Guwahati: The Arabic edition of the internationally renowned book Great Minds on India by Salil Gewali from Shillong, Meghalaya, was officially launched at a literary event in Doha. The event was hosted by Anjuman Muhibban-E-Urdu-Hind and featured prominent scholars from Qatar, Pakistan, and India, including Prof. Ainul Hasan, Vice Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University; Asif Azmi, author, filmmaker, and Chairman of the Pen Foundation; renowned Urdu poet Sayed Nadeem Mahir, president of the organization; and Mr. Tarique Faridy, editor and channel head of Salaam TV India.
Having been translated into fifteen languages, including Urdu, German, and Sanskrit, the Arabic version of Great Minds on India was skillfully translated by Prof. Ramzan Ali Miya, an esteemed scholar from Doha who has authored 38 books. The edition was edited by Hamdan Bin Rashid from Madrid, Spain, and published by the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Foundation, Kolkata, West Bengal.
Approximately two months earlier, the book had its informal release in Dubai, led by Dr. Bu Abdullah, a renowned business magnate and philanthropist who owns 270 multinational companies across the Arabian and European regions. The release took place in his official chamber, where Great Minds on India was highly praised. Dr. Abdullah shared his admiration, saying, “Great Minds on India was a revelation for me. For the first time, I learned how modern scientists such as Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Erwin Schrödinger, as well as philosophers like Voltaire, Schopenhauer, Goethe, and Hegel, found intellectual inspiration in ancient Indian texts. It was an honor and a pleasure to launch the Arabic edition, which was meticulously translated by the distinguished scholar Dr. Ramzan Ali Miya from Doha.”
Prof. Ramzan Ali Miya and his literary colleagues are planning to host a larger event in Dubai, which will include an interactive discussion on Gewali’s work. The event will focus on how celebrated poets, writers, and thinkers, including Wordsworth, Voltaire, Einstein, and T.S. Eliot, have spoken highly of India’s ancient wisdom.
Hamdan Bin Rashid, the book’s editor, remarked that the Arabic edition aims to further illuminate readers in the Arab world about India’s rich intellectual heritage. Following the book’s successful translations and widespread recognition, this edition is expected to deepen cultural ties and foster greater understanding of India’s ancient knowledge, particularly the universal teachings of Vedanta, across Arabic-speaking countries. He likened this admiration to that of scholars such as Al-Biruni and Al-Khwarizmi, who respected India’s wisdom nearly 12 centuries ago.
Great Minds on India is the result of over two decades of research by Salil Gewali, who compiled the thoughts and admiration of world-renowned intellectuals regarding India’s ancient literary and scientific achievements. The book has garnered wide praise, with the Assamese edition soon to be published by the government of Assam and the Punjabi edition already translated by the Language Department of Punjab. This significant work highlights the respect that prominent Western thinkers, including Albert Einstein, Voltaire, Arthur Schopenhauer, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, T.S. Eliot, and Mark Twain, have held for India’s contributions to fields such as science, mathematics, linguistics, astronomy, and spirituality.
