Christopher Shackle

Christopher Shackle, FBA (born 4 March 1942)^[1] is Emeritus Professor of Modern Languages of South Asia at the University of London.^[2][3][4]

Life and career

Christopher Shackle was born on 4 March 1942. He was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College, and went up to Merton College, Oxford in 1959 to read Oriental Studies, graduating with a first class degree in 1963. He then went on to study as a postgraduate at St Antony's College.^[5]

In 1969 Shackle took up an appointment as a Lecturer in Urdu and Panjabi at SOAS University of London, a position he held for the next 10 years. In January 1979 he moved to Birkbeck College to become Reader in Modern Languages of South Asia, returning in 1985 to SOAS as Professor of Modern Languages of South Asia.^[6]

He is furthermore the head of the Urdu department at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London, Project Leader at the Arts and Humanities Research Council's Centre for Asian and African Literatures, and a member of the Centre of South Asian Studies.^[7]

Shackle is an expert in the Saraiki language, which he learned from Mehr Abdul Haq.^{[citation needed]} He has written several books on Saraiki literature and Khwaja Ghulam Farid.^{[citation needed]} He was active in Saraiki writers' circle and a friend of Umer Kamal Khan and Aslam Rasoolpuri.^{[citation needed]}

He has written many books, and published over 19 book chapters and journal articles in the field of Urdu literature. He served as Head of Department from 1983 to 1987 and as Pro-Director of SOAS from 1997 until 2003. He also served as a Humanities jury member for the Infosys Prize 2020.^[8]

In 2021, his translation of the classical Punjabi poet Bulleh Shah was published by Harvard University Press.^[9]

Awards

• Fellow of the British Academy (elected 1990)^[6]
• Pakistan's highest award for the arts, the Sitara-i-Imtiaz (2004)^[10]
• The Royal Asiatic Society Award (2006)^[11]
• Latif Award (2019)

Selected publications

• Teach Yourself Punjabi
• The Siraiki Language of Central Pakistan; A Reference Grammar
• From Wuch to Southern Lahnda: A Century of Siraiki Studies in English
• (with A. Mandair) Teachings of the Sikh Gurus: Selections from the Sikh Scriptures, 214 pp., Routledge (UK & US). ISBN 0-415-26604-1. 2005.
• Saraiki Marsiya, 94 pp. Bazm-e Saqafat (Pakistan). ISBN none. 2003.
• (with D. J. Matthews, S. Husain) Urdu Literature, 288 pp., Alhamra (Pakistan). ISBN 969-516-119-7. 2003.
• (with J. Majeed) Hali's Musaddas: The Flow and Ebb of Islam, 262 pp., Oxford University Press (Delhi). ISBN 0-19-564091-8. 1997.
• Edited books: 2003. SOAS Since the Sixties, 185 pp. SOAS (UK). ISBN 0-7286-0353-5.
• Teachings of Khawaja Farid (Translation of Isharat-i-Faridi), 1978: Bazm-i-Saqafat-Multan
• Fifty Poems of Khawaja Farid: Translation in English Verse of Poems of Khawaja Farid, published 1973: Bazm-i-Saqafat-Multan Pakistan.

Citations

1. Prof Christopher Shackle, FBA at Debrett's official website. Accessed March 3, 2013.
2. Professor Christopher Shackle at the SOAS official website. Accessed March 3, 2013.
3. Christopher Shackle at the Institute of Ismaili Studies official website. Accessed March 3, 2013.
4. Christopher Shackle at Macmillan Publishers. Accessed March 3, 2013.
5. Levens, R.G.C., ed. (1964). Merton College Register 1900-1964. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. p. 517.
6. "Professor Christopher Shackle FBA". The British Academy. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
7. Christopher Shacke at Alibris. Accessed March 3, 2013.
8. "Infosys Prize - Jury 2020". www.infosys-science-foundation.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
9. Bullhe Shāh,?-1758? (2015). Sufi lyrics. C. Shackle, Inc OverDrive. Cambridge, Massachusetts. ISBN 978-0-674-25966-9. OCLC 1240164691.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
10. "130 nationals, foreigners to get civil awards". Dawn. 14 August 2004. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
11. "Awards, Prizes & Visiting Fellowships". Royal Asiatic Society. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

External links

• Christopher Shackle at LibraryThing
• SOAS Staff page