Urdu poetry is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the culture of India and Pakistan. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu: Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghalib, Mir Anees (d.1874), Muhammad 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.
Altaf Hussain Hali, also known as Maulana Khawaja Hali, was an Urdu poet and writer.
Kaifi Azmi was an Indian Urdu poet. He is remembered as the one who brought Urdu literature to Indian motion pictures. Together with Pirzada Qasim, Jaun Elia and others he participated in many memorable Mushaira gatherings of the twentieth century. He was also a communist who wanted to see India one day become a socialist state. His wife was theatre and film actress Shaukat Kaifi.
Hyderabadi Muslims, also referred to as Hyderabadis, are a community of Deccani people, from the area that used to be the princely state of Hyderabad in the regions of Marathwada, Telangana, and Kalyana-Karnataka.
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.
Josh Malihabadi popularly known as Shayar-e-Inqalab was a Pakistani poet.
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 Badr's most of unpublished literary work, including uncertain poems was lost during the 1987 Meerut communal riots, and later he moved to Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
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.
Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Sciences (IAMMS) is a trust registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882. Mohammad Hamid Ansari, former vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, formally inaugurated it on 21 April 2001. Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India gave accreditation to the academy in 2004 and promoted it as 'centre of excellence' in 2008. Membership of the academy is open to anyone who has an interest in the academy's activities particularly on history of medicine and history of science. Being a charitable organization, donations to the Academy are also exempted from Income Tax under section 80G of the Income Tax Act 1961.
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.
Mah Laqa Bai, born Chanda Bai, and sometimes referred to as Mah Laqa Chanda, was an Indian 18th century Urdu poet, courtesan (tawaif) and philanthropist based in Hyderabad. In 1824, she became the first female poet to have a diwan of her work, a compilation of Urdu Ghazals named Gulzar-e-Mahlaqa, published posthumously. She lived in a period when Dakhini was making its transition into the highly Persianized Urdu. Her literary contributions provide insight into such linguistic transformations in southern India.
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)
The culture of Hyderabad, also known as Hyderabadi Tehzeeb or Dakhini Tehzeeb, is the traditional cultural lifestyle of the Hyderabadi Muslims, and characterizes distinct linguistic and cultural traditions of North and South India, which meet and mingle in the city and erstwhile kingdom. This blending was the result of the geographic location of the region and the variety of historical dynasties that ruled the city across different periods—its inception by the Qutub Shahi dynasty in 1591 AD, the occupation by the Mughal Empire and its decline, and the patronage under the Asaf Jahi dynasty.
Imran Pratapgarhi is an Indian Urdu-language poet and politician, who is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament. He represents the Indian state of Maharashtra. Pratapgarhi is known for his protest poetry that particularises the Muslim experience and identity in India and other parts of the world; he is especially known for his Urdu nazms "Madrasa" and "Han Main Kashmir Hoon."
Syed Ali Raza, known by his takhallus of Manzar Bhopali, is an Indian Urdu poet. He was born in Amravati. During his teenage years, Manzar started taking interest in poetry and attended his first mushaira at the age of 17. Over the course of 3 decades, he has penned more than a dozen books in Hindi and Urdu.
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
Rekhta is an Indiamerary web portal started by Rekhta Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Urdu literature. The Rekhta Library Project, its books preservation initiative, has successfully digitized approximately 200,000 books over a span of ten years. These books primarily consist of Urdu, Hindi and Perlie literature and encompass a wide range of genres, including biographies of poets, Urdu poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. The collection originates from public and research libraries in the Indian subcontinent. It serves content in multiple scripts such as Devanagari, Roman and, primarily, Nastaliq. It hosts books from centuries earlier and is recognized as the largest website in the world for the preservation of Urdu literature.
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.
Sanjiv Saraf is an Indian entrepreneur, philanthropist, and author. He is widely recognized as the visionary founder of the Rekhta Foundation an organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Urdu literature. Under his leadership, the Rekhta Foundation has curated the Rekhta website, a comprehensive repository of Urdu literary works, and has been instrumental in hosting the prestigious annual event known as Jashn-e-Rekhta since 2015. Saraf is also an accomplished author, having penned notable books such as "Love Longing Loss" and "Nava-e-Sarosh." His literary contributions have made a significant impact on the world of Urdu literature and culture.
