Harking Back: Hope and despair of our amazing archives

In the midst of all the confusion that is part of Lahore and Punjab life and politics, the world of academics ambles along, with both hope and despair. So claims a leading Cambridge University archivist who returned from Lahore last Thursday.

In the world of academia, especially archives, Dr Kevin Greenback is a known name. He just completed a three-week visit to the sub-continent, and naturally had to end his visit to Lahore. “The archives and the food are both immensely attractive,” he told me. But then we all know that the Punjab Archives is the second largest in the world in the time period from Emperor Akbar to the present, covering from Kabul to Delhi and Kashmir to Multan.

“It is a pearl of an archive” for researchers interested in that time period, he says. My response is that sadly it lies in a Sikh-era horse stable through which a leaking urinal water flows through. Time and again we have mentioned a Mirza Ghalib letter lying in such stinking water. But then our bureaucracy refuses to budge, for them local politics and threatened positions matter more, and that is understandable.

But then Dr. Greenback on this trip had an optimistic view of the future, for he visited The Punjab University Archives, which he claims are all well looked after in terms of storage method, environment, light control, humidity control, and most importantly it is looked after by a reasonably skilled person. The 22,000 boxed hold some very old manuscripts and is located in a safe place surrounded by a library and reading and researching area.

Surely, there must be something that still needs to be done. On this Dr. Greenbank says that they have no funds, what can one person do? “They need an annual fund to safeguard the archive, and to buy better and up to date equipment and to create a still better environment,” he says.

He sounds so optimistic and says that students must be taught the need to research and then write. That is the only route to high quality research papers. “Lahore has immensely talented students and there is a need to invest much more on them,” he says.

At this point I mention the decaying Punjab Archives. He looks sad at its condition. “Cambridge University and the British Museum Library have both volunteered to help this world class archive in human skills and also in funds,” he says. He stops short and says if the Punjab Archives and the Punjab University Archives were joined together and placed within the university campus, for there is enough space for both, it will surely attract scholars from all over the world. It will open up the world to a “city of archives and learning”. Mind you he is no dreamer.

But then what input is still needed? He says that it will need skills and space and a deep understanding of what archives are all about. Some investment to bring the university archives space to the highest standards is very much possible with not too much investment. That inside storage space can quickly be managed by local carpenters. Some care with lights and ensuring it is strictly fire-proof and you will have an excellent archives, he says. I recall that Lahore’s revenue records have a mysterious habit of catching fire. He remains silent for politics is not his forte.

But then who will bell the cat, I ask in earnest. Well, everyone should contribute, and on my part I am going to apply for funding to appropriately contribute. “The need is for the richer classes to contribute and to build up an endowment fund to help to pay for this ‘noblest’ of educational needs. His eyes sparkle and asks: What does the word ‘Iqra’ mean? It means to read, research and think, I tell him. Exactly, he smiles back. But are we really bothered, I wonder.

Dr Greenback then discusses his brief visit to a private university where he lectured on subjects that interest him. His dear friend Tahir Kamran looked after him well and took him to the best places, including inside the walled city. “The people in old Lahore are amazing”, he says. When told he was from Cambridge University a few shopkeepers would not charge him. Dr Kevin reached the conclusion that the poor of Lahore are invariably wiser and more generous than the rich.

That reminded me of when the mausoleum of Allama Iqbal demanded funds, and it were the poor who gave generously as rich members of the committee squabbled among themselves for control. In a way we see the same happening with the poor being ignored inside the walled city developments. But back to Dr. Kevin Greenback.

My interest was in comparing the Punjab University archives to what he experienced in three South Indian universities. “Well, they have a greater understanding of the need for archives, and on how to handle rare documents, but then the quality and quantity of the archives of Lahore are way ahead. What is needed is to consolidate them and save them from decay and rot, and you will have hundreds of foreign scholars rushing to Lahore and its university, he says. Then he jokes: “In Pakistan people are liberal and open-hearted, I will not comment on India for it’s different”, he says. He ends the conversation at that. India is another land now, it seems.

So just what can one learn from what Dr. Kevin Greenback has experienced? After all he always wishes Pakistan and the sub-continent well. On the research front there is a need to consolidate our amazing research archives in a safe environment, and to make such archives available to anyone who is interested. This will work wonders for the quality of research that is being produced. This will surely help education on a much wider scale.

But then with this new research possibility emerging, we will need skilled teachers to judge research so produced. For example, we have over half of Punjab University teachers producing over 75 papers in just 10 years. Just how is this possible? Today in our universities, even the newer ones, it seems weight matters more than substance. Plus just how can one person claim a paper with seven writers. There is a lot of ground to cover.

But on the Archives front there is a need to reach some manner of resource collection, as well as to bring those interested together. The rich and ‘educated’ seem disinterested if it does not provide them a profit in cash or prestige. One hopes some progress is in place when Dr. Kevin Greenback next visits.