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Abstract
Knowledge is generally produced for the benefit of society. Scientists have always been in need of postive response from the public. For this purpose, scientific and technical knowledge is dissiminated in a reletable manner so that the required reciprocality concerning the general public be achieved. In this context, this study examins Ahmad Hasan Dani's efforts towards the popularization of history/archaeology. The praxes adopted by him for the purpose have been explored followed by an attempt to present a contextual analysis of the whole programme.
Introduction
Both history and archaeology are sister disciplines having complementary dimensions in terms of subject matter and also in relation to theoretical and methodological praxes (Khan 2012).1 For a considerable span of time this relationship remained intact and archaeological activity was done in the framework of culture-history.2 In the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, with the arrival of British, the discipline of history gathered momentum while that of archaeology started from scratch. By 1947, both had fared tremendously to the effect that a great galaxy of indigenous scholars was present to inherit the colonial legacies in the two states of Pakistan and India.
The newly created state of Pakistan had fewer historians and archaeologists among whom Ahmad Hasan Dani became the most popular and influential figure. Dani's services and contributions turned him into a popular maestro in the fields of history and archaeology. He published a great number of works, established many institutions and started research journals of a great standard. One of the professional tasks and scholarly interests, which Dani remained committed to till his last, was his relentless promotion of the popularization of history/archaeology. Popularization is to be defined as the process and activity of disseminating scientific knowledge to non-specialists and lay men and women in their own languages. In other words, it is the simplification of knowledge for the concerned sections other than belonging to the field and for the masses at large.3 The purposes behind it obviously vary. Accordingly, different tools are used for the purpose. Popular literature in the form of books, pamphlets and articles, delivering lectures and sermons from different forums, making exhibitions and expositions and using media all contribute to the popularization of scientific knowledge.
Dani's popularization of history/archaeology had a great context and,...