Ready reference: Sherbaz Ali Bercha - a living encyclopaedia of Gilgit-Baltistan

The scholar has been widely quoted by foreign writers in their books on the region.

GILGIT:

Sherbaz Bercha is no ordinary librarian or cataloguer of books, he is a “living encyclopedia”of Gilgit- Baltistan (G-B).

Scholars from far and near and research students come to him to seek his help in digging up events from the ancient and modern history of this mountainous region that not so long ago was the subcontinent’s remotest region.

Bercha knows the story of his land as if by heart and can quote author, book and page if it concerns G-B, provided the source is authentic.

Author of a number of books on the culture and history of G-B, Bercha has translated into Urdu four historic works by famous personalities.

One of the writers was Ghansara Singh, who was the last governor of G-B before partition. Another of his books is an autobiography by Nazim Khan, a ruler of the former state of Hunza during the early 1890s.

Most of Bercha’s time is spent surrounded by books in the Gilgit Public Library where he is the senior librarian.

Over the years, dozens of students doing their PhD, M.Phil and Masters in History have benefitted from Bercha’s knowledge.

“I feel happy when I am able to contribute something to the knowledge about this remote region. The new generation is our future. It is important to familiarise them with their past,” Bercha said while talking to The Express Tribune during an exclusive interview.

“If you are a student of history and want to know something about G-B, you had better come to  Bercha who is a storehouse of facts about the region and has every detail on his fingertips” said Ghulam Abbasi, a student of history. “That’s why he is described as a living encyclopaedia.”

Bercha has also written a book about the Brushaski language which is spoken in Hunza-Nagar for the Allama Iqbal Open University. It is an essential part of the PhD syllabus for ‘Pakistan’s regional languages.’

He has also written a chapter on local cultures for a book by the National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage, Islamabad.

“Bercha is like a ready reference compendium when it comes to matters concerning the history of G-B,” said Jamshed Khan Dukhi, a noted poet.

No wonder scholars from abroad approach him for information. He is widely quoted by foreign authors in their works on the region since he is considered an authority.

A German author who recently met him has appreciated Bercha in her book. Margaret Brown, wife of William Brown, has sent nearly 40 letters to Bercha over the years, discussing events that took place in G-B up till its independence.

Major William Brown was commander of Gilgit Scouts and served in the region for nearly six years before partition. “Brown’s wife visited Pakistan in 1983 and we had a heated discussion over some issues about G-B,” Bercha recalled.

A humble person, Bercha attributes his knowledge to reading and keeping company with literary persons.

A graduate from the Gordon College, Rawalpindi, he likes to spend most of his time immersed in books and prefers to read foreign authors.

Though the public library has approximately 15,000 books on subjects like history, culture, fiction and physical sciences, Bercha complains that few people come to the library now.

Few people are interested in skimming books for information nowadays with the advent of the internet, super-fast search engines and the digitisation of archives and encyclopaedias.

Bercha deeply regrets that even students do not frequent libraries anymore. There has been a 90 per cent decline in the reading habit which was tragic indeed, he said.

“As a result the forces of ignorance have taken over and sectarianism is spreading”, he said.

In addition to his own book “Aks-e-Gilgit” which he is writing on the archaeological history of the region, from the time it was a food-gathering society to the period it became a hunters’ community, Bercha is also translating important works by foreign authors.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2012.