02253nam a22001577a 4500020001800000082001400018100002700032245003300059260004300092300003200135500047300167505003900640520129100679650008401970700004102054  a9780195475180  a891.43909  aBailey, Thomas Grahame  aA History of Urdu Literature  aKarachibOxford University Pressc2008  axix,115 Pagesb14x22 cmbHB  aT. Grahame Bailey was born in Ambala, India, in 1872 into a family of missionaries. He was sent to school in Scotland at the age of nine, and returned to India in 1895 after being ordained. He served in India for 25 years before returning to Britain. He obtained his D.Litt. from the University of Edinburgh and became a professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University. The author retired from this position in 1940 and died two years later.  aIt include Bibliography and Index.  aThis book, first published in 1932, successfully managed to order a vast and amorphous body of literary activity into one volume. Even more deeply than preceding works by Abdul Latif and Ram Babu Saxena, it marked a stage in the development of literary consciousness.

Taking a historical view, the study regards the formative Deccan period as particularly important, both for the natural bent of the language and the natural inclination of the poets. The author’s view that the pure, indigenous Urdu is better than the Persianised Urdu is clearly explained. This literary ends with a notice on Mohammad Iqbal When the book was written the Progressive Writers’ Movement had not been launched, and Bailey stood at a cusp. From this vantage, he provided us with a useful summary of the past, and gave a context to unfolding trends in literature.

Another interesting, in fact important, aspect of this work is that the author is rarely dismissive of any poet, however minor. Bailey’s credentials as a historian of literature are validated by the place he assigns to minor poets who make up the general fabric of literature to a far greater extent that the major poet-the major poets being too individual-and their sameness being a challenge to a discerning critic seeking precision.  aUrdu literatureaHindustani literatureaUrdu literature - history and criticism  aIntroduction by Muhammad Reza Kazimi