Honoring Ahmad Hasan Dani

Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, organized a seminar on the occasion of 93rd birthday of Dr. Ahmad Hasan Dani, a renowned archaeologist and historian of Pakistan. A large number of faculty members, scholars, students and delegates participated in the event. Miss. Ifqut Shaheen (PhD scholar, TIAC) while introducing Dr. Dani said “Few individuals have been destined to get popularity beyond the confines of their fields of activities; Dr. A. H. Dani belongs to that galaxy. His fame seems transcendental in the context of time and space. The reason is clearer. Dr. Dani was not only the founder of historical studies but also of anthropological one in Pakistan”.

“Dr. Dani is rightly being designated as one of the few successful historians of Pakistan. His strength, as a historian, lies in the fact that he approached the problems in the history of Pakistan by adopting a multi- and interdisciplinary mechanism. He made good use of anthropology, sociology, linguistics and, most interestingly, of folklore and conventional wisdom in his historical reconstructions. In this way, his contributions to history and archaeology stand as unique and match the work of Alexander Cunningham, Sir Aurel Stein and some other orient lists.” Director of Taxila Institute of Asian Civilizations, Dr. Muhammad Ashraf Khan, gave detailed overview about the Dr. Dani contributions to the field of archaeology.

Dr. Arif Director of Department of archaeology and museum of Pakistan also highlighted the achievements of Dr.Dani’s in the field of archaeology. Prof. Dr. Riaz Ahmad, a well-known historian, shared his reminiscences as being a student and close associate of Dr. Dani. Similarly, Ali Beg, Manager of HSEQ-North, also shared his experiences as being a close associate of Dr. Dani.

Mr. Rafiullah Khan, Lecturer TIAC, focused on Dr. Dani’s involvement in the popularization of history and archaeology. He pointed out that in this way Dr. Dani aimed to preserve the cultural heritage of Pakistan. Mr. Sadid Arif, Lecturer, TIAC also shed light on Dr.Dani’s contributions as a field archaeologist. Later on Cake-cutting ceremony of Dr. Dani’s birthday was held as a symbol of the continuing legacy of the legend of the scholar.