Behramji Malabari

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Behramji Merwanji Malabari (1853 – 1912) was an Indian journalist and social reformer; born in 1853 at Baroda, the son of a poor Parsi in the employment of the state, who died shortly after his birth. His mother took him to Surat, where he was educated in a mission school, but he never succeeded in gaining an academic degree. His adopted father was a spice trader from Malabar. The reason for the title Malabari, is mentioned in the biographies. (gidumal 1892 and Singh 1914)

Coming to Bombay, he fell under the influence of Dr. John Wilson, principal of the Scottish College. As early as 1875 he published a volume of poems in Gujarati, followed in 1877 by The Indian Muse in English Garb, which attracted attention in England, notably from Tennyson, Max Müller, and Florence Nightingale.

His life work began in 1880 when he acquired the Indian Spectator, which he edited for twenty years until it was merged into the Voice of India. In 1901 he became editor of East and West. Always holding aloof from politics, he was an ardent and indefatigable advocate of social reform in India, especially as regards child marriage and the remarriage of widows. It was largely by his efforts, both in the press and in tours through the country, that the Age of Consent Act was passed in 1891. His account of his visit to England, entitled The Indian Eye on English Life (1893), passed through three editions, and an earlier book of a somewhat satirical nature, Gujarat and the Gujaratis (1883), was equally popular.

[edit] Malabari and Max Müller

On 13 January 1884, in his news paper Indian Spectator Malabari wrote

The Times of India is angry with Hon. Mr. Hunter for having described Indian Spectator as the leading Native paper in Bombay. We hope Dr. Hunter will not be abused by the local critic for having stated a simple fact. The Indian spectator has been more than once described in similar terms by the principal Anglo-Indian and Indian journals, The Pioneer, The Civil and Military Gazette, The Madras Mail and others, before which Times of India today sinks into insignificance. What is more some of these leading journals place the Indian spectator first among its contemporaries in the country, notably the Indian statesman. But the best part of the Times of India joke is that the editor of the paper himself showed to us about two years ago an article in the London Times, paying us the compliment of the premier rank in writing of three select Native papers, the Indian Spectator, The Hindoo Patriot, and the Indian Mirror, as papers “written with great ability and in excellent idiomatic English”! so much for the Times of India memory …

The Indian Spectator played a crucial role in mobilising the opinion of people across the country. This newspaper posed the both sides of the debates in the paper. Menant (1907) mentions the role of this paper in his article. It also provides us with information as how closely the views of Max Muller played a critical role in the views of BM Malabari. Gidumal (1892) and Singh (1914) also tells us that it was Malabari who coordinated the work of translating Mullers speeches Hibbert Lecturesabout India into vernacular languages in India. This translations were popular in re-imagining India's past.

First letter from Muller reached Malabari in 1878, in a village called Songhad in kathiawar region, says Menanat, (1907 Pages 296-298). This letter was in praise of Malabari's poetry Indian Muse in English Grab. There was also a letter written by Alfred Tennyson. Muller wrote "It is in the verses where you feel and speak like a true Indian that you speak most like a true Poet."

Malabari recalls, in his biography 'Recollections' the occasion of his reading of the Muller's Lectures on Religion as Illustrated by Religions of India as follows:

What a glorious subject, and how gloriously handled! I am a poor book reader, seldom engrossed even by my favorite works. But there was a genunine Indian ring about the contents of this volume which sounded exceeding sweet to my ear and felt equally satisfying to the soul. The dedication to the memory of his beloved daughter also touched me deeply. In short, the Hibbert Lectures impressed me as being the flowers, not the ripened fruit, of Max Muller's labors in the field of oriental researches; and it seemed strange that none of our students had yet thought of presenting thme to his country men in simple vernaculars on the land. page 332 of Recollections cited in Menant (1907 page 297)

Muller had witten to Malabari his interest in translating the work as follows:(Menant cites them page 300)

These lectures were chiefly written for India. What I wished to do was to show you how much and how little you posses in your own ancient religion. There is a large accumulation of mere rubbish in your religious system! That you know as well as I do, and to an enlightened mind such as yours there can be no offense in my saying this; but beneath that rubbish there are germs. Do not throw those germs away with the rubbish. .... If you could tell your countrymen something of what I have written in these lectures, it might bear some good fruit.

What is even more important, in contrast to the general or popular perception of Muller being romantic about vedic past of India the following message from Muller to Malabari gives in a different aspect of Mullers perception of Vedas. quoted in Menant (pages 300-301)

I am (Muller) deeply interested in the effect my Hibbert Lectures will produce in India. When writing them I was often thinking of my friends in your (malabari) country more than of my audience at Westminster ..... I wanted to tell those few at least whom I might hope to reach in English, what the true historical value of their ancient religion is, as looked upon, not from exclusively European or Christian, but from a historical point of view. I wished to warn against two dangers: that of undervaluing or despising the ancient national religion, as is done too often by your half-Europeanized youths; and that of over valuing it, and interpreting it as it was never meant to be interpreted, of which you may see a painful instance in Dayananda Sarasvati's labours on Veda. Accept the veda as an ancient historical account, containing thoughts in accordance with the character of an ancient and simple-minded race of men, and you will be able to admire it, and to retain some of it - particularly the teachings of the Upanishads, even in these modern days. But discover in it steam engines and electricity, and European philosophy and morality, and you deprive it of its true character, you destroy its real value, and you break historical continuity and try to understand it, and you will then have less difficulty in finding the right way toward the future.

Malabari hence began the translation of this text into Gujrati. Malabari was assisted by one N.M. Mobedjina. Malabari first mentioned to Muller other people who could have done the translation, but Muller wanted him to do this work. After completing this translation Malabari got it translated to other languages as Marathi, Bengali, Hindi, Tamil and Sanskrit. In the efforts to get translators he traveled to different regions in the country. And became close to many kings. Menant mentions Holkar, Scindia and of Jaipur. Some of these kings also funded the translations. Queen of Shurnomoye of Kassembazar gave 1000 rupees for the Bengali translation. It was done by Mr. Gupta (no complete name is given). Hindi was done by Munshi Jwalaprasad, and Marathi by GW Kanitkar. King of Vijayanagaram gave 4,000 pounds to print the second edition of Rg-Veda

[edit] References

Gidumal D, (1892) Behramji M Malabari: A Biographical Sketch, [T Fisher and Unwin: London]
Singh S J (1914) BM MALABARI: Ramblings of a Pilgrim Reformer, [G. Bell and Sons Ltd: London]
Menant M D, (1907) ‘Influence of Max Muller’s Hibbert Lectures in India’, The American Journal of Theology, [Vol.11, No.2 ] available to [jstor] subscribers
Natesan GA, (1930) Famous Parsis Biographical and Critical Sketches of Patriots, Philanthropists, Politicians, Reformers, Scholars and Captains of Industry, [G.A. Natesan & Co, Madras]
R. P. Karkaria, India, Forty Years of Progress and Reform (London, 1896).
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.