Long Awaited Book Published ©¤

¡°Mahatma Gandhi & My Grandfather, Allama Mashriqi¡±

 On Allama Mashriqi¡¯s 50^th Death Anniversary

 ¡°I grew up learning from my family and the Khaksars about the role of Allama Mashriqi, Mahatma Gandhi, Quaid- e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, and other leaders in the freedom movement of the Indian sub-continent. And I have dedicated the last seventeen years to research on this topic. In this book, I seek to share this knowledge with the world. My goal is to help unite the human race, a vision inspired from the ideals of my beloved grandfather, Allama Mashriqi.¡± - Scholar and Historian Nasim Yousaf

A long awaited book entitled ¡°Mahatma Gandhi & My Grandfather, Allama Mashriqi¡± ¨C a groundbreaking narrative of India¡¯s partition ¨C has been published in the USA to mark the 50^th death anniversary of respected Allama Inayatullah Khan Al-Mashriqi. This is written by the distinguished scholar and historian, Mashriqi¡¯s grandson, Nasim Yousaf.

In ¡°Mahatma Gandhi & My Grandfather, Allama Mashriqi,¡± Mr. Yousaf brings together seventeen years of exhaustive research of historical documents as well as firsthand knowledge and insights gained from Allama Mashriqi¡¯s wife, sons, daughters, and the Khaksars, who were part of the freedom movement and witnessed the division of India. His research included reviewing and analyzing a large number of historical newspapers from the pre- and post- partition of India eras, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah¡¯s published papers, Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, and Khaksar Tehrik and Allama Mashriqi¡¯s papers, including Khaksar Movement¡¯s weeklies ¡°The Radiance¡± and the ¡°Al-Islah¡± (most historians have limited or no access to Allama Mashriqi¡¯s documents/papers).

In this book, Mr. Yousaf takes the reader through a riveting journey as he brings to light a fresh analysis of the freedom of British India. In August of 1947, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and others who had lived together peacefully for centuries were torn apart when a united India was divided into Pakistan and India on the basis of the Two-Nation Theory. This partition led to enormous tragedy, as communal riots escalated, families were separated, innocent victims were murdered and females were raped. In the years following partition, Pakistan and India fought wars over Kashmir and became nuclear-armed states. Furthermore, hostility between the two countries contributed to terrorism, poverty and constant instability in the region, a situation that persists to this day. But could Mahatma Gandhi have averted these crises by joining hands with Allama Mashriqi?

Allama Mashriqi and Mahatma Gandhi shared many similarities ¡ª both men left their professions behind and dedicated their lives to liberating India from British rule. Both adopted a life of simplicity and began their grassroots campaigns in the streets and villages of the country. Both were nominated for the Nobel Prize (Mashriqi for his monumental work, ¡°Tazkirah¡± and Gandhi for his non-violence) and shared a common objective of achieving independence for the nation. Yet despite all their similarities, they could not reach agreement on Mashriqi¡¯s ¡°The Constitution of Free India, 1946 A.C.¡± nor were they able to work together to achieve a united, independent India. Why? The answers are contained in this book.

The book, printed and published in the USA by AMZ Publications, revisits the time period prior to independence and examines the actions of these two revered leaders in the years leading up to partition. Could British India¡¯s partition have been avoided? This is the compelling question that the author discusses as he examines the roles of Allama Mashriqi and Mahatma Gandhi.

The book is one of the prime additions to the literature on Pakistan, India and Bangladesh¡¯s history. It is also a unique publication, as this is the first time the comparative role of these two leaders ¨C Allama Mashriqi and Mahatma Gandhi ¨C has been discussed in detail. This publication shall be of excessive interest to journalists, academia, students, and research institutes as well mainstream public not only in South Asia but the rest of the world.

The author, Nasim Yousaf, has been in research since 1996. He is an out of the box thinker and is known for his courageous style of writing. Coming from a political family, he understands behind the scenes politics. Mr. Yousaf has written extensively on Allama Mashriqi and the Khaksar Tehrik as well as Dr. Akhter Hameed Khan (founder of Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development and Orangi Pilot Project in Karachi). He has presented papers at U.S. conferences and published many books and numerous articles (which have appeared in newspapers of many countries, including Bangladesh, Canada, India, Japan, Norway, Pakistan, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the USA). He has contributed pieces to renowned US journals and encyclopedias, namely ¡°Harvard Asia Quarterly¡±, ¡°Pakistaniaat¡± and ¡°World History Encyclopedia¡±. Currently he is working on additional books and articles (for updated information, visit the author on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nasimyousaf.26).