Chach Nama

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This article is about the book about the history of Sindh. For other uses, see Chach (disambiguation).

Chach Nama also known as the Tarikh-i Hind Wa Sindh,Arabic (تاريخ الهند والسند ) is a book about the history of Sindh (modern day Pakistan), chronicling the Hindu period, following the demise of the Rai Dynasty and the ascent of Chach of Alor to the throne, down to the Arab conquest by Muhammad bin Qasim.

Contents

[edit] Authorship

It was translated into Persian by Muhammad Ali bin Hamid bin Abu Bakr Kufi in 1216 CE.[1] from an earlier Arabic text. At one time it was considered to be a romance until Mountstuart Elphinstone's observations of its historical veracity. The original work in Arabic is believed to have been composed by the Sakifí family, the kinsmen of Muhammad bin Qasim.

[edit] Sources

The sources of Sakifi collections may be classified as follows:—

  1. Arab historical lays, and ballads.
  2. Family traditions of the Sakifís, recorded and un­recorded.
  3. Stories told by individuals whose names were forth­coming.
  4. Stories traceable to individuals of a certain caste, e.g., Brahmins.
  5. Hearsay and apochryphal stories.
  6. The correspondence between Muhammad Kásim and Hajjáj.

[edit] Accuracy

The Táríkh Maasúmí, and the Tuhfatulkirám are two other Muslim histories of the same period and on occasion give differing accounts of some details. Later Muslim chronicles like those by Nizam-ud din Ahmad, Nuru-l Hakk, Firishta, and the Mir Ma'sum draw their account of the Arab conquest from the Chach-Nama.

While Kufi is also seen as having employed some "Purple prose" he is regarded as having accurately translated the bulk of the Arabic material as well attributing the sources of information, whether they are from individuals or even "tradition".

As a historical narrative the account is seen as a valuable record of events such as the social, political and historical geography of the region at the time, while containing the natural bias of the Sakifi family as well as the inherent inaccuracies and embellishments of popular tradition.

Quote by the Editor of the first English translation by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg of the Chach-nama in 1900:

"Like many an old history, the Chachnamah is a “chronology of selfishness and pride.” The only sturdy and earnest persons we come across are Muhammad Kásim and Jaisiah. It has been said: “Time and space are but physiological colours which the eye makes, but the soul is light; and history is an impertinence and an injury, if it be anything more than a cheerful apologue or parable of my being and becoming.” The Chachná-mah, most certainly, does not come up to this high stan¬dard, but it does enable us to see how “the whirligig of time brings in his revenges.” It shows also that even¬tually we get the government we deserve."[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Common Era year is an approximation of the Islamic calendar date 613 AH.
  2. ^ THE CHACHNAMAH AN ANCIENT HISTORY OF SIND, Giving the Hindu period down to the Arab Conquest. TRANSLATED FROM THE PERSIAN ByMIRZA KALICHBEG FREDUNBEG, Deputy Collector, Naushahro Hyderabad District. Barachi: PRINTED AT THE COMMISSIONERìS PRESS. 1900.

[edit] Further reading

  • The Chach-nama. English translation by Mirza Kalichbeg Fredunbeg. Delhi Reprint, 1979.

[edit] External links