Camorabug at 17:19, 16 October 2025

2025-10-16T17:19:35Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian scholar, critic, and poet (1950–2021)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Distinguish|Abul Kalam Qasmi Shamsi}}
{{Infobox academic
| name = Abul Kalam Qasmi
| image =
| caption = Qasmi in December 2015
| birth_date = {{birth date|1950|12|20|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Darbhanga]], Bihar, India
| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|7|8|1950|12|20|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Aligarh]], Uttar Pradesh, India
| awards = {{ubl|[[Sahitya Akademi Award]] (2009)|[[Ghalib Award]] (2013)}}
| alma_mater = {{ubl|[[Darul Uloom Deoband]]|[[Jamia Millia Islamia]]|[[Aligarh Muslim University]]}}
| main_interests = [[Urdu literature]], Urdu criticism
| notable_works = ''The Criticism of Poetry'', ''Novel ka Fun''
}}
'''Abul Kalam Qasmi''' (20 December 1950 – 8 July 2021) was an Indian scholar, literary critic, and a poet of the [[Urdu]] language who served as the [[Dean (education)|dean]] of the [[Faculty of Arts, Aligarh Muslim University|Faculty of Arts]] at the [[Aligarh Muslim University]]. He was the editor of ''[[Tehzeeb-ul-Akhlaq]]'' and authored books such as ''The Criticism of Poetry''. He translated [[E. M. Forster]]'s ''[[Aspects of the Novel]]'' into Urdu as ''Novel ka Fun''. He was conferred with the [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] in 2009, and the [[Ghalib Award]] in 2013.

Qasmi was an [[alumnus]] of the [[Darul Uloom Deoband]], [[Jamia Millia Islamia]] and the Aligarh Muslim University. He served as the head professor of the Urdu department of Aligarh Muslim University between 1996 and 1999. He was considered a major pillar of Urdu criticism.

==Biography==
Abul Kalam Qasmi was born on 20 December 1950 in [[Darbhanga]], Bihar.{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=17}} He received his primary education at Madrasa Qāsim al-Ulūm Hussainiya, and graduated in the [[dars-e-nizami]] from the [[Darul Uloom Deoband]] in 1967.{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=17}} He did his intermediate studies at the [[Jamia Millia Islamia]] and received a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] and an [[Master of Arts|M.A.]] from the [[Aligarh Muslim University]] (AMU) in 1973 and 1975 respectively.{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=17}} His teachers included [[Anzar Shah Kashmiri]].{{Sfn|Qasmi|2013|p=238}}

Qasmi became a lecturer at the AMU in 1976 and was appointed a [[Reader (academic rank)|Reader]] in 1984, the same year he received his [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] degree.{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=17}} He compiled two course books for the university's Urdu department in 1980.{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=17}} In 1993, he was appointed a professor of [[comparative literature]].{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=17}} He edited the ''Aligarh Magazine'' during 1975 and 1976 and served as the chief-editor of the bi-monthly magazine ''Alfāz, Aligarh'' from 1976 to 1980. Between 1983 and 1985, he was the chief-editor of ''Inkār, Aligarh''. In 1996, he became the editor of ''[[Tehzeeb-ul-Akhlaq]]''.{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=19}} He was a member of the executive council of the [[National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language]] from 1998 to 2003.{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=20}} He served as the head professor of the AMU's Urdu department from 16 June 1996 to 15 June 1999.<ref>{{cite web |title=Former chairpersons of the AMU's Urdu department |url=https://amu.ac.in/department/urdu/list-of-former-chairperson |website=amu.ac.in |access-date=8 July 2021}}</ref> He also served as the dean of the AMU's [[Faculty of Arts, Aligarh Muslim University|Faculty of Arts]].<ref name="death">{{cite news |title=اردو کے نامور نقاد پروفیسر ابوالکلام قاسمی کا انتقال |trans-title= Famous Urdu critic Professor Abul Kalam Qasmi passes away|url=https://www.baseeratonline.com/150152 |access-date=8 July 2021 |work=Baseerat Online |date=8 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708154823/https://www.baseeratonline.com/150152|archive-date=8 July 2021}}</ref> Mujawir Husain Rizvi, who was a professor of Urdu literature at the [[University of Allahabad]], would call him "Father of the Pen" (Abul Qalam), for his literary contributions.{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=191}}

Qasmi was considered a major pillar of Urdu criticism following on from [[Gopi Chand Narang]] and [[Shamsur Rahman Faruqi]].<ref name="voa">{{cite news |title=پروفیسر ابو الکلام قاسمی کو ساہتیہ اکادمی انعام |trans-title=Professor Abul Kalam awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award|url=https://www.urduvoa.com/a/abul-kalam-qasmi-sahitya-award-6jan10-80809992/1122280.html |access-date=8 July 2021 |work=Urdu [[Voice of America]] |date=6 January 2010 |language=ur}}</ref> He received the [[Bihar Urdu Academy|Bihar Urdu Academy Award]] in 1980, and the [[Urdu Academy, Uttar Pradesh|Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy Award]] in 1987 and 1993.{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=20}} He was conferred with the [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] in 2009 for his book ''Mu'āsir Tanqīdi Rawayye''.<ref name="voa"/> He received the [[Ghalib Award]] in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |title=Awards |url=https://www.milligazette.com/news/1-community-news/9708-awards/ |access-date=9 July 2021 |work=Milli Gazette |date=17 December 2013}}</ref> He died on 8 July 2021 in [[Aligarh]].<ref name="death"/> [[Tariq Mansoor]] expressed sorrow and termed his death a great loss to the literary fraternity of India.<ref name="amu">{{cite news |title=AMU MOURNS DEMISE OF PROF ABUL KALAM QASMI |url=https://www.amu.ac.in/news/2021/07/09/amu-mourns-demise-of-prof-abul-kalam-qasmi |access-date=9 July 2021 |work=Aligarh Muslim University |date=9 July 2021}}</ref>

==Literary works==
Qāsmi translated [[E. M. Forster]]'s ''[[Aspects of the Novel]]'' into [[Urdu language|Urdu]] as ''Novel ka Fun''.{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=18}}He authored books such as ''Kas̲rat-i Taʻbīr'', ''Mashriqi She'riyāt aur Urdu Tanqīd ki Riwāyat'', ''Mu'āsir Tanqīdī Rawayye'', ''Shā'iri ki Tanqīd'' (''The Criticism of Poetry'') and ''Takhlīqi Tajruba''.{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=18}}<ref name="worldcat">{{cite web |title=Books by Abul Kalam Qasmi |url=https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n83167281/ |publisher=[[WorldCat]] |access-date=8 July 2021}}</ref> By 2010 Qāsmi had 125 research articles to his credit.<ref>{{cite news |title=AMU honours its award winning faculty |url=https://ummid.com/news/2010/January/02.01.2010/amu_felicitate_qasmi.htm |access-date=8 July 2021 |work=Ummid |date=2 January 2010}}</ref> His compiled works include:{{Sfn|Sadaf|2006|p=18}}<ref name="worldcat"/>
* ''Azādī ke baʻd Urdū Tanz-o-Mizāḥ''
* ''Mashriq kī Bāzyāft: Muḥammad Ḥasan ʻAskarī ke ḥavāle se'' (''The Recovery of the East, with Reference to [[Hasan Askari (writer)|Muhammad Hasan Askari]]'')
* ''Rashīd Aḥmad Ṣiddīqī, Shak̲h̲ṣīyat aur Adabī Qadr-o- Qīmat'' (''[[Rasheed Ahmad Siddiqui]], Life and His Literary Importance'')
* ''Mirzā G̲h̲ālib: Shak̲h̲ṣiyat aur Shāʻirī'' (''[[Mirza Ghalib]]: Personality and Poetry'')

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sadaf |first1=Mushtaq Ahmad |title=Abul Kalām Qāsmi: Shakhsiyat awr Adbi khidmāt |trans-title=Abul Kalām Qāsmi: Life and literary contributions |publisher=Kitab Numa |date= June 2006 |location=[[New Delhi]] |language=ur |oclc=72871627}}
* {{cite book |last1= Qasmi |first1= Nayab Hasan |title=Darul Uloom Deoband Ka Sahafati ManzarNama |publisher=Idara Tehqeeq-e-Islami |location = [[Deoband]] |date = 2013 |pages= 237–240|language= ur}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Muʻīdur |first1=Raḥmān |title=Nazr-i Abul Kalām Qāsmi |trans-title=A Present to Abul Kalam Qasmi|date=2016 |publisher=Educational Book House |location=[[Ahmedabad]] |language=ur |isbn=9789350738832}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qasmi, Abul Kalam}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:2021 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian critics]]
[[Category:People from Darbhanga]]
[[Category:Darul Uloom Deoband alumni]]
[[Category:Jamia Millia Islamia alumni]]
[[Category:Aligarh Muslim University alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of Aligarh Muslim University]]
[[Category:Urdu-language Indian writers]]
[[Category:Recipients of Ghalib Award]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu]]

Abul Kalam Qasmi - Revision history

Camorabug at 17:19, 16 October 2025