Fida Muhammad Hassnain

Fida Muhammad Hassnain (Urdu فدا حسنین; Srinagar, 1924 – 2016) was a Kashmiri writer, lecturer and Sufi mystic.[1] He was born in 1924 in Srinagar, Kashmir, as the child of schoolteachers. His father fought with the British Indian forces in the Boer War in South Africa in 1902.[2] Fida Hassnain graduated from the University of Punjab and the Aligarh Muslim University, and became a barrister,[3] but the events surrounding the partition of colonial British India made him lose faith in the law, and after a short period of social work he became a lecturer in 1947 at the Sri Patrap (SP) College in Srinagar. In 1954, he became Director of the Kashmir State Archives, retiring in 1983.[4] Fida Hassnain on died 9 July 2016 in Srinagar, Kashmir.[5]

Prof. Fida Muhammad Hassnain
Prof. Fida Muhammad Hassnain

His study tours resulted in the salvaging of several hundred manuscripts in Arabic, Sanskrit and Persian, which were housed in the Archives and Oriental Research Libraries.[6] As an archaeologist, he conducted several excavations.

He has written several books on the subject of Lost years of Jesus and Kashmir,[7] which have been translated into Spanish, Italian, Polish, and Japanese. He has made frequent guest appearances in documentaries about the tomb of Roza Bal supporting the teaching of the founder of Ahmadiyya Islam Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1899) that Jesus of Nazareth died in India. Christian theologians have been highly critical of Hassnain's works - Christian academics dismissing these claims include Günter Grönbold, Wilhelm Schneemelcher, Norbert Klatt, Per Beskow, and Gerald O'Collins.[8]

In January 2009 The Jammu Kashmir Government recognized Hassnain for his lifetime contributions.[9]

Works
Books
  • Buddhist Kashmir (Light & Life Publishers, 1973).
  • Hindu Kashmir (Light & Life Publishers, 1977).
  • British policy towards Kashmir, 1846-1921: Kashmir in Anglo-Russian politics (Sterling, 1974).
  • Gilgit, the Northern Gate of India (Sterling, 1978).
  • Freedom struggle in Kashmir (Rima Publishing House, 1988).
  • The Islamic Revolution in Iran (Rima Publishing House, 1989).
  • A Search for the Historical Jesus: From Apocryphal, Buddhist, Islamic and Sanskrit Sources (Down-to-Earth Books, 1994). ISBN 9781878115171.
Edited works
  • Kashmir Misgovernment (Gulshan Publishers, 1980).
  • Heritage of Kashmir (Gulshan Publishers, 1980).

References
  1. "Noted Historian Fida Hassnain passes away". kashmirscan.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  2. Biographical notes of author in Appendix of "A Search for the Historical Jesus" -- published 1994 in the UK
  3. A Search for the Historical Jesus from Apocryphal, Buddhist, Islamic and Sanskrit Sources. Professor Fida Hassanain. Gateway Books, Bath.1994, p. 244.
  4. Biographical notes of author in Appendix of "A Search for the Historical Jesus" -- published 1994 in the UK
  5. "Prof Fida Muhammad Khan Hassnain". Kashmir Observer. 9 July 2016. Archived from the original on 18 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  6. Fowler, Lilly (4 January 2008). "For 17 years, what did Jesus do?". Star Tribune. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  7. Ramesh, Randeep (19 November 2007). "Hollywood takes action hero Jesus to India". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  8. Mark Bothe Die "Jesus-in-Indien-Legende" - Eine alternative Jesus-Erzählung? - 2011 - Page 30 "1.4.2 Fida Hassnain - Fida M. Hassnain wurde 1924 in Srinagar, Kaschmir, ..."
  9. "Govt confers State awards to 17 outstanding persons". The Shadow: Daily News Paper Jammu. 25 January 2009. Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
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