Jizyah and The Spread of Islam

Born on November 1, 1922, the late Dr. Harsh Narain did his M.A. from Nagpur University. He took his Ph.D. from Lucknow University in the field of Nyaya-Vaisesika Philosophy. After holding a Lectureship in Philosophy at Banaras Hindu University, he became a Reader in the same subject at North-Eastern Hill University (Shillong) and a Visiting Professor at Aligarh Muslim University, Subsequently, he was a Visiting Fellow at Gurukul Kangari University (Haridwar) and a UGC Professor attached to Lucknow University. He guided research on Buddhism, Vedanta, Sankhya-Yoga, Bhartrhari, Radha-Iqbal. Several Ph. D. and M.Phil theses were produced under his guidance.

Equally at home in Sanskrit, Pali, Persian, Arabic, English, Hindi and Urdu, he had written dozen and tracts, and hundreds of papers and articles. He had contributed notable articles to the Hindi Kosha, the Urdu Encyclopaedia and the Encyclopaedia of Indian Philosophies. His academic interests ranged over Vedic and Epic Studies. Indian history and culture, Islam and Sufism, Sanskrit, Persian and Urdu poetry, and Marxism. He had studied the Qur’an and the Hadith-s in Arabic.