Znt. Libr. Rev. (1983) 15, 105-l 13

Cataloguing Punjabi Muslim Names in British Public Libraries

S. K. RAIT*

Urdu is the National language of Pakistan and a state language of India. Punjabi Pakistani Muslims accept Urdu as their literary language, even though they speak Punjabi and possess Punjabi culture. Their nomen- clature is quite similar to Punjabis with only the difference of religion. This article deals with the Indian and Pakistani Punjabi Muslim names. It is particularly intended for non-specialists in Urdu language and literature. In this category is included (a) Indian librarians who have no knowledge of Urdu language and literature (b) Muslim non- professionals having a knowledge of Urdu language and literature. In all cases it is assumed that catalogue entries will be in Roman script and the original language in transliterated form.

Punjabi Muslim names are made up of many components. The usual practice amongst Muslims is to assume a name after the name of the Prophet or one of his followers to express one’s devotion to Islam. This is called Ism in Urdu and is the equivalent of a Christian/personal/ first/given name in the Western world. 1sm can be simple, e.g. Nayyar, Mumtaz, Yahya, Yakub. It can be compounded and most names fall in this category. A compound name may consist of two personal names, e.g. Raza Akhtar, Nayyar Iqbal, Afzal Ahmed; it may consist of two personal names, of which the second ends in I, e.g. Sukhlain Naqvi, Sadiq Hashmi, Manzur Jafri; it may consist of two personal names, of which the first is a compound e.g. Zahiruddin Khurshid, Shamsuddin Tabrez. Further elements are added to identify individuals. These are the Laqab, Khitab, Nisba, K’unzah and Takhallus.

Laqab: The laqab is a conventional courtesy or honorific title, assumed either by an individual or given to him by others but not by a ruling authority as Ar-Rashid (the guide); Al-Mansur (the defender of God) and more commonly e.g. Maulvi, Munshi, Nawab, Chaudhary. It may be prefixed or suffixed to a name. It is a very

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106 S. K. RAIT

common element in Muslim names. It can indicate a personal quality or defect or religious zeal e.g. Mufti (intellectual achievement); al-A’sha (the night blind); Haji (religious zeal).

Xhitub: The khitab is an honorary title given to a person, usually by a ruling authority. Originally it was conferred on scholars alone but later it was given to other important personalities as Dabir al-Daulah given to Mirza Ghalib; Nishan-e-Qa’id-e-Azam; Khan Bahadur.

The main difference between the Khitab and the Laqab is that the former should be conferred by a ruling authority, whereas the latter can be assumed by anyone. Khitabs are always prefixed to a name and some times become a part of the name as Sir Saiyyad Ahmed. “Sir” is a khitab but he is always known by and written as Sir Saiyyad Ahmed. Laqab can be used both as prefix and a suffix. Some laqabs become hereditary and are used by the family continuously.

N&a: The Nisba denotes birth place, relation of a person to a town or country. Some suggest that it is also associated with tribe, institution, religious sect, saint or trade. In fact, the Ansub denotes names of denomination generally religious sect or saint. Trade and institution are hardly used by Punjabi Muslims. These elements are mostly used by Gujrati Muslims. Nisba is itali&ed in the given examples:

Sahir Ludhianvi Jahan Ara Siddiqi Shaukat Ali Thanui Salim Chisti Saqil Baduuni Ahmad Latif Qureshi Masud Hasan R&i

Kmph: The Kunyah literally means patronymic and sometimes indicates descent. It is mainly used in Arabic names and hardly used in Indian and Pakistani names where the waldiyat or system of relationship is so different. Kunyah usually contains either Abu (father) or Umm (mother) at the beginning, e.g. Abu Bakr; Umm Bilqis. It is rarely used in its true sense in Urdu names, being generally used as a nickname. Persons using such names are popularly known by them. A kunyah showing descent makes use of the words Ibn (father) and Bin (son), e.g. Ibne Safi, Yakub bin Hashim.

Takhallus: A poetic or literary name by which the author wishes to be known, e.g. Mir Taqi mir; Mirza Asadullah Ghalib. Sometimes an author uses an Urf or nickname in his work instead of a takhallus. This should be treated like a takhallus.

Apart from the above elements, authors use pseudonyms, and are popularly known by these pseudonyms. All of these elements make it

CATALOGUING PUNJAB1 MUSLIM NAMES 107

more difficult for a cataloguer to identify the personal name and the entry element.

Many cataloguers have attempted to deal with Muslim names. Various recommendations have been made but nothing comprehensive and universally acceptable has been achieved. Nasser Sharifyl made a study of forty-one codes and came to the conclusion that these codes do not meet the needs of cataloguers of this material. Sharify2 has further grouped these codes in six categories on the basis of their treatment of Muslim names: (1) Gives no rule for entry element. (2) Suggests no specific rules but recommends the use of bibliographies and en- cyclopaedias in choosing the entry element. (3) Recommends that the first element or part of the name be used as the entry word. (4) Designates the given name (Personal name) as the entry word. (5) Recommends that the best known part of the name as the entry word. (6) Suggests either the given name or best known part of the name as the entry word.

In the light of these recommendations let us examine the Anglo- American code3 which is the most used code at present. It suggests making an entry under the element or combination of element by which the person is best known. Determine this from reference sources, which are suggested in the code.4 When there is insufficient evidence available, enter under the first element, and refer from any part of the name not used as entry element if there is reason to believe that the person’s name may be sought under that part. If the entry element is not a given name (Ism) or a patronymic (Ibn) derived from the name of the father, then include an additional name, descriptive epithet or title of honour that is treated as part of the name, if it aids in identifying the individuals. Generally, omit other elements of the name, particularly patronymics derived from anyone other than the father. When the elements of the name have been determined, place the best-known element or combination of elements first. Give the other elements in the following order: Khitab (honorary title), Kunyah (indirect name borrowed from the type of Arabic name which is formed with the word “Abu” or “Umm” at the beginning), Ism (given name equivalent to Christian name), patronymics (typically a compound with Ibn as the first word), any other name. Insert a comma after the entry element unless it is the first part of the name. These rules offer no uniformity and it is quite difficult if not impossible to determine

1 Nasser Sharify (1969). Cataloguing of Persian works, pp. 45-46. Chicago: A.L.A. z Zbid, pp. 45-64. 3 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, pp. 381-384. 2nd edn. (1979). London: The Library

Association. 4Zbid, p. 381.

108 S. K. RAIT

the best-known element especially if one lacks a knowledge of Urdu names.

The other most significant work on international level is Names of Persons: .iVationaZ Usages for Entry in Catalogues, 1977l which is an improved version of the 1967 edition.2 In the 1967 edition it was suggested that the entry element should be under the lustpart of the name (if the last part is a compound name, joined by hyphens, under the first part of the compound). If a writer is best known by a Takhallus (literary name), enter under that name. Some additional suggestions were made in the 1977 edition3 which suggests that the entry element should be the last part of the name. If the last part is a compound linked by hyphens the entry element is the first part of the compound unless (1) the names consist of two personal names of which the first is not Muhammad and its variants (entry element is first name in direct order); (2) they consist of two personal names of which the first is Muhammad or its variants (entry element is second name); (3) there is a pen name or Takhallus by which the writer is best known (entry under pen name or Takhallus); (4) they consist of two personal names of which the second ends in I and is used as a surname (entry element is surname); (5) they consist of two personal names of which the first is compound which may be joined as one word (entry element is second name). These recommendations are based on the work done by Anis Khurshid,4 A. M Abdul Huq5 and the Report6 of the sectional group on Muslim names. This work gives a fair treatment to personal names (Ism) but ignores the rest of the elements except the Takhallus.

S. R. Ranganathan in his ClassiJied Catalogue Code,’ said that the best person to decide the entry element and the secondary element in his name is the person himself. He suggested that the author should indicate in his document the entry element and secondary element.If Ranganathan’s suggestions were to be adopted the problem of the identification of a given name and entry word would be solved. The most effective contribution of Ranganathan on Muslim names is his

1 Names of Persons: National Usagesfor Entry in Catalogues, 3rd. edn., pp. 115-l 17 (1977). London: IFLA International OfIke for UBC.

2 Names of Persons: National Usagesfor Enhy in Catalogues, pp. 37-38 (1967). IFLA/FIAB. 3 Ibid, 1977 cdn., p. 116. 4 Ani Khurshid ( 1964). Catalog&g of Pakistani Names. Karachi: Department of Library Science,

University of Karachi. (Occasional paper.) s A. M. Abdul Huq (1970). A Study of Bengali Muslim Personal .Names . . . (1970). Pittsburgh,

University of Pittsburgh. (University of Pittsburgh. Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Dissertation Series 12.)

6 Report of Sectional Group on Muslim NaNames in India and Pakistan, pp. 108-l 09 (1961). International Conference on Cataloguing Principles. ICCP Report.

7 S. R. Ranganatban.( 1964). Clas$ed Catalogue Code, 5th edn., p. 237. London: Asia Publishing House.

CATALOGUING PUNJAB1 MUSLIM NAMES 109

analysis of the various components1 of Muslim names. It helped the National Committee appointed by the Pakistan Association to prepare a working paper formulating rules for the cataloguing of Pakistani names. On the recommendation of this paper, the following principles for the rendering of Pakistani names were suggested by IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations) 1963 ICCP.2 (1) The author’s practice is to be followed if it is systematically and consistently used even if he violates the strict grammatical structure. (2) Where an author consistently uses some part of his name in the manner in which surnames are used in the West, that part should be the entry word. (3) Where an author uses a pen name or a poetic name and is identified by it, this name should be the entry word, immediately followed by other parts relating to Nisba (place of birth or residence) with other names or parts of name invested. Reference is to be made from other parts wherever necessary. (4) Compound names should be entered under the first part of the name, with reference from the second part. (5) A woman should be entered under her personal name, with reference from the name not chosen as main entry. Ifshe is married the entry should also be under the personal name followed by the maiden name (in brackets). Reference is to be made from the name not chosen as the main entry. (6) When the name consists of two elements each of which is a proper name, the entire name will be written as such without inversion such as Muhammad Hussain, Ali Hussain, etc. In the recommendations of this conference women authors were not treated fairly, and the treatment of the Kunyah, Laqab and Nisba were missed out.

R. C. Dogra3 quite recently prepared notes on cataloguing for the EMMA (Extra Marc Material) project, in which Urdu was included. These notes were based on his article “Cataloguing Urdu names”.4 (a) He does not accept the Khitab (honorific compound ofwhich the last part is typically al-Din) as an entry word though reference should be made from it. (b) Laqab, if it is hereditary and popularly known should be an entry word with the exception of those cases where it functions as a prefix. (c) If a given name consists of two words enter under the first and refer from the second but enter the second if it is established from a recognized source that the author uses it as a surname. If the first word of a two-word name is abbreviated, enter under the second, e.g. A. Majid enter under Majid, A. Ifthe compound name is hyphenated orjoined by

1 S. R. Ranganathan (1958). Cla.r.rtjied Catalogue Code, pp. 215-218. London: G. Blunt & Sons. 2 IFLA. Znternatioml Conference on Catalog&g Principles, Paris 9-18 October, 1961, pp. 108-109

(1963). London: IFLA. 3 R. C. Dogra ( 1978). Notes on Cataloguing and Transliteration of Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujati, Panjabi

and Tamil JL/ames. London: Laser, June. Urdu names are given on pp. 9-20. (Extra Marc Research project for London and South Eastern Region.)

4R. C. Dogra (1973). Cataloguing Urdu names. Znt. Libr. Rev. 5, 351-377.

110 S. K. RAIT

a syllable, entry should be under the first part of the name and refer from the other parts (d) Enter an unmarried woman under the first part of the name and refer from the other parts not used as an entry word. Enter a married woman under her personal name and refer from the other parts not used as an entry word. When a married woman uses her husband’s name with a title like Begum as a prefix, enter under her husband’s name with references from other parts not used as entry words and also from the personal name if known. (e) Kunyah should be taken as an entry word. (9 Urf.(nickname) should be treated as entry word. (g) Ifa Nisba is suffixed to a given name and is continuously used by the author, it should be treated as a surname or an entry word except for those Nisbas denoting place names. If it is known from the recognized sources that an author is using the Nisba denoting the place name, as his surname, the entry word should be that place name. (h) Enter an Urdu writer under his Takhallus.

Mr Dogra treated Muslim names with deep understanding and his suggestions were made to answer some of the practical difficulties facing any cataloguer of Urdu names. However he suggests too many references from elements not used as entry word. This may be an acceptable solution for academic libraries but unfortunately it is not feasible for public libraries where time and resources are lacking. Something much more positive and simple is required to produce uniformity in the catalogues of public libraries. Considering the aim, scope, time and resources of public libraries, the following suggestions may be useful.

Enter the author under the best known form, if it is known. If the author abbreviates his name and gives prominence to one

particular element enter under the prominent element e.g.

A. B. Khatoon enter as Khatoon, A. B. M. Safi enter as Safi, M.

In the absence of best known form, the following points might be useful:

Entry may be made under Ism (personal name) if there is no other element attached to the name.

Simple name may be entered in direct order as it appears on the title- page e.g. Nayyar, Mumtaz. It hardly happens. Muslim names usually appear in the compounded form. Compounded names may be entered as:

A name consisting of two personal names in direct order-

Raza Akhtar enter as Raza Akhtar Afzal Ahmed enter as Afzal Ahmed

CATALOGUING PUNJAB1 MUSLIM NAMES 111

A name consisting of two personal names, of which the second ends in I, under the second name-

Sadiq Hashmi enter as Hashmi, Sadiq Manzur Jafri enter as Jafri, Manzur

A name consisting of two personal names, of which the first is a compound, under the second name-

Zahiruddin Khurshid enter as Khurshid, Zahiruddin Shamsuddin Tabrez enter as Tabrez, Shamsuddin

Laqab if it is used as a prefix, ignore it if used as a suffix, and has become hereditary treat it as entry element, e.g.

Agha Khan enter as Khan, Agha Haji, K. Majid enter as Majid, K. Nasim Akhtar Malik enter as Malik, Nasim Akhtar

Khitab is prefixed to the name. It may not be treated as an entry element but should not be omitted from the entry. Make the entry in a normal way and refer from Khitab or if reference is not possible retain it in the entry, e.g.

Khan Bahadur Yusuf Hussain enter as Yusuf Hussain Khan Bahadur

Dabir Al-Daulah ~Mirza Asad Allah Khan Ghalib enter as Ghalib, Dabir Al-Daulah Asad Allah Khan

And if reference is possible:

Enter: Ghalib, Asad Allah Khan Refer from: Dabir al-Daulah Mirza Asad Allah Khan Ghalib

Some Khitabs become the part of the name and these may be treated as a part of the name, e.g.

Sir Saiyyid Ahmed Khan enter as Khan, Sir Saiyyid Ahmed

Sir Saiyyid is so famous by his Khitab as to make reference entry necessary as Sir Saiyyid Ahmed Khan.

Nisba (unless it is derived from an obvious place name) may be treated as an entry element, e.g.

Shaukat Ali Thanvi enter as Thanvi, Shaukat Ali Saqil Badauni enter as Badauni, Saqil

If the Nisba is derived from an obvious place name, which is easily recognizable, e.g.

Sahir Ludhianvi enter as Sahir Ludhianvi Ibadat Firozpuri enter as Ibadat Firozpuri

112 S. K. RAIT

Ansab may be treated as an entry element, e.g.

Salim Chishti enter as Chishti, Salim Jahan Ara Siddiqi enter as Siddiqi, Jahan Ara

Elements denoting trade should be used as an individualizing element, not as an entry element in Punjabi Muslim names, e.g.

Afzal Ahmed Rangwala enter as Afzal Ahmed Rangwala Raza Akhtar Darzi enter as Raza Akhtar Darzi

Kunyah, Takhallus and Urf may be treated as an entry element, e.g.

Abu Bakr enter as Abu Bakr Umm Bilqis enter as Umm Bilqis Ibne Safi enter as Ibne Safi Yakub bin Hashim enter as Yakub bin Hashim

Takhallus

Mir Taqi Mir enter as Mir, Mir Taqi Masud Hasan Abid enter as Abid, Masud Hasan Mirza Asad Allah Ghalib enter as Ghalib , Asad Allah

Some Takhallus also add place name, enter in full in the entry element, e.g.

Saiyyid Akbar Hussain Akbar Allahabadi enter as Akbar Allahabadi, Akbar Hussain

Urf/Nickname

Manjhle Mirza enter as Manjhle Mirza Begum Kanpuri enter as Begum Kanpuri

Pseudonyms may be treated as an entry element. Reference from real name may be made in case of Urf/Nickname and pseudonym if it is known. It is not always possible to know the real name in the absence of bibliographical tools in British public libraries.

If the entry element begins with an article, the article should be dropped, e.g. al-Ghazzali should be entered as Ghazzali.

It is usual practice to add Bibi, Begum or Khatoon to the name of female authors. Do not use these as an entry element unless the name is abbreviated and given prominence to such elements, e.g. A. B. Khatoon enter as Khatoon, A. B. Enter a woman author under family name or other elements suggested above. In the absence of a family name, enter under her personal name. A married woman may be entered under her married name and reference should be made from the maiden name. If she uses her husband’s name enter under direct order without

CATALOGUING PUNJAB1 MUSLIM NAMES 113

inversion and give prominence to her husband’s name. If a woman abbreviates her name and gives prominence to an element which, according to the above, should not be used as an entry element, it may be allowed as an entry element. The necessary references should be made in all cases but not from each and every element as practised in academic libraries.

These suggestions may not be perfect or adequate when measured against generally accepted cataloguing rules, but are simple and easy to follow by those who lack time and resources.

Cataloguing rules would determine which element may be used as an entry element but would not help non-specialists to recognize which word in the name represents that element. It is apparent then that an additional aid is required. The problem of how to recognize these elements may be solved by a dictionary of authors’ names and by lists of various other elements, e.g. a list of commonly used takhallus, place names or Nisba, Laqab, Khitab, etc. l These would be very useful tools to be compiled by any language specialist librarians, which in the course of my research I found neglected.

1 A dictionary of Punjabi name elements has been prepared by the author and accepted for publication by the Leeds School of Librarianship.