Kaifi Azmi (born Athar Husain Rizvi; 14 January 1919 – 10 May 2002) was an Indian

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. He is remembered as the one who brought

Urdu literature Urdu literature ( ur, , ) is literature in the Urdu language. While it tends to be dominated by poetry, especially the verse forms of the ''ghazal '' غزل and '' nazm '' نظم, it has expanded into other styles of writing, including that of ...

to Indian motion pictures. Together with

Pirzada Qasim Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui ( ur, پیرزادہ قاسم رضا صدیقی) (born 8 February 1943) is a Pakistani scholar, poet, scientist and educationist. He is serving as vice chancellor of Ziauddin University. Early life and career Pirzad ...

Jaun Elia Syed Hussain Sibt-e-Asghar Naqvi, commonly known as Jaun Elia ( ur, , 14 December 1931 – 8 November 2002), was an Indo-Pakistani poet, philosopher, biographer, and scholar. One of the most prominent modern Urdu poets, popular for his unconve ...

and others he participated in many memorable

Mushaira ''Mushaira'' ( ur, , Mušā'ira) is a poetic symposium. It is an event (called '' mehfil'', Mushairi) where poets gather to perform their works. A mushaira is part of the Culture of North India, Pakistan and the Deccan, particularly among the ...

gatherings of the twentieth century. His wife was theatre and film actress

Shaukat Kaifi Shaukat Kaifi (21 October 1926 – 22 November 2019), also credited as Shaukat Azmi, was an Indian theater and film actress. Her husband was the Urdu poet and film lyricist, Kaifi Azmi. The couple were leading lights of the Indian People's Thea ...

Early life

Azmi was born into a

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

family in the village of Mizwaan in

Azamgarh district Azamgarh district is one of the three districts of Azamgarh division in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Etymology The district is named after its headquarters town, Azamgarh. Azam, a son of Vikramajit, founded the town in 1665. Vikramajit ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

Family

He was from a family of artists. His three brothers are also shayars (poets). Azmi was married to

Shaukat Azmi Shaukat Kaifi (21 October 1926 – 22 November 2019), also credited as Shaukat Azmi, was an Indian theater and film actress. Her husband was the Urdu poet and film lyricist, Kaifi Azmi. The couple were leading lights of the Indian People's Thea ...

. They have a daughter,

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

who is an actress, and a son,

Baba Azmi Sayyid Baba Azmi is an Indian film cinematographer and member of the Akhtar-Azmi film family.Tanvi Azmi Tanvi Azmi is an Indian film and television actress. Early life and career She was born to Marathi-Hindi actress Usha Kiran and Manohar Kher. Azmi portrayed a troubled doctor in the tele-series, ''Jeevanrekha'' and as a young widow in telefil ...

is also an actress.

Career

Writings

At age eleven, Azmi wrote his first ghazal in

Bahraich Bahraich is a city and a municipal board in Bahraich district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Located on the Saryu River, a tributary of the Ghaghara river, Bahraich is north-east of Lucknow, the state capital. The districts of Bar ...

''Itna To Zindagi Mein Kisi Ki Khalal Pade'' and somehow managed to get himself invited to a ''

mushaira ''Mushaira'' ( ur, , Mušā'ira) is a poetic symposium. It is an event (called '' mehfil'', Mushairi) where poets gather to perform their works. A mushaira is part of the Culture of North India, Pakistan and the Deccan, particularly among the ...

'' and over there, he recited a ghazal, rather a couplet of the ghazal which was very much appreciated by the president of the mushaira, Mani Jaisi, but most of the people, including his father, thought he recited his elder brother's ghazal. When his elder brother denied it, his father and his clerk decided to test his poetic talent. They gave him one of the lines of a couplet and asked him to write a ghazal in the same meter and rhyme. Azmi accepted the challenge and completed a ghazal. This particular ghazal was to become a rage in undivided India and it was immortalised as it was sung by legendary ghazal singer,

Begum Akhtar Akhtari Bai Faizabadi (7 October 1914 – 30 October 1974), also known as Begum Akhtar, was an Indian singer and actress. Dubbed "Mallika-e-Ghazal" (Queen of Ghazals), she is regarded as one of the greatest singers of ghazal, dadra, and thu ...

. Azmi abandoned his studies of Persian and Urdu during the

Quit India The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule i ...

agitations in 1942 and shortly thereafter became a full-time

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

when he accepted membership of the

Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

in 1943. During this period, the leading progressive writers of Lucknow noticed him. They were very impressed by his leadership qualities. They also saw in him a budding poet and extended all possible encouragement towards him. Consequently, Azmi started to win great acclaim as a poet and became a member of

Progressive Writers' Movement The Progressive Writers' Association or the Progressive Writers' Movement of India or ''Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind'' (( ur, ) or ''Akhil Bhartiya Pragatishil Lekhak Sangh'' (Hindi: अखिल भारतीय प्रगति� ...

of India. At the age of twenty-four, he started activities in the textile mill areas of

Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

. As a full-time worker, he left his life of comfort, though he was the son of a zamindar. He was asked to shift his base to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, work amongst the workers and start party work with a lot of zeal and enthusiasm.

Poetry

Like most of the Urdu poets, Azmi began as a ghazal writer, cramming his poetry with the repeated themes of love and romance in a style that was replete with clichés and metaphors. However, his association with the

and Communist Party made him embark on the path of socially conscious poetry. In his poetry, he highlights the exploitation of the subaltern masses and through them he conveys a message of the creation of a just social order by dismantling the existing one. Yet, his poetry cannot be called plain propaganda. It has its own merits; intensity of emotions, in particular, and the spirit of sympathy and compassion towards the disadvantaged section of society, are the hallmark of his poetry. His poems are also notable for their rich imagery and in this respect, his contribution to Urdu poetry can hardly be overstated. Azmi's first collection of poems, ''Jhankar'' was published in 1943. His important works including anthologies of poetry, were ''Aakhir-e-Shab'', ''Sarmaya'', ''Awaara Sajde'', ''Kaifiyaat'', ''Nai Gulistan'', an anthology of articles he wrote for ''Urdu Blitz'', ''Meri Awaaz Suno'', a selection of his film lyrics, and the script of ''Heer Ranjha'' in

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

. His best known poems are ''Aurat'', ''Makaan'', ''Daaera'', ''Sanp'', and ''Bahuroopni''.

Films

Azmi's work in films includes working as a lyricist, writer, and actor. Azmi wrote his first lyrics for the film ''Buzdil'', directed by

Shaheed Latif Shaheed Lateef (11 June 1913 – 16 April 1967) was Hindi film director, writer, and producer. He was the maker of films like ''Ziddi (1948 film), Ziddi'' (1948) which launched Dev Anand's career and ''Arzoo (1950 film), Arzoo'' (1950) starring D ...

and music by SD Burman, released in 1951. His early work as a writer was mainly for

Nanubhai Vakil Nanubhai Vakil (23 May 1902 – 29 December 1980) was a Hindi and Gujarati film director. He was the first to make a Gujarati talkie film with a biopic on the saint Narsinh Mehta in 1932. ''Narsinh Mehta's'' (1932) star cast included the actress ...

's films like ''Yahudi Ki Beti'' (1956), ''Parvin'' (1957), ''Miss Punjab Mail'' (1958) and ''Id Ka Chand'' (1964). While directors like

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (7 June 1914 – 1 June 1987) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, novelist, and journalist in Urdu, Hindi and English. He won four National Film Awards in India. Internationally, his films won the Palme d'Or (Golden ...

and

Bimal Roy Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 8 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as '' Do Bigha Zamin'', '' Parineeta'', '' Biraj Bahu'', ''Devdas'', ''Madhumati'', '' Sujata'', '' ...

strove to create the "New Cinema", writers like

Sahir Ludhianvi Abdul Hayee (8 March 1921 – 25 October 1980), popularly known by his pen name (takhallus) Sahir Ludhianvi, was an Indian poet and film song lyricist who wrote primarily in Urdu in addition to Hindi. His work influenced Indian cinema, i ...

Jan Nisar Akhtar Jan Nisar Akhtar (18 February 1914 – 19 August 1976) was an Indian poet of Urdu ghazals and nazms, and a part of the Progressive Writers' Movement, who was also a lyricist for Bollywood. He was son of Muztar Khairabadi and great grandson ...

Majrooh Sultanpuri Asrar ul Hassan Khan (1 October 1919 − 24 May 2000), better known as Majrooh Sultanpuri, was an Indian Urdu poet and lyricist in India's Hindi language film industry. He wrote Hindustani lyrics for numerous Hindi film soundtracks. He was ...

, and Kaifi changed the tenor and vocabulary of the Hindi film song, creating a fresh new wave in Hindi film lyrics that lasted many years. His greatest feat as a writer was Chetan Anand's ''

Heer Raanjha ''Heer Raanjha'' is a 1970 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film directed by Chetan Anand and produced by his son Ketan Anand. The film stars Raaj Kumar, Priya Rajvansh, Pran, Prithviraj Kapoor, Ajit, Jayant, Sonia Sahni, Kamini ...

'' (1970) wherein the entire dialogue of the film was in verse. It was a tremendous achievement and one of the greatest feats of Hindi film writing. Azmi also won great critical accolades for the script, dialogues and lyrics of M.S. Sathyu's ''

Garam Hawa ''Garm Hava'' (translation: Hot Winds or Scorching Winds) is a 1973 Indian drama film directed by M. S. Sathyu, with Balraj Sahni as the lead. It was written by Kaifi Azmi and Shama Zaidi, based on an unpublished short story by noted Urdu writ ...

'' (1973), based on a story by

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 ...

. Azmi also wrote the dialogues for Shyam Benegal's ''

Manthan ''Manthan'', also released under the translated title ''The Churning'', is a 1976 Hindi film directed by Shyam Benegal, inspired by the pioneering milk cooperative movement of Verghese Kurien, and is written jointly by him and Vijay Tendulkar. ...

'' (1976) and Sathyu's ''Kanneshwara Rama'' (1977). As a lyricist and songwriter, though he wrote for numerous films, he will always be remembered for Guru Dutt's ''

Kaagaz Ke Phool ''Kaagaz Ke Phool'' () is a 1959 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film produced and directed by Guru Dutt, who also played the lead role in the film along with Waheeda Rehman. It is the first Indian film in CinemaScope and the last film of ...

'' (1959) and Chetan Anand's '' Haqeeqat'' (1964), India's greatest war film. Some notables films for which he wrote lyrics include '' Kohra'' (1964), '' Anupama'' (1966), ''Uski Kahani'' (1966), '' Saat Hindustani'' (1969), '' Shola Aur Shabnam'', '' Parwana'' (1971), '' Bawarchi'' (1972), ''

Pakeezah ''Pakeezah'' (; ) is a 1972 Indian Hindustani language, Hindustani-language Musical film, musical romantic drama film that was written, directed, and produced by Kamal Amrohi. The film stars Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari, and Raaj Kumar. It tells ...

'' (1972), '' Hanste Zakhm'' (1973), ''

Arth Arth is a village, a List of towns in Switzerland, town, and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Schwyz District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The municipality consists of the villages Arth, Oberarth, and Goldau. The four ...

'' (1982) and '' Razia Sultan'' (1983). For ''

Naunihal Naunihal is a 1967 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Raj Marbros starring Sanjeev Kumar, Balraj Sahni and Indrani Mukherjee in lead roles. The film's music was composed by Madan Mohan, with lyrics by Kaifi Azmi, including the song "Me ...

'' (1967), he wrote the song "Meri Aawaz Suno Pyar ka Raaz Suno" (Hear my voice, hear the secret of love) sung by

Mohammad Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

. The song is picturised over the funeral procession of Prime Minister of India,

Jawahar Lal 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 20 ...

. Years later, after Azmi's own death his daughter,

mentioned finding comfort in verses from the song. Azmi wrote the lyrics for ''

Bible Ki Kahaniyan ''Bible Ki Kahaniyan'' (English: ''Stories from the Bible'') is an Indian Hindi language, Hindi-language television program based upon scriptures from the Bible. The production aspired to complete both Old Testament and New Testament narratives ...

'', the first Christian mythological television show broadcast in India. He also played a memorable role of Naseem's grandfather in '' Naseem'' (1995). Azmi died on 10 May 2002 at around the age of eighty-three. He was survived by his wife, daughter, and son. His autobiography is included in a collection of his works, ''Aaj Ke Prashid Shayar: Kaifi Azmi''.

In media

Azmi was the subject of a documentary film called ''Diksha'' (2015), directed by Raman Kumar. In 1997, he recited his own poems for ''Kaifiyaat'', an audio book on his collected works. ''Kaifi Aur Mein'', a play based on his life, his works and the memoir of his wife,

– ''Yadon Ki Rahguzar'' (Down Memory Lane), was written and performed by Javed Akhtar and

, and performed in India as well as abroad in 2006. Another play, directed by Rani Balbir, ''Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Hasin Sitam'', based on Kaifi Azmi's life and writings was staged in 2005, and received rave reviews.

Awards

He was the recipient of

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

, India's fourth-highest civilian award in 1974. Besides he was awarded the

Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy ''Uttar Pradesh Urdu Akademi'' also known as Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy or Urdu Academy, Uttar Pradesh (Urdu: اردو اکادمی، اتر پردیش) in the interest of developing the Urdu language and preserving the Urdu tradition and cul ...

Award and the Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu for his collection ''Awaara Sajde'', Special Award of Maharashtra Urdu Academy, Soviet Land Nehru Award, Lotus Award from the Afro-Asian Writers' Association, and President's Award for national integration. In 1998,

Government of Maharashtra The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term. Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...

conferred the Jyaneshwara Award on him. He was also honoured with the prestigious

Sahitya Akademi Fellowship The Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is a literary honour in India bestowed by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.Quote: "In his acceptance speech when India's National Academy of Letters (Sahitya Akademi) in 1997 conferred its h ...

for lifetime achievement. Kaifi Azmi returned his Padma Shri in the 1980s after the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Vir Bahadur Singh remarked that those speaking Urdu as a second language should be made to sit on a donkey and paraded. According to his daughter

, her father replied that he had written in Urdu all his life, and if his State’s Chief Minister held such views on the language, he, as a writer, must stand up for himself. In 2000, he was conferred the first Millennium Award by the

Government of Delhi The Government of Delhi, officially the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) is the governing body of the Union Territory of Delhi, whose urban area is the seat of the Government of India. It also governs the city or l ...

and the Delhi Urdu Academy. He has also been honoured with a doctorate from Vishva Bharati University,

Santiniketan 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 son ...

Tribute

The government has also inaugurated a train named " Kaifiyat Express" which runs from his hometown Azamgarh to Old Delhi. On 14 January 2020, search engine Google commemorated Kaifi Azmi with a

Doodle A doodle is a drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract lines or shapes, generally without ever lift ...

on his 101st birth anniversary. Google commented: "With work ranging from passionate love poems and activist verses to Bollywood songs lyrics and screenplays, Azmi has become one of the most renowned poets of the 20th century in India, and his humanitarian efforts continue to impact people's lives today." There is street also named after him Kaifi Azmi road in

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 (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. There is also a road in R. K. Puram, New Delhi named Kaifi Azmi Marg after him.

Sahitya Akademi Award

* 1975:

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

: ''Awara Sajde'' * 2002:

(''Immortals of Literature'')

National Film Awards

* 1970:

National Film Award for Best Lyrics The National Film Award for Best Lyrics (the Silver Lotus Award) is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) to a lyricist who has composed the best song for films produced within the In ...

: '' Saat Hindustani'' * 1973: National Film Award for Best Story: ''

'' (with

)

Filmfare Awards

* 1975:

Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue The Filmfare Best Dialogue Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. Here is a list of the award winners since 1958 and the films for which they won. Superlatives ;Most Awards *Gulzar – 4 *Rahi ...

: ''Garam Hawa'' * 1975: Filmfare Award for Best Story: ''Garam Hawa'' (with Ismat Chughtai) * 1975:

Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay The Filmfare Best Screenplay Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. Superlatives ;Most Awards *Salim–Javed – 3 * Basu Chatterjee – 3 * Rajkumar Hirani – 3 *Mani Ratnam – 2 ...

: ''Garam Hawa''

Select bibliography

* ''Kaifi Azmi – Fan Aur Shaqsiyat'' (Urdu), Mayar Publications, 2004. * ''Kaifiyaat: Kulliyat-e-Kaifi Azmi'' (Urdu), Educational Publishing House, 2003. . * ''Zehr-e-Ishq'' (Hindi), Vani Prakashan, 2003. * ''Heer Ranjha'' (Hindi), Vani Prakshan, 2003. * ''Steel Man was Here'',

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

, 2002. * ''Kaifi Azmi – Selected Poems and Life Sketch'', Rajpal Publishers, 2002. . * ''Aaj Ke Prashid Shayar: Kaifi Azmi – Chuni Hui Shayari'' (Hindi), Rajpal & Sons, 2002. . * ''Meri Awaz Suno'' (Hindi),

Rajkamal Prakashan Rajkamal Prakashan is a noted publishing house of Hindi literature as well as English book publication. Established in 1947, the publishing house is headquartered in New Delhi, with branches in Patna, Ranchi, Prayagraj, Kolkata and some other loc ...

, 2002. * ''Nai Gulistan Vol. 1'' (Hindi), Rajkamal Prakashan, 2001. * ''Nai Gulistan Vol. 2'' (Hindi), Rajkamal Prakashan, 2001. * ''Doosra Banwas'' (Hindi), Diamond Pocket Books Pvt. Ltd. . * ''Awara Sajde'' (Hindi), Lokbharti Prakashan, 1995.
''Sarmaya''
(Urdu), Mayar Publications, 1994.

–

Ranjit Hoskote Ranjit Hoskote (born 1969) is an Indian poet, art critic, cultural theorist and independent curator. He has been honoured by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, with the Sahitya Akademi Golden Jubilee Award and the Sahitya ...

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

, 19 May 2002.
Kaifi Azmi: A Poet and a Gentleman

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

, 10 May 2002.
Kaifi Azmi: The Last Comrade-poet
– Tarique Omum.

The Milli Gazette ''The Milli Gazette'' is an Indian English language digital news publication (formerly a fortnightly compact newspaper) based in Delhi. Founded in January 2000, the publication describes itself as the Indian Muslims' Leading News Source. In ...

. 1 June 2002.

References

External links

* *
Recordings of Kaifi Azmi at Library of Congress

Kaifi Aur Main, a tribute site by IPTA.
A collection of verses and mushaira recordings by Kaifi Azmi

Film on Kaifi Azmi
by

NCERT The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India which was established in 1961 as a literary, scientific and charitable Society under the Societies Registration Act. Its hea ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Azmi, Kaifi 1919 births 2002 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship Filmfare Awards winners Urdu-language poets from India Indian male poets Indian lyricists Indian Shia Muslims Indian Marxist poets Indian Communist poets People from Azamgarh district Writers from Lucknow Aligarh Muslim University alumni Poets from Uttar Pradesh 20th-century Indian poets Best Lyrics National Film Award winners Best Story National Film Award winners Communist Party of India politicians from Uttar Pradesh