Ilyas Burney, a man lost in translation
Abdur Rahman Khan, who was the principal of 'Osmania College University' in 20s, wrote an interesting book 'My Life and Experiences'. The book details the struggle and the passion of the people behind the Osmania University. It gives an amazing account of the functioning of the institute and how the management dealt with getting the right faculty. However, as the medium of instruction was supposed to be Urdu, a Translation Bureau was established. This Bureau had the mammoth task of translating all books in Economics, Medicince, History, Philosophy and other subjects in Urdu.Principal Khan's book is gripping for anybody interested to draw a picture of the working of an educational institute in those days. However, I was a bit disappointed as he did not write much about Ilyas Burney, who was heading the department of Economics at Osmania University. A graduate from Aligarh University, Burney was born in Bulandshahr. He had a brilliant record as a student and at Aligarh University won the Strachey Gold Medal.
He had studied LLB and was offered the position of a judge in the Nizam administered Hyderabad around 1915. However, as he was academically inclined he decided to get himself involved with the Translation Bureau. According to another version he was offered to join the Translation Bureau that got Burney to Hyderabad. Whatever be the reason Burney made Hyderabad his home for good and spent his working life enriching the social and intellectual circles of the city.
Burney's services were later utilised by the Osmania University where he joined the Economics department and also worked as the Registrar of the University. His book on Economics in the Urdu language was praised by none other than Allama Iqbal. A multi-faceted personality, Burney did not restrict himself only to Economics. He wrote dozens of books on several subjects and a travelogue that established his identity as a towering intellectual. He was well versed in English, Persian, Arabic and Urdu.
He worked closely with Baba-e-Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haq at the Translation Bureau. In 1934, he was appointed curator of the Translation Bureau. He had replaced the competent and versatile Maulvi Inayatullah. He wrote a book comparing the Urdu and Hindi scripts that earned him praise from several quarters. His book on the Ahmaddiya sect got a huge response. Titled 'Qadiani Mazhab' it was also translated in Arabic and is considered a masterpiece on the subject.
His immense knowledge and ability to get along with youngsters made him very popular. The Nizam appointed him to tutor the young princes. He was also President of the Football Club at Osmania University. He once spoke for two hours to the students at Osmania advising them ‘how to live a wholesome happy life’.
Burney's brilliance got the attention of Jinnah who wanted him, along with scholars from other fields, to work for the planning commission in Pakistan. I do not know the reasons, but he did not go to Pakistan and remained in India. The street where he had his house in Hyderabad is now named Ilyas Burney Avenue. S M H Burney, a civil servant in Independent India, who went on to become the Governor of Haryana and Manipur is related to him. Ilyas Burney died in 1959.
Burney is an uncommon name. One Burney, or Barani, is ibn Tughlaq's minister. Another is the Pakistan editor IH Burney.
ReplyDeleteOne aspect of the creation of Pakistan that is relatively unexplored is the opportunity it allowed Muslims as a new state was created. Opportunities in employment and trade.
Another man whose family says he declined Jinnah's invitation to go to Pakistan is Abdul-Hamid Ansari, founder of Inquilab.
I am interested to know what Burney wrote about the Qadianis, and when. Did he follow the Iqbal line or the Nehru one?
I accidently saw this page on my grandfather and found multiple errors in it. It is sad that whoever compiled this page should have contact one of the family members prior to taking the liberty and write whatever they want in very poor English. My name is Farooq Burney and let me clarify that Burney is not a family name,it only secifies that this man is from Buland Shahr (UP). It is similar to Luchnavi, dehlvi or Ludhyanvi. The last name (Barni) that you have referenced should be Burney.The full name is Ziauddin Burney, and this is where our family tree in India starts. For those who need more information on my grandfather can contact me via e-mail. My e-mail address is: [email protected]
DeleteWhile looking to see what others have written about my grandfather, I happened to notice this comment. Let me clarify a few things here. Firstly I am the eldest grandson of Professor Mohammed Elias Burney Sahab (He never spelled his name as Ilyas). Secondly, Burney is not our family name. People who were born or have a connection with BulandShahr (UP) India, use this as their last name. It is the same as people using Lucknavi, Dehlvi, Ludhyanvi as their last names. Our very first ancestor, Ziauddin Burney (Misspelled as Barani in wikipedia) came to India from the region of Iraq/Iran and settled in BulandShahr. He chose to use Burney as his last name. He was indeed a minister of Mohammad Bin Tughlaqh regime and is buried in the graveyard of Hazrath Nizamuddin Awalia in Delhi. I. H. (Ibne-Hasan) Burney was my uncle who was the joint-president of the united bank of Pakistan and the co-founder of the BCCI financial institution. S. M. H. (Syed Muzaffar Husain) Burney was also my uncle who retired as the Governor of Haryana (India). By the way, the above article, I am not sure who authored it, is poorly written with some factual errors. I am not sure if it is even worth correcting it now?
DeleteFarooQ Burney
[email protected]
Dear Farooq sahab, many thanks for your comments, and my apologies for this late reply. My post on your grandfather is just a window to the massive work he did, and is not a comprehensive account. Please do share pictures/further information and I will be happy to expand on this article. Also, I assure you that I do not mean any disrespect by addressing your grandfather as Burney. Once again my apologies for this late reply.
DeleteAgree with the above comment.
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Thanks for the comment Aakar. I do not know which line did Burney follow on Qadianis. It is equally interesting to explore the lives of those who chose to go to Pakistan. J A Rahim, ICS is one name that comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteJA Rahim was a very interesting man. I read in a memoir, either by Bhutto's finance minister Mubashir Hasan, or by Rafi Raza, that Rahil was the most well-read person in the cabinet and could speak on many subjects knowledgeably.
ReplyDeleteBhutto had Rahim beaten up at home after they fell out. That is also referred to in that book.
One of the most prominent officers to go was AIR's head ZA Bokhari, brother of famous writer Patras, apparently after being pushed by Patel. Among non-Muslims, one who went and returned was Jinnah's Dawn editor Pothan Joseph, though I think he returned before Partition.
Professor Ilyas Burney was against Qadianism and wrote several books in English and Urdu covering the falseness of this group.
ReplyDeleteyes i also read a book of ilyas sab, he is great writer, for all kind of translation, urdu, english, chinese, italian, japanese, etc
ReplyDeleteurdu translation
I am the eldest grandson of Professor Mohammed Elias Burney Sahab. I don't know exactly who wrote this article about my grandfather because not only it is a poorly written piece with incorrect spelling of his name (It should be spelled Elias and not Ilyas) and man did not even have the decency to address him as "Burney Sahab". And it is obvious that this man did not know very much about my grandfather. One of the most important item that was missed was that Baba was also a religious advisor to the Nizam of Hyderabad. He was offered two different Khitabs (Title) of Elias Yar Jung and Elias Nawaz Jung by HEH Mir Osman Ali Khan (7th Nizam) which he respectfully declined.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Bhayya... Burney saab was a great personality...i used to see his street name sign board on regular basis @ ITO road...Will you please mention the Death date of Elias Burney saab... To my reference...
DeleteSorry for responding late as I do not generally see this article often. My grandfather died in Bulandshahr (UP) on 26th of January 1959 due to a cardiac arrest.
DeleteCorrection: The word, "the" is missing. The above sentence should have read: and this man did not even have the decency to address him as "Burney Sahab".
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