Prof Hamid Naseem Rafiabadi
Born in a business family, Professor Marghoob Banihali hailed from the remote area of Bankoot, Banihal. His actual name was Ghulam Mohammed Giri but popularly he was known by his pen name Marghoob Banihali.
He was 84 when he breathed his last.
Professor Marghoob was the winner of many awards apart from a Sahitya Akademi award for his literary work. Professor Marghoob lost his mother when he was only eight and then he lost his father when at the age of 14.
The young boy had to see the difficult days after losing parents. The family’s business had suffered a major jolt due to the consecutive deaths.
In March 1954, he had to come to Islamabad for appearing in the matriculation examination after traversing around 70 kilometres and crossing the terse terrain of snow clad mountains.
Among his early teachers include Haji Ghulam Ahmad Shah who later became his father in law later, Hakim Muhammad Hafiz Allah of Rawalpora, Srinagar and Molvi Ghulam Muhiuddin Kirmani of Pattan Baramullah. Kirmani advised Marghoob to adopt the pen name “Marghoob”. And one of the important persons who can be named in his list is a person belonging to his own family, Master Ghulam Nabi Geeri.
Due to the economic crunch he studied it in a private mode and started his teaching career simultaneously. After that he did Masters in Persian Language and later completed his PhD in the same.
He worked as headmaster and vice-principal of higher secondary and also worked as a tehsil officer of education (TEO). He became lecturer in 1969 in Persian Department of Kashmir University.
Prof. Marghoob served Kashmir University for over 30 years in various capacities in Kashmiri department, Central Asian Studies and Iqbal Institute. He retired in 1997 as Head of the Department of Kashmiri.
Banihali was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for Kashmiri literature in 1979 for his collection of poetry – Partavistan. The book had also earned him the state Sahitya Akademi award in 1977.
In 2008, he was given the Ghalib award by the president of India.
Renowned writer, scholar and ex-Head of the Kashmiri Department at Kashmiri University, Dr Ghulam Muhammad was popularly known by his pen name Marghoob Banihali.
His writings focused on Islamic subjects, communal harmony and human values. He has written more than 50 books in Kashmiri, Urdu, Persian and English. Some of his popular books include Marghoob Theory, which calls for improvement of the Kashmiri script, and Kashir Bal e Apare, which is about the cultural history of Kashmiris living in Jammu.
He translated Kalilah wa Damnah in Kashmiri language 1975 and his first poetic collection Partavistan which was awarded by Sahahitiyah Academy in 1978.
He wrote a remarkable book titled Marghoob Theory in English 1982. He also scribed Kashir Bale Apare in 1989 in which he gave detailed description about the condition of Kashmiri literature language and culture as is prevailing in the Pir Panchal region.
Transcending the boundaries of Kashmir and Pir Panchal, he tried his hand in the fields of academic rendezvous and translated into Kashmiri language the monograph on the nightingale of India (Bulbul Hind) Sarojini Nadu from introducing the famous Bengali poet Qazi Nazrul Islam to Kashmiris.
He wrote an important book titled Qadeem kashur. Some glittering milestones of ancient Kashmiri (with special reference to Shaikhul Alam ),a book which was written to provide the background of the poetry of Shaikhul Alam in its cultural and linguistic background, was published by Central Institute of Indian languages Mysore in 2001.
His important book on Iqbal was named as Kalam Iqbal kay Ruhani, Fikri Wa Fani Sarchasmay based on his various papers was published in 2006. His very important book in many respects is Ikhliqiat Marghoob which was published in 2005. He translated the rare manuscript of Noor Namah of Baba Naseebuddin Ghazi into Urdu, which was published by Markaz-i-Noor in 2013. He wrote a very instructive book titled as Khas Ihsan, which is a poetic collection touching upon the Islamic subjects like Tawhid Risalah and Aakhrat in a very effective style .
He remained closely associated with Aali Ahmad Saroor and his monumental works on Iqbal; which are a testimony to his erudition and masterly expertise on Iqbal’s Persian poetry. In this area there are only few names which can be mentioned with the name of Prof Marghoob in Kashmir context like Prof Ghulam Rasul Malik, Late Prof Muhammad Abdullah Shaida and Prof. Bashir Ahmad Nahvi.
He taught Iqbal’s Persian poetry to the research scholars of Iqbal Institute of philosophy and Culture, and for enabling them to read it on their own.
Prof Marghoob taught them basics of Persian language, a service, quite appreciable.
In the foreword of his book Adam gharay Iqbal (Iqbals Humanistic Philosophy) Professor Abdul Haq writes: “Prof Marghoob is a knowledgeable person and a thinker as well. He is truthful, sincere and honest in thinking, and practical, in dealings. He has a multidimensional personality and his insights are also based on awareness. His erudition in Urdu Persian and Kashmir literature and language provides students and the teacher’s ample guidance”.
A prominent dimension of his personality is his humility, interest, nobility, God Fearing, purity of soul, seriousness and simplicity. Mir Ghulam Rasool Nazki would call him my beloved (mahboobi!) and Akhtar Mohiuddin would describe him as an Islamic poet and writer endowed with pure nature (salim al tabah!).
This is a fact that he is very famous and respectable due to his nobility and reclusive personality and good faith (darwesh tabah) and a personality with permanent serenity (la yazali) and insightful postures in our literary world .These are some of the views of Yusuf Taing. He says further that keeping track of thought with our mystic Kashmir poets like Wahab Khar, Yusuf Taing described the poetical genre of Marghoob Sahib as a versified biography of the Prophet (SAW,Seerah Nabvi).
In his works, whether it is ghaza,l nazzam, naat, rubayi or manqabat and in all these genres the impact and relation with the love of the Prophet (SAW) is so evident.
Professor was a link between Kashmir and Jammu and he belonged to the line of poets and literary figures belonging to Pir Panchal like Kamghar Kashtwari, Rasa Javeedani, Nishat Kashtwari, Janbaz Kashtwari, Bashir Badrwahi, Shahbaz Rajourwi, and Manshur Banhali.
He has been described as a “movement, a history and a trend setter” by Bahar Ahmad Bahar. It is said that Prof. Ghulam Mohiuddin Hajni, one of the legendary figures of Kashmir said : “Prof Marghoob awnchay paharoon say nikla howa aik heera hai” (Prof. Marghoob is a jewel coming from the sky rocketing mountains [Pir Panchal).
One of the important contributions of Prof Marghoob was his Marghoob theory, which is a book in English consisting of around 100 pages and it is a great achievement as it has chronicled the birth and evolution of Kashmir language. About his Marghoob theory one of the prominent scholars and the former Director Centre of Central Asian Studies Prof Syed Maqbool had said long back: “Dr Marghoob Banhali has been successfully able to provide the scientifically viable, the best, and suitable practicable alternative method for Kashmiri language. This method can keep the relation of the source languages of Kashmir language intact and makes it easier for Kashmiris to read their mother tongue easily…”
Similar views have been mentioned by Prof Nazir Ahmad Malik, prominent linguistic scholars of Urdu language about this theory.
Mohan Lal Aash says about Prof. Marghoob: “Marghoob is a diamond carved out from high rocks of Pir Panchal .A creative writer, who has a deep understanding of literary trends of the world. He has got full command of the pen. His depth of understanding, his approach and expression of ideas has a unique place in the literary history of Kashmir language. He is devotionally attached with the Rishi philosophy of Hazrat –e- Alamdari –Kashmir and is one authority of the Rishi cult”.
Prof Waheed-u-Din Malik, the former Vice Chancellor of University of Kashmir said: “Professor Marghoob is a brilliant scholar of oriental languages. He is a sincere Kashmiri and has taken upon himself the arduous task of bringing out the best of the Kashmiri culture and language through creative writings.”
Thus a multidimensional personality, Professor Marghoob, has left a very rich legacy behind and his illustrious sons, especially Prof. Mushtaq Marghoob are serving humanity in different ways.
May his soul rest in peace, Aameen!
