The Islamic civilization in South Asia was greatly influenced by Persian, Arabic and to some extent, the Turkish language. Turkish was established as the mother tongue of the Mughal rulers of… Read More

This essay discusses the influence of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s movement. It particularly takes into account the importance that Sir Syed placed on scientific inquiry as well as his interpretation of… Read More

This essay discusses the influence of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan’s movement. It particularly takes into account the importance that Sir Syed placed on scientific inquiry as well as his interpretation of… Read More

‘Taṡniya’ or the method of representing nouns in pairs besides the singular and plural forms is derived in Urdu from the Arabic language. However, this has not been formalized as a rule of grammar… Read More

This article critically reviews A History of Urdu Literature written in the English language by Ali Jawad Zaidi, published in 1993 by Sahitya Academy, Bombay (Mumbai), India. All thirty two… Read More

This article takes into account the Urdu newspapers and periodicals of India that went into circulation between 1815 and 1857 and establishes their contribution to literature through the literary… Read More

This essay traces the similarities in the syntax and morphology of the Urdu and Hindi languages. Numerous examples are quoted to support the thesis. It is maintained that, sharing eighty percent… Read More

The author here discusses the features of Faiz’s poetry that, in his opinion, contribute to the poet’s phenomenal popularity. It appears that his work has elements of inclusivity due to which it… Read More

The complexity of the Urdu language can be traced back to its origins where it gradually developed through the interaction between Persian speaking rulers. This particular dialect, affected with… Read More

Urdu poet and screenwriter, Akhtar-ul-Iman was an important contemporary of Rashed, Miraji and Faiz. He had a formative influence on Urdu nazm and won the Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue in 1963… Read More

“Qaṣīdā Burdā Sharīf”, a long poem written originally in Arabic by Imam Muhammad Sharf al-Din Busiri, has been translated into several languages by multiple translators. This article studies the… Read More

This article reviews the collection of poems Bẖarē Bẖaṛolē by Wasif Ali Wasif. The poems in this collection are evaluated in the light of the Punjabi Sufi tradition of poetry with its own… Read More

This essay explores the nature of fiction as a genre, its popularity in the present age, the socio-political dimension of its themes, and the responsibility of the reader who may interpret those… Read More

Letters have always remained significant in the study and analysis of biographical data and works of renowned literary figures. Up till now, only about one hundred and fifty of Saadat Hasan Manto’… Read More

This essay presents a comparative study of the life and works of Egyptian writer and journalist Ihsan Abdul Quddus and the Pakistani, Urdu fiction writer, Saadat Hasan Manto. Having lived in the… Read More

Identity is the construction of the cultural process of a people, i.e. the social milieu in turn defines and shapes humans into the kinds of individuals they are. This shaping of identity is… Read More

PTV is the pioneer center of the TV drama in Pakistan. The article is an overview of the history of the Urdu drama as produced by its Lahore Centre. It also studies the emergence of the private… Read More

Metaphysical elements in literature appear in several shades, from the starkly visible to the mystically subtle. Fasāna-i ‘ajā’ib, a dāstān (tale, fable) by Rajab Ali Baig Suroor, written in the… Read More

This essay highlights Iftikhar Jalib’s views on the importance of introducing new linguistic formations and abandoning the conventional use of language in Urdu poetry and prose. The essay limits… Read More

This essay reviews two plays of short story writer and novelist Intezar Hussain. These are his lesser known works. The author brings to light the significance of the themes of these plays that… Read More

Urbanization has brought about progress for the human race at a certain cost. The constant, insatiable pursuit of physical comfort results in spiritual deprivation and loneliness, as well as a… Read More

Arminius Vambery, a Hungarian turkologist and traveler, was a prominent orientalist of the 19th century whose works hold considerable significance as a study of the history and culture of Central… Read More

This is a first complete Urdu translation, along with references and notes, of Whittemore’s essay Iqbal’s Panentheism, that was first published in 1955 in the Review of Metaphysics (Tulane… Read More

This is the translation of an excerpt from the autobiography of Abd al-Majid Daryabadi (1892-1977), an Indian Muslim scholar who was active in political, academic, literary and religious circles… Read More

This article is based on an original document discovered in Lahore, providing authentic evidence of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s role as a patron of arts. One part of the document consists of letters… Read More