History behind the Indian national flag as told by writer-teacher-intellectual Ismat Mahdi

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Hyderabad: 

Do you know that Mahatma Gandhi’s Young India was edited by a Hyderabadi? Maybe not.
Yes. It was edited by Badrul Hasan for some time.

This is an episode from the little-known history of India’s freedom struggle that was fought from the soil of Hyderabad State which at that time was ruled by the Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan.

Ordinarily, the history of Indian struggle in Hyderabad State is seen from the Hindu-Muslim binary. A large number of Muslims had come under the influence of the Majlis Party which later came under the leadership of Kasim Rizvi.

Kasim Rizvi

But there was also a section of the Hyderabad population that was under the influence of Congress and its leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Maulana Azad. The undeclared leader of this section was Sarojini Naidu, the first Hyderabadi to be sent to England for higher studies by the Nizam.

Badrul Hasan, a young Hyderabadi travelled to Gujarat and stayed at Gandhi ji’s ashram in Ahmedabad.  In Ahmedabad, he used to stay at Sabarmati Ashram of Gandhi ji. During his connection with Gandhi ji he wrote a book Evil of Drugs and Alcoholism the preface of which was penned by the Mahatma.

This historic episode was shared by Ismat Mahdi, a well-known linguist from Hyderabad, to a small enthusiastic crowd of senior men, and women under the umbrella of Dobara, a city-based organisation. Mir Ayoob Ali Khan, a senior journalist, moderated the talk.

Ismat Mahdi

Another dimension of the talk was revealed by Mahdi. She said Badrul Hasan’s brother Abid Hasan who later came to be known as Abid Hasan Safrani was on the other side of the freedom struggle. He was with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

One day Netaji went to meet the German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler to seek his assistance in carrying out the struggle against the British Raj. Hitler said they should go in a submarine up to Japan and from there they can choose their front to fight. They were handed over the Indian army men who were fighting under the British flag and had been arrested by the Nazis. The duo agreed.

Another dimension of the talk was revealed by Mahdi. She said Badrul Hasan’s brother Abid Hasan who later came to be known as Abid Hasan Safrani was on the other side of the freedom struggle. He was with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

One day Netaji went to meet the German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler to seek his assistance in carrying out the struggle against the British Raj. Hitler said they should go in a submarine up to Japan and from there they can choose their front to fight. They were handed over the Indian army men who were fighting under the British flag and had been arrested by the Nazis. The duo agreed.

There broke a debate over what colour the national flag of an Independent India should be. The Hindus said it should be all saffron. The Muslims, on the other hand, said it should all be Green. After a long heated debate, the Hindus proposed that one-third of the flag should be saffron, and one-third should be green. The one that should be run between the Saffron and Green should be white representing all other communities. Observing the sacrificing stance of the Hindus, Abid Hasan decided to add Safrani (of saffron) to his name and came to be known all his life as Abid Hasan Safrani.

Abid Hasan Safrani treated Ismat Mahdi, who was his niece, as her daughter. He wanted to adopt her formally but the Islamic law did not have any provision for that. In any case, Ismat Mahdi stayed and travelled with him wherever he was posted. And it is because of this long travelling life that she mastered French, Arabic, and English.

Mahatma Gandhi

Her last government job was to teach Arabic at the Centre of English and Foreign Languages in Hyderabad. She is now the Managing Trustee of Sarvodaya International Trust which aims to propagate the ideals and values of Mahatma Gandhi among the youth.

Mir Ayoob Ali Khan is a senior journalist who has worked with the Times of India and Deccan Chronicle in Hyderabad in senior positions. He is now associated with the Siasat.com.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> Featured News / by Mir Ayoob Ali Khan / August 15th, 2024

The Good Doctor

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

Though long neglected in translation, Rashid Jahan blazed a trail for Urdu writers.

In her short, eventful life, Rashid Jahan made her mark as a literary stylist and an outspoken critic of patriarchal norms. COURTESY SHAHID NAJEB

1952. ISMAT CHUGHTAI HAD BEEN, for nearly a decade, the leading short story writer and novelist in the world of Urdu literature. But across the border in Pakistan, Qurratulain Hyder’s reputation as the disaffected chronicler of the generation lost to the tribulations of Partition was rapidly rising and would soon challenge Chughtai’s supremacy. In Lahore, Hijab Imtiaz Ali was turning to psychoanalytically inspired fictions about alcoholism and the Electra complex. Several other young, female Urdu short story writers, of a generation nurtured on the literature of the Progressive Writers’ Movement, were coming to maturity: Khadija Mastur, Hajra Masroor, Mumtaz Shirin, Shaista Ikramullah, Amina Nazli. And Rashid Jahan—doctor, political activist, Chughtai’s literary mentor and the forerunner of this entire wave of writers—died of cancer in a Russian hospital in July of that year, some weeks before her forty-seventh birthday, almost forgotten by the literary world she had stormed two decades before. Yet she had freed the tongues and the pens of several generations that followed; her impact would be surpassed only three decades later, by Fahmida Riaz and Kishwar Naheed, the feminist poets of the 1960s who replaced the forensic idiom of Rashid’s work with a lyrical celebration of women’s bodies.

The daughter of Shaikh Abdullah and Wahid Jahan Begum, an illustrious couple of educationists in Aligarh, Rashid came from an enlightened family, and her decision to study medicine was perhaps not surprising. Her literary reputation rested on her contribution to Angaare, a pioneering anthology of short fiction published in 1932. This milestone of Urdu literature had introduced four young writers in their twenties, who in their fiction presented contemporary philosophical and psychological ideas, and also techniques absorbed from modern European writing. The most famous of the four was Ahmed Ali, who, though not prolific, would go on to become one of the most respected Anglophone litterateurs of the subcontinent. Ahmed Ali had introduced the young doctor to the other contributors. Aware of her literary predilections, one of them, Sajjad Zahir, is believed to have persuaded her to write two pieces for the book; another, Mahmud-uz-Zafar, would become her life’s companion.

The contributors, radical and ready to challenge as they might have been, were perhaps unaware of the shockwaves their discussions of sex and religion would send out into an audience that, though probably ripe for a new literary movement, was unprepared for the force of this onslaught on their sensibilities. Rashid was the only woman in the gang of four. Critics have noted that she was also the only one of them that didn’t differ significantly from her predecessors in her choice of milieu or material, but her unabashed vocabulary earned her the censure of readers across the Urdu-speaking regions. Ordinances were passed against her and the others. She was advised to travel with bodyguards but, as a practising doctor, she refused to take such precautions.

Her zeal was infectious. Faiz Ahmed Faiz, arguably the greatest political poet of his generation, was said to have been awakened to his ideological responsibilities by Rashid and her husband and fellow communist, Mahmud-uz-Zafar. Ismat Chughtai said of her, “I stored up her work like pearls … the handsome heroes and pretty heroines of my stories, the candle-like fingers, the lime blossoms and crimson blossoms all vanished … the earthy Rashid Jahan shattered all my ivory idols to pieces … Life, stark and naked, stood before me.”

Even Premchand, the grand old man of Hindi and Urdu literature, who was a vital supporter of the Progressives and their aims, is said to have written his last few stories of “stark and naked” life—of down-and-outs and derelicts—under the direct impact of Rashid and Angaare.

Six years later came Aurat, the only book Rashid would publish in her lifetime, a collection of seven stories. Throughout the decade of the 1940s, she had been involved in her work as a medical practitioner and Communist Party worker; she only occasionally published a story or a play in some obscure journal. Her reputation as a trailblazer and pioneering feminist was held to be based more on her ability to tell bitter home truths than on any exceptional literary talent. Her promise, it was held and still is, was never fulfilled. Above all, perhaps, it was the eventfulness of her short, unconventional life that made her a legend.

But in the fleeting period of her fame—or infamy—she had written at least a handful of pieces that made an impact on literary history which continues, to this day, to be analysed and chronicled. Her uncollected stories were published in Shola-e-Jawwala (1974), while the uncollected plays were included in Woh Aur Dusre Afsane Drame (1977). There was no authoritative collection of Rashid’s work for more than 30 years till Nasr-e-Rashid Jahan appeared in Pakistan in 2012. Edited by Humera Ashfaq, this was a major retrospective volume of 16 stories, five plays and a few essays, bringing together the author’s most famous pieces and lesser-known texts. Now, in A Rebel and Her Cause: The Life and Work of Rashid Jahan (Women Unlimited, 256 pages, R400), Rakhshanda Jalil, the well-known critic of Urdu literature who translated and edited the volume, presents eleven stories and two plays (all but one of these texts are also in Ashfaq’s volume), prefaced by a brief biography and a critical assessment, to give us the first full-length study of Rashid Jahan’s life and work to appear in the English language.

Three of the texts included are widely acknowledged as minor classics: the very brief monologue ‘A Tour of Delhi’, and the plays ‘Behind the Curtain’ and ‘Woman’. These three works, written in the space of about five years, display the development of her perception. In the first of these, a woman wrapped up in a burqa, whose husband has promised her a day trip in Delhi, is left to sit alone at the railway station to guard their bags while the husband goes off on a jaunt with a friend. Later, the woman recasts her experience as a self-deprecating story to entertain her friends back home. Rashid’s wit, and her command of the idiom of semi-educated middle-class women, are in evidence here. Though Rashid may have been influenced in passing by Western literary models, the most remarkable trait she reveals in ‘A Tour of Delhi’, and indeed throughout her career, is an ability to weld disparate influences into a seamless whole and create fictions that are deeply rooted in the milieu she portrays. This quality makes her work less formally innovative but more radically relevant to her readers’ lives than the writings of her male contemporaries.

The second piece, ‘Behind the Curtain’, a dramatised dialogue for two female voices, is far darker in texture. Muhammadi Begum, the mother of many children, laments to a friend that her husband has lost interest in her.

The truth is that my womb and all the lower parts had slipped so far down that I had to get them fixed, so that my husband would get the same pleasure he might from a new wife … How long can a woman who bears a child every year expect to have her body remain in good condition? It slipped again. Again, he went after me, nagged and threatened me into going under the butcher’s knife. But he is still not happy.

These words, of an unprecedented frankness at the time in their charting of a woman’s anatomy and naming of reproductive organs, nevertheless do not release the woman who utters them into any form of freedom. But Rashid would complete this task in ‘Woman’, which has a wider cast of characters, both male and female, and a more intricately theatrical frame. Here, in a very similar situation, Fatima, whose ailment this time is gonorrhoea, actually throws the cheating husband who gave it to her out of their marital home. The long-suffering woman of Urdu literature is replaced by a character prepared to take control of her own destiny.

I have the disease you have given me. You caused my innocent babies to die. You murderer! I will get myself treated by whoever I want. No one can stop me now. I have suffered enough at your hands by listening to your commands.

Again, one could compare Rashid’s characters to Western ones—in this case, Ibsen’s Nora from A Doll’s House and his other stories of discontented wives. But Rashid’s stories derive so completely from their parochial contexts that such comparisons point more to the discontinuous universality of human—and in particular women’s—experience than to literary borrowing.

Shaista Ikramullah—an admirer, whose own concise fictions show the influence of Rashid Jahan—was one of the few critics to pay serious attention to Rashid’s work during the latter’s lifetime. In her seminal work, A Critical Study of the Development of the Urdu Novel and Short Story (1945), Ikramullah writes about ‘Woman’:

It is a common enough occurrence, namely a husband contemplating a second marriage on the ground that his wife is childless. The fiction writers of the last four decades have condemned and criticised this cupidity of man. But none of them had the smouldering indignation that is present in Rashid’s indictment of it, nor has anyone yet succeeded in showing how contemptible were such men as she has. So far authors have been content to show just this one trait in man’s character, but Rashid has shown the entire man in his grossness.

Ikramullah is perhaps alone in tracing the connection between Rashid and the earlier generation of reformist writers, and in showing how she extends and rewrites their agenda from her progressive standpoint.

The lot of the poor has been championed in novels and short stories from the time they appeared in the Urdu language. But they were treated with an air of fateful acceptance … In Rashid’s stories there is a fire and a defiance that were not found in the stories that were written on the same theme before … In this attitude lies the difference between the new and the old school of writers.

What Ikramullah might have added is that Rashid brought to the concise and elliptical form of the short story the concerns of the novelists of a prior generation, often saying in three or four pages what it had taken the reformists several times that number to narrate. Hers was not only a political but also a formal innovation.

THE STORY that opens Jalil’s selection, ‘That One’, is a first person account of a young teacher’s strange relationship with a syphilitic prostitute; his infatuation with her is expressed by the daily gift of a flower. Finally, one of the housekeepers in the narrator’s hostel abuses and insults the prostitute, and throws her out. This story was, in some ways, Rashid’s introduction to a new generation of feminist readers, especially when it was translated into English for Susie Tharu and K Lalita’s pioneering anthology, Women Writing in India600 BC to the Present, Volume II (1993). The editors, however, focusing on Rashid’s narrative technique and conflating it with her authorial persona, ranged Rashid with a generation of bourgeois liberal women writers, introducing in the process a new if somewhat skewed reading of her literary politics.

The focus of these narratives remains the middle-class protagonist and her moral awakening to social responsibility and therefore also to citizenship. The ‘other woman’—the prostitute, the working class woman—is a figure cut to the measure of this middle-class woman’s requirements that is also, we must not forget, the requirement of the nation. These stories may be about those at the margins, but they are, all the same, stories of the centre, told by the centre … Though many of the protagonists in the stories are women, the questions raised pose few threats to a patriarchal order.

How exactly Tharu and Lalita expected Rashid to overturn the patriarchal order they did not say. But their restaging of Rashid Jahan’s image persists. Priyamvada Gopal, in several nuanced and sensitive readings of Rashid, attempts to vindicate her and yet sees her returning to a default position as a bourgeois narrator—a surrogate for the author—who surveys her material with a lofty disdain. But this, today’s readers might find, is something of an advantage, as they can easily identify with her modern voice; and Rashid is able to use this narrative mode to inflect her stories with varying levels of irony.

Several such tales are included in Jalil’s selection. Foremost among them in terms of fame is ‘One of my Journeys’, in which a young woman student, on her way home for the holidays, gets into a compartment full of women, both Hindu and Muslim, who use every opportunity they find to engage in thinly disguised sectarian disputes. The narrator, a secularised Muslim, castigates them all for their bigotries and the story ends on a note of almost manic harmony. The comic note of ‘A Trip to Delhi’ is reprised but in a multi-vocal mode, with Rashid’s perfect ear for speech giving it the immediacy of one of her plays.

Far more subtle and intricate, and perhaps as a result not as competently translated, is ‘Sale’, in which a young narrator, hiding in the back of a car on a country drive and reminiscing about an erotic moment, observes strange goings-on through the window: three burqa-clad women and five men, one of whom the narrator recognises as a comfortably married neighbour, disappear into the woods for a bit of fun.

A torch flashed … those few seconds of strong light revealed two naked bodies. As soon as the torch lit the darkness, the man – scared of being recognised and uncaring of his body – hid his face in the woman’s burqa.

Evidently, it is not a sin to commit a sin; it is a sin to get caught.

Suddenly, peal after peal of dead laughter rent the air. She was laughing at the dogs.

It’s a chilling story, told from the centre about the centre, but pervaded by the “dead” laughter of the prostitute—to the extent that the centre begins to expose its own hollowness.

In ‘Thief,’ a doctor—obviously a very deliberate parody of the author—complains about the time, demands a fee, and generally behaves obnoxiously with a poor man who has brought a child in for emergency treatment, until pity or a doctor’s duty takes over. But the story keeps turning. The narrator then discovers that the same man had robbed her house only some time before, yet decides to let him go. The rest of the brief story is an examination of social conscience and of varieties of theft:

… petty thievery, picking pockets, robbery, larceny, black marketing, exploitation, filling your home with the money earned from the labour of others, swallowing up someone else’s land or country. After all, why aren’t these included in theft? … I looked around me. I saw that some of the biggest thieves walk around me, dressed up as saints.

Though not perhaps one of Rashid’s best, this late story shows her experimenting with technique in a combination of pseudo-memoir and ironic essay, and in its satirical retake on the familiar narrative persona.

The bulk of Rashid Jahan’s stories, though, are not told in the first person. More often, they begin in the breezy omniscient tone of a traditional tale, as in ‘Mute’, a beautifully calibrated story of a young woman whose parents fail to find her a suitable groom.

Siddiqa Begum’s marriage was proving to be a very difficult one to arrange. She was a true blue Sayyadani. Her father, Hamid Hasan, was reasonably well placed. What is more, she was one among thousands when it came to beauty. Yes, Siddiqa Begum was still not married and already twenty-three years old. Her mother … could not sleep at night for worry over her.

The multi-layered ‘A Daughter-in-Law For Asif Jahan’ is also set in the enclosed milieu of the women’s quarters, but this time the occasion that sets the story in motion is the birth of a much prayed-for girl child, whose cousin has already been chosen as a bridegroom for her. The story’s subtext chastises the women of the family for failing to summon a doctor; instead, they use traditional midwives and methods of delivery. But in place of polemic Rashid graphically describes the process of childbirth, interspersed with the manic humour familiar from other stories, which culminates in a celebration of women’s resilience as every female member of the household plays her part in bringing the girl child into the world.

Rashid is inevitably identified with portraits of women, but some of her writing, in particular her later, unpublished plays, show that she can also manage the voices of men with panache. This is also evident in one of the finest stories in A Rebel and Her Cause, ‘Bad Company’, about an establishment judge who rejects his Marxist son. The piece is created from a seamless weave of interior monologue, telephone conversation, and dialogue. There are times that the judge’s climb is seen with something close to sympathy, but that is soon revealed as an illusion when the man’s snobbery and deep conservatism are gradually uncovered.

Jalil comments on the unevenness of the author’s oeuvre, noting that Rashid Jahan probably wrote quickly and didn’t edit; some of the stories, she feels, read like drafts. Though this is true of one or two of the stories in Aurat, it largely isn’t evident in those Jalil has chosen to translate for this book, which consistently display, in their seemingly simple mode of exposition, the storytelling dexterity that is Rashid’s forte. There is some consensus that Rashid herself probably favoured the dramatic form for its immediacy and its performative qualities, which encouraged group activity of the kind she enjoyed—and some of her best later work (which Jalil comments on in an analytical chapter) is in this genre. As we have seen, Jalil includes the two most famous plays but has otherwise chosen to concentrate on the fiction, possibly because dialogue is harder to render in English than narrative.

Jalil’s translations valiantly attempt to convey the range of her subject’s interests, and the themes and styles with which Rashid experimented. It’s a laudable enterprise, as is the decision to accompany the fictions with biographical and historical facts. What doesn’t always come through here is the distinctive lucidity and diamond-hard precision of Rashid’s prose, which depends so much on her ability to balance various registers of the Urdu vernacular—pathos and satire, humour, anger, compassion and very occasional touches of lyricism—in a way that’s near-impossible to capture in English translation. In fact, Rashid is underrated as a stylist; and, if this timely book succeeds in sending bilingual critics back to the originals (as it did this reader), that will be yet another of its several achievements, the finest of which is to make us grateful that, in her short and exceptional life, Rashid Jahan found time to write so many outstanding stories.

source: http://www.caravanmagazine.in / Caravan / Home> Gender> Books / by Aamer Hussein / January 01st, 2014

World desperately needs Greek medicine: Dr. Mahfoozur Rahman

Patna, BIHAR :

Mahfoozur Rahman, Principal of Government Medical College, Patna

Greek or Unnai medicine is the greatest system of treatment for humans. Through research, it has been found out that Greek medicine offers a complete cure for every disease and is Nature’s cure for disease. In the past, Greeks have treated even the most stubborn diseases and eradicated them from their roots.

This is the opinion of Mahfoozur Rahman, Principal of Government Medical College, Patna.

Dr. Rahman told Awaz-The Voice that although the allopathic system has dealt a blow to Greek medicine in the last few hundred years, yet due to the renewed government support the Unnani medicine is once again becoming popular.

Dr. Mahfoozur Rahman said that although Unani medicine treated human disease for centuries, it could not compete and adapt to allopathy.

Packaging of treatment is a major factor in the success of allopathy. However, the Unani system is trying to maintain its relevance with its holistic approach. However, allopathy has undoubtedly gained acceptance and popularity in modern times.

Haldi or curcumin and Dr Mahfoozur Rahman

Dr Rahman however, believes that if the packaging of Greek medicines is done the right way, it can have a positive effect. According to him, since Greek medicines have no side effects on human life whereas allopathic medicines have. Due to this, we see rampant kidney and liver damage or heart problems even among younger people.

According to Dr. Mahfoozur Rahman, Greek medicine has the ingredients used by a person in his daily life. It has elements like ginger, garlic, onion, cloves, herbs different potions, etc. Humans are accustomed to these substances and therefore there is no risk of side effects.

Dr. Mahfoozur Rahman says that Greek medicine believes in rooting out a disease. The patient has to have a little patience for the disease to be not only cured but rooted out. For this reason, there is a great need to promote Greek medicine and to spread awareness about it.

Dr. Mahfoozur Rahman says that herbs are a natural remedy and medicines are prepared from plants created by nature. This method of treatment came from Greece, but the Muslim kings and sultans played an important role in developing this system. History says that during the Muslim rule on any land and places that sages visited, they found a way to treat various diseases.

They tested the properties of the plant on patients and later penned it down to reveal it to the world. Most of those books are in Arabic language. Later these collections were translated into Persian and Urdu. According to Dr. Mahoouzur Rahman, as the number of Urdu-knowing people is falling, it’s adversely impacting the Unani treatment.

He says that the allopathic system flourished as it took the form of a trade while the Greek method of treatment remained mired traditionally.

Speaking on the urgent need to popularise Unani medicine in modern times, Dr. Mahfoozur Rehman says people are taking modern medicine and have become addicted to it. As a result, diseases are cropping in different parts of the human body. Diseases like kidney, liver failure, loss of vision, obesity and acidity are becoming common.

Ingredients for Unani medicine

The Unani medicine is safer because it uses food level ingredients like the world like marjoram, ginger, onion, garlic, lentils, sugar, cloves, cardamom, pepper, etc. Take ginger, we use ginger for cough, similarly we use black pepper for acidity or indigestion. It means that we use ingredients that cause no harm to the body while curing the main ailment.

Dr. Mahfoozur Rahman says there is a dire need of Greek medicine for the survival of humanity. It is good enough that efforts are being made to promote Greek medicine at the state and central levels but more initiatives are needed.

“They say that the soil of every place in the world looks the same but its effectiveness is different. This is the reason why researchers looked for remedies in different regions and from different plants. If those researches are revisited and medicines developed, Greek medicine may change the human life.”

He says that efforts are being made to establish the link between soil and herbs used for medicines in different parts of the world. Research on plant extracts is different parts of India is going on with laboratory testing.

Dr. Mahfoozur Rahman admits that Unani medicine is weak in emergencies like heart attacks or low oxygen in the body. In such cases, modern drugs are used. “In the case of emergencies, our medicines are not effective but work is being done in this regard as well.”

“People often ask whether the Unani system has a surgery option. I want to tell them that almost 5,000 years ago, the Greeks invented all the instruments needed for surgery. “Man used to travel on elephants, horses and camels then and today he uses airplanes. Times have changed but the Unani medicine remains unchanged. Now, efforts are being made to advance it. It is hoped that gradually it will also be adapted to the requirements of the modern era,” Dr Rahman said.

Ancient Greek Doctors

However, he said in surgery, the Unani system is lagging, but attention is being paid to this too, and this.

Dr Rahman says sages chronicled research on specific fruits and the soil in which these are grown in their books. Like they mentioned the apple of Kashmir and, the cinnamon of China as the best ones for curing disease. The problem is that the ingredients required for the medicine are not available from these places, which also limits the scope of Greek medicine.

He says there are good practitioners of Unani medicine and students are also joining in courses to become one but due to the lack of authentic medicines, its growth is hampered.

Most Greek medicines have a shelf life of two years, and if the medicine is not sold, it rots. In such a situation, there is a need to draw people’s attention to this aspect and to the natural treatment it offers.

Dr. Mahfoozur Rahman says that the Unani medicine can treat various diseases especially those related to the stomach, quite well. Unani medicines are very effective in stomach disorders, constipation, loss of appetite, sluggish motion etc.

Similarly, it’s very effective in infertility and also diseases of women’s reproductive system. A liver or kidney stone can be easily removed with medication. Similarly, there are many good medicines for strengthening the heart and body.

Dr. Mahfoozur Rahman says that the hospital has more capacity to treat patients. One of the reasons for this is that Greek medicine does not have the kind of packaging that is done in allopathy.

Another problem is that sugar is being used in other medicines such as potions, mixtures, or yeasts. Earlier, Greek medicines were prepared from pure honey, nature has put such healing in honey, but now pure honey is unavailable and sugar is being used instead. Sugar is a cause of various ailments of the human body and its use in medicines is impacting the effectiveness of medicines.

Dr. Mahfoozur Rahman says that unless worked upon, the future of Greek medicine looks bleak. “Once everyone consulted a Hakim for treatment of disease. The doctors were good and so were medicines. Even today Hakims are very competent and medicines are also good in the dominance of allopathy, the common people are ignoring and forgetting Greek or natural remedies.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Story / by Mahuz Alam, Patna / October 07th, 2024

Singer Zakir Abbasi Honored with Shining Diamond Excellence Achievers Award for Road Safety Awareness

Jhunjhunu district, RAJASTHAN / HARYANA :

Jhunjhunu:

Renowned singer Zakir Abbasi has been awarded the prestigious Shining Diamond Excellence Achievers Award for his outstanding contributions to promoting road safety awareness through music. The award ceremony, organized by Traffic Welfare and Road Safety Foundation, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, took place at Magal Sain Auditorium in Karnal, Haryana, on Sunday.

Abbasi, who serves as Secretary of Bazm-e-Mausiqi and is also Jhunjhunu’s Election Icon, has been recognized for using his musical talent to raise awareness about road safety across the country. His songs on the subject have had a significant impact on the public, making him a source of pride for the Jhunjhunu district.

The award ceremony was graced by several prominent personalities, including Raghavendra Kumar, popularly known as ‘Helmet Man,’ Haryanvi singer Veer Dahiya, and actor and director Raj Arora. Zakir Abbasi gave a special performance of one of his road safety songs during the event, earning widespread appreciation.

District Collector Ramavatar Meena, Madrasa Board Chairman MD Chopdar, President of Bazm Sarfaraz Khan, Advocate Dharampal Banshiwal, Treasurer Manwar Diwan, and other members of Bazm-e-Mausiqi congratulated Abbasi on his achievement. The foundation recently appointed Zakir Abbasi state coordinator for Rajasthan.

source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Pride of the Nation> Awards> Latest News / by Radiance News Bureau / October 14th, 2024

Intizar Naeem Honoured with Delhi Urdu Academy Award for Autobiography

NEW DELHI :

New Delhi:

The Delhi Urdu Academy has announced the prestigious award, recognizing Intizar Naeem’s autobiography Ujalon Mein Safar.

Intizar Naeem, a renowned poet, intellectual, former General Secretary of Idara-e-Adab-e-Islami Hind, former Director of Radiance Viewsweekly and Ex-Managing Editor of Peshraft, and founder of Madhur Sandesh Sangam – an institution dedicated to the representation of Islam in Hindi – has been lauded for his contribution to Urdu literature with his autobiography. Ujalon Mein Safar has been awarded first prize in the Academy’s 2021 awards.

His autobiography has already received recognition from the Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy as well.

In this work, Naeem encapsulates his seven decades of experiences, highlighting his efforts, particularly in the preservation and reclamation of Waqf properties.

Critics have praised his insight, noting that if Muslim leaders had acted upon his recommendations, the serious challenges facing Waqf assets today might have been averted.

source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Pride of the Nation> Awards> Report / by Radiance News Bureau / October 16th, 2024

National Seminar Pays Tribute to Prof. Ibn Kanwal’s Life and Literary Contributions

NEW DELHI :

(From R to L) Prof. Aslam Parvaiz, Dr. Ahmad Imtiyaz, Prof. Ghazanfar, Prof. Tariq Chhatari, Prof. Shahpar Rasool, Prof. Sagheer Afraheem, Prof. Farooq Bakhshi, Prof. Muhammad Kazim

Special Report by Dr. Afzal Misbahi, Assistant Professor of Urdu, MMV, BHU, Varanasi, and former student of Prof. Ibn Kanwal.

New Delhi:

The Ghalib Institute, in collaboration with students of the late Prof. Ibn Kanwal, organized a one-day national seminar titled “Ibn Kanwal: Life and Literary Contributions” at the Ghalib Institute’s seminar hall. The event saw participation from renowned scholars, writers, and academics who reflected on the multifaceted legacy of Ibn Kanwal, known for his mastery in fiction, storytelling, and academic research.

Presiding over the inaugural session, Professor Shahpar Rasool highlighted Ibn Kanwal’s deep connection to Urdu literature and his dedication to mentoring students. Distinguished guests included Prof. Aslam Parvaiz, Prof. Tariq Chhatari, and Prof. Ghazanfar, with the keynote address delivered by Professor Sagheer Afraheem.

In his keynote, Prof. Afraheem provided a comprehensive overview of Ibn Kanwal’s journey from his early days as a student to his celebrated career as a literary figure. He emphasized Kanwal’s innate love for storytelling, a passion inherited from his family, and his ability to poignantly capture the pain of lost relationships and cultural decay in his stories.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Muhammad Kazim remarked that the overwhelming response from those wanting to contribute to the seminar showed the deep respect and admiration many held for Ibn Kanwal. He revealed that four universities are currently conducting research on Kanwal’s contributions to Urdu literature.

In a heartfelt opening address, Prof. Farooq Bakhshi shared personal memories of Ibn Kanwal, describing him as a person whose depth of character could be likened to the vastness of the sea. He recited a couplet to encapsulate Kanwal’s unique persona: “A man as deep as the waters of the ocean, A figure as intriguing as tales and legends.”

Prof. Ghazanfar presented his essay titled “Band Raste,” which artfully chronicled Kanwal’s life and achievements. Prof. Tariq Chhatari delved into Kanwal’s short stories, highlighting his distinctive style influenced by the tradition of storytelling, which brought a unique richness to his fiction.

Prof. Aslam Parvaiz, in his address, praised Ibn Kanwal’s honesty and integrity, calling him a sensitive and compassionate individual. Prof. Parvaiz noted the large number of students who attended Kanwal’s funeral as a testament to his popularity and impact as a teacher.

Delivering the presidential address, Prof. Shahpar Rasool reflected on Kanwal’s close relationships with his peers and his passion for poetry and literature. He commended Kanwal’s vast literary activities and lasting influence on Urdu literature.

The seminar featured papers from scholars across institutions, including Dr. Abu Shaheem Khan, Dr. Afzal Misbahi, Dr. Akmal Shadab, Dr. Mumtaz Alam Rizvi, Dr. Yameen Ansari, Dr. Uzair Israel, Dr. Mohammad Arshad, Dr. Shamsuddin, Dr. Wasi Ahmad Azmi, Dr. Alia, Dr. Nisar Ahmad, Dr. Tufail, and Dr. Abdul Hafeez, among others. Participants from Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, MANUU Hyderabad, and other prestigious universities also contributed to the seminar.

The event concluded with the launch of Ibn Kanwal’s book “Mazeed Shuguftagi,” edited by his daughter, Sabiha Nasir. The seminar witnessed attendance from his family members, students, and well-wishers, along with notable figures like Prof. Khalid Alvi and Prof. Mohibullah.

Dr. Idris Ahmad, Director of Ghalib Institute, delivered the vote of thanks, while Dr. Imtiaz Ahmad conducted the session. The seminar was a heartfelt tribute to the life and contributions of a beloved teacher and literary giant, Ibn Kanwal.

source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Latest News> Report / by Radiance News Bureau / October 15th, 2024

Professor Ibne Kanwal No More. The death of Professor Ibne Kanwal is a great loss to the Urdu world

NEW DELHI :

The Urdu scholar community expressed deep grief and regret on the death of the country’s famous playwright and poet Professor Ibne Kanwal and called his death a loss for the Urdu world. Condolences on the death of Professor Ibne Kanwal.

Patna:

As soon as the news of the death of Prof. Ibn Kanwal (Nasir Mehmood Kamal), the former President of the Urdu Department of Delhi University, fiction writer, dramatist and poet, became public, the literary and academic circles of Dabestan Azeem mourned.

Prof. Ibn Kanwal retired from the Urdu Department a few months ago after teaching for almost 40 years in the Urdu Department of Delhi University.

In recognition of his literary services, he has been awarded many honors at home and abroad, including the Sir Syed Award, Kunwar Mahinder Singh Awards, etc.

Prof. Ibn Kanwal’s teachers include Prof. Khurshid-ul-Islam, Prof. Qazi Abdul Sattar, Dr. Khalilur Rehman Azmi, Prof. Shahryar, Prof. Noorul Hasan Naqvi, Prof. Atiq Ahmad Siddiqui, Prof. Manzar Abbas Naqvi, Prof. Naeem Ahmed and Prof. Asghar Abbas.

More than thirty books of Professor Ibn Kanwal have been published. Among them, the people of the third world, Indian civilization in the context of Bostan Khyal, from the story to the novel, closed roads, criticism, and Hussain and Urdu fiction became famous.

Prof. Safdar Imam Qadri, president of the College of Commerce, expressed his condolences on the death of Professor Ibn Kanwal and said that the Urdu world has suffered a great loss due to the death of Ibn Kanwal.

He had made his unique identity among the contemporary fiction writers as well. He said that I had a friendly and brotherly relationship with Ibn Kanwal. He was often met at Aligarh Muslim University, he was a very creative and affable person. His disciples are spread in every corner of the country.

Renowned critic Prof. Aleemullah Hali said that the most important feature of Prof. Ibn Kanwal’s fictions was their narrative color and harmony. He saw the present era from a new angle and used to create his creations accordingly. He had a deep study of stories and stories remained his favorite subject.

Professor Shahab Zafar Azmi, President of the Urdu Department of Patna University, said that many fiction writers who wrote after the eighties wrote fiction in a narrative style, but among them, Ibn Kanwal is unique and prominent. He used to be popular in every gathering due to his good manners and serious nature. He gave many important creations to Urdu literature, by which the Urdu world recognized these abilities. He used to have deep ceremonies with the writers and poets of Azimabad. His sudden death is a great loss to the Urdu world.

source: http://www.etvbharat.in / ETV Bharat / Home> ETV Urdu / by translation from Urdu / February 12th, 2023


Kalam Learning Centre Unveils Rs. 50 Crore Scholarships Fund to Uplift Muslim Minority Students

Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

In a landmark effort to uplift the educational aspirations of Muslim minority students across India, the Kalam Learning Centre has announced the launch of a substantial Rs.50 crore scholarship fund.

This ambitious initiative, which stands as one of the largest scholarships programs specifically targeting Muslim minority students, aims to provide essential financial support to deserving students, helping them achieve their academic dreams without the burden of economic constraints.

The scholarship program is open to students from Class 5 to Class 12, as well as recent 12th-grade graduates who are preparing for their next academic steps. The initiative covers a wide spectrum of students, making it accessible to a large segment of the Muslim minority population. To qualify, students will need to participate in a scholarship examination conducted by the centre, ensuring that the scholarships are awarded based on merit and need.

By offering these scholarships, the Kalam Learning Centre aims to empower young students with access to quality education, removing financial hurdles that often prevent talented individuals from pursuing higher studies. The centre’s vision aligns with the broader goal of enhancing the educational landscape for minorities in India, especially at a time when educational inequalities persist across different sections of society.

The `50 crore scholarships fund represents a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts to promote inclusive education. It is set to play a pivotal role in the academic journeys of thousands of students, allowing them to focus on their studies, reach their full potential, and contribute meaningfully to society. This initiative will not only benefit the students but also strengthen the foundation of India’s future workforce by nurturing young minds through education.

In addition to this, the scholarships program resonates with the legacy of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, India’s former president and renowned advocate for education. Several scholarships across India bear his name, each dedicated to advancing his dream of a fully literate nation. These scholarships, offered by various state governments, educational institutions, and organizations, aim to provide deserving and financially struggling students with the necessary resources to complete their education. Dr. Kalam’s legacy continues to inspire efforts like the Kalam Learning Center’s initiative, which seeks to build a more inclusive and educated India, one student at a time.

Through this scholarship, the Kalam Learning Centre is not only supporting individual students but also contributing to the broader mission of promoting literacy, equality, and opportunity for the underrepresented and marginalized sections of society. This initiative sets a precedent for other organizations to follow, encouraging more efforts to bridge the educational gap for minorities in India.

For more information or registration, you may click here, or download Kalam Learning Centre App, or call KLC helpline number +91-9335004071.

source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Education> Focus / by Radiance News Bureau / October 15th, 2024

Talented Muslim Girls Honoured on APJ Abdul Kalam’s Birth Anniversary

Baran, RAJASTHAN :

Baran:

In a heartfelt tribute to Missile Man and former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the Maulana Azad Manav Seva Sansthan (MAMSS) organized a ceremony at Madrasa Anjuman Islamia to honour 15 outstanding Muslim girls for their academic excellence.

The girls, who secured top marks, were awarded mementos, certificates, and flower garlands as part of the event, which marked Kalam’s birth anniversary.

Chief guest, Kailash Sharma, a senior leader from the state Congress committee, along with other distinguished guests, shed light on Dr. Kalam’s inspirational life journey. Born on October 15, 1931, into a modest Muslim Ansari family in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, Dr. Kalam rose from humble beginnings to become one of India’s most revered scientists and leaders. His immense contributions to India’s space and nuclear programmes were praised during the event.

Notable figures, including Madrasa Anjuman Islamia President Majid Salim, Trade Federation General Secretary Kanhaiya Lal Chittoda, District Congress Committee Vice President Zakir Mansoori, Councillor Mohammad Sharif Rangrez, and Madrasa Board Deputy Chairman Shahid Iqbal Bhati, also addressed the gathering, emphasizing Dr. Kalam’s enduring legacy.

The event saw enthusiastic participation from Dr. Nasir Hussain Yunani, Abdul Wahid, Munna Master, Nasir Khan Bunty, Mohammad Irfan Mansuri, and other community members.

source: http://www.radiancenews.com / Radiance News / Home> Latest News / by Raheem Khan, Radiance News Bureau / October 17th, 2024

Fatima Alam Ali’s Intimate Glimpses of Hyderabad’s Mid-century Urdu Writers

Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

Rainbow Peacock Marbled Paper (source: The Whimsical Marbler)

Fatima Alam Ali (1923-2020) was a writer of pen portraits (khaake) and humorous essays (tanz-o-mizah) from Hyderabad. Her work offers an untapped and intimate glimpse into the literary personalities and gatherings that flourished in mid-twentieth century Hyderabad.

Fatima Alam Ali (Source: Asma Burney)

Surprisingly, her writing has not received the proper attention it deserves. This can be attributed to the general neglect of the pen-portrait and non-fiction writing in general in the study of Urdu literature. Most scholarly work and translation has focused on poetry and fiction. However, her work is also neglected, in part due to the triple marginalization that women writers from Hyderabad face—as women, as citizens of a former princely state, and as Urdu writers from the Deccan.

Yaadash Bakhaer by Fatima Alam Ali (Source: Archive.org)

Fatima first began writing at school in Lucknow at the behest of Urdu teacher and writer Razia Sajjad Zaheer. She was later encouraged to continue by Jahanbano Naqvi, another Urdu teacher and writer, when she was at Women’s College (Osmania University) in Hyderabad in the 1940s. Nurtured by a network of women writers, Fatima published widely in newspapers, magazines, and books while also reading her work on All-India Radio and at literary gatherings. In 1989, a collection of her pen-portraits and humorous essays were compiled in a book called Yaadash Bakhaer (“May God Preserve Them”). This text is a rich storehouse of information and insight into contemporary figures living in Hyderabad as well as the reflections of a woman writer coming into her own.

Fatima was the daughter of one of the great Urdu luminaries of the mid-twentieth century, Progressive writer and journalist Qazi Abdul Ghaffar (1889-1956). He began the influential left-wing newspaper Payaam in Hyderabad. Her cheerful and lively personality notwithstanding, Fatima mentions how she felt not only gratitude but also a sense of anxiety about this connection.

Interactions with her father’s peers and members of the Progressive Writers movement were always burdened by the awareness that she was Qazi Sahab’s daughter. She believed that she was respected because of her relationship to Qazi Sahab and not the merit of her own achievements. This left Fatima’s writing dotted with self-deprecating and apologetic comments that gesture towards a certain “anxiety of authorship.” The gendered aspect of this anxiety has been explored by Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar in the context of Victorian Women’s writing.

One place this anxiety of authorship appears in Fatima’s work is a long disclaimer she gives about her perceived inability to write about her father. She appeals to her readers that if they do not like her pen-portrait of him, they should forgive her, and if they do like it, then they should attribute it to the “noorani faiz” (luminous grace) of her father. Such prefacing apologies are part of established convention in Urdu and Persianate prose genres (such as the biographical tazkira). However, with women writers, they can be additionally tinged with gendered anxieties stemming from durable patriarchal norms and values.

Fatima’s pen-portraits draw attention to many contemporary Hyderabadi authors. Her portraits bring to life luminaries such as the writer and scholar Agha Hyder Hasan, an old Aligarh connection and dear friend of her father’s, and the scholar Habib ur-Rehman. We also see through her eyes her childhood playmate Ainee, who met her unchanged and with the same affection after a meteoric rise in the literary firmament as Qurratulain Hyder. She remembers Razia Sajjad Zaheer – “a woman in a man’s world” – as a mesmerizing teacher, hardworking mother, talented writer, and maternal figure. Fatima, whose own mother had died soon after her birth, remembers Razia with great emotion and is unable to find the words to describe the love she had given her.

Fatima grew up being mothered by the father figures in her life, an analogy she frequently draws. She describes her unusual and lively relationships with these men, who included, besides her father, her maternal uncles, Agha (whom she called “Chacha”), Habib ur-Rehman (“Baba”), and even Makhdoom Mohiuddin. With Qazi Sahab and Agha, the teenaged Fatima had relationships that were akin to friendships, marked by banter that was strangely grown-up. This was frowned upon in a conservative society that still believed in upholding a certain image of older men as abstract figures demanding veneration and formal distance. Fatima’s banter included teasing her father about the women who would fall for his dashing good looks and jokes with Agha Chacha about her future marriage. 

It is not surprising, then, to locate the sense of ease with which Fatima writes and remembers the towering male literary figures of her youth. She writes fluidly and eloquently about them and with the same comfort and affection as she does about Razia Sajjad Zaheer or Zeenath Sajida.

Of particular interest and value in this regard is a memorable essay called “Adabi Mehfil” (“Literary Gathering”) that Fatima wrote – decades later – about an all-male mushaira that was hosted at Qazi Sahab’s home when the Progressive Writers’ Conference took place in 1945. Those who attended included Agha, Makhdoom, Jigar Moradabadi, Fazlur Rehman, Sikandar Ali Wajd, Hosh Bilgrami, Kaifi Azmi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Ali Sardar Jafri, Ghulam Rabbani Taabaan, Sahir Ludhianvi, and Srinivas Lahoti.

Qazi Sahab could not afford the arrangements that were made in aristocratic homes, so they had only a buffet table under the open night-sky. There were no huqqas, only cigarettes, and the sole accessory demonstrating any continuity from an older tradition of mushaira was the paan that was arranged carefully and offered from a khaasdaan.

Fatima Alam Ali (Source: Asma Burney)

In engaging detail, Fatima introduces us to the august personalities of poets, writers, and intellectuals, as they dine with friends and peers before the mushaira begins. It is in her astute, sympathetic observations of these quintessential performers over dinner that we see their human dimensions, somewhat stripped of the dazzle of celebrity. Indeed, small aspects of their personalities often form the most attractive and compelling features of Fatima’s writing. She explains how they spoke more than they ate, how Srinivas Lahoti took over as host and led people to the table, and how Agha Hyder Hasan, who was unaccustomed to the new culture of buffet dining, sat by himself on a chair and balanced his plate on his lap. 

Yet, Fatima writes as much as a fan as the host of such a gathering. She tells us, for example, how she held her breath while Makhdoom recited, afraid to disturb even the air around him. In vivid, engrossing detail, she recreates the charged atmosphere of the mushaira, where “in the Lakhnavi style,” everyone gives way to the others until Qazi Sahab intervenes and directs one of the younger poets to begin.

The euphoria when a striking verse is skillfully recited, the enthusiastic requests for certain well-known compositions, the restlessness when a particularly fraught verse is delivered, the unspoken code of hierarchy and ceremony, and even the specific verses that were produced – all these are represented in sparkling prose and bring the mushaira alive for the reader. What adds to the immediacy and vividness of her writing is that she addresses the reader periodically, saying “just look at this!” or “did you see that?,” transporting the reader to the time of imaginative reconstruction.

At the same time, Fatima does not shrink from criticizing these great men, telling us regretfully that the gifted ghazal proponent Majrooh Sultanpuri is now but a “filmi” poet or that Sahir Ludhianvi was already full of himself before he became famous. Through her sensitive, discerning descriptions of their appearance, temperament, and individual style of recitation, we get an intimate glimpse into their personalities: Majaaz, who was always shy when sober; sleepy, languid, dishevelled Kaifi, who always had a strange glitter in his eyes at mushairas; Jigar’s jaunty self and the errant wisp of hair that peeped flirtatiously from his cap; Sulaiman Areeb, who would cadge cigarettes from an indulgent Qazi Sahab, who in turn would sway in pleasure when Makhdoom sang his best verses; Makhdoom, the people’s poet, who would ask for achaar with his qorma and later be inundated with requests for his verses; and the evergreen wit and flamboyance of Agha, the quintessential Mughal from old Delhi.

Fatima Alam Ali (Artist and Source: Asma Burney)

In engaging detail, Fatima introduces us to the august personalities of poets, writers, and intellectuals, as they dine with friends and peers before the mushaira begins. It is in her astute, sympathetic observations of these quintessential performers over dinner that we see their human dimensions, somewhat stripped of the dazzle of celebrity. Indeed, small aspects of their personalities often form the most attractive and compelling features of Fatima’s writing. She explains how they spoke more than they ate, how Srinivas Lahoti took over as host and led people to the table, and how Agha Hyder Hasan, who was unaccustomed to the new culture of buffet dining, sat by himself on a chair and balanced his plate on his lap. 

Yet, Fatima writes as much as a fan as the host of such a gathering. She tells us, for example, how she held her breath while Makhdoom recited, afraid to disturb even the air around him. In vivid, engrossing detail, she recreates the charged atmosphere of the mushaira, where “in the Lakhnavi style,” everyone gives way to the others until Qazi Sahab intervenes and directs one of the younger poets to begin.

The euphoria when a striking verse is skillfully recited, the enthusiastic requests for certain well-known compositions, the restlessness when a particularly fraught verse is delivered, the unspoken code of hierarchy and ceremony, and even the specific verses that were produced – all these are represented in sparkling prose and bring the mushaira alive for the reader. What adds to the immediacy and vividness of her writing is that she addresses the reader periodically, saying “just look at this!” or “did you see that?,” transporting the reader to the time of imaginative reconstruction.

At the same time, Fatima does not shrink from criticizing these great men, telling us regretfully that the gifted ghazal proponent Majrooh Sultanpuri is now but a “filmi” poet or that Sahir Ludhianvi was already full of himself before he became famous. Through her sensitive, discerning descriptions of their appearance, temperament, and individual style of recitation, we get an intimate glimpse into their personalities: Majaaz, who was always shy when sober; sleepy, languid, dishevelled Kaifi, who always had a strange glitter in his eyes at mushairas; Jigar’s jaunty self and the errant wisp of hair that peeped flirtatiously from his cap; Sulaiman Areeb, who would cadge cigarettes from an indulgent Qazi Sahab, who in turn would sway in pleasure when Makhdoom sang his best verses; Makhdoom, the people’s poet, who would ask for achaar with his qorma and later be inundated with requests for his verses; and the evergreen wit and flamboyance of Agha, the quintessential Mughal from old Delhi.

At the same time, she comments on the unreliability and instability of memory, cautioning us that time, place, and people are likely to get mixed up in her writing. And yet, she reveals an astonishing ability to reproduce verbatim specific verses or entire ghazals or nazms that were recited at literary gatherings. This signals how our memories operate, focusing on the enduring impression that certain events and experiences make on us, rather than external or superficial contexts.  

Fatima’s pen-portraits are always coloured with expressions of nostalgia and loss and an urgency to record these figures, their work, and their milieu for posterity to ensure that they are not forgotten. In the process, she creates an important “memorative” collection that provides unique information, insight, and perspective upon a particularly important period in the history of Urdu literature.

source: http://www.maidaanam.com / Maidaanam.com / Home / by Nazia Akhtar / October 11th, 2011

By Nazia Akhtar. Nazia is Assistant Professor of Literature at the International Institute of Information Technology, Gachibowli-Hyderabad. Her research interests include the literature and history of Hyderabad, Partition Studies, women’s writing, and comparative literature.