Aslam Farrukhi ( ur, ) (23 October 1923 – 15 June 2016) was an

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, literary critic,

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

, scholar, and radio scriptwriter from Pakistan. He is also known for writing children's books. He remained associated as a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

and chairman with the Department of Urdu,

University of Karachi The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (wh ...

, for many years.

Early life

Aslam Farrukhi was born on 23 October 1923 into a literary family of

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. His ancestors had come to Lucknow from the nearby town

Farrukhabad Farrukhabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Farrukhabad tehsil. The city is on the banks of river Ganges and is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow. ...

, hence the family name being used here is Farrukhi. After the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

in 1947, he migrated with his family to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, Pakistan in September 1947. He completed his education from the then Federal Urdu College, now known as

Federal Urdu University The Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology ( ur, ); alternatively known as FUUAST) is a public university primarily located at Islamabad, Pakistan. The university has two satellite campuses; the central campus is located in Is ...

and the

. His PhD degree thesis was on the 19th century writer Muhammad Husain Azad which won the

Adamjee Literary Award Adamjee Literary Award, also known as Adamjee Prize, is a literary award bestowed by the government of Pakistan. It is presented by the president. The award seeks to recognize those people who have made "meritorious contribution" to the literature ...

in 1965.

Career

He started out his career at

Radio Pakistan Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 Augus ...

as a scriptwriter for radio plays. Later Aslam Farrukhi taught at Sindh Muslim College, now known as

Sindh Madressatul Islam University Sindh Madressatul Islam University ( ur, ; sd, سنڌ مدرسۃ الاسلام), also known as SMI University, is a university in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Founded in 1885, it is one of the oldest educational institutions in South Asia. Hi ...

and at

Karachi University The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh ...

, where he also served as registrar. His son is scholar

Asif Farrukhi Asif Aslam Farrukhi ( ur, ; 16 September 1959 1 June 2020) was a Pakistani writer, translator, and literary critic active in both Urdu and English. He was also a public health expert and polyglot. He translated books from English into Urdu, ...

who also was a co-founder of

Karachi Literature Festival Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) is an annual international literary festival held in Karachi, Pakistan. It is the first festival of its kind in Pakistan. It is one of the world's youngest and fastest growing literary festivals. Till 2019, ten ...

. He was associated as

and retired as chairman with the Department of Urdu,

, for many years, and with

for more than six years. He was among the country's few writers of children's literature.

Awards and recognition

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...

Award by the President of Pakistan in 2009.Karachiites observe Pakistan Day in festive mood amid peace (scroll down to read award info for Aslam Farrukhi)
Dawn (newspaper), Published 24 March 2009, Retrieved 4 June 2020 *

in 1965

Death

Aslam Farrukhi died on June 15, 2016 in Gulshan e Iqbal, Karachi and was buried in Karachi University Graveyard on June 16, 2016 after Zohar Prayer. Among the survivors are his wife and two sons.

Bibliography

* ''Muhammad Hussain Azad: Hayat-o-Tasaneef'' - Life and Writings of the 19th century author Muhammad Husain Azad * ''Guldasta-e-Ahbab'' * ''Aangann main Sitaray'' * ''Farid-o-Fard-i-Fareed'' - a book on the life of 13th century Sufi Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar * ''Dabistan-e-Nizam'' (Publisher:Pakistan Writers Cooperative Society) * ''Bachon Ke Sultanjee'' - a book on the works of 13th century Sufi Khwaja

Nizamuddin Auliya Muhammad Nizamuddin Auliya (sometimes spelled Awliya; 1238 – 3 April 1325), also known as Hazrat Nizamuddin, and Mahbub-e-Ilahi () was an Sunni Muslim scholar, Sufi saint of the Chishti Order, and is one of the most famous Sufis from the India ...

who were also lovingly nicknamed 'Sultanjee' * ''Bachon ke Ranga Rung Amir Khusraw'' * ''Urdu Ki Pehli Kitab'' for children * ''Mausam-i-Bahar Jaisay Log'' * ''Saat Asman'' * ''Lal, Sabz Kabootar'' * ''Raunaq-i-Bazm-i-Jahan''

References

External links

Aslam Farrukhi honoured - Daily Dawn

Aslam Farrukhi Rare Picture

Urdu Bandhan {{DEFAULTSORT:Farrukhi, Aslam 1923 births 2016 deaths Writers from Lucknow Muhajir people Urdu-language poets from Pakistan Pakistani children's writers Pakistani literary critics Linguists from Pakistan Linguists of Urdu Pakistani scholars Pakistani educators Urdu-language writers Urdu critics Recipients of the Pride of Performance University of Karachi faculty Writers from Karachi Urdu-language children's writers 20th-century Pakistani poets Academics from Karachi