literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
and culture in
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 ...
.
After the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
, the separated organisations, Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu Hind in
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 ...
and Anjuman-i Taraqqi-i Urdu Pakistan continue its works. These serve as the largest Urdu scholarly promotional associations in South Asia.
Syed Ahmad Khan
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan KCSI (17 October 1817 – 27 March 1898; also Sayyid Ahmad Khan) was an Indian Muslim reformer, philosopher, and educationist in nineteenth-century British India. Though initially espousing Hindu-Muslim unity, he ...
in 1886, with the assistance of Nawab
Mohsin-ul-Mulk
Nawab Mohsin-ul-Mulk, Munir Nawaz Jang, also known as Syed Mehdi Ali ( ur, ﻧﻭﺍﺏ ﻣﺤﺴن الملک, منير نواز جنگ, ﺳﻴﺩ ﻣﻫﺩﻯ ﻋﻠﻰ) (born 9 December 1837 — 16 October 1907), was an Indian Musli ...
. The basic objective of the above-mentioned conference was to encourage Indian Muslims to adopt modern education, and for this purpose, establish schools and colleges along the lines of the
Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College
Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College ( ur, Madrasatul Uloom Musalmanan-e-Hind, italics=yes) was founded in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, initially as a primary school, with the intention of taking it to a college level institution, known as Muhammed ...
(later known as
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...
).
The conference had three sections: Women’s Education, Educational Census and Schools. In a later conference held in 1903, three more branches were added: Social Reform, Shoba-yi-Taraqqī-yi-Urdū, and Miscellaneous.'Finding a Home for Urdu: The Anjuman-i Taraqqi-yi Urdu (1903-1971), Published 31 December 2013, Retrieved 31 January 2017 It is to the Shoba-yi-Taraqqī-yi-Urdū that the current ''Anjuman'' traces its origins. Incidentally,
Thomas Walker Arnold
Sir Thomas Walker Arnold (19 April 1864 – 9 June 1930) was a British orientalist and historian of Islamic art. He taught at Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College, later Aligarh Muslim University, and Government College University, Lahore.
...
was the first elected president of the Shoba-yi-Taraqqī-yi-Urdū and the noted writer Allama
Shibli Nomani
Shibli Nomani ( ur, – ; 3 June 1857 – 18 November 1914) was an Islamic scholar from the Indian subcontinent during the British Raj. He was born at Bindwal in Azamgarh district of present-day Uttar Pradesh.Abul Kalam Azad
Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Husseini, Hussaini Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian Indian independence movement, independence activist, Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the ...
, first Minister of Education in independent India, as Assistant Secretary. They were some of the renowned personalities that worked hard to create the ''Anjuman'' and people continue to draw inspiration from them even today.
Abdul Haq ʻAbd al-Ḥaqq (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الحقّ) is an Arabic male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Ḥaqq'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to the ...
became the secretary of the organisation in 1912, and its base was shifted to the modern-day Aurangabad district in 1913, where he was employed by the then
Nizam of Hyderabad
The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...
. Thereafter, the ''Anjuman'' shifted its base to
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
in 1938 where it functioned until 1947 with Abdul Haq as its head.
Under Abdul Haq, Anjuman launched a number of magazines notably ''Urdu'' launched in January 1921, ''Science'', in 1928, and ''Hamari zaban'', in 1939.
India
Anjuman in India is known as "Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hind)" (انجمن ترقی اردو (ہند. It has 600 branches across India.
After the independence of India,
Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of:
* Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India
* Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor
* Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player
* ...
become the Vice-Chancellor of
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University (abbreviated as AMU) is a Public University, public Central University (India), central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan as the Muhammadan Anglo-Orie ...
in 1949. Anjuman Taraqui Urdu (Hind) was shifted to Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh. In the year 1977 Anjuman was moved to
New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
with its office at Urdu Ghar. It started to work for the promotion of Urdu as a common language in India. In the spirit of the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, it started to play a vital and positive role in the language of Indian origin.
Anjuman Taraqui Urdu (Hind) has echoed the nationalistic character under the guidance of Indian leaders like
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- ...
,
Jawaharlal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
,
C. Rajagopalachari
Chakravarti Rajagopalachari (10 December 1878 – 25 December 1972), popularly known as Rajaji or C.R., also known as Mootharignar Rajaji (Rajaji'', the Scholar Emeritus''), was an Indian statesman, writer, lawyer, and independence activis ...
,
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 Ind ...
and Zakir Husain had good relations with Anjuman.
Premchand
Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known by his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer of Hindi and Urdu social fiction. He was one of ...
was one of the prominent people of the Anjuman. It has been maintaining the "Ganga-Jumni Tehzib" (Ganga Yamuna Civilization) among the masses and working both for the Urdu language and national integrity.
The Anjuman Taraqqi Urdu (Hind) besides publishing journals and books, and supporting research and creative work in Urdu linguistics and literature, has many other activities to promote the language e.g. Urdu Adab (Quarterly), Hamari Zaban (Weekly), Books and Dictionaries, Urdu Archives, Photo Collection, Audio Collection, Writing Competition of Children's Literature, Urdu Theater - ARPAN (Anjuman's Repertory of Performing Arts)
Its office bearers have included
Sadiq-ur-Rahman Kidwai
Sadiq-ur-Rahman Kidwai is an Indian writer, academician and a former dean of the School of Languages, Jawaharlal Nehru University, known for his scholarship in Urdu literature. He is the secretary of the Ghalib Institute, renowned educational an ...
Anjuman in Pakistan is known as ''Anjuman-i Taraqqi-i Urdu (Pakistan)'' – (انجُمن ترقی اردو (پاکستان.
Abdul Haq, the Anjuman's secretary and one of its pioneering members, shifted to Pakistan in 1947 following its independence. The Anjuman played a decisive role in the
Pakistan Movement
The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the pe ...
. The office of Anjuman's Pakistani chapter was established in
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 cap ...
in 1948. The same year, a fortnightly and later monthly Urdu magazine is known as ''Qaumi Zaban'' was launched by Anjuman which continues to remain in publication today. For some time, Anjuman also published Urdu magazines focusing on the subjects of economics, politics, history, and science. As the Anjuman's secretary, Abdul Haq played an instrumental role in the establishment of Karachi's Urdu College in 1949, with Urdu as the medium of instruction. After Abdul Haq's death in 1961, poet
Jamiluddin Aali
Nawabzada Mirza Jamiluddin Ahmed Khan PP, HI (20 January 1925 – 23 November 2015), also known as Jamiluddin Aali or Aaliji, was a Pakistani poet, critic, playwright, essayist, columnist, and scholar.
Early life and career
Nawabzada Mir ...
succeeded him as the Anjuman's secretary. Aali maintained a great interest in the affairs of the Urdu College, and during his tenure, the college attained university status – becoming the Federal Urdu University in 2002. Aali handed over his office to Fatema Hassan in 2014.
Membership of the organization was re-opened after 50 years on the occasion of the 53rd death anniversary of Abdul Haq. Anjuman currently operates a library and has released over 600 publications in Urdu on different topics to date. The organization publishes journals and books and supports research and creative work in Urdu linguistics and literature.