Mushfiq Khwaja
Mushfiq Khwaja | |
|---|---|
| Born | Khwaja Abdul Hai 19 December 1935 |
| Died | 21 February 2005 (aged 69) Karachi, Pakistan |
| Pen name | Khama-Bagosh; Saeeda Khatoon |
| Occupation | writer, columnist, translator, poet, researcher |
| Language | Urdu |
| Education | MA Urdu |
| Alma mater | Karachi University |
| Period | 1957–2005 |
| Genre | poetry, satire, research, translation |
| Notable awards | Pride of Performance (1988)[1] |
Mushfiq Khwaja[a] (born Khwaja Abdul Hai; 19 December 1935 – 21 February 2005) was a Pakistani writer, columnist, translator, poet, and researcher of Urdu literature.[2] He was associated for much of his career with the Anjuman-i Taraqqi-i Urdu and edited its journal Qaumi Zaban. His published works include critical editions, bibliographical surveys, research monographs, and a poetry collection titled Abyaat. He also contributed about fifty features on various subjects for Radio Pakistan during his career.[3]
Early life and education
[edit]Khwaja was born in 1935 in Lahore, British India (now Pakistan). His father, Khwaja Abdul Waheed, was a noted scholar.[2]
Following the partition of India, the family moved to Karachi in 1948. Khwaja earned his bachelor's degree in 1957 and later completed a master's in Urdu from Karachi University in 1958.[2]
Career
[edit]In April 1957, at the age of 22, Khwaja was appointed editor of the Urdu journal Qaumi Zaban by Maulvi Abdul Haq, the founder of Anjuman-e-Taraqqi-e-Urdu (ATU). He served as the curator of Educational Affairs at the ATU from 1957 to 1983.[2]
He translated the Persian text Tareekh-i-Farishta into Urdu, publishing under the name Abdul Hai Khwaja. He also published various social and romantic novels under the pseudonym Saeeda Khatoon, though these works received mixed critical attention and are less documented in scholarly discussions.[2]
Poetry, humor, and letters
[edit]Khwaja published a collection of poetry titled Abyaat. After its release, he did not continue publishing verse, though some of his unpublished poems have been preserved.[2]
He was also known for his satirical and humorous writings, particularly the literary columns he wrote under the pen name Khama-Bagosh, which appeared regularly in Urdu periodicals and gained readership for their wit and social commentary.[2]
In addition to poetry and satire, he maintained an extensive correspondence with contemporaries. Nine volumes of his letters have been published posthumously, providing information about his literary associations and intellectual engagements.[2]
In the 1980s, he also contributed a regular literary column under the pseudonym Khama Bagosh.[2]
Autobiographies
[edit]Khwaja maintained an academic interest in Urdu autobiographical writing. In 1958, he submitted a master's dissertation on the subject at Karachi University, although the work was not published.[4]
In 1964, the quarterly journal Al-Zubair issued a special number on autobiographies (Aap Beeti Number), which included his essay on the genre. The essay discussed the tradition of autobiography in Urdu and presented excerpts from several little-known works.[4]
The piece was later rediscovered and republished in book form under the title Urdu Ki Mukhtasar Aap Beetiyan with annotations, contributing to the study of autobiographical writing in Urdu.[4]
Mushfiq Khwaja Library and Research Centre
[edit]After Khwaja's death in 2005, his personal collection of Urdu books and periodicals was acquired for preservation by the Urdu Research Library Consortium. The collection included about 15,500 monographs and more than 430 periodical titles, many of which were rare nineteenth and early twentieth-century works not widely available in research libraries.[5]
A preservation project, titled the Mushfiq Khwaja Library and Research Centre and Khwaja Abdul Waheed Collection, was established under the coordination of the University of Chicago. The project was named after Khwaja and his father, Khwaja Abdul Waheed. The collection was initially housed at Khwaja's residence in Karachi, where cataloguing, microfilming, and digitization were carried out.[5]
Later the University of Chicago Library, with funding from the Arcadia Fund, began digitizing selected Urdu periodicals from the collection.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b ڈیسک, ویب (2024-02-21). "مشفق خواجہ: ایک کھرا قلم کار". ARYNews.tv. Archived from the original on 2024-03-08. Retrieved 2025-08-30.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Parekh, Rauf (2021-05-31). "New book on life and works of Mushfiq Khwaja". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 2021-09-21. Retrieved 2025-08-29.
- ^ Salamat, Sajid (2024-02-21). "Mushfiq Khwaja remembered". dailytimes.com.pk. Archived from the original on 2024-04-16. Retrieved 2025-08-29.
- ^ a b c Parekh, Rauf (2020-10-27). "Mushfiq Khwaja's work on autobiographies published". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 2020-12-28. Retrieved 2025-08-29.
- ^ a b c "The Mushfiq Khwaja Library and Research Centre and Khwaja Adbul Waheed Collection A Prospectus" (PDF). Retrieved 2025-08-29.
- ^ Urdu: مُشْفِق خواجہ, pronounced [ˈmʊʃfɪq ˈxʋaːd͡ʒaː].