Professor Stanley Wolpert Passes away
Author Stanley Wolpert, popular in Pakistan for his books on Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, died in California last month. He was 91.
In his long career as an author, teacher and political commentator, Prof Wolpert published 15 books, including four novels, but the one that made him a must read in Pakistan was Jinnah of Pakistan, published in 1982. It is among the best biographies of the Quaid.
“Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Mohammad Ali Jinnah did all three,” wrote Professor Wolpert while introducing Mr Jinnah.
Stanley Albert Wolpert was born on Dec 23, 1927, in Brooklyn, New York and died peacefully on Feb 19 at his son Adam’s home in California.
The son of Nathan and Frances Wolpert, he grew up in Brooklyn. He attended Brooklyn Technical High School, the New York State Maritime Academy, the City College of New York, and the University of Pennsylvania where he pursued South Asia studies.
He was recognized across the globe as a major expert on South Asian studies.
Wolpert began his academic career in 1959, when he took a job as an instructor in the Department of History at UCLA. He was promoted in 1960-63 to assistant professor; 1963-66 associate professor; 1967 full professor. In 1968 he was appointed department chair.[4] He was later an emeritus professor.
In 1975 Wolpert was awarded UCLA's Distinguished Teaching Award.
Wolpert was a guest on Connie Martinson Talks Books in 2011, promoting his 2010 book, India and Pakistan: Continued Conflict or Cooperation."
He married to Dorothy Wolpert (née Guberman) on June 12, 1953. They met in an American government class at City College of New York. She went on to become a senior partner in a Century City law firm, and has made several visits to India with her husband. They had two sons—Daniel and Adam, and three grandchildren—Sam, Max, and Sabine. His book Nine Hours to Rama was adapted to a feature film in 1963.
Wolpert passed away on February 19, 2019.
He is survived by Dorothy, his wife of 65 years, sons Daniel and Adam and daughters-in-law Debra and Katy, and his grandchildren Sam, Max and Sabine.
Jinnah of Pakistan: MrWolpert argues in the book that Mr Jinnah was for Pakistan what Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru combined were for modern India — inspirational father and first head of state.
He noted that Mr Jinnah began his career as the Indian National Congress’s ‘Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity’, but ended it 40 years later as the architect of the partition that split Pakistan away from India.
Ambassador Akbar Ahmed’s Tribute
The Passing of a Great Scholar
The passing of Professor Stanley Wolpert is a great personal loss, he was a great scholar and a great man. It was a privilege to know him and I will always be grateful for his generosity.
Professor Wolpert was best known for his books on South Asia’s titans. His book on the Quaid, Jinnah of Pakistan, was one of my favorites. I loved his famous quote on the Quaid, “Few individuals significantly alter the course of history. Fewer still modify the map of the world. Hardly anyone can be credited with creating a nation-state. Muhammad Ali Jinnah did all three.”
I was honored to have earned his praise on more than one occasion.
On my play, “The Trial of Dara Shikoh” he wrote: “Professor Akbar Ahmed's brilliant new play, ‘The Trial of Dara Shikoh,’ is not only a fascinating Drama, but a most important, highly instructive study of the major forces within Islam that continue to reflect the fatal struggle between Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb that grip our modern world and may help to decide our global future.”
At a lunch held in my honor by the Pakistan Link, Urdu Link on December 17th, 2011, he said: “There is nobody else who stands so high as does Prof Akbar Ahmed. He is the greatest scholar of Islam in America and the world. He is the Dara Shikoh of modern Islamic leaders." (http://pakistanlink.org/Community/2011/Dec11/30/01.HTM).
