Examining Historical Sources

Andrew Howard received a Critical Language Scholarship for the virtual study of Urdu at AIIS in 2020. (Photograph courtesy Andrew Howard)

Kal chaudhvin ki raat thi shab bhar raha charcha tera
Kuchh ne kaha ye chand hai kuchh ne kaha chehra tera

(There was a full moon last night, there were discussions about you the whole night.
Some said it was the moon, some said it was your face.)

Historian Andrew Howard recalls reading this famous ghazal by Ibn-e-Insha as part of his Urdu classes at the American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) and notes how his AIIS experience expanded his worldview.

“Urdu has always struck me as a beautiful language, both when written and spoken, and I think there is a universal human desire to understand beauty better,” he says.

Howard, who holds a master’s degree in history from Ohio University, has been interested in Indian history, life and culture since his days as an undergraduate student at Ohio Wesleyan University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in history.

“I was inspired to learn Urdu to help understand documents from the subcontinent’s past that would otherwise be inaccessible to me in my work as a historian,” says Howard, who currently teaches world history at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Howard received a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) from the U.S. Department of State for virtual study of Urdu in 2020 and a CLS Refresh program in 2021-22 to study Urdu with AIIS.

Excerpts from the interview with Howard.

Please tell us about your current work.

I am currently working on my book on British imperialism in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which I have adapted from my dissertation, “Fixing the ‘Happy Valley’: British Sentimentality and Their Intervention in Kashmir, 1885-1925.” I submitted an article for publication recently, in which I explore British road and railroad construction in Jammu and Kashmir, untangling the motivations for building such infrastructure projects while seeking to explain why the railway line was never connected.

How has knowledge of Urdu helped you in your work as a historian, especially in your research on the history of South Asia?

Learning Urdu has directly benefited my work by allowing me to use Urdu language sources in my research. During the summer of 2022, I researched in the National Archives of India in New Delhi as well as the Jammu & Kashmir State Archives in Jammu. I came across several Urdu sources such as letters, wills, notes and books, and I have been analyzing these for my book.

I also plan to conduct a final research trip to Srinagar, where supposedly there are important Urdu notes taken by spies employed by the Dogra maharaja, monitoring the affairs of British officials in Kashmir. These materials would be a fascinating inclusion for my book. However, reading these documents wouldn’t even be an option, if I hadn’t learned to read Urdu at AIIS.

Do you feel that it is necessary to know the language of a region to study its history and culture?

I do think it is necessary to learn the language(s), even if it is a lifelong process of learning, like it is for me. There are always more things to learn about the history and culture of any region, even if one gains mastery of the language. But if you never learn the language, you are closing yourself to entire avenues of knowledge. I believe that the language learning process is one of the best ways to learn history, as each word has a dynamic history of its own.

The fascinating thing about India’s history is that there are so many languages, all of which can unlock new ways of understanding the region’s past. One can spend a lifetime learning about such a vibrant region, and that is what I plan to do.

How was your experience as a Critical Language Fellow at AIIS?

My experience as a Critical Language Fellow at AIIS was instrumental to my growth as a historian and someone interested in the region today. There is only so much one can learn about another region by reading books, without the benefit of a more direct, hands-on experience. My AIIS teachers and language learning partner, Ahmar, greatly expanded my worldview by opening a window into the life of India today.

It also gave me the skills to talk about India’s dynamic history in Urdu—an important tool for a historian! During the learning process I got a better sense of how India’s history is remembered by people at present. Ahmar even gave me a crash course on classic Bollywood movies, especially on films set in historical periods—an experience I otherwise wouldn’t have had.

In recent years, there has been a lot of emphasis on connecting Urdu students with technology. Could you tell us about some recent developments?

I have since participated in the CLS Refresh program connecting CLS alumni with their former AIIS affiliate to conduct a virtual refresher course. It was great seeing my former Urdu teachers from AIIS Lucknow, especially Yunas Ji. I appreciated their willingness to meet me at such odd hours due to the time difference. This was an important opportunity for me to reinforce what I had already learned and to continue expanding my Urdu abilities, which have helped me a lot with my research and dissertation.

If I had questions while translating documents, I could ask my teachers in class, which was an invaluable resource. I was even able to show my teachers what I was translating by sharing my screen, and so they were able to help me out with reading trickier styles of Nastaliq than I was used to. This use of technology to help students continue their Urdu language learning journey was an excellent idea, and I will continue to apply for the Refresh program as long as CLS offers it.

Do you have any advice for American students who want to learn Urdu?

I recommend that American students who want to learn Urdu embrace the experience and dive in wholeheartedly. The best metaphor for language learning I’ve ever come across was found in “In Other Words” by Jhumpa Lahiri, which is about her experience learning Italian by completely abandoning her English, moving to Italy, and speaking, reading and writing only in Italian. Lahiri was a highly successful author in the English language when she did this, so if you think such an experience is too bold for you, imagine what it would have felt like for someone whose livelihood depended on her ability to write well in English! In her book, Lahiri compares learning a language to wading out to sea from the shoreline.

So long as you can touch the bottom with your feet, you will never really learn how to swim! By wading out far enough to force yourself to swim, your world expands and suddenly becomes more accessible. Embrace the experience of learning how to swim; it will be a struggle but infinitely more rewarding than merely wading out close to the shoreline.

During one of my Urdu courses, I read a chapter from Lahiri’s book for motivation and wrote a summary of each chapter in Urdu to warm up before class. I recommend doing the same daily activity for anyone studying a language; it not only helped my motivation but also gave me clarity on what my objective was and how to achieve it.

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