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 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 ...

. Known for his liberal values and challenging the established order, he wrote over 100,000 couplets and more than 1,000 rubaiyat in his lifetime. His wrote ''Yaadon ki Barat'', his autobiography which is noted for its frank and candid style. The first Prime Minister of India,

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

held him in high esteem and frequently attended the mushaira at Lala Kishan Lal Kalra's United Coffee House where Josh performed. Some of his works were translated to English like ''The Unity of Mankind'' elegies by Josh Malihabadi by Syed Akbar Pasha Tirmizi who was a Pakistani citizen and a high court

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However ...

Early life

Josh was born to an Urdu-speaking Muslim family of

Afridi The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...

Pathan origin in Malihabad (13 miles from Lucknow), United Provinces, British India. He received early education in Arabic, Persian, Urdu and English at his home. He studied at St Peter's College,

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra ...

and passed his

Senior Cambridge The Senior Cambridge examinations were General Certificate of Education examinations held in India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore. They were preceded by the Junior Cambridge and Preliminary Cambridge examinations. History India The ...

examination in 1914. Subsequently, he studied

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 Persian and, in 1918, spent six months at Tagore's

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

Shantiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his s ...

. The death of his father, Bashir Ahmed Khan, in 1916, prevented him from undertaking a college education. His family had a long tradition of producing men of letters. Indeed, his great-grandfather, Nawab Faqeer Muhammad Khan'Goya', grandfather Nawab Muhammad Ahmad Khan, paternal uncle Ameer Ahmad Khan and father Basheer Ahmad Khan were all poets with numerous works (poetry collections, translations, and essays) to their name. Another of his relative was the journalist, scholar and

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 ...

's confident,

Abdur Razzaq Malihabadi Abdur Razzaq Malihabadi (1895–1959) was the autobiographer of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad 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 s ...

Career

In 1925, Josh started to supervise translation work at

Osmania University Osmania University is a collegiate public state university located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Mir Osman Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad in 1918 , He released a farman to establish OSMANIA UNIVERSITY on the day of 28 August 1918. ...

in the princely state of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

. However, his stay there ended when he found himself exiled for writing a ''

nazm ''Nazm'' () is a major part of Urdu and Sindhi poetry that is normally written in rhymed verse and also in modern prose-style poems. is a significant genre of Urdu and Sindhi poetry; the other one is known as ''ghazal'' (). is significantly ...

'' against the

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 ...

, the then ruler of the state. Soon thereafter, he founded the magazine ''Kaleem'' (literally, "speaker" in Urdu), in which he wrote articles in favour of independence from the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

in India. His poem Hussain aur Inquilab (Hussain and Revolution) won him the title of ''Shaair-e-Inquilaab'' (Poet of the Revolution). Subsequently, he became more actively involved in the freedom struggle (albeit, in an intellectual capacity) and became close to some of the political leaders of that era, especially

(later to be the first Prime Minister of independent India). After the end of the British Raj in India in 1947, Josh became the editor of the publication ''Aaj-Kal''.Biography of Josh Malihabadi on allpoetry.com website
Retrieved 19 January 2021

Josh in Pakistan

Josh migrated to Pakistan in 1956 - despite Jawaharlal Nehru's insistence against it - over what is generally believed to be his concern regarding the future of Josh and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, where he thought the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

majority would encourage the use of

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

rather than

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' 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 ...

and worked for

Anjuman-i-Tarraqi-i-Urdu Anjuman-i Taraqqi-i Urdu ( ur, ; ''Organisation for the Progress of Urdu'') was an organisation working for the promotion and dissemination of Urdu language, literature and culture in British India. After the partition of India, the separated ...

.Josh Malihabadi remembered on his 31st death anniversary
The Free Library website, Retrieved 19 January 2021

Death and legacy

Josh remained in Pakistan until he died on 22 February 1982 in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

. Mustafa Zaidi, Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Syed Fakhruddin Balley were the closest companions and friends of Josh and Sajjad Hyder Kharosh (son of Josh).

Faiz Ahmad Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...

visited

during his illness and Syed Fakhruddin Balley remained entirely engaged with Josh and Sajjad Hyder Kharosh.Biography of Josh Malihabadi on Dawn (newspaper)
Published 19 February 2011, Retrieved 18 January 2021 Poet Faiz, who coincidentally landed in Pakistan on February 22, 1982 after a long self-imposed exile to meet

General Zia Ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, ( Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial ...

, the then military ruler of Pakistan, and complained to him for not attending Josh’s funeral.' Professor Ehtesham Hussain was the first eminent figure who started working on Josh’s Biography, with his implied consent. He was in the early stages of his work, when suddenly Josh migrated to Pakistan. It's evident that the scholar Ehtesham lost his passion and never completed the work. Professor Mohammad Hassan, a prominent scholar of Ehtesham’s lineage, then wrote a nearly 100 page epilogue on Josh in 1987, that will soon be published by JLSC, Calgary. Hilal Naqvi, eminent poet and researcher almost devoted his entire life in gathering and publishing Josh’s work. The list of Josh’s admirers are so long and over a span of nearly 100 years, but the most prominent contributors and writers amongst them include, professor Ehtesham Hussain, Rais Amrohvi,

Mustafa Zaidi Mustafa Zaidi (born Syed Mustafa Hasnain Zaidi; 10 October 1930 – 2 October 1970) was a Pakistani Urdu poet and a civil servant. Early life In 1954, he passed the competitive examination and was sent to England for training before being g ...

, Sehba Luckhnavi, Professor Qamar Raes, Ali Sardar, Professor Mumtaz Hussain, Ali Ahmed Fatmi, Shahid Mahuli of Ghalib Institute, Delhi, India, Professor

Sahar Ansari Sahar Ansari, TI (Urdu: سحر انصاری) (Born: 27 Dec 1939, Aurangabad, Maharashtra) is an Urdu poet and linguist from Karachi, Pakistan. He remained associated with the University of Karachi as Professor and Chairman of Urdu department. Sah ...

, Rahat Saeed, Jaun Elia, Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, Professor Hasan Abid, Jaffar Ahmed, Parvin Shakir,

Iqbal Haider Iqbal Haider ( ur, اقبال حیدر; 14 January 1945 – 11 November 2012) was a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the co-chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan ("HRCP"). He was also a Senator, Federa ...

, Shaista Rizvi. Moreover, Josh’s maternal grandson Farrukh Jamal Malihabadi, Josh Malihabadi's granddaughter Tabassum Akhlaq has also carried over the legacy of his poetry. Presently, artist Fahim Hamid Ali is working on a unique and contemporary presentation of Josh. Josh Literary Society of Canada (JLSC) was formed by Iqbal Haider, Arshad Vasti, Shaista Rizvi, Naheed Kazmi, Nighat Haider, Hasan Zaheer, Dr. Aqeel Athar, Alim Ghaznvi , Abdul Qavi Zia and others in February 1983 in Calgary, Canada. JLSC convened its first literary conference in Calgary in February 1986 under the title of Josh - The Poet of the Century, with a keynote article by the eminent scholar Professor Mumtaz Hussain. Then Josh Society and Irteqa Foundation of Karachi together commemorated Josh Centennial a 3-day, mega literary event in Karachi, followed up by other one day programs in Delhi, Allahabad, Lucknow, Lahore, Hyderabad and Dubai. Josh Literary Society has published and reprinted 14 books on Josh. JLSC has also convened and celebrated many other Centennials or seminars like

Firaq Gorakhpuri Raghupati Sahay (28 August 1896 – 3 March 1982), also known by his pen name Firaq Gorakhpuri, was an Indian writer, critic, and, according to one commentator, one of the most noted contemporary Urdu poets from India. He established himself ...

Majaz Lucknawi Asrar-ul-Haq (19 October 1911 – 5 December 1955), better known as Majaz Lakhnawi, was an Indian Urdu poet. He is known for his romantic and revolutionary poetry. He composed ''ghazals'' and ''nazms'' in Urdu. He was the maternal uncle of po ...

, Juan Elia,

Saadat Hasan Manto Saadat Hasan Manto (; Punjabi, ur, , ; 11 May 1912 – 18 January 1955) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author born in Ludhiana, who was active in British India and later, after the 1947 partition of India, in Pakistan. Writing mai ...

, Rashid,

Faiz Ahmed Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...

and

Ismat Chughtai Ismat Chughtai (21 August 1915 – 24 October 1991) was an Indian Urdu novelist, short story writer, liberal humanist and filmmaker. Beginning in the 1930s, she wrote extensively on themes including female sexuality and femininity, middle-class ...

. The Josh Memorial Committee was formed in 1986 by Tabassum Akhlaq and she is the current chairperson. The committee organises seminars on Josh Malihabadi's personality, history and literary work. These seminars are usually held on his birthday and death anniversary (on 5 December and 22 February respectively). In August 2012, the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...

announced

Hilal-i-Imtiaz The ''Hilaal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled and transliterated as Hilāl-e-Imtiyāz, is the second-highest (in the hierarchy of "Hilal") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by the ...

for Josh Malihabadi. This award was presented to his granddaughter and founding chairperson of Josh Memorial Committee, Tabassum Akhlaq by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakist ...

in a ceremony held in the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by ...

on Pakistan Day 23 March 2013. The lifelong mission of Josh can be summed up in his own words: A noted scholar and literary critic of Pakistan

Pervez Hoodbhoy Pervez Amirali Hoodbhoy ( Urdu: ;;born 11 July 1950) is a Pakistani nuclear physicist and activist who serves as a professor at the Forman Christian College and previously taught physics at the Quaid-e-Azam University. Hoodbhoy is also a prom ...

is quoted as saying about his poetry, "Poetry flowed from Josh's pen like water from a bubbling spring."

Works

These include: * ''Aawaz-e-Haq'' (1921) * ''Shola-o-Shabnam'' * ''Junoon-o-Hikmat'' * ''Fikr-o-Nishaat'' (1937) and (1969) * ''Sunbal-o-Salaasal'' * ''Harf-o-Hikaayat'' * ''Sarod-o-Kharosh'' * ''Rooh-e-Adab'' * ''Aayat-o-Naghmaat'' (1941) * ''Arsh-o-Farsh'' (1944) and (1973)Books by Josh Malihabadi on Rekhta.org website
Retrieved 18 January 2021 * ''Saif-o-Subu'' * ''Sumoom-o-Saba'' * ''Tulu-e-fikr'' * ''Qatra-o-Qulzum'' * ''Nujoom-o-Jawahar'' * ''Mauja-e-Fikr'' * ''Auraaq-e-Sahar'' * ''Ilhaam-o-Maqalaat-e-zarreen'' * ''Nawaredaat-e-Josh'' * ''Irfaniyat-e-Josh'' * ''Yaadon Ki Baraat'' (autobiography) On the advice of film director W. Z. Ahmed, Malihabadi also wrote songs for Shalimar Pictures. One of the films is ''Aag Ka Darya (1966)'' with music by Ghulam Nabi Abdul Latif.Aag Ka Darya (1966 film) on Complete Index To World Film (CITWF) website
Retrieved 18 January 2021

Honours and awards

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

Award, India's third highest civilian honour in 1954. *The Title of "The Poet of the Century" was given by the "QAFLA-PERA'O" Lahore, announced by the QAFLA_SALAR Syed Fakhruddin Balley, Jawaid Ahmad Qureshi,

Wazir Agha Wazir Agha ( ur, ) was a Pakistani Urdu language writer, poet, critic and essayist. He has written many poetry and prose books. He was also editor and publisher of the literary magazine "Auraq" for many decades. He introduced many theories in U ...

Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi ( ur, ) born Ahmad Shah Awan ( ur, ) (20 November 1916 - 10 July 2006) was an Urdu language Pakistani poet, journalist, literary critic, dramatist and short story author. He wrote 50 books on topics such as poetry, fiction ...

and

Ashfaq Ahmad Ashfaq Ahmed Khan ( ur, ; 22 August 1925 – 7 September 2004) was a writer, playwright and broadcaster from Pakistan. His works in Urdu included novels, short stories and plays for television and radio of Pakistan. He received the President's ...

, in 1992. *Kamal-e-Sukhan Award was announced for Hazrat Josh Mallihabadi by The Old Boys Association EMERSON College,

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the ol ...

in 1999. *

Hilal-e-Imtiaz The ''Hilaal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled and transliterated as Hilāl-e-Imtiyāz, is the second-highest (in the hierarchy of "Hilal") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by th ...

(Crescent of Excellence) Pakistan’s second highest civilian honor on 23 March 2013.(Associated Press of Pakistan
Hilal-i-Imtiaz Award info on The Nation (newspaper)
Published 24 March 2013, Retrieved 18 January 2021 * Ali Sardar Jafri captured Josh's biography in a serial named

Kahkashan {{Infobox television , image = , caption = , runtime = approx. 25 minutes , creator = , director = Jalal Agha , producer = Ali Sardar Jafri , starring ...

aired on

DD National DD National (formerly DD1) is a state-owned public entertainment television channel in India. It is the flagship channel of Doordarshan, India's public service broadcaster, and the oldest and most widely available terrestrial television chann ...

References

External links

Josh Malihabadi at Rekhta.com
(Roman Script)
Josh Malihabadi at Kavita Kosh
(Hindi)
Josh Malihabadi at Jakhira.com
(Hindi) {{DEFAULTSORT:Malihabadi 1898 births 1982 deaths People from Malihabad Muhajir people Pakistani Shia Muslims People of British India Urdu-language poets from Pakistan Poets from Karachi Recipients of Hilal-i-Imtiaz Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education Urdu-language theologians Urdu-language writers from British India 20th-century Urdu-language writers Urdu-language translators Linguists of Urdu Pakistani songwriters Osmania University alumni Indian emigrants to Pakistan People from Lucknow district