Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi

Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi (real name, Ahmad Shah Awan November 20, 1916 – July 10, 2006) was a legendary Urdu language Pakistani poet, journalist, literary critic, dramatist and short story author.

Born in 1916 amidst the scenic Soon-Sekasar valley in district Khushab, nature influenced the evolution of Qasmi’s poetic sensibilities. Exposure to the grim realities of rural India’s inequities also played their part in his development as a writer; the underlying theme of his poetry is human dignity and his short stories - regarded as next in line to another master, Munshi Prem Chand, for their directness and simplicity - portrayed the woes of the Punjabi peasantry and their interaction with power structures. Following his matriculation from Campbellpur in 1931, around the time when he wrote his first poem, he moved to the Sadiq Egerton College in Bahawalpur and graduated in 1935.A graduate of the Punjab University, Nadeem Qasimi started his career as a government clerk, which he eventually left to pursue journalism.

With some 50 books of poetry, fiction, criticism, journalism and art to his credit, Qasmi was a major figure in contemporary Urdu literature. His poetry stood out among his contemporaries' work for its unflinching humanism, and Qasmi's Urdu afsana (short story) work is considered by some second only to Prem Chand in its masterful depiction of rural culture. He also published and edited the prestigious literary journal Funoon for almost half a century, grooming generations of new writers.

Qasmi was well-grounded in his own ethos and the call for freedom and the liberation of the masses was rooted in his own past. For him, Iqbal was a poetical and intellectual force to be benefitted from rather than to be challenged, as had been done by some of his contemporaries, and he was totally drawn into the feeling of helplessness that the Muslims experienced after the abolition of the Khilafat in Turkey. He looked up to the leaders of that movement, and his first creative outpouring was in the form of a poem for Muhammad Ali Jauhar in 1931. He was then inspired by Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali and more so by Zafar Ali Khan for their simple but rousing verses written directly for the Muslim community. It was a little later that he took to writing other forms of literature. He did eventually scatter himself in fiction, poetry, plays and journalism – all served as means to express an irrepressible nature and still had the energy for political activism. He had to pay a price of persecution for his words and actions as it also paved the way for his recognition.

He became active member of the Progressive Writers Movement, for a time holding the position of secretary, and was consequently arrested many times during the 1950s through the 1970s.

In his long career as a writer and editor, Qasmi Sahib had the distinction of editing several prominent literary journals, including Phool, Tehzeeb-i-Niswaan, Adab-i-Lateef, Savera, Naqoosh, and his own brainchild, Funoon. He also served as the editor of the prestigious (now defunct) Urdu daily Imroze. For several decades Qasimi contributed weekly columns to national newspapers; a classic example was "Rawan Dawan" in the daily Jang, which focused on current issues.

In 1974, he was appointed secretary-general of the Majlis-Taraqee-Adab - a Board of Advancement of Literature established by the government of West Pakistan in 1958 - and Qasmi worked in that position till his last.

Qasmi died on the 10th of July, 2006 of complications from asthma at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore.

Achievements:

• President’s Pride of Performance (1968)
• Pakistan Academy of Letters’ lifetime achievement award
• the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, (country's highest civil award)

Major publication:

Poetry books:

• Jalal-o-Jamal,
• Shola-i-Gul
• Kisht-i-Wafa

Short story Books:

• Chopaal, Sannata
• Kapaas ka Phool
• Bagolay
• Tal-o-Gharoob
• Sailab-o-Gardab
• Anchal
• Ghar se ghar tak..