Sitting from left to right: Dr. Irfan Hashmi, vice president, Aalmi Urdu Markaz; Rohail A. Khan, chief guest; Tahseem Haqqi, vice consul welfare, Consulate of Pakistan; Athar Abbasi, president, Aalmi Urdu Markaz; and poet Anwer Ansari. Saudi Gazette report
JEDDAH – For the first time in Saudi Arabia, an event to commemorate what would have been the 140th birthday of the so-called Baba-e-Urdu (Father of Urdu) Dr. Moulvi Abdul Haq was held in Jeddah. Moulvi Abdul Haq (1872-1961) was an acclaimed Urdu educator, writer, critic, linguist, lexicographer, editor, compiler, translator, etymologist, biographer and grammarian. His entire life was devoted to making Urdu the foremost language across the subcontinent. He remained single throughout his life and his love was Urdu. Abdul Haq managed the Urdu organization Anjuman-e-Taraqqi-e-Urdu consistently for 50 years from the pre-partition era. Having witnessed the demise of Persian in the subcontinent, Abdul Haq made it his life's mission to place Urdu language on par with English and Arabic. He was the moving spirit behind the establishment of Osmania University Hyderabad, Deccan, where all subjects were taught in Urdu. The world's largest Urdu Translation Center was established where rare books and Deccani manuscripts were translated and published in Urdu. He was creator of the world's largest Urdu-English Dictionary (1930). After Osmania University, he was instrumental in setting up the world's first Islamia College for Women in Lahore in 1939 and Pakistan's first Urdu College in Karachi in 1949 that was later converted into a multi-faculty, multi-site Federal Urdu University. His devotion to Urdu was undoubted. He carried 15,000 rare Urdu books when he migrated to Pakistan in November 1947, traveling from Delhi to Karachi. Abdul Haq was on a mission to make Urdu the national language of Pakistan. He initiated in 1959 a grand project to compile the 22-volume Modern Urdu Dictionary, following the same format as the Oxford Dictionary. This project was completed three years ago by the Urdu Dictionary Board, Pakistan. He wrote more than 20 books in areas such as biographies, critiques, lexicography, translation, etymology, grammar and linguistic comparisons. His books are valuable reference materials that could be utilized for research on Urdu language and literature. As a researcher, scholar, critic and lexicographer, Moulvi Abdul Haq is a great name in Pakistan's history. It is, however, as the foremost campaigner of Urdu and its greatest promoter that Baba-e-Urdu will forever be remembered. More than 275 guests from different nationalities and backgrounds attended Baba-e-Urdu's birthday celebrations organized by Aalmi Urdu Markaz at Jeddah's Lasani Restaurant on Nov. 21. The event was sponsored by Rohail A. Khan, who was also the chief guest on the occasion. Tahseem Haqqi, vice consul (welfare) at the Pakistani Consulate, was the event's patron. Community leaders, social workers, businessmen, literary figures, and other dignitaries were among the guests. The audience saw a short video of Baba-e-Urdu's speeches and life story before participating in literary discussions and poetic recitations. Pakistani, Indian and Saudi scholars presented essays and poems on Abdul Haq. Key speakers at the event included Farooq Monis; Syed Jamal Qadri, president of the Urdu Academy in Jeddah; Aleem Khan Falki, author and social worker; Dr. Athar Naqvi physics professor, Dr. Amjad Ahmed, renowned physician; Dr. Naeem Hamid Ali, poet and author; and Athar Abbasi, president of Aalmi Urdu Markaz. Zammarud Saifee, Nasir Burney, Mehtab Qadr, Irfan Barabankvi, Anwer Ansari, Mukhtar Ali and Mohsin Alvi recited poems on the occasion. Organizers paid tribute Haqqi for his support. Himself a literary figure and experienced diplomat, Haqqi is the grandson of the late Shaan ul Haq Haqqi, a leading author, journalist, poet, critic and linguist on the subcontinent. Haqqi pledged his support for future events. Khan, a financial advisor, senior banker and social worker working in the Kingdom since 1993, shared his thoughts on Baba-e-Urdu and offered practical suggestions to promote and protect Urdu. He added: “An architect and savior of Urdu Language and Literature, Baba-e-Urdu Dr.Moulvi Abdul Haq's lifetime of services to protect and promote Urdu is spread over 75 years. “He proved a Prophet of Urdu and his message must be adequately propagated for the benefit of current and future generations. “Let us not forget that Urdu, the fourth largest language, is spoken by over 100 million people across five continents.” He called for rejuvenating the Anjuman-e-Taraqqi-e-Urdu and propagating its mission across the globe. He said this can be achieved by supporting local and international Urdu-serving institutions like Aalmi Urdu Markaz, Urdu Academy Jeddah, Urdu Gulban and others and bringing them together on one platform. Khan also called for efforts to promote Urdu as a means to enhance knowledge about Islam. He suggested making more use of social media and petitioning to make Urdu an official language on Facebook. Khan also called for more efforts to study Baba-e-Urdu's works and achievements, and spreading his message among over 100 million Urdu speakers. This can be achieved by establishing Urdu faculties and research chairs at Ivy League universities to award doctorate degrees in Urdu and Baba-e-Urdu, Khan said. He also called for launching new Urdu periodicals, publishing Urdu dictionaries and encyclopedias to promote Urdu language and literature. Khan stressed the importance of encouraging new talent and identifying upcoming Urdu writers and poets. Khan announced the launch of Urdu Academy International, a global think tank to develop new ideas and projects to promote and protect Urdu. He invited Urdu lovers to join and contribute toward the growth of the new organization. Facebook has been selected as the social media platform to promote Urdu Academy International across the world. Its first goal is to make Urdu one of the official languages on Facebook.
