AMU faculty delivers keynote address at a national seminar

ALIGARH : Prof Gulfishan Khan, Chairperson, Department of History and Coordinator, Centre of Advanced Study, Aligarh Muslim University delivered a keynote address at a two-day National Seminar on “Dara Shukoh: A Doyen of Global Peace and Mutual Coexistence”, organized by the Institute of Kashmir Studies, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, and sponsored by the Indian Council of Philosophical Research.

Prof Khan shed light on the life, work and the lasting legacy of Dara Shukoh, the heir-apparent and the eldest son of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.

She said that Dara Shikoh’s contributions transcend boundaries and cultures, making him a symbol of global peace and mutual coexistence and his works, including the Majma al-bahrayn (Confluence of the Two Oceans), and the translation of fifty-two Upanishads from Sanskrit into Persian, which he called Sirr-i akbar (The Greatest Secret), are the treasure-troves of Indo-Persian literature.

Referring to the “Dara Shukoh Album”, presented as a gift to his wife Nadira Banu,Prof Khan highlighted how Dara’s early youth was marked with a deep passion for the art of painting and calligraphy and his Muraqqa is the only imperial Mughal album that has survived more or less intact with nearly all of its miniatures, 68 paintings, calligraphy and original covers.

The album contains 18 portraits of young princes, family members, teachers, flowers and religious figures (both Hindu and Muslim), which reflects Dara’s early interest in religion and philosophy.