30 SOCIAL SCIENTIST bitterly attacked British rule, consistently opposed all attempts to divide Muslims from Hindus and looked forward to the freedom, not only of India, but of Asia as a whole. A collection of Akbar's verses (Kulliyat) was first published by his son, Saiyid Ishrat Husain, in 1908.11 Within a year this was reprinted by Munshi Azmat Alt under the title Kulliyat-i-Akbar without any substantial change.12 In these editions no conscious effort seems to have been made to chronologically arrange the individual poems, though a few of the poems are dated. An improved edition, in terms of chronological arrangement, of the Kulliyat was published from Karachi in 1951. But it has many other inaccuracies.13 However, the difficulties associated with dating the poems notwithstanding, these two editions of the Kulliyat enable us to trace Akbar1 s poems to particular periods, based on the sections in which they are placed. The periods assigned to the various parts are: (i) Part 1,1863-75 (ii) Part II, 1875-1890 (iii) Part III, 1890-1908 (iv) Part IV, 1864-1876 (v) Part V, qaia 'at up to 1905 (vi) Part VI, consists of poems relating to Special occasions some of which are being dated14 (vii) Part VII and VIII, up to 190815 The second, third and fourth volumes of the Kulliyat were published after Akbar's death, and contain verses from three successive periods: Vol. II, 1908-12; Vol. Ill, ^U-l^and Vol. IV, 1918-21. Akbar also composed a number of verses that are purely political in nature, dealing with the stormy 1919-21 period, which have been posthumously published in a separate collection, Gandhi Nama17 Most of these verses also appear in Volume IV of the Kulliyat. EARLY WORK The verses composed during the early part of Akbar's life are largely around conventional love themes. But after the 1870s, he drops these conventional themes and increasingly focuses on topical problems of the day. Despite all his limitations, in this he was something of a pioneer. Rejection of western culture is now prominent in his poetry, but what is more remarkable is his criticism of the colonial government and scorn for Muslim loyalists. Akbar was all admiration for Sir Saiyid's dedicated zeal in trying to ameliorate the position of the Muslim community.18 But the latter's growing inclination towards western culture and his loyalist stance provoked Akbar's hostility. His criticism was, however, not personal. For as early as 1875 he madejiis stand clear: The poet's utterances are