August 2008.

Selected books

History of Srinagar, 1846–1947: A Study in Socio-Cultural Change (Aamir Publications, Srinagar, 1978; 2nd ed. Cosmos, Srinagar, 1999; 3rd ed. Gulshan, 2007) Perspectives on Kashmir: Historical Dimensions (Gulshan Publishers, Srinagar, 1983) Kashmir's Transition to Islam: The Role of Muslim Rishis (Manohar Publishers, New Delhi, 1994; paperback, 1997; 3rd edition 2002; 4th ed. published by Gulshan, Srinagar, 2005) Experiencing Islam (Oxford University Press, Karachi; Sterling House, New Delhi; University Press, Dacca, 1997) Crisis of a Kashmiri Muslim: Spiritual and Intellectual with a Foreword by Prof. T.N. Madan (Gulshan, Srinagar, 2008) Biographical Dictionary of Sufism in South Asia (Manohar, New Delhi, 2009) Kashmir: Humanity Stifled (Aamir Publications, Srinagar, 2007) Sufis of Kashmir (Gulshan, 2011) The Merited Invocation: English translation of Awrad-i Fathiyya of Mir Sayyid ‘Ali Hamadani with notes and annotations (forthcoming)

Research articles

Mohammad Ishaq Khan has authored following research articles: "The Rishi Tradition and the Construction of Kashmiriyat", in Lived Islam in South Asia: Adaptation, Accommodation and Conflict, edited by Imtiaz Ahmad and Helmut Reifeld, New Delhi, 2004 "Reflections on Time and History vis-à-vis the Quran" in Hamdard Islamicus, Vol. XXI.No. 3, 1998 (Hamdard Foundation of Pakistan, Karachi) "Kashmiri Muslims: Social and Identity Consciousness" in Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Vol. XVI No.2 1996(Duke University, USA); also published in Mushirul Hasan, ed., Islam, Communities and the Nation, Manohar, New Delhi, 1998 "A Study of Ritual Behaviour and its Impact on the evolution of Kashmiri Muslim Society" in Islam and Christian –Muslim Relations, Vol.5, No.1, 1994 (Selley Oak Colleges, Birmingham, United Kingdom) "The Impact of Islam on Kashmir in the Sultanate Period" in The Indian Economic and Social History Review, Vol 23, No. 2 (Delhi School of Economics, New Delhi, 1986 ); reprinted in Richard M. Eaton, Islamic Traditions in India, Oxford University Press, New Delhi. "Islam in Kashmir: Some distinctive features", in Islam in India, Vol.II.ed.Christian Troll( Vikas, New Delhi, 1986) "Kashmiri Response to Islam, 1320–1586" in Islamic Culture, Hyderabad, January, 1987 "Persian Influences in Kashmir in the Sultanate Period" in Islamic Culture, Hyderabad, January, 1977 "The Significance of the dargah of Hazratbal in the Socio-religious and political life of Kashmiri Muslims" in Muslim Shrines in India, ed. Christian W. Troll ( Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1989); reprinted in T. N. Madan, ed., India’s Religions, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2007 "Sufism In Indian History" in Muslim Shrines in India, ed. Christian W. Troll( Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1989 ) "The Mystical Career and Poetry of Nuruddin Rishi Kashmiri" in Studies in Islam, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, Jan/April 1982 "Sources of the History of Kashmir" in Sources of Indian History, ed. S.P. Sen (Institute of Historical Studies, Calcutta, 1979) "The Societal Dimensions of the Mystical Philosophy of Nuruddin Rishi Kashmiri" in Proceedings of the Indian History Congress (Srinagar Session, 1986) "Studying Conversions to Islam in Indian History: A Case Study" in Journal: Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs, London, Vol. XII. No.1 January 1991 "Six Centuries of Islamisation in Kashmir: Retrospect and Prospects" in 5000 Years of Kashmir, ed.Balraj Puri ( Ahanta, Delhi, 1997 ) "Dynamics of Kashmiri Culture vis-a-vis Brahmanism and Islam" in Karakorum Hindukush-Himalaya : Dynamics of change ed. Irmtraud Stellrecht, 2 vols. (Rudiger Koppe Verlag Koln, Germany, 1998) "The Rishi Movement as a Social Force" in The Making of Indo-Persian Culture, ed. Muzaffar Alam, Francoise Delvoye, Marc Goborieau, Manohar, New Delhi, 2000); reprinted in David Lorenzen, ed., Religious Movements in South Asia (Oxford University Press, 2004) "The Evolution of Shari‘ah consciousness in Kashmir: An Interpretation of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani's Historical Role" in Journal of Pakistan Historical Society Shaheed Hakim Mohammad Said Number, vol.XLVII, Oct–Dec., 1999. No.4 "Some Aspects of Islam in Kashmir", in War and Peace in Islam (Seminar Proceedings, Delhi Policy Group, 2002) "Shari‘a, Conversions & State in Medieval Kashmir", in Aparna Rao, ed., The Valley of Kashmir(Manohar, New Delhi, 2009) "Sinews of Sufism in Kashmir: Past and Present", Third Frame, Vol. 2. No. 1, Jamia Millia Islamia "Rationale for re-orientation of Attitudes Towards Islam in Medieval India", Proceedings of the Punjab History Conference, Punjabi University, Patiala, 2001 "Evolution of My Identity vis-à-vis Islam and Kashmir" in The Parchment of Kashmir: History, Society, and Politics, ed. Nyla Ali Khan, Palgrave Macmillan, August 2012