Citizenship Pakistani Books A Night in London Role Writer | Name Sajjad Zaheer | |
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Born 5 November 1905Lucknow, India ( 1905-11-05 ) Occupation Urdu poet, writer, dramatist, Marxist Nationality Indian, Pakistani (brief while) Notable works Angaray, London Ki Ek Raat, Pighla Neelam Died September 13, 1973, Almaty, Kazakhstan Spouse Razia Sajjad Zaheer (m. 1938) Children Nadira Babbar, Noor Zaheer, Naseem Bhatia, Najma Ali Baquer Similar People Nadira Babbar, Raj Babbar, Juhi Babbar, Aarya Babbar, Prateik Babbar | ||
Sm mehdi on sajjad zaheer
Syed Sajjad Zaheer (Urdu: سید سجاد ظہیر ) ( 5 November 1905 – 13 September 1973) was an Urdu writer, Marxist ideologue and radical revolutionary who worked in both India and Pakistan. In the pre-independence era, he was a leading member of the Communist Party of India. Upon independence and partition, he moved with his family to newly-created Pakistan and became a founding member of the Communist Party of Pakistan. In 1951, he was caught and jailed for his involvement in the Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case, to overthrow the first prime minister of Pakistan. Upon being released, he moved back to India and resumed his activities in various "progressive" cultural organizations of the Communist Party. He died in 1973 in USSR.
Contents
- Sm mehdi on sajjad zaheer
- Noor Sajjad Zaheers speech at Book Launch of Surkh Siasat
- Background and family
- Career
- Revolutionary writer
- Emigration to Pakistan and jail
- Return to India
- Marriage and children
- Death
- Published writings
- References
Zaheer was the father of Nadira Babbar and uncle of Nurul Hasan, the Congress politician. Zaheer was also the grandfather of Pankhuri Zaheer, the communist activist at JNU who organised the "Kiss of Love" event outside the RSS office in Delhi and is an active supporter of Kanhaiya Kumar, who was jailed and charged with sedition in February 2016.
Noor Sajjad Zaheer's speech at Book Launch of "Surkh Siasat"
Background and family
Zaheer was born in Lucknow, India, into an affluent Muslim family of Syeds, claiming descent from prophet Muhammad. His forebearshad come to India from Afghanistan, and received a large estate in Avadh (Oudh). Zaheer's father, Sir Syed Wazir Hasan received an English education and a Barrister, later a judge and retired as Chief Justice of Oudh receiving a knighthood. Zaheer's mother, Sakina-tul-Fatima, was a traditional lady and the matriarch of a large family. Zaheer was one of their seven children (five sons and two daughters). One of his brothers, Syed Ali Zaheer, was the India's Ambassador to Iran. Zaheer was the uncle of Nurul Hasan, am Congress Minister in the Union Government and later a Governor.
Career
After initial education in India, Sajjad Zaheer went to England to study law and became a barrister. However, he never practiced law.
Revolutionary writer
A collection of short stories, Angaaray (embers), which had stories by Sajjad Zaheer, Ahmed Ali, Rashid Jahan and Mahmud-uz-Zafar was published in 1932 and banned in 1933 by the British Government of India "for hurting the religious susceptibilities of a section of the community." This gave rise to the All-India Progressive Writers' Movement & Association of which both Sajjad Zaheer and Ahmed Ali were co-founders. The first official conference of the Association was held in Lucknow in 1936, which was presided over by Munshi Premchand.
Emigration to Pakistan and jail
In 1947, the British departed from India after Partitioning the country and creating Pakistan. The landlords of Oudh, led by the Raja of Mahmudabad, had been the most vociferous and aggressive supporters and financial backers of the Muslim League. Zaheer, who was a leading member of the Communist Party of India, now became one of the founding members of the Communist Party of Pakistan, which he founded along with Faiz Ahmad Faiz in 1948.
Zaheer and his comrade, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, were convicted and jailed in Rawalpindi Conspiracy Case along with Mohammad Husain Ata, Zafarullah Poshni and others. Major General Akbar Khan was allegedly the main conspirator.
Return to India
Sajjad Zaheer was extradited to India in 1954 by the Government of Pakistan, and revived his activities in India through Progressive Writers' Association, Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) and Afro-Asian Writers' Association. Sajjad Zaheer was also a founder and leading figure of the three associations.
Marriage and children
Sajjad's wife Razia Sajjad Zaheer wrote short stories in Urdu. These were published first in a women's magazine, and later, in a "compendium." Sajjad and his wife were the parents of four daughters, being:
- Najma Zaheer Baquer, eldest daughter, a Professor of Biochemistry at JNU and an expert on diabetes.
- Naseem Bhatia, second daughter, holds a PhD in History (ancient history) from a Russian university. She became vice-chancellor of Jai Narain Vyas University. Her husband, Prof. Vinod Bhatia, is a Hindu who taught history at the Academy of Third World Studies in Jamia Millia Islamia.
- Nadira Babbar, a theatre artist. Married to bollywood star-turned-politician Raj Babbar, she has two children, Arya Babbar and Juhi Babbar, both film & TV actors.
- Noor Zaheer, fourth and youngest daughter, is a communist activist especially committed to promoting atheism, "rationalism" and feminism. She is the author of the feminist tract My God is a Woman. Although never married, she has four children by two different men. Their names are Sanjog Gupta, Pankhuri Dasgupta, Anuran Dasgupta and Surdhani Dasgupta.
- Pankhuri Dasgupta (who uses the name "Pankhuri Zaheer," being estranged from her father) is a communist activist at JNU. She was the organizer of the Kiss of Love event held outside the RSS office in Old Delhi in November 2014. She is also an active supporter of the communist student activist Kanhaiya Kumar, who was jailed for sedition in Feb-March 2016.
Death
Sajjad Zaheer died aged 68 on 13 September 1973 while attending a conference inAlma Ata, Kazakhstan, which at that time was one of the Soviet republics.