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CSS 2021English (Precis & Composition)Q. 7

Translate the following into English, keeping in view figurative and idiomatic expressions. ("استعماریت پسند انگریزی اقدار کے سامنے خوشامدانہ اور فرمانبردارانہ طرزِ عمل کے برخلاف…")

By CSS Nexus Team ·

This answer to the CSS 2021 English (Precis & Composition) paper (Q. 7) was written by the CSS Nexus team. Read the outline first, then see how each point is developed.

Outline

  • Read the paragraph whole: Sir Syed and Syed Mahmood refused colonial servility; the Agra Darbar of 1867 episode
  • ✓خوشامدانہ اور فرمانبردارانہ طرزِ عمل → a flattering and servile attitude
  • ✓اعلیٰ مرتبت اور روشن دماغ فرزند → distinguished and enlightened son
  • ✓مساوی اور ہم مرتبہ → equals and peers
  • ✓علیحدگی اختیار کی → withdrew from
  • ✓یہ خدمت تفویض کی گئی → was entrusted with the task
  • The first sentence is a fragment in the Urdu; join it to the next in English

Answer

The Urdu paragraph

استعماریت پسند انگریزی اقدار کے سامنے خوشامدانہ اور فرمانبردارانہ طرزِ عمل کے برخلاف، جسے برطانوی حکمرانوں نے فروغ دیا تھا اور جسے اہلِ ہند نے اُس دور میں اختیار کر رکھا تھا، سید احمد خاں اور اُن کے اعلیٰ مرتبت اور روشن دماغ فرزند سید محمود دونوں نے ایسا رویہ اختیار کرنے کی کوشش کی گویا وہ انگریزوں کے مساوی اور ہم مرتبہ ہوں۔ سن ۱۸۶۷ء کے آگرہ دربار کا واقعہ نہ صرف مسلمانوں کو بلکہ پوری ہندوستانی قوم کو بخوبی معلوم تھا۔ سید احمد خاں نے اس دربار سے اس لیے علیحدگی اختیار کی تھی کہ وہاں ہندوستانیوں کو انگریزوں کے مقابلے میں کم تر درجے کی نشست فراہم کی گئی تھی۔ اس دربار میں سید احمد خاں کو ایک تمغہ عطا کیا جانے والا تھا۔ بعد میں میرٹھ کے کمشنر ویلیمس کو یہ خدمت تفویض کی گئی کہ وہ علی گڑھ ریلوے اسٹیشن جا کر سید احمد خاں کو تمغہ پیش کریں۔

Translation

In contrast to the flattering and servile attitude towards imperialist English values, which the British rulers had encouraged and which the people of India had adopted at the time, Syed Ahmad Khan and his distinguished and enlightened son, Syed Mahmood, both tried to conduct themselves as if they were the equals and peers of the English. The episode of the Agra Darbar of 1867 was well known not only to the Muslims but to the entire Indian nation. Syed Ahmad Khan had withdrawn from the darbar because Indians had been given seats of a lower rank than the English. He was to have been awarded a medal at that darbar. Later, Williams, the Commissioner of Meerut, was entrusted with the task of going to Aligarh railway station to present the medal to Syed Ahmad Khan.

How the expressions were handled

- The Urdu opens with a dependent phrase ending in a full stop. In English it is joined to the next sentence ("In contrast to …, Syed Ahmad Khan and his … son … both tried"), since an English sentence cannot stand on a "contrast" phrase alone.

- خوشامدانہ اور فرمانبردارانہ becomes "flattering and servile", and استعماریت پسند "imperialist".

- اعلیٰ مرتبت اور روشن دماغ becomes "distinguished and enlightened".

- مساوی اور ہم مرتبہ becomes "equals and peers".

- علیحدگی اختیار کی is "withdrew from" (or "walked out of"), and کم تر درجے کی نشست "seats of a lower rank".

- یہ خدمت تفویض کی گئی becomes "was entrusted with the task".

Background

At the Agra Darbar of November 1867, Indian guests were seated below the Europeans, and Sir Syed left in protest. The episode is often cited as an early example of his insistence on Indian dignity before British officials.

Common mistakes to avoid

Leaving the first sentence as a fragment, translating دربار as "court" (keep "darbar" for the formal colonial assembly), and changing the tenses of the original.

Tags

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