Abdur Razzaq Malihabadi (1895–1959) was the autobiographer of Maulana

Abul Kalam Azad Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Hussaini Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian independence activist, Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. Following In ...

and a journalist.

Life

He was born in Malihabad, a suburb of Lucknow district, capital of Uttar Pradesh. He died in Mumbai due to cancer survived by two sons (elder son is currently Rajya Sabha MP & Journalist) and a daughter (home maker). His early schooling happened in Lucknow (Nadwatul ulama) but later went on to Egypt to obtain his doctorate and he was the student

Rashid Rida Muḥammad Rashīd ibn ʿAlī Riḍā ibn Muḥammad Shams al-Dīn ibn Muḥammad Bahāʾ al-Dīn ibn Munlā ʿAlī Khalīfa (23 September 1865 or 18 October 1865 – 22 August 1935 CE/ 1282 - 1354 AH), widely known as Sayyid Rashid Rida ( ar, � ...

and he spent many years of his life there. He was fluent in languages like Urdu, Persian, Arabic, and Pashto. He worked for few years in All India Radio heading Arabic Department in New Delhi. He was close to the

Saudi monarchy The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), an ...

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

and the Pandit Nehru family during the freedom struggle. Giving due recognition of his role in India's freedom struggle, he was offered a cabinet rank post-independence in the Nehru government which he declined. He was a journalist by soul and with his pen he wrote against British Raj and took their atrocities to common Indian man.

Josh Malihabadi Josh Malihabadi (born Shabbir Hasan Khan; 5 December 1898 – 22 February 1982) popularly known as Shayar-e-Inqalab (poet of revolution) was a Pakistani poet and is regarded as one of the finest Urdu poets of the era of British India. Kno ...

, another freedom struggle veteran and poet (fondly called "Shayar-e-Inquilab") was his cousin. He was of

Pathan Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

descent. He wrote the books ''Zikar-e-Azad'' and ''Azad Ki Kahani Khud Azad Ki Zubani'' which was posthumously published by Daftar Azad Hind publications. He participated in the Khilafat Movement where he was a staff member of ''Jihan-i-Islam'', a journal in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. He was the founder editor of the Urdu daily ''Azad Hin published from

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

and was very close to Azad during his stay in 19-A, Ballygaunge Circular Road,

where he stayed during his youth and the period of the freedom movement of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He is the father of current

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

(Independent Candidate) MP Saeed Malihabadi who was the editor of Urdu daily ''Azad Hind'' after his death. At present the newspaper is owned by

Saradha Group The Saradha Group financial scandal was a major Confidence trick, financial scam and alleged political scandal caused by the collapse of a Ponzi scheme run by Saradha Group, a consortium of over 200 private companies that was believed to be run ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Malihabadi, Abdur Razzaq 1875 births 1959 deaths Writers from Kolkata Indian independence activists from Uttar Pradesh Indian scholars of Islam Journalists from West Bengal Indian male journalists People from Lucknow district Indian people of Pashtun descent