M.H. Panhwar as a Historian

The scope of this article is to find out the strengths and weaknesses of M.H. Panhwar’s historical work and to compare it with other scholars of Sindh. He is the initiator of scientific history writing of Sindh and the only historian who tried to uncover the face behind the social organisation of Sindh. According to him, ‘History is the history of production, control over the means of production and production to its final distribution’. The history is more about people than that of the ruling class as people are makers of history. He had vision to analyze things in their correct historical perspective and, in this context, he took support of archeology, as it is the source of scientific truth. Writing history with data acquired through carbon testing is a new phenomenon in Sindh, which was locally introduced by M. H Panhwar.1 M. H. Panhwar, therefore, was one of the pioneers in giving a new meaning to history by including both ruling elites and the common folk, progressive science, crop technology, forest, wildlife, etc.2 He was the first to throw light on areas which were ignored by other historians. According to him, history written before him is full of the accounts of the rulers’ role in relation to their nobles and foes, battles they fought, attacks, palace plotting, mausoleums, folklore, fiction and so on. Accounts regarding contemporary climate, environments, diversion of rivers, courses and the resultant ruination of irrigation systems, migrations, shifting of people, occupations, social life of the populace etc. Found little room in written histories. For instance changes in production and its means, administration and justice, agriculture, land, animal husbandry, irrigation sources and methods of mining, metallurgy, industry and industrial goods, matrimonial institutions, family and children, houses and interiors, art, architecture, archaeology, personal appearance, dresses, ornaments, foods and drinks, taxes, coins and currency, science and technology, foreign contacts, international trades and traders, routes of trades, religious beliefs, philosophy, hygiene, medicine and doctors, superstitions, common citizens, economic conditions, historical geography of bygone ages, classes of work and their relation with one another, household life, customs, entertainments, pastimes, leisure, attitude of man to nature, languages, literature, literary contacts with outside word, learning and thoughts, status of women and children in affluence and extreme poverty.3 Hence, in real sense M.H Panhwar was scholar of Haig’s Raverty’s and Lambrick’s calibre.

Synthesis, Characterization and Applications of Lanthanide Nano Particles Doped on Zno, Tio2, Sio2.

Three sets of nanoparticles (ZnO, Gd/ZnO, Sm/ZnO, La/ZnO), (TiO2, Gd/TiO2, Sm/ TiO2, La/TiO2) and (SiO2, Gd/SiO2, Sm/SiO2, La/SiO2) were fabricated by sol-gel method using appropriate precursors with and without using surfactant (Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate)below its CMC value. The synthesized samples were characterized by Thermo gravimetric Analysis/Differential scanning calorimetry (TGA/DSC) for their thermal properties, by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for morphology of nanoparticles, by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for particle size, by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) for crystal structure and crystallite size, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to analyze metal-oxygen bonding and functional groups. All characterization techniques confirmed the synthesis of nanoparticles. The average size of all nanoparticles was observed below 30nm and results obtained from TEM and XRD for particle size are in agreement with each other. Solid phase UV-visible absorption spectrophotometer (SPS) analysis was performed to study optical band gap of metal oxide nanoparticles and effect of doping on the band gap of nanoparticles. It was observed that band gap of undoped nanoparticles were higher than the band gap of same material in bulk form and band gap of lanthanide doped nanomaterials was less than undoped material. The observed optical band gap value for ZnO was 3.62eV, for TiO2 was 3.69eV and for SiO2 was 3.58eV. Catalytic activity was done by photodegradation of a highly neurotoxic, industrial pollutant Methylene Blue at different reaction conditions for time intervals 30 minutes, 60 minutes and 120 minutes using UV-light, Sunlight and dark. The photocatalytic degradation of MB was studied by using UV-Vis spectrophotometer in kinetic mode and first order rate constant (k) was calculated. Maximum degradation (26.146%) with k-value 0.1031 Sec-1was made Gd/ZnO nanoparticles after 120 minute reaction in UV-light. It was also observed that photodegradation activity of Gd/ZnO, Sm/ZnO and Sm/TiO2 was approximately equal with a slight difference. Also SiO2 and Ln (Ln= Gd,Sm,La) doped SiO2 have lower catalytic degradation activity as compared to (ZnO, Gd/ZnO, Sm/ZnO, La/ZnO) and (TiO2, Gd/TiO2, Sm/ TiO2, La/TiO2). Results suggested that these nanoparticles may be envisaged for the treatment of waste water.