Hafizullah Newalpuri

Hafizullah Newalpuri
Native name
حفیظ اللہ نیولپوری
Born5 January 1936
Newalpur, Cuttack district , Bihar and Orissa Province, British India (now part of Jajpur district, Odisha)
Died8 May 2019(2019-05-08) (aged 83)
Cuttack, Odisha, India
Resting placeQadam e Rasool, Cuttack
OccupationWriter, translator, educator
LanguageUrdu, Odia, Hindi, Bengali, English, Persian
NationalityIndian
EducationM.A. (Urdu), Fazil (Persian), B.Ed., M.Phil., Ph.D.
Alma materBihar University, Utkal University, Jawaharlal Nehru University
GenreProse, translation, criticism, biography
Notable worksOdisha Mein Urdu, Taboot Ki Sada, Sirf Tumhare Liye
Notable awardsOdisha Urdu Academy Award (1989)[1]

Hafizullah Newalpuri (1936–2019), also written as Hafeezullah Newalpuri, was an Indian Urdu-language prose writer, translator, researcher, and educator from Odisha. He authored fiction, critical essays, translations, biographies, and research-based works, and was noted for his multilingualism and literary versatility.

Early life and education

Hafizullah Newalpuri was born in 5 January 1936 in Newalpur which was then part of Cuttack district in Orissa (now in Jajpur district, Odisha).[2] He completed his M.A. in Urdu at Bihar University and earned a B.Ed. from Utkal University. He earned an M.Phil. in 1980 from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) under Mohammad Hasan with a thesis titled Mughal Tamasha ka Tajziyati Pehlu (The Analytical Aspect of Mughal Tamasha).[3][4][5]

In 1982, he was awarded a Ph.D. for his thesis titled Odisha Mein Urdu, under the supervision of Mohammad Hasan. This work was later published by the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) in 2001.[6][7][8]

Career

Newalpuri joined the Odisha Education Service as a Class I officer and retired as Head of the Department of Urdu and Persian at Ravenshaw College, Cuttack.[3] He served as an external examiner for multiple Ph.D. and D.Litt. viva voce examinations at L.N. Mithila University.[9]

Literary works

Newalpuri began his literary career in 1955 with a short story published in the children's magazine Phulwari (Delhi).[10]

Newalpuri contributed to the Urdu monthly Aaj Kal during the 1970s and 1980s. His published work in the magazine included articles on the establishment and development of Urdu libraries in Odisha, the state of Urdu journalism in the region, literary profiles of Muslim writers from Odisha, and the growth of novel writing in the state. He also authored a research-based article on Mughal Tamasha and its relationship with the Urdu stage in Odisha. In addition to critical essays, his contributions included a translation of a poem by Sourindra Barik from Odia, and a review of the Urdu poetry collection of Muhammad Sharafuddin Sāhil titled Bayān Merathi: Hayāt-o-Shā'irī.[11][12]

He also wrote character sketchs (khāke), blending vivid description with subtle wit. A notable example appears in his preface to Shakh-e-Sanobar, a poetry collection by Karamat Ali Karamat, where he sketches the poet's personality through lively imagery and everyday references—such as describing him sipping tea while immersed in thought.[13]

According to Motiullah Nazish, his body of work includes approximately 30 short stories, 72 research articles, 79 essays, 25 literary papers, and 20 critical reviews.[14]

Translations

Newalpuri was a multilingual translator. He translated from Odia, Bengali, and English into Urdu. His notable works include:

  • Taboot Ki Sada – translations of poems by Niranjan Padhi from Odia (1991)[15]
  • Sirf Tumhare Liye – translated from Manorama Biswal Mohapatra's Odia poems[16] (1994)[17]

He also translated Bengali stories such as Balu Ghat ki Machhli and Odia fiction like Nachiketa ka Haath. These were noted for blending linguistic features of both the source and target languages.[18]

Books

His notable works include:

  • Odisha Mein Urdu (Research, 2001)[6]
  • Taboot Ki Sada (Translation, 1991)[19]
  • Sirf Tumhare Liye (Translation)
  • Cuttack: As Known from Persian Sources (English)[3]
  • Oriya–Urdu Dictionary (Compiler)[3]
  • Harf-e-Aarzoo (Compilation of congratulatory poems by the country's eminent poets on the occasion of Khalid Rahim's inauguration ceremony) [20]
  • Orissa Library Ke 20 Saal (Booklet)[21]

Death

Newalpuri died on 8 May 2019 at his residence in Cuttack after a prolonged illness. He was buried the same day at Qadam e Rasool cemetery.[9][22]

See also

References

  1. ^ Nazish 2018, pp. 34–35.
  2. ^ Dutt, K. C. (1999). Who's Who of Indian Writers: 1999 (A-M). Vol. 1 (End-Century ed.). Sahitya Akademi. p. 879. ISBN 978-81-260-0873-5.
  3. ^ a b c d Dutt 1999, p. 878.
  4. ^ Shan, Shahana Maryam (2012). Hindustān ki Universityon mein Urdu Tahqeeq [Urdu research in Indian universities] (in Urdu). Lal Kunuan, Delhi: Educational Publishing House. pp. 119, 150. ISBN 978-81-8223-921-0.
  5. ^ Newalpuri 2001, pp. 315–316.
  6. ^ a b Newalpuri, Hafizullah (2001). Odisha mein Urdu [Urdu in Odisha] (in Urdu). Delhi: National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language. p. 223.
  7. ^ Karāmat, Karāmat Ali (October 2006). "Foreword by Hafeezullah Newalpuri". Shakh e Sanobar (in Urdu) (1st ed.). Cuttack: Vidyasagar Printers. p. 10.
  8. ^ Iqbal, Shahid (2020). Chitthi Aayi Hai! (Mashāhīr ke Khutoot Dr. Imam Azam ke Naam) [The letter has arrived! (Letters from celebrities addressed to Dr. Imam Azam)] (in Urdu) (1st ed.). New Delhi: Educational Publishing House. p. 207. ISBN 978-93-89733-95-2.
  9. ^ a b Azam, Imam (June 2019). Shamail, Zohra (ed.). "Mujhe Kuchh Kehna Hai". Tamseel-e-Nau (in Urdu). 18 (70–73): 70. ISSN 2249-636X. Published in the annual issue covering July 2018 to June 2019
  10. ^ Nazish, Motiullah (2018). Odisha mein Urdu Nasr Nigari [Urdu Prose Writing in Odisha] (in Urdu) (1st ed.). Bhubaneswar: Odisha Urdu Academy. p. 158.
  11. ^ Akhtar, Jameel (August 2002). Ishāriya-Aaj Kal (1942–2000) (in Urdu). Jamia Nagar, New Delhi: International Urdu Foundation. p. 496.
  12. ^ Maghribi Bangāl mein Urdū adab: ek jāʼiza [Urdu Literature in West Bengal: A Review] (in Urdu) (1st ed.). West Bengal Urdu Academy. 2002. p. 36.
  13. ^ Nazish 2018, pp. 156–157.
  14. ^ Nazish 2018, p. 158.
  15. ^ Padhi, Niranjan (November 1991). "Ta'āruf by the Publisher, Qutub Kamran" [Introduction by the Publisher, Qutub Kāmrān]. Taboot Ki Sada [The sound of the coffin] (in Urdu). Translated by Newalpuri, Hafizullah. Deewan Bazar, Cuttack: Qutub Kāmrān, Kāmrān Publications. p. 8.
  16. ^ Nazish 2018, pp. 153–154.
  17. ^ Mohapatra, Manorama Biswal (1994). Sirf Tumhare Liye (in Urdu). Translated by Hafeezullah Newalpuri (1st ed.). Bhubaneswar, Odisha: Manorama Biswal Mohapatra. p. 3.
  18. ^ Nazish 2018, pp. 155–156.
  19. ^ Padhi 1991, p. 8.
  20. ^ Newalpuri 2001, p. 449.
  21. ^ "library ke bees (20) saal by Hafeezullah Newalpuri". Rekhta. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  22. ^ Editorial (June 2019). Ahmad, Sheikh Aqeel; Hayy, Abdul (eds.). "Urdu Duniya Ki Khabrein" [Urdu World News]. Urdu Duniya (in Urdu). 21 (6). Delhi: NCPUL: 97.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.