Urdu poetry is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghalib, Mir Anees, Allama Iqbal and Josh Malihabadi (d.1982). The language of Urdu reached its pinnacle under the British Raj, and it received official status. All famous writers of Urdu language including Ghalib and Iqbal were given British scholarships. Following the Partition of India in 1947, it found major poets and scholars were divided along the nationalistic lines. However, Urdu poetry is cherished in both the nations. Both the Muslims and Hindus from across the border continue the tradition.
Mir Babar Ali Anees (1803–1874), also known as Mir Anees was an Indian Urdu poet. He used his pen-name (takhallus) of Anees in poetry. Anees used Persian, Urdu, Arabic, and Sanskrit words in his poetry. Anis wrote prolonged Marsias, which was a custom of his times, but nowadays only selected sections are narrated even in religious ceremonies. He died in 1291 Hijra, corresponding with 1874 CE.
Mushaira is a poetic symposium. It is an event where poets gather to perform their works. A mushaira is part of the Culture of North India, Pakistan and the Deccan, particularly among the Hyderabadi Muslims, and it regarded as a forum for free self-expression.
Ehsan Danish, born Ehsan-ul-HaqEḥsānu l-Ḥaq), was an Urdu poet, prose writer, linguist, lexicographer and scholar from Pakistan. Ehsan Danish had penned down over 100 scholastic books on poetry, prose, linguistics, lexicography and prosody. At the beginning of his career his poetry was very romantic but later he wrote his poems more for the labourers and came to be called "Šhāʿir-e Mazdūr" by his audience. According to one commentator, his poetry inspired the common people's feelings and he has been compared with Josh Malihabadi. He holds the unique position as one of the best poets of all times, with fine, romantic and revolutionary, but simple style of poetry.
Bashir Badr is an Indian poet. He was teaching Urdu in Aligarh Muslim University. He primarily writes in Urdu language particularly ghazals. He also wrote a couplet titled Dushmani Jam Kar Karo in 1972 during Shimla Agreement that revolves around the partition of India. Badr's most of unpublished literary work, including uncertain poems was lost during the 1987 Meerut communal riots, and later he moved to Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
Muqtida Hasan Nida Fazli, known as Nida Fazli, was a prominent Indian Hindi and Urdu poet, lyricist and dialogue writer. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2013 by the government of India for his contribution to literature.
Khumār Barabankvi was the pen name of a Urdu poet and lyricist from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India. His real name was Mohammed Haidar Khan.
Syed Ali Jawad Zaidi was an Indian Urdu poet, scholar, and author of over 80 books in several languages. He was also an Indian independence activist, lawyer and later, a civil servant, but is best known for his work in Urdu literature.
Akhlaq Mohammad Khan, better known by his takhallusShahryar, was an Indian academician, and a doyen of Urdu poetry in India. As a Hindi film lyricist, he is best known for his lyrics in Gaman (1978) and Umrao Jaan (1981) directed by Muzaffar Ali. He retired as the head of the Urdu Department at the Aligarh Muslim University, and thereafter he remained sought after name in mushairas or poetic gatherings, and also co-edited the literary magazine Sher-o-Hikmat.
Rahat Indori, born as Rahat Qureshi, was an Indian Bollywood lyricist and Urdu poet. He was also a former professor of Urdu language and a painter. Prior to this he was a pedagogist of Urdu literature at DAVV.
Zahid Hussain, better known by the pen name Wasim Barelvi, is an Indian Urdu-language poet. He was born in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. His ghazals, many sung by Jagjit Singh, are very popular. He has been awarded with the "Firaq Gorakhpuri International Award", the Kalidas gold medal ; the Begum Akhtar Kala Dharmi award; and the Naseem-e-Urdu award. Barelvi is Vice Chairman of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL). He has also performed at Culrav 2012. He is also Member of Legislative Council of Uttar Pradesh since 2016.
Syed Mahmood Khundmiri was an Indian Urdu language poet, humorist, architect, artist, orator, and one of the leading Urdu poets of the 20th and 21st centuries. He concentrated on humorous poetry, and was considered among the elite of Urdu humor. He died of cardiac arrest on 16 January 2011, in Pune, Maharashtra, India)
Mohsin Zaidi was an Indian Urdu poet who used the pen name 'Mohsin'. He is best known as a writer of ghazals, who expressed new ideas with this traditional form.
Asad Bhopali was an Indian Hindustani poet and lyricist. The Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema, compiled by Gulzar and Saibal Chatterjee, describes him as one of the "few names that stand out for their contribution to Hindi film lyrics".
Gehwara-e-Adab [Nursery of Literature] is an International Literary Organization that was formed to support and promote the Urdu Language and its rich literature in the world. Currently it is working in Pakistan, the United States, and Canada.
Anjum Rehbar is an Indian poet writing in Urdu and Hindi.
Sarmad Sehbai is a Pakistani poet, playwright, film and theatre director, worked in Urdu, Punjabi and English languages.
Syed Aijazuddin Shah is an Urdu and Hindi humorist, satirist and poet. He has been performing Mushaira and Kavi Sammelan for the last 45 years all over the world. Popular Meeruthi was awarded Kaka Hatrasi Award for his humorous poetry by HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal
Malikzada Manzoor Ahmad was an Indian Urdu poet, composer, compere, educationist and humorist. Primarily known for compering mushairas in India and abroad and contributing to Urdu literature, he also compered the DCM mushaira, India–Pakistan poetry conference from 1952 to 2016. He also compered the India–Pakistan mushaira in Ambala and in the Red Fort.
Professor Syed Fazle Imam Rizvi commonly known as Fazle Imam was an Indian Urdu scholar, poet, writer and teacher at University. He is known for his literature expertise in various languages Urdu, Hindi, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani. He has written books, ghazals, and nazms, articles in Urdu, Hindi, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani.
