Naheed Abidi | |
|---|---|
 Naheed Abidi, calls on Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India | |
| Born | 1961 India |
| Occupation(s) | Indian scholar and writer |
| Spouse | Ehtesham Abidi |
| Children | a son and a daughter |
| Awards | Padma Shri |
| Website | Official web site |
Naheed Abidi is an Indian scholar of Sanskrit [1] and writer. In 2014, she was honoured with Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her contributions to the field of literature by the Government of India. [2]
Conferring Padma Shri award upon me is like honouring the Sanskrit world and it will inspire Muslims for Sanskrit learning. I am highly grateful to the scholars of Sanskrit and Persian who encouraged me in my objective of exploring the uniting the bond between the two faiths. Sanskrit is a rich language, which has the quality of promoting harmony and peace in the society. says Naheed Abidi [3]
Abidi was born in 1961, in a Shia Muslim zamindari family at Mirzapur, [4] in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. [5] Choosing Sanskrit as her subject, Abidi did her graduation at the Kamla Maheshwari Degree College and secured her MA from the K. V. Degree College, Mirzapur. [4]
She moved to Varanasi, an ancient seat of Sanskrit scholarship after her marriage with Ehtesham Abidi - an advocate in the city. [3] [4] Varanasi is deemed holy by the Hindu text Garuda Purana. [6] She went on to secure a doctoral degree (PhD) from the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith (MGKV), a public university in the city, and published her thesis titled as Vedic Sahitya Mein Ashviniyon Ka Swaroop (The Form of Ashvinis in Vedic Literature) in 1993. [7]
In 2005, Abidi started working as a lecturer without any pay at Banaras Hindu University. Soon after, she joined the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith to work as a part-time lecturer on a daily wage scheme. However, the Sanskrit scholar, known as the first Muslim female to have worked as a lecturer in Sanskrit, had difficulties finding a regular job. [7] Her first book was published in 2008 and was titled Sanskrit Sahitya Mein Rahim - which is an account of the Sanskrit leanings of the renowned poet, Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana. [1] This was followed by Devalayasya Deepa, [8] a translation of Chairag-e-Dair, written by poet, Mirza Ghalib. [3] The third book was Sirr-e-Akbar, [9] a Hindi translation of 50 Upanishads, earlier translated by the Mughal prince, Dara Shikoh into Persian. She has published a Hindi translation of Vedanta, translated into Persian by Dara Shikoh and also the Sufi texts by the prince. [1] [3] [7] [10]
Abidi lives with her spouse Ehtesham Abidi and her two children, a son and a daughter, [3] [4] in VDA colony in the Shivpur area of Varanasi. [11] She also serves as an Executive Council member at the Sampurnanad Sanskrit University. [4]
Abidi was conferred with Padma Shri, in 2014, by the Government of India, for her services to literature. [2] She has also been conferred DLitt (Honoris Causa) by the Lucknow University. [4] Abidi met Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India on 9 September 2014 at the latter's residence and presented two of the books written by her. [12] The meeting was announced by Modi through a photo on his Google Plus page [13] and the video of the meeting was displayed on the personal web site of the Prime Minister. [10] In 2016, She was honored with the Yash Bharati Award by UP government at a function held in Lucknow. [5]
Gopinath Kaviraj was an Indian Sanskrit scholar, Indologist and philosopher. First appointed in 1914 a librarian, he was the Principal of Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi from 1923 to 1937. He was also the editor of the Sarasvati Bhavana Granthamala during that period.
The National College, Trichy is an autonomous institution, located in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. It was recognized as the 'College with Potential for Excellence' by the University Grants Commission in 2011.
Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith is a public university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Established in 10 February 1921 as Kashi Vidyapith and later renamed, it is administered under the state legislature of the government of Uttar Pradesh. It got University status in 1974 as Deemed to be University and State University status in 2009 by The Uttar Pradesh State Universities (Amendment) Act, 2008. The university has more than 400+ affiliated colleges spread over six districts. It is one of the largest state universities in Uttar Pradesh, with hundreds of thousands of students, both rural and urban. It offers a range of professional and academic courses in arts, science, commerce, agriculture science, law, computing and management.
Vidya Niwas Mishra was an Indian scholar, a Hindi-Sanskrit littérateur, and a journalist. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan.
Satya Vrat Shastri was an Indian Sanskrit scholar, writer, grammarian and poet. He wrote three Mahakavyas, three Khandakavyas, one Prabandhakavyas and one Patrakavya and five works in critical writing in Sanskrit. His important works are Ramakirtimahakavyam, Brahattaram Bharatam, Sribodhisattvacharitam, Vaidika Vyakarana, Sarmanyadesah Sutram Vibhati, and "Discovery of Sanskrit Treasures" in seven volumes.
Bhagirath Prasad Tripathi, better known as Vagish Shastri, was an Indian Sanskrit grammarian, linguist, tantra and yogi. In 2018, Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri for his work in the field of literature and education.
Pt. Sitaram Chaturvedi, also known as Acharya Sita Ram Chaturvedi, was an eminent Indian educator, dramatist and scholar of Hindi and Sanskrit language and literature.
Devarshi Kala Nath Shastry was born on 15 July 1936. He is a Sanskrit scholar and was honoured by the President of India in 1988. He is an Indologist and a prolific writer in Sanskrit, Hindi and English, and a well-known linguist, who has contributed to the campaign of evolving technical terminology in Indian languages and ensuring a respectable status for Hindi, the official language of his state and the Indian union.
Rewa Prasad Dwivedi was a Sanskrit scholar, poet, writer, teacher, and critic. His original works include poetry as epics and lyrics, plays, and prose. He wrote the new literature under the pseudonym "sanatana", meaning 'the eternal'. He is also known as 'Acharya' Dwivedi.
Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra is a Sanskrit author, poet, lyricist, playwright and a former Vice-Chancellor of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi.
Bhaskaracharya Tripathi,, is a Sanskrit poet who was the recipient of the 2003 Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit for his work Nirjharini.
Padma Sachdev was an Indian poet and novelist. She was the first modern woman poet of the Dogri language. She also wrote in Hindi. She published several poetry collections, including Meri Kavita Mere Geet, which won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971. She also received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award in 2001, and the Kabir Samman for poetry for the year 2007-08 given by Government of Madhya Pradesh, Saraswati Samman for the year 2015, Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 2019.
Rama Kant Shukla was an Indian scholar of Sanskrit and Hindi languages. The Government of India honoured him, in 2013, by awarding him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the fields of literature.
Deviprasad Dwivedi is an Indian writer and teacher, known for his scholarship in Sanskrit literature. The Government of India honoured Sharma in 2011, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of the Padma Shri and followed it up with Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award, in 2017.
Ramaranjan Mukherji (1928–2010) was an Indian writer, academician, Indologist and a former chancellor of Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, known for his scholarship in Sanskrit literature. He was honored by the Government of India, in 2010, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Kavikalanidhi Devarshi Shrikrishna Bhatt (1675–1761), a contemporary of the Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II of Jaipur, was an 18th-century Sanskrit poet, historian, scholar, and grammarian. He was an immensely accomplished and venerated poet of Sanskrit and Brajbhasha at the courts of the Kings of Bundi and Jaipur. He belonged to a reputed Sanskrit family of Vellanadu Brahmins from modern day Andhra Pradesh in South India who migrated to North India in the 15th century on invitation from various erstwhile princely States. His father's name was Laxman Bhatt.
Lakshman Prasad Acharya is an Indian politician, serving as the 17th Governor of Sikkim. Being affiliated to the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), he was a member of Legislative Council from Uttar Pradesh elected by the members of Legislative Assembly from 2015 to 2023.
Vishwamurti Shastri is a Sanskrit scholar with knowledge of Vedic literature and related subjects. He served as a principal of Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Jammu. He was appointed to Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) in 2019. He is director of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Gurukul, Katra. He also serves as the chairman of J&K Dharmarth Trust Advisory Committee.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
