Monthly Archives: November 2025

What It Takes To Be The Keeper of A City’s Lore

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Indore, MADHYA PRADESH :

There are individuals in smaller cities who have taken upon themselves the task of archiving, preserving, narrating, and circulating historical narratives — all for the love of the place and history. Indore-based Zafar Ansari is one such person who has been painstakingly collecting historical artefacts on Indore since three decades.

Zafar Ansari in his Museum Office. Photo: C. Yamini Krishna

As I was preparing for my research visit to Indore for a study on the princely state of Indore, all I found online were a few articles from Free Press Journal on the city. It was just a glimpse of how much of the ‘national’ media coverage and public history writing is focussed on the metropolitan cities.

Absence, inaccessibility, decay of archives and historical artefacts are constant challenges faced by history scholars in India. The lack of historical consciousness, poor funding, disinterest, discrimination, and destruction of the archives based on the ideology of the ruling disposition are some of the known reasons why such problems exist. These challenges are acute as one moves beyond the metropolitan cities, into the smaller cities and towns.

History in India, has mostly been studied from the perspective of the nation and to such endeavour small places are often insignificant. Also due to the policy of housing all the state archives in capital cities and the absence of efforts to do neighbourhood or local/regional histories, smaller cities almost feel ‘history less.’

However, inspite of the institutional gap, voices from the smaller cities are not silent. Each time I have ventured into these cities in search of archives, I have always met individuals who have taken upon themselves the task of archiving, preserving, narrating, and circulating historical narratives — all for the love of the place and history.

Indore-based Zafar Ansari is one such person who has been painstakingly collecting historical artefacts on Indore since three decades. “It all started when I received the National Youth Award for my social activities in 1994. The then President Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma said, do something great, and then I decided I will build a museum for Indore,”Ansari says with a sparkle in his eye as he narrated his dream to make a museum for his beloved city Indore.

“This will be one of its kind museum, dedicated to the city, telling the story of the city,” he mentioned. His office in Barwani Plaza in Old Palasia, bustling with artefacts, feels like a portal into another time. As one spends time with these objects, they start speaking through the voice of Ansari.

A miniature maker for industries by profession, Ansari spends more than 60% of his income towards the museum. He never lets any historical object pertaining to Indore pass, without acquiring it, sometimes this means he has had to pay very high price. “It is almost like an addiction,” he says, “It has its flip sides. I have never been able to pay my daughter’s education fee before the last date.”

The history walks, myth-busting artefacts and rare photographs 

Ansari is also committed towards sharing his collection. He conducts history walks in the city and curates specific objects from his collection to tell stories of the city. Ansari has recently conducted one such walk for some of the dignitaries who had visited India during the G20 summit. He regularly runs a history column in Dainik Bhaskar where he reintroduces stories of the past to Indore’s citizens.

“I don’t just write about Kings, but also about common people, their lives,” he says, what a historian would call the social history of the place.

Through his consistent effort of writing more than 300 essays on history, Ansari has built a cannon of public history for Indore. Sitting among those objects, he narrated how Indore (state) became a commercial centre due to its close connection with opium trade, “Opium would come from Mansur to Indore and then to Bombay. Many traders and merchants from Rajputana and Gujarat settled here to do opium trade with China. After the ban on opium, the trade was converted to cotton industry.”

Ansari is hopeful that his museum will be a pedagogic intervention. “History is not something to be taught in a classroom, it has to be taught in an archive or a monument or on field using objects and artefacts,” he notes. His work with the artefacts also helps him dispel certain myths and false narratives in circulation.

Ansari’s collection has helped writers like Geraldin Lenain to write books such as The Last Maharaja of Indore by providing access to many rare photographs.

A historian or an antiquarian

After meeting Ansari, I was wondering, if there is a term to describe this love for history, something like a cinephile in case of film.

A historian is often a tag used to describe someone who engages in the work associated with history making, professionally, i.e. as a main vocation. A history buff, focusses more on consumption of history and fails to capture the commitment shown by these keepers of a city’s lore. A collector, is often differentiated from an archivist as someone who is more involved in the process of acquiring artefacts, and is not primarily oriented towards providing access. Someone like Ansari, however, who harbours a hope to build a museum, would fall somewhere in between these two.

Cambridge Dictionary offers a word antiquarian, “a person who studies or collects old and valuable or rare objects.” Antiquarianism historically has often had a negative connotation, as someone in an almost ‘mindless’ pursuit of collecting objects and committed to the minute details of it. Historian, on the other hand, is someone who narrativised the past, with the focus on writing.

Historian Rosemary Sweet notes that history writing could be done for political or polemical purposes while antiquarians prided themselves to be impartial and staying true to the material. Antiquarians are often interested even in objects of everyday life which was not of interest to historians. Interestingly, Sweet points out that the contemporary practice of history, associated with archival study, which relies on the details presented by historical artefacts is very close to antiquarianism.

After searching for these variety of terms, I am still left with no word to capture the affective engagement with history which I experienced in the office of Ansari, where history is not just a vocation or a profession, where there is a lot at stake in telling stories of the past, a significant portion of one’s earnings. This voice of history is not a dispassionate, distant evaluation of the past, but is an expression of belongingness.

Deeply personal work like this has larger social implications, it is about communities taking the ownership of their own history, and inculcating historical consciousness among themselves. Such efforts go a long way in forming the first line of defence against vilification of history and weaponisation of history for political gains, of which we are seeing increasing incidence.

C. Yamini Krishna works on film history, urban history and Deccan history. She is a part of the Khidki collective. She currently teaches at FLAME University. 

This work was done as a part of the Foundation Project is implemented by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) under the Arts Research programme, made possible with support from BNP Paribas India.

source: http://www.m.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> Culture / by C Yamini Krishna / May 16th, 2024

Zeenath Sajida, a forgotten Deccan icon, revisited through careful translation

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Hyderabad, TELANGANA :

What sets Zeenath Sajida’s creative repertoire apart is its reach, stretching well beyond the domestic concerns and romantic themes one might stereotypically associate with a female writer in mid-twentieth-century Hyderabad.

Image of Zeenath Sajida’s book, translated by Nazia Akhtar

Can humorous essays and fictional stories by a single writer paint a holistically authentic portrait of the Deccan? Particularly when filtered through an urban, middle-class, academic lens?

And what happens when that prose is resurrected for an English-reading audience? Translation demands fluency across traditions, sensitivity to historical currents, and an intuitive grasp of possibilities.

The Deccan Sun, a selection of Zeenath Sajida’s Urdu writings, represents exactly this kind of sustained care. Translated and curated by Professor Nazia Akhtar, this collection brings together nine satirical essays and five short stories that offer bundles of pleasure and provocation. 


Hyderabad’s Zeenath apa

A prolific Urdu Professor at Osmania University and a literary icon shaped by the leftist wave that turned many youngsters of princely Hyderabad toward rebellion, the mere mention of Zeenath Sajida still evokes a smile among a fading generation of the city’s progressives.

She produced works of considerable intellectual ambition, including A History of Telugu Literature, written in 1960.

But what sets her creative repertoire apart is its reach, stretching well beyond the domestic concerns and romantic themes one might stereotypically associate with a female writer in mid-twentieth-century Hyderabad. Her questions span the practical and the metaphysical: from work-life balance to memory and ageing. This breadth, alongside her engagement with gender, establishes Sajida as a crystallising force within Deccan literature.

Sadly, Sajida’s writings have suffered critical neglect.

Until now, only a single essay of hers had found life in English—thanks to Nazia Akhtar’s earlier offering, Bibi’s Room. The book also contained tantalising glimpses of Sajida’s inimitable biographical sketch of Makhdoom Mohiuddin, the celebrated poet she exalts and irreverently mocks, even branding him a lapoot (scoundrel). Originally delivered at a gathering in Hyderabad’s Urdu Hall, the event was jokingly dubbed Jashn-e-Makhdoom: part tribute, part roast of a comrade. The sketch hinted at the easy cosmopolitanism that once threaded through the city’s cultural circles.

But those were just glimpses.

The Deccan Sun finally delivers, showcasing Sajida’s full creative range. More importantly, the collection corrects reductive narratives that have long confined Hyderabadi women’s stories to tales of exploitation. It provides crucial cultural clues and gives interior lives the breathing space that more documentary modes often flatten or omit altogether.


Ox at an oil press

Sajida’s central tension seems to revolve around competing hungers: the quiet solitude for reading and writing versus the public acknowledgement of her labour. This struggle animates the essay I Got Myself a Job, where she likens the drudgery of a stagnant workplace to “an ox circling in an oilpress”, grimly awaiting holidays that arrive only upon the death of eminent people. This rage at invisibility, whether in households or intellectual circles, surfaces through observations about poets jealous of Makhdoom’s fame. It’s a pain that resonates universally, yet cuts especially deep for women navigating careers within constrictive social structures.

The satirical method at play follows a deceptively simple pattern. First, open with bland, widely held assertions and then excavate them through unflinching personal experience until readers question her true position. Is she earnest or sarcastic? In If I Were a Man, the writer begins by wondering how delightful male privilege might be. Then she chips away at heroic masculinity, and in the process, exposes revolutionaries for what they truly are. 

And that is aimless poseurs marching under the banner of self-respect. The game becomes clear: there’s zero intention of being a man. Her worldview remains stubbornly intact and cheerful as ever.

No one is spared in the collection’s funniest piece, From Storeroom to Museum, be it a famous king, his moustache, historians who invent their own history, or doctors “in whose name graveyards thrive”. 

Even the qazis and the rigid interpretations of Islamic law they uphold come under fire. Writing as a Muslim woman in post-Razakar Hyderabad, when her community faced suspicion and strain, turning satire inward and choosing stark honesty over protective silence was no small risk.

Naturally, such wit and honesty carry complications well beyond fatwas.

In Building a House,  Sajida wryly catches herself making classist remarks—about servants using her soap when she’s away or taking advantage of her generosity. She knows their innocence is something she ought to celebrate. Still, resisting those barbs proves difficult because their exploitation stings!

Though the translator suggests a self-deprecating tone, the humour feels more defiant than apologetic. Comparing stories with essays reveals Sajida’s evolution. The stories, chosen from Jal Tarang (published in 1947 when she was just 24!), infantilise the titular characters’ desires without retribution, while the essays own those same longings with fierce pride. They embrace her job, gender, and sartorial choices, laughing in the face of absurdity.

My Hens embodies this mature confidence with perfect clarity. Against family objections, the narrator acquires chickens and endures subsequent chaos. These birds become emblems of unruly desire, pushing back against blanket resistance. 

She recoils in disgust when some are slaughtered. Nonetheless, the ending is satisfying as she’s already anticipating her next trip to the market. Nothing deters her from wanting. The searing rage and humour intertwine to yield a stance that is utterly assured.


Chasing fireflies

The short stories reveal a younger Sajida, one who is still finding her artistic footing. Where the essays crackle with precision, the stories sometimes drown in ornamental excess, mirroring preoccupations of mid-1900s Urdu readers. The translator’s admission about reducing repetitions confirms the original’s verbosity. Even so, young Sajida possessed remarkable instincts for imagery. In The Stranger, memories become “moments flitting like fireflies on a dark night” before melodrama takes over, chasing those fireflies to a dead end. 

Formally, Bibi stands apart, approaching the analytical brilliance of Chekhov’s The Darling—both protagonists transform recurring domestic episodes. Here, Sajida demonstrates her architectural sense, building tension through careful structural pacing. Each section shifts the emotional register while maintaining the same configuration. What begins as amorous banter gradually sours into genuine bitterness, yet paradoxically, the acts of care deepen. The story rewards multiple readings, revealing omissions and callbacks that initially escape one’s notice. 


Does loneliness lick or feed on us?

Translations inevitably create friction. Most readers prize smooth prose that overlooks the translator’s labour, but Nazia’s occasional bumps through deliberate references (Hatim Tai, Alif Laila) gently remind us that we are entering a world rooted in another language.

The friction becomes sharper when comparing languages head-on. Professor Shagufta Shaheen’s lively Urdu reading of the story What Time Is It? shows how even a thoughtful rendering of a dramatic line—“loneliness feeds on them like termites”—dilutes its original menace: “tanhai unhe deemak ki tarah chaat rahi hai”. Though it lands smoothly, feed can’t quite match the threat of that slow, intimate licking (chaat). Likewise, scoundrel misses the mischievous warmth of the Dakhni lapoot. English’s imperfect lens will always create such distortions. Yet receiving anything from the previously inaccessible feels miraculous.

The translator didn’t just convert Urdu into English; she collated specific pieces from Sajida’s larger corpus, provided context, secured publication, and built literary networks across years, believing in its relevance. Such cultural stewardship enables conversations that couldn’t have existed otherwise.

Nazia amplifies the Deccan sun’s raging flame like oil feeding a lamp, letting us moths finally gather around it in ecstatic circles.

Surya Bulusu, a Researcher and Software Engineer at Avanti Fellows, is working on open-source tech for government school systems. He lives in Mumbai, but has spent several years in Hyderabad. His write-ups can be accessed on his blog.

Views expressed are the author’s own.

source: http://www.thenewsminute.com / The News Minute / Home> Telangana / by Surya Bulusu / July 18th, 2025

She was the love song

Arts & Crafts / CraftsPersons (wef. January 14th, 2025), Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), Karnataka (under research project), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bilgi Town (Bijapur District), KARNATAKA :

Amirbai Karnataki is one of the earliest Kannada singer-actress who made it big in Hindi cinema. She went to Bombay when women artistes were labelled ‘fallen’, but with grit and passion Amirbai became a star and sang 380 songs in 150 Kannada and Hindi films.

Amirbai’s tale is one of inspiration

For someone who didn’t belong to the gramophone generation but the golden period of radio, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Mukesh, and Rafi ruled our hearts and constituted our imagination of a film song. The same AIR, during a light music programme, had played “Ninnane Neneyuta Ratriya Kalede”. This, was a carbon copy of Lata’s memorable “Saari Saari Raat Teri Yaad Sataye”, but the voice was starkly different. It had a heavy nasal tone, and the flawless rendition had a simplicity to it. The charming song left an indelible mark and I felt I had to recover her voice from pages that were unknown to me.

Amirbai Karnataki was an unheard voice for the Seventies: she was long gone, and had faded into the archives of black and white era of early films. She was someone who lived on in personal memories of people who had known and heard her.

Amirbai Karnataki (1912-65), who sang 380 songs in 150 films, was an early singer and actress of Hindi cinema. This singer who sang the unforgettable “Main to pavan chali hoon bole papiha” and “Bairan Nindiya Kyon Nahi Aaye”, was born in Bijapur in Karnataka. During the 1930s Amirbai was a prominent name along with stars like Suraiyya, Shamshad Begum, Noor Jahan and Zohrabai Ambalewali.

When Lata Mangeshkar came on to the scene, many of these singers moved into the background and for the later generations they remained unknown.

Born into a family of artistes, Amirbai’s parents Ameenabi and Husensaab worked for a theatre company and even ran one for many years. Growing up years for Amirbai and her five siblings was filled with music and theatre, what with many of her uncles and aunts being top musicians and actors in theatre. She lost her father early and her uncle, Hatel Saheb took care of all the children.

During those years, Bijapur was part of Mumbai Presidency and the sangeet natak tradition in these parts was flourishing. The famous Balagandharva’s company and several other theatre companies camped at Bijapur; Amirbai and her sister Goharbai, trained as they were in classical music, impressed these companies with their singing and they began to not only sing for several of them, but also act.

As Rahmat Tarikere writes in his biography of Amirbai Karnataki, Amirbai moved from Bijapur to Mumbai, from theatre to films. But the exact date and nature of these movements and transitions are hard to tell. The story of Amirbai is a sum total of several happenings in a historical period as there are few definitive documents to lead us to any accurate picture. Painstakingly put together by the biographer, Tarikere says that when Amirbai reached Mumbai (it was perhaps the year of Alam Ara’s release, 1931), women who worked in films, theatre and music were still seen as “fallen”.

Women artistes were often ridiculed as “free women” and among the several women performers, Amirbai and her sister Goharbai too, tried to free women of this stigma. In fact, families not only disowned such women, but there were instances of women being killed for choosing the arts.

In fact, Rahmat Tarikere says that the kind of fight these women put up with the social circumstances of those days is no less significant than the freedom struggle itself. If women artistes, in the later years, earned fame and reputation, it was because of the sacrifices these women made. Ironically, two very popular films “Basant” and “Kismet” in which Amirbai acted deals with the plight of actresses.

Amirbai became a very reputed singer and actress of her times. She was highly paid, and even built a theatre Amir Talkies in Bijapur. She travelled the length and breadth of North Karnataka giving programmes related to theatre and cinema.

A singer who sang some of the finest love songs, had a very unhappy love life though. Tarikere writes how her husband, a Parsi actor who played villain in those days, Himalayavala, abused her physically and emotionally. She had to suffer several assaults from him and even separation became a painful affair. Unable to recover from the trauma, she went into oblivion for several years, and later Badri Kanchawala, with his love and care brought back peace into her life.

At the age of 55, Amirbai passed away; Karnataka had been unified by then and the rest of Karnataka hardly knew of her. Even the newspapers reported her death four days later. It was only later that people have slowly learnt of Amirbai’s greatness and how Gandhiji was immensely fond of her rendition of “Vaishnava Janato”.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Deepa Ganesh / February 27th, 2015

Words of wisdom

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Bolwar (Puttur Taluk, Dakshina Kannada) / Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Writer Bolwar Mahamad Kunhi talks about literature and fests.

Karnataka : Bengaluru : 30/10/2017 : Bolwar Mohammed kunhi during The Bengaluru Literature festival in Bengaluru on Sunday. Photo : Sudhakara Jain.

Bolwar Mahamad Kunhi, 66, is the only Indian writer conferred with two Central Sahitya Academy Awards (2010 & 2016) for creative prose in Kannada. He received the Atta Gallata Bangalore Lit Fest 2017 Award for Kannada for his overall contribution on the concluding day of the Lit Fest on Sunday. With 250 short stories and a host of novels, with several directed towards children behind him, Kunhi a recipient of the Karnataka Rajyothsava Award and Karnataka Sahitya Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award says, “Young writers should regularly read what seniors write and get inspired to find their own words and voice.” Kunhi, who said every recognition is a moment of inspiration to writers, spoke to MetroPlus regarding his life and writing. Excerpts:

Do you think such literary fests are important for the growth of literature?

Yes. Such festivals also add their share to other ingredients required for a healthy literary growth, look at the buzz they create, have you ever seen this kind of an unprecedented crowd? I am not as aware of the present statistics of other languages. This is my uncorroborated research. In recent times Kannada literature has seen a huge number of publications, possibly surpassing that of any other Indian language. The number of literary events or the number of Jnanapeeth awardees we have could surpass those from any other language. This could be another reason some Kannada writers have achieved celebrity status.

Is literature the voice of society?

Literature always augurs well for society and provides wisdom to humanity. All religious books, which I consider part of literature, are works of wisdom which have had a great impact on humankind. Literature also taught civic sense to man who lived like a wild animal. The conversations and dialogues in such events also propagate the same wisdom.

After Chand Ali in ‘Swathantrayada Ota’ who is the next character in your work awaiting attention?

In the last two years I have been busy in understanding two important characters for different reasons. First to write 1000 couplets about Ambedkar and second to write a novel on the Prophet’s beloved wife, Ayesha. The second has gained more traction in the last few months. When I wrote the first ever historic novel on Prophet Muhammad Oidiri two years ago, it was well-received. But most of the characters in Odiri were male. The thoughts, words, actions, and the attitude was male. I always wondered if the women of that time had opinions of their own. Did they ever voice what they felt? Even in solitude? This is the subject of the proposed novel titled Umma (Mother) inspired by the life of Ayesha. I am not sure which one will be completed first.

After Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar who wrote on Gandhiji, your book on the Mahatma received instant recognition. How important is it for today’s children to read about Gandhiji?

To guide our children in the right way we show them role models. It is a shame we are unable to give them contemporary examples to encourage and mould their personality. The examples that we provide from history or mythology seem too overwhelming for them. Historical characters are kept on a pedestal and are inaccessible. Gandhiji maybe one example which children can relate to since they read and learn about him a lot and he is the most recent of those examples! To these children my book attempts to show that Mahatma Gandhi was not an unachievable superhuman. He was a common, simple boy, who grew up like most of us, as a darling to his parents, went to school, studied prescribed text books and qualified as a lawyer. As a young man he fought for the downtrodden and stood for truth, non-violence and social justice. I tried to depict him as a common man who lived an uncommon life to become a Mahatma.

Do female characters get more importance in your novels?

I don’t think so. Being feminist writer is not an easy way to popularity. Though I was born in a male-dominated community, I was brought up with the love of various women in my early life – my mother, my sisters and my first teacher. They were the ones who tolerated my anger, frustration and ego and loved me unconditionally. That guilt might be the reason women are central to my work. I dedicated my first story collection to ‘Appi Bayi’, the teacher who taught me to write alphabets. The second one was to my mother who I buried with the same hands that I dedicated it to. Another work was to my elder sister and another to my two daughters. My mega novel is dedicated to my beloved. All of this could be due the same guilt. May be my work as an emotional man resonates with like-minded people and thus gets appreciated.

How was your experience writing the screenplay for ‘Munnudi’ and ‘Athithi’?

My writing is like a sculptor’s. It takes shape with time. I don’t believe in inspirations. Cinema, definitely is not my medium. I wrote the screenplay under the persuasion and for the love of my friends P. Sheshadri, who bagged nine National awards in a row and Dattanna, an inimitable character actor. I wrote what I felt for both movies and they incidentally won national awards. I cannot comment on what else I might be able to do in cinema, at least not now.

Can you talk about your initiation to writing considering you have no writers in the family?

I joined Syndicate Bank in Gulbarga after my B.Sc. Much later when I was associated with the Sahitya Academy I discovered that most members had masters degrees. It enthused me into getting an MA in Kannada in the 1980s.

My desire to write was another one of such self-imposed challenges. During a casual conversation while playing carrom with writer Arooru Lakshmana Seth in Gulbarga, I asked him how he was able to visualise and write so much. His said “non-writers like me cannot understand the process.” That comment propelled me into writing a short story and getting published in Navbharat which was the beginning.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Books> Authors / by Ranjani Govind / October 30th, 2017

Meet Sayyed Tabish: Malegaon boy (22) who cracked CA Final 2025

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Malegaon, MAHARASHTRA :

Sayyed Tabish Aejaz of Malegaon has cracked the Chartered Accountant Final (CA Final) September 2025 exam the result of which was declared by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Monday.

CA Final Result 2025: 

Sayyed Tabish Aejaz of Malegaon has cracked the Chartered Accountant Final (CA Final) September 2025 exam the result of which was declared by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Monday.

The CA Final Group 1 exam was held from September 03 to 08, 2025 and CA Final Group 2 exam was held from September 10 to 14, 2025.

The ICAI announced the results of CA Final Group 1 and 2 both on Monday.

Among the 11,466 candidates who cracked the CA Final September 2025 Exam and qualified as Chartered Accountants is Sayyed Tabish Aejaz from Malegaon.

District Judge’s Son Becomes CA

Sayyed Tabish Aejaz is son of Sayyed Aejaz who belongs to the Textile City Malegaon but currently serving as District Judge in Nagpur.

Tabish’s uncle Sayyed Shahzad Hussain is also a Chartered Accountant (CA) and is practicing in Malegaon. His grandfather, Sayyed Hussain Ali was a teacher.

Tabish completed his junior college from Jai Hind College in Dhule and graduation (B Com) from Malegaon City College .

“The biggest challenge however was the Class 10 Exam which I completed studying in six different schools in as many cities of Maharashtra because of my father’s postings and transfers as a judge”, Tabish told ummid.com.

Tabish said he prepared for the CA Exams since joining junior college. “And, since my uncle Sayyed Shahzad Hussain is also a Chartered Accountant, it became quite easier for me”, he said.

Tabish Joins Club of Young CAs of Malegaon

Sayyed Tabish cracked the CA Final exams at the age of 22, and joined the coveted club of the bright students of Malegaon who became Chartered Accountant at a very young age.

Besides Tabish, other from Malegaon who cracked the CA Final exam at the young age are:

  • Siddhant Upendra Mehta (21)
  • Krishma Singhvi (21)
  • Gaurav Badera (21)
  • Rushabh Vikram Mehta (22)
  • Sayyed Tabish Aejaz Hussain (22)

Responding to the question about his future plans, Tabish said, “To practice as CA is one of potions. But, I am also exploring furthers studies including Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).”

Among these young CAs in Malegaon, Ghalib Mirza from the nearby town of Kalwan had created a sort of record back in 2012 when he had cracked the CA Final exam at the age of 20 years and six months.

CA Final September 2025 Toppers

Mukund Agiwal from Dhamnod (MP) is the CA Final September 2025 Topper. Tejas Mundada and Bakul Gupta are second and third.

Mukund Agiwal secured the All India Rank 1 (AIR 1) in CA Final September 2025 securing 100% marks.

AIR 2 Tejas Mundada is from Hyderabad and he passed the exam with 82% marks.

CA Final Group–I pass percentage is 24.66 per cent and Group–II pass percentage is 25.26 per cent.

Along with CA Final results, the ICAI has also announced today the result of CA Foundation and CA Intermediate. Both the exams were held in the month of September 2025.

CA Foundation September 2025 Toppers

L Rajalakshmi from Chennai secured the top position in CA Foundation September 2025 with 360 marks (90 per cent). Prem Agarwal (354 marks) came second whereas Neel Rajesh Shah (353 marks) secured the third position.

The overall pass percentage of the CA Foundation September 2025 exam is 14.78 per cent.

A total of 98,827 candidates had appeared in the CA Foundation September 2025 exam. Of them, 14,609 were declared passed.

CA Intermediate September 2025 Toppers

CA Intermediate September 2025 Toppers included Neha Khanwani (505 marks), Kriti Sharma (503 marks) and Akshat Birendra Nautiyal (500 marks).

A total of 93,074 appeared in CA Intermediate September 2025 Group I exam. Of them, 8,780 cleared the exams registering a pass percentage of 9.43%.

On the other hand, a total of 69,768 candidates appeared in CA Intermediate September 2025 Group II exam. Of them, 18,938 passed with a passing rate of 27.14%.

Only 3,663 candidates cleared both the groups with a pass percentage of 10.06%.

[Mohammed Abdullah Faizee is Trainee Writer at ummid.com.]

source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> Education & Career / by Mohammed Abdullah Faizee / November 04th, 2025

‘Karnataka’s Kabir’ and Padmashri Ibrahim Sutar passes away

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri Award (since January 01st, 2024), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Karnataka (under research project), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mahlingpur , KARNATAKA :

The recipient of Padmashri award for communal harmony had earned the sobriquet of ‘Karnataka’s Kabir’

‘Karnataka’s Kabir’ Ibrahim Nabisaheb Sutar is presented the Padmashri award by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan, in New Delhi on April 2, 2018.

Ibrahim Sutar, polyglot folk singer, who toured India spreading the message of Hindu-Muslim unity, died in Mahalingpur in Bagalkot district on February 5. He suffered a massive heart attack around 6.30 in the morning. He died a few minutes later, family sources said. He was 82. He leaves behind his wife, son and two daughters.

The recipient of Padmashri award for communal harmony had earned the sobriquet of ‘Karnataka’s Kabir’.

The founder of ‘Bhavaikyate Bhajana Mela’ began his career as a Harikathe bhajan singer going around villages and towns. He regaled audiences with stories from Hindu and Islamic scriptures always leaving with a message of harmony, and need for ethics in personal life. He sang songs and gave lectures, quoting from multiple scriptures without the need to read from notes. He was equally well-versed in Kannada and Urdu.

In his later life, he emerged as a public speaker, visiting schools, colleges and Lingayat mutts to speak on vachana and dasa literature. He was honoured with the Karnataka Rajyotsava award in 1995, and the Padmashri in 2018.

Born in a poor weaver family in Mahalingpur, he dropped out of primary school to work as an assistant to a weaver. He developed a spiritual bent of mind early in life. He began attending lectures in the Sri Basavananda Swami mutt and participating in bhajans in Sadhu Maharaj temple. He was a member of the mosque committee that went around villages, asking the faithful to wake up early during the month of Ramzan. He studied Hindu and Islamic scriptures with equal zeal and developed a team of bhajan singers. The ‘Bhavaikyate Bhajana Mela’ performed across Karnataka and Maharashtra.

A routine performance was in the question–answer format interspersed with songs of dasa saints and vachanas . One of the team members came up with a question that sounded very ordinary, but had deep spiritual undertones, like: ‘Who is important in life – god or guru?’ Sutar used anecdotes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, Islamic scriptures and stories from the life of prophets to give his opinion, that was directed at the audience, rather than the team member who kept asking questions.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> India> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / February 05th, 2022

How these 10 Muslim changemakers are changing lives in Jharkhand

Arts & Crafts / CraftsPersons (wef. January 14th, 2025), Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Scientists (wef. August 27th,m 2023), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

JHARKHAND :

Muslim Changemakers of Jharkhand

Ranchi :

Jharkhand is one of the youngest Indian states, located in eastern India, and is also known as the tribal homeland. Since its inception, it has seen good growth, but the teething problems posed their own challenges. During these exciting times, some individuals have made significant contributions to society.

We, at Awaz-The Voice, bring to you stories of such unsung heroes from the length and breadth of India. Here are stories of ten extraordinary Muslim personalities of Jharkhand, who made a lot of difference to the lives of people and thereby helped state’s growth: 

Dr Sajid Hussain

Dr Sajid Hussain left a prestigious research career to build a brighter future for the children of Chitarpur village in Ramgarh. His model, ‘Schoologium’, is redefining education across India.

Sajid explains, “Just as our body needs exercise to stay fit, the brain too needs regular practical workouts to stay active.” At Schoologium, children don’t just study from textbooks — they learn through touch, smell, taste, and experience. It’s learning through interaction and imagination — reminiscent of Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of Shantiniketan.

Sajid worked as a scientist at the National Aerospace Laboratories. But his exposure to premier institutions in India and abroad revealed a painful truth — rural children do not lag because of a lack of intelligence, but because they lack access to quality educational tools.

Determined to bridge this gap, Sajid resigned from his government job in 2012 and returned to his village. That’s where Schoologium was born — the name itself blending “school” and “gymnasium.”

Sattar Khalifa

Sattar Khalifa, better known as Painter Jilani, has brought hope to the people of Palamu, a division in Jharkhand that lags in development and where people face economic deprivation.

In college, Jilani always dreamed of serving people. A painter by profession, Jilani channels his earnings into helping the needy. “Art is my tool, service is my purpose,” he says.

His reputation made sure that even during the peak of Naxal and extremist dominance, Jilani travelled fearlessly between Bishrampur and Daltonganj, through a Naxal-dominated area.

For the poor, Dalits, Mahadalits, and marginalised communities of Palamu and Garhwa, Jilani is a symbol of assurance. From securing ration cards and pensions to arranging drinking water and hospital aid, he is always there.

Mohammad Minhaj

Mohammad Minhaj’s calm countenance hides the fire inside his mind that has driven him to serve society for over four decades. Mihaj has changed many lives in Ranchi’s slums. He ensures the people living in slums get education, health services, and social rights.

His journey began in 1982, when Ranchi was rapidly expanding, but its slums remained shrouded in neglect. Daily wage earners, rickshaw pullers, and working-class families struggled each day just to earn enough for two meals. For them, education was a distant dream. That was when Minhaj decided to step in and make a difference in many lives.

Muzaffar Hussain

Muzaffar Hussain’s dream is simple yet profound — no one in Jharkhand’s Santhal Pargana should sleep hungry. In this remote region, poverty isn’t just a condition — it’s a living reality. The six districts of Pakur, Godda, Sahebganj, Dumka, Jamtara, and Deoghar carry a long and painful history of deprivation, now slowly being rewritten.

A study claims that 82 percent of Santhal people live in extreme poverty, with most owning no land. In the middle of this harsh reality stands Muzaffar Hussain of Pakur, whose battle began even before the Right to Food Act was passed in 2013. Today, while the Act exists on paper, the real task is ensuring food reaches the truly needy — a task Muzaffar has made his life’s purpose. His efforts have borne fruit: around 600–700 families now have ration cards and receive regular supplies of food grains.

Ibrar Ahmad

In Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, its lanes, neighbourhoods, and beyond, one name that resonates hope is that of Ibrar Ahmad. Once employed in a bank and associated with the cultural organisation IPTA, Ibrar has been engaged in improving the lives of people around for over three decades. He is known as the person who steps in when a child drops out of school for want of fees, where poor patients wander helplessly for treatment, or where communal tension threatens to tear society apart.

Ibrar Ahmad has consistently reached out to children and youth. As President of Anjuman Islamia Ranchi, he arranged scholarships for poor children, launched talent shows and quiz competitions, ensuring that education went beyond textbooks to build both confidence and skills.

Dr. Shahnawaz Qureshi

The Quraish Academy of Ranchi has produced doctors, engineers, teachers, software developers, and many other bright minds. Located close to Ranchi’s iconic Albert Ekka Chowk is Gudri Qureshi Mohalla, officially declared a slum by the municipal corporation, where the founder of this academy, Dr Shahnawaz Qureshi, was born.

Whether through journalism or social service, Dr Qureshi changed not just the image of his locality but also the mindset of its people.

In 1993, while working with the National Literacy Mission, Dr. Qureshi established a night school in his own neighbourhood. After long days of labour, elderly men and women would gather after evening prayers, notebooks and pens in hand. The sight of wrinkled fingers tracing letters under the dim glow of a kerosene lamp became a symbol of hope and awakening. The classes were free, and the locals provided fuel for the lamps.

Mukhtar Alam Khan

Mukhtar Alam Khan’s efforts have transformed the image of Azad Basti in Jamshedpur, which was once a notorious place. It was once associated with crime, fear, and a negative image—much like Dhanbad’s Wasseypur. Mukhtar is among the few locals who brought about a positive change in this area. Today, Azad Basti’s name is taken with pride.

On any given day, Mukhtar and his team could be seen arranging blood and medicines for patients, feeding the hungry, or supporting children in education and competitive exams.

Tanveer Ahmad

In 2010, when areas like Islam Nagar and Baba Khatal in Ranchi were demolished under encroachment drives, hundreds of families were rendered homeless. The greatest sufferers were children, as some missed their exams, and others dropped out of school permanently.

In this situation, Tanveer Ahmad decided to extend a helping hand to the suffering children.

He thought, if circumstances had taken schools away from them, why not return education to them, as friends. This idea marked the beginning of a journey—from friendship to education.

Tanveer Ahmad says, “Our mission is to reach underprivileged children in Ranchi and Jharkhand who are drifting away from mainstream education. We believe education is the key that can transform their future.”

When one hears the name Ranchi, images of lush greenery, hills, and a rapidly developing city often come to mind. But hidden behind this image lies another reality—a large section of the city’s population lives in slums and makeshift settlements.

Anwarul Haq

Anwarul Haq, a resident of Chadri village in Kanke block, has launched a unique initiative that is changing the lives of children who would otherwise lag due to poverty. By day, he teaches football, and by night, he tutors children. In just three years, his efforts have transformed the lives of many children for whom both education and sports were once a distant luxury.

It all began when Anwarul Haq, a sports teacher at a residential girls’ school in Ranchi, decided to go beyond his job to make a difference. He was disturbed by the condition of children in his and neighbouring villages. Most children were from families surviving on daily wages, skipped school, and some fell into bad company. He had a plan up his sleeve to change their lives by imparting education and sports training to the underprivileged children.

Syed Tariq Alam

Syed Tariq Alam has been quietly transforming lives, supporting poor and underprivileged families through education, employment, and social welfare in the Kolhan region of Jamshedpur.

His efforts have been focused on Kapali, a small township just 20 kilometres from Jamshedpur — the industrial hub of eastern India. Jamshedpur draws thousands of laborers from across the country, many of whom settle in Kapali where living costs are lower. While these workers find temporary employment in the steel city, the jobs are often low-paying and unstable. 

This insecurity directly affects their children’s education, leading to high dropout rates in Kapali and nearby areas. It was this grim reality that moved Syed Tariq Alam deeply. Determined to bring change, he embarked on a mission that has now become a beacon of hope for thousands.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in /Awaz, The Voice / Home> The Changemakers / by Aasha Khosa / October 26th, 2025

Meet Tamkeen Fatima: AMU Alumna Selected by DRDO as Scientist

Amazing Feats, Education - Gold Medallists, Toppers, Merits, Achievers (wef. June 12th, 2023), Science & Technology, Scientists (wef. August 27th,m 2023), Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

Tamkeen Fatima, a past student of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), has been selected as Scientist ‘B’ by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Ministry of Defence, Government of India

Aligarh Muslim University: 

Tamkeen Fatima, a past student of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), has been selected as Scientist ‘B’ by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Ministry of Defence, Government of India.

Tamkeen Fatima is a recent M.Tech. graduate from the Department of Computer Engineering. Her selection came through a highly competitive process comprising academic performance, GATE score and interview.

Tamkeen completed her M.Tech. (Computer Science & Engineering) in 2025 with an outstanding CPI of 9.944, securing the top rank in her class.

She also completed her B.Tech. from AMU in 2023 and qualified UG-NET (JRF) 2024 in Computer Science with an All-India Rank 2 (99.9933 percentile) in her very first attempt.

“A Consistent Performer”

Tamkeen is a Second Year student pursuing M. Tech. in Computer Science and Engineering at the Department of Computer Engineering, Z.H. College of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University.

She completed her B Tech from AMU in 2023 with 9.703 CPI. She has been a consistent recipient of Merit Scholarships from class X onwards, including UP STSE, University Merit Financial Award (AMU), and GATE scholarship.

During her B Tech, Fatima participated in research internship programmes at ISRO, McMaster University, Toronto, Canada (Mitacs GRI), and The Fields Institute, Toronto, Canada (Fields Undergraduate Summer Research Programme). She has also published a research paper in ACM Conference Proceedings.

Recognising her academic excellence and research potential, she was selected as Assistant Professor (Contractual) through the Local Selection Committee and joined the Department of Computer Engineering, AMU in August 2025.

source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> Career / by Ummid.com news network / November 01st, 2025

Jamia Millia Islamia: A Living Idea of India

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education,

NEW DELHI :

Hue the aake yahin khemazan woh deewaney,

Uthhe the sun ke jo aawaz-e-rehbaraan-e-watan.

(Here pitched their tents those ardent dreamers; Who rose at the first call of their homeland’s liberators)

Step through the Centenary Gate, and you enter not just a campus but a living conversation between history and hope. Every lane carries memory; every wall speaks of struggle. Jamia is not made of stone and mortar alone; it is built of ideals, of founders who were freedom fighters and reformers, of teachers who worked for life on modest pay, of students who turned learning into service, and of a dream that education could make a nation free not only in body but in spirit.

Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Jamia’s first Vice-Chancellor, and a firebrand nationalist who, at the Second Round Table Conference in 1930, declared he would not return to a slave country, a vow he kept, breathing his last in London and resting forever in Jerusalem. His courage gave Jamia its pulse of defiance. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, a physician and President of the Indian National Congress, lent Jamia its healing vision, a belief that education, like medicine, must restore dignity to the human condition. Dr. Zakir Husain, later India’s President, gave Jamia its soul, transforming education into a moral act and underscoring that a teacher’s duty is not to instruct but to awaken.

On its 105th foundation day, let me take you on a Jamia tour. The Mohammad Ali Jauhar Marg leads through the majestic Centenary Gate into the heart of Jamia Gulistan-e-Gandhi, whose presence still seems to guide the university he envisioned.

The M.A. Ansari Auditorium stands ahead, alive with the echo of debates, drama, poetry, and protest, a place where generations have learned that knowledge without courage and compassion is incomplete. Nearby, the Mahmoud Darwish, a revered Palestinian poet and voice of resistance, exile, and identity lane winds toward the M.F. Husain Art Gallery, a riot of colour and imagination. The Nehru Guest House still echoes the voices of thinkers who stayed there. Beside it, the Maulana Azad House completes a poetic pairing — Nehru and Azad, once neighbours in prison, now neighbours in memory. Inside, guesthouse rooms are named after figures like Ritwik Ghatak.

The serpentine path leads past the Mohibbul Hasan House and Deen Dayal Kaushal Vikash Kendra and onward to the West Asia Centre, the Ho Chi Minh Conference Hall, Saadat Hasan Manto Lecture Hall, and the Shaikh Sabah Al–Ahmad Al–Jaber Seminar Library, where Jamia’s dialogue with the world continues. Through Jahane Kushuru, you arrive at Gulistan-e-Ghalib, where Ghalib’s statue stands beneath the trees, inscribed with his immortal verse:

Jaam har zarra hai sarshar-e-tamanna mujh se,

Kiska dil hoon ke do aalam se lagaya hai mujhe!

Every particle is intoxicated with longing for me,

Whose heart am I, that both worlds are drawn to me?

Ghalib’s verse mirrors the spirit of Jamia itself, a place that draws seekers from every corner, as if knowledge, memory, and desire converge upon it. A reminder that the soul of a true university is to become the heart of many worlds.

At the center of Jamia stands its intellectual sanctuary, the Dr. Zakir Husain Library; its silence is dense with thought. Not far away, the Sarojini Naidu Centre for Women’s Studies and the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolution remind every visitor that dialogue and equality are central to Jamia’s compass.

Enter through the Qurratulain Hyder Gate, named after the Gyanpeeth award-winning Urdu novelist, and you arrive at the lush green Nawab Pataudi Cricket Ground, with its Virender Sehwag Pavilion, a tribute to the alumnus who brought glory to the nation. Nearby stands the King Abdul Aziz Faculty of Dentistry, a graceful emblem of international collaboration. Around it, hostels named after B.R. Ambedkar, Allama Iqbal, E.J. Kellat, and Obaidullah Sindhi reflect Jamia’s plural legacy, a living reminder that its map is also a moral landscape.

Closer to the metro station, the Noam Chomsky Complex, a reminder that free thought is Jamia’s lifeblood. Next door, the K.R. Narayanan Centre for Dalit and Minority Studies ensures that inclusion here is not a slogan but a lived truth. Through the Mahmud Hasan Gate, named for the scholar who inspired students and clerics to join the freedom struggle and who endured years of harsh imprisonment in Malta — the campus opens into its schools: the Mushir Fatima Nursery, the Abid Hussain School, and the Gerda Philipsborn Day Care Centre, where the smallest minds learn under the same canopy of values that shelter scientist, scholars and philosophers.

Gerda Philipsborn, a German-Jewish educator who left Germany and found a home in Jamia, is fondly remembered as Aapa Jaan. She embodied the university’s transnational conscience, the belief that education builds bridges, not boundaries. Mujeeb Bagh hosts the Ramanujan Science Block, named after the mathematical genius whose brilliance continues to inspire curiosity and wonder across generations. The women’s hostels named after Begum Hazrat Mahal and Aruna Asaf Ali celebrate the courage of women who turned resistance into art and activism. Further on lies the Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Enclave, honouring the Frontier Gandhi who preached non-violence not as political expediency but as an article of faith. And in the Munshi Premchand Archives lives the memory of the great storyteller, who wrote Kafan during his stay at Jamia.

Located near the Administrative Block on Khayaban-e-Ajmal, the Jamnalal Bajaj Block honours Jamia’s benefactor, whose steadfast support and financial contributions were instrumental in sustaining the university during its formative years. Within its serene precincts stand the Yasser Arafat Hall, the Edward Said Conference Hall, and the Mir and Tagore Convention Centre, spaces that echo Jamia’s spirit of dialogue, dissent, and cultural encounter, where ideas from East and West, past and present, continue to converse in quiet harmony. Nearby, APJ Abdul Kalam Gate takes you to India’s most reputed Anwar Jamal Kidwai Mass Communication and Research Center, a testament of global cooperation with Canada, which buzzes with cameras, questions, and conversation.

Few universities wear their philosophy so visibly on their map. These names are not labels; they are moral coordinates of a century-old experiment in inclusive education. Each block is a story of struggle; each road a reminder of Jamia’s founding spirit, where taleem (education) and tehreek (movement) are inseparable.

Jamia was not born of privilege; it was born of protest. Founded amid the Khilafat and Non-Cooperation Movements, it was a quiet act of rebellion, an insistence that colonialism would not define the Indian mind. Education at Jamia was never meant to produce clerks for an empire, but citizens of conscience. Zakir Husain, Mohammad Mujeeb, and Abid Husain, three of Jamia’s philosophical pillars, envisioned Nai Talim, a pedagogy that unites head, heart, and hand. Long before “experiential learning” became educational jargon, Jamia built it into its foundation. Knowledge was tied to labour, intellect to ethics, and inquiry to empathy. The Ustadon ka Madrasa, the first of its kind teachers’ training institute, became a living laboratory of this vision, where teaching was not merely a transaction of knowledge but a pursuit of truth, a cultivation of inquiry, and a moral apprenticeship in the art of understanding. It embodied the meaning of a true university, not a place that fills minds, but one that frees them.

In the dark days of Partition, when Delhi burned with fear, Jamia’s students and teachers became healers, offering shelter to the displaced, solace to the broken, and humanity to a city in despair. From those flames emerged a university that made communal harmony its cornerstone.

Perhaps no moment captures Jamia’s moral stature better than its Silver Jubilee in 1946. On that day, Dr. Zakir Husain brought on the same stage Nehru, Asaf Ali, Rajaji, Jinnah, Fatima Jinnah, and Liaquat Ali Khan. At a time when the country teetered on the edge of partition, Zakir Husain’s possible one of the best speeches, “For God’s sake, sit together and extinguish this fire of hatred,” moved them to tears.

To walk through Jamia today is to stroll through the living soul of pluralism, a quiet republic of ideas where liberty, plurality, inclusiveness, and fraternity breathe in every courtyard, in every classroom. Here, Gandhi still converses with Mandela, Chomsky finds his echo in Edward Said, and Ghalib whispers to Mir beneath the shade of red-brick walls. Darwish recites for Tagore, Arafat debates with Ho Chi Minh, Ramanujan solves number puzzles with AJP Abul Kalam, Manto reads his script to Ritwik Ghatak, Prof. Mujeeb debates with Pt. Deep Dayal Upadhyay, Maulana Azad, and Nehru discuss an education roadmap over jasmine tea, and Ambedkar stands in thoughtful dialogue with Sarojini Naidu. It is a rare moral geography, a constellation of minds, where the ideals of freedom, justice, equality and fraternity converge without collision, illuminating the enduring idea of India itself.

While many century-old universities are withering away, Jamia Millia Islamia continues to grow step by step. It carries not only a proud and luminous history, rich in struggle and idealism, but also a radiant present, consistently ranked among the nation’s top universities, with rising scientific citations and breakthrough research that place it firmly on the global academic map.

Yet in a time when higher education bends under market pressures and ideological conformity, Jamia endures as a counter-memory, a quiet act of defiance against becoming a mere factory of certificates. Its administration, faculty, students, staff, and alums continue to zealously guard the Idea of Jamia — where knowledge is pursued, not prescribed; where questions are not censored, and truth is never pre-decided. A true university must protect the space where evidence triumphs over ideology, where disagreement deepens understanding, and where inquiry itself becomes an act of freedom.

The idea of Jamia is not simply a place, a campus, but a proposition that education is not merely obedience or a commodity, but an awakening of the mind and conscience.

To walk through Jamia is to walk through the Idea of India itself – plural, principled, and forever in motion along the path of progress.

“Yahaan pe shamme-hidayat hai sirf apna zameer.”

Here at Jamia, the beacon of guidance is none other than one’s own conscience.

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Opinion / by Aftab Mohammad / November 01st, 2025

Prof Marghoob Banihali: A Literary Legend

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Books (incl.Biographies - w.e.f.01 jan 2018 ), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bankoot (Banihal) / Srinagar / JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Professor Ghulam Muhammad, widely known by his pen name Marghoob Banihali, was an illustrious scholar, poet, and cultural historian whose literary and academic contributions have left an indelible mark on the landscape of Kashmiri literature and thought.

Born on 5th March 1937 at Bankoot, Banihal, in the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, he emerged as a multidimensional personality whose erudition encompassed not only Kashmiri language and literature but also Persian, Urdu, and English.

Marghoob Banihali’s journey, marked by personal loss, intellectual rigor, and literary innovation, reflects the resilience of a scholar deeply rooted in his cultural milieu yet transcending regional boundaries in his vision.

He passed away on 27th April 2021 at his residence in Srinagar, leaving behind a rich legacy of scholarship, poetry, and cultural reflection. The formative years of Marghoob Banihali were fraught with challenges. He lost his mother at the tender age of eight and his father when he was merely fourteen. The successive losses not only plunged his family into economic hardship but also exposed the young boy to the harsh realities of life at an early age. The family’s business suffered a severe blow, forcing Marghoob to traverse arduous paths—both literal and metaphorical—toward education and personal growth. In March 1954, he undertook a challenging journey to Islamabad to appear for his matriculation examination, traveling around seventy kilometers through snow-clad mountainous terrain. These early experiences of adversity instilled in him resilience, humility, and a deep understanding of human struggles, qualities that would later find expression in his literary and scholarly endeavors.


Marghoob Banihali received his early education under several prominent Kashmiri educators who shaped his intellectual and literary sensibilities. Among these were Haji Ghulam Ahmad Shah, who later became his father-in-law, Hakim Muhammad Hafiz Allah of Rawalpora, Srinagar, and Molvi Ghulam Muhiuddin Kirmani of Pattan Baramulla, who advised him to adopt the pen name “Marghoob.”

Another significant influence in his formative years was Master Ghulam Nabi Geeri, a member of his own family, who provided guidance and support during his early scholarly pursuits. Despite financial constraints, Marghoob pursued his education in a private mode, simultaneously embarking on a teaching career that would span decades. He eventually completed his Masters in Persian and went on to earn a PhD in the same field, laying the foundation for a distinguished academic career.


Professionally, Marghoob Banihali held diverse roles that reflect his commitment to education and literature. He served as headmaster and vice-principal at higher secondary schools and as a Tehsil Education Officer (TEO) before joining the University of Kashmir in 1969 as a lecturer in the Persian Department. His tenure at the university spanned over three decades, during which he contributed to the Department of Kashmiri, the Central Asian Studies Department, and the Iqbal Institute. He retired in 1997 as the Head of the Department of Kashmiri, leaving behind a legacy of mentorship, scholarship, and administrative excellence.


Marghoob Banihali’s literary oeuvre is vast and varied, reflecting his erudition, spiritual depth, and commitment to human values. His writings primarily focus on Islamic subjects, communal harmony, and ethical and cultural reflections. He authored over fifty books in Kashmiri, Urdu, Persian, and English, covering poetry, literary criticism, cultural history, and translations. His first poetic collection, Partavistan, earned him the Sahitya Akademi Award for Kashmiri literature in 1979 and the state Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977, establishing him as a prominent voice in contemporary Kashmiri poetry. His works transcend mere literary expression; they engage deeply with the cultural, spiritual, and philosophical dimensions of Kashmiri society.


Among his notable works is Marghoob Theory, published in English in 1982, which offers a systematic proposal for the improvement and modernization of the Kashmiri script. This work has been lauded by scholars such as Prof. Syed Maqbool, former Director of the Centre for Central Asian Studies, who described it as a scientifically viable and practical method that preserves the connection of Kashmiri with its source languages while making it more accessible to the Kashmiri-speaking populace.

Similarly, Prof. Nazir Ahmad Malik, a distinguished linguist, recognized the significance of this contribution for the development and preservation of Kashmiri language and literature.

Another seminal work, Kashir Bale Apare (1989), provides a detailed account of Kashmiri culture, language, and literature as prevalent in the Pir Panchal region. Through meticulous research, Marghoob Banihali chronicled the evolution of Kashmiri literature, highlighting its linguistic and cultural heritage.

His translations further enriched Kashmiri literary resources; in 1975, he translated Kalilah wa Dimnah into Kashmiri, introducing the classic collection of fables to a broader audience.

He also translated the monograph on the “Nightingale of India” (Bulbul Hind), Sarojini Naidu, thereby familiarizing Kashmiri readers with the Bengali poet Qazi Nazrul Islam. Marghoob Banihali’s engagement with historical and cultural scholarship is exemplified in Qadeem Kashur: Some Glittering Milestones of Ancient Kashmiri (with Special Reference to Shaikhul Alam), published by the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore, in 2001.

This work provides the cultural and linguistic background of Shaikhul Alam’s poetry, situating it within the broader historical and intellectual traditions of Kashmir.

Similarly, his scholarly inquiry into Iqbal’s thought culminated in Kalam Iqbal kay Ruhani, Fikri wa Fani Sarchasmay (2006), a critical exploration of Iqbal’s philosophical, spiritual, and literary dimensions.

He also authored Ikhliqiat Marghoob (2005) and Khas Ihsan, poetic collections that address Islamic themes such as Tawhid, Risalah, and Akhirat, blending devotional fervor with literary sophistication.

His translation of the rare manuscript Noor Namah of Baba Naseebuddin Ghazi into Urdu (published in 2013) further attests to his dedication to preserving and disseminating Kashmir’s spiritual and literary heritage.

“Professor Marghoob Banihali was a cultural beacon of Kashmir, revered in literary and social circles for bridging the region’s historical, linguistic, spiritual, and literary traditions with contemporary scholarship. His work, including his writings, teachings, and translations, deeply engaged with Islamic thought, human values, and communal harmony. Banihali significantly contributed to the Kashmiri language through the Marghoob Theory and rejuvenated Sufi poetic traditions. As a poet, scholar, teacher, and humanist, his legacy is a testament to the power of knowledge and devotion to culture, faith, and humanity, making him a jewel in the crown of Kashmiri literature.”

Marghoob Banihali’s scholarship was not confined to the written word; he was a dedicated teacher and mentor, particularly in the study of Persian poetry of Iqbal.

Associated closely with Aali Ahmad Saroor, whose monumental works on Iqbal he studied and taught, Marghoob enabled research scholars at the Iqbal Institute of Philosophy and Culture to engage with Iqbal’s Persian poetry critically and independently.

By teaching the fundamentals of Persian language and literary analysis, he empowered a generation of scholars to navigate complex texts and philosophical concepts with confidence. In the foreword to Adam Gharay Iqbal (Iqbal’s Humanistic Philosophy), Professor Abdul Haq aptly observed: “Prof Marghoob is a knowledgeable person and a thinker as well. He is truthful, sincere, and honest in thinking, and practical in dealings. His multidimensional personality, combined with his erudition in Urdu, Persian, and Kashmiri literature, provides students and teachers ample guidance.”

A prominent dimension of Marghoob Banihali’s personality was his humility, nobility, and spiritual inclination. Mir Ghulam Rasool Nazki affectionately called him “mahboobi” (my beloved), while Akhtar Mohiuddin described him as an Islamic poet and writer endowed with pure nature (salim al-tabah).

Yusuf Taing, a renowned literary critic, noted that Marghoob Banihali’s poetry, whether in ghazal, naat, nazm, rubai, or manqabat, consistently reflects a profound love for the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), serving as a versified biography of the Prophet and reviving the spiritual essence of Kashmir’s Sufi poetic tradition.

Through works such as Tohfai Tawhid (2017), he rejuvenated the age-old legacy of Kashmiri Sufi poetry, imbuing it with tawhidic thought and devotional depth.


Professor Marghoob was a vital link between Kashmir and Jammu, belonging to the distinguished line of Pir Panchal poets and literary figures, including Kamghar Kashtwari, Rasa Javeedani, Nishat Kashtwari, Janbaz Kashtwari, Bashir Badrwahi, Shahbaz Rajourwi, and Manshur Banhali.

He was described by Bahar Ahmad Bahar as “a movement, a history, and a trendsetter,” and Prof. Ghulam Mohiuddin Hajni famously likened him to “a jewel coming from the sky-rocketing mountains of Pir Panchal.” Mohan Lal Aash extolled him as “a diamond carved out from the high rocks of Pir Panchal,” recognizing his deep understanding of global literary trends, mastery over expression, and devotion to the Rishi philosophy of Hazrat-e-Alamdari in Kashmir. Prof. Waheed-u-Din Malik, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, hailed him as “a brilliant scholar of oriental languages, a sincere Kashmiri who undertook the arduous task of bringing out the best of Kashmiri culture and language through creative writings.”


One of Professor Marghoob Banihali’s seminal contributions to Kashmiri linguistics is the Marghoob Theory, a concise yet powerful work in English that chronicles the birth and evolution of the Kashmiri language and proposes a practical framework for its script reform. This work, consisting of around 100 pages, received praise from scholars and linguists alike for its scientific approach, practical applicability, and preservation of linguistic heritage. It has been recognized as a landmark achievement in Kashmiri language studies, providing a bridge between tradition and modernity in the realm of script and literacy.


Throughout his life, Marghoob Banihali exemplified the qualities of a consummate scholar, poet, and humanist. His multidimensional personality combined erudition, humility, devotion, and a profound sense of social and cultural responsibility. He engaged deeply with the literary and spiritual heritage of Kashmir while extending his intellectual reach to encompass Persian, Urdu, and English literature. His literary output, comprising over fifty books, reflects a commitment to ethical values, spiritual insight, and cultural preservation. His translations, critical studies, and original works enriched the literary corpus of Kashmir and created pathways for future scholars to explore the region’s rich literary and philosophical traditions.


Marghoob Banihali’s contributions were recognized with numerous accolades, including the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1979 for Partavistan, the state Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977, and the Ghalib Award from the President of India in 2008.

Beyond awards, his enduring legacy lies in the generations of students, scholars, and readers he inspired, the rejuvenation of Kashmiri Sufi poetic traditions, and the preservation and propagation of the Kashmiri language and culture.

Professor Marghoob Banihali’s life exemplifies resilience in the face of adversity, intellectual curiosity, and unwavering dedication to cultural and spiritual values. His scholarly rigor, poetic genius, and commitment to education rendered him a guiding light in Kashmir’s literary and academic spheres. The impact of his work continues through his sons, particularly Prof. Mushtaq Marghoob, who carry forward his philanthropic and intellectual legacy, ensuring that the torch of knowledge and cultural enrichment remains alight.


In conclusion, Professor Marghoob Banihali was not merely a literary figure or an academic; he was a cultural beacon whose life and work bridged the historical, linguistic, spiritual, and literary traditions of Kashmir with contemporary scholarship. His writings, teachings, and translations reflect a deep engagement with Islamic thought, human values, and communal harmony, while his humility, sincerity, and spiritual devotion rendered him a revered personality in both literary and social circles. He rejuvenated the rich Sufi poetic traditions of Kashmir, contributed to the evolution of the Kashmiri language through the Marghoob Theory, and inspired generations of scholars and poets. As a poet, scholar, teacher, and humanist, Marghoob Banihali remains a jewel in the crown of Kashmiri literature, a legacy that will endure for generations to come. His life is a testament to the power of knowledge, perseverance, and devotion to culture, faith, and humanity. May his soul rest in peace.


(The author a veteran academician is a former Professor and Head Department of Islamic Studies, Kashmir University. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
hamidnaseem@gmail.com

source: http://www.thekashmirhorizon.com / The Kashmir Horizon / Home> Opinion / by Prof. Hamid Naseem Rafiabadi / October 28th, 2025