topics: |  middle-east | history | medieval | politics | translation | management

What is interesting about Islamic literature on management and princely
practices, is the tradition of intermixing these with poetry - I guess the
old Sanskrit texts are no different)... The introductory pages talk about a
number of other islamic texts or "mirrors" on matters related to governance
that set the style on which Mau'izah-i Jahangiri is set.





The lamb and wolf stroll together -
The deer and lion delight each other
    [peace reigns under Jahangir] 43
	   [I nashIhat (Exhortation) to the emperor]

So long as the earth has a north and a south
So long as the moon is in orbit and moves...

May the liver of his enemy be ruptured by a dagger,
May the face of his adversary be cut as a yellow dying leaf 44

Only the person who kisses the lip of the sword
Can embrace in a leap the bride of dominion	//[empire] 49

Valor is like a sword, and advice and planning are like a strong hand
	which uses it.
     without the hand, the sword useless, but even without the sword, the
     hand can do many things. 53
	  [I.3 Consultation (mashwarat) and Planning (tadbIr)]

Hoping for new friendship from old enemies is
Like expecting [to find] a rose in a furnace 56 I.4

Section 5: not acting upon the advice of a selfish person (sAhib-i-gharaz)
and not permitting a conspirator (sA'I) and calumniator (nAmAm) in the council

When rulers exalt an advisor by bringing him close, they should not entertain
others who suggest their downfall.  Whoever becomes close to the ruler will
be envied by his peers and contemporaries and many will be jealous of
him, and rivals will try to damage his honour by various tricks. 62
  [friends turn against those close to the emperor out of jealousy; enemies
  because of his efficiency in handling state affairs. 73]

	Tell the hamA to never bless with its shadow
	The land where parrots are fewer in number than crows. 67
	    [I.6 dar tarbIyat-i mulAzimAn: "On training servants")

	hamA : legendary bird whose shadow brings good fortune; the
	       head on whom the shadow falls will soon bear a crown

	The emperor should encourage honest people, and not the wicked or the
	mean.

In this world, a fly is as useful as a peacock
What a thin needle can do, cannot be done by an erect spear. 68

If we are incapable of becoming a garland of flowers
We should be good enough to be wood for the cauldron

Why is it that water does not drown wood?
Because it is ashamed to swallow its own fosterling. 70 I.6
	(Rulers should not reverse themselves)

A wise enemy is preferable to a foolish friend. 79 II.1

A ruler understands very well the position of a rose in a garden
Indeed, a rose despite its tenderness, reclines on thorns. 88 II.2

[IDEA: ancient role of rose as poetic device - was it there in the Sanskritic
canon? Kalidasa? ]

[When you leave your home country] know that in case you die, there will be
none to mourn you. 89

author bios

	Baqir claims descent from Naim-i sAni, the wakil of the founder of
	the Safavids, Shah Ismail Safavi (d. 1524).  Arrived in India in dire
	finacial condition towqards the end of Akbar's reign (1605) or
	beginning of Jahangirs.  Entered the imperial service at the rank of
	100 or 300 sawAr and rose rapidly in the administrations of Jahangir
	and Shahjahan.  Married to Nurjahan's niece; Jahangir affectionately
	called him son (farzand).  Served as governor of Patna, Bihar,
	Bengal, Orissa, Gujarat, Delhi, Jaunpur, and Allahabad, until he died
	in 1637.  Although Baqir opposed Khurram during his rebellion, after
	his coronation (and consistent with Mughal tradition), he let Baqir
	continue as governor of Orissa.  Baqir also did not let his Shi'i
	religious persuasions interfere with his Mughal role; he led the
	Mughal armies into the Shi'i territory of the Qutub Shahi's in the
	Deccan.  His contemporary Balkhi remembers him as a extremely
	capable in political affairs and highly versatile in literary skills,
	epistolary writing (insha'), history, calligraphy, and his love of
	music.

	While the book is dedicated to Jahangir, it is not known that it was
	ever presented to him.

Professor Sajida S. Alvi received her Ph.D. degree from Punjab University,
Lahore, Pakistan, and came to Canada as a Post-doctoral Fellow at the
University of Toronto in 1967. She accepted a teaching position at the
Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University, Montreal in 1972. After
teaching for five years at McGill, Dr. Alvi moved to the University of
Minnesota in 1977 where she taught for nine years. She returned to McGill
University in September, 1986, to become the first holder of the Chair in
Urdu Language and Culture. Her research and teaching areas include modern
Islamic developments in India and Pakistan, medieval Indo-Islamic and Iranian
history, Urdu language and literature, modern Persian literature, Muslim
women's issues, and children's literature.