Department of Urdu, JMI, completes 50 years

“Fiftieth anniversary of the Urdu Department, Jamia Millia Islamia is a forerunner in the significant vision of promotion of Urdu language” -Syed Shahid Mehdi on the completion of 50 years of the Urdu Department.

Department of Urdu, Jamia Millia Islamia successfully completed fifty golden years of its establishment on 25th November 2022. On this momentous occasion, the department organised a series of programs to mark an enthusiastic celebration of its Golden Jubilee.

The celebration began on Thursday, 24th November by the inauguration of an exhibition presented by the students depicting the long journey and achievements of the department, entitled as: “The story of the Half century, through the language of pictures“. Professor Mohd Asaduddin, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Languages, inaugurated the event.

Series of programs continued the next day, on 25th November. The day began with an opening ceremony at 10:30am in the Conference Hall, CIT that hosted a bouquet of distinguished Urdu and Persian scholars, writers, professors including Dr. Mohd Muqeem, Professor Ahmed Mehfooz, Professor Shareef Husain Qasmi, Professor Shaikh Aqeel Ahmed (Director, NCPUL, JMI), Syed Shahid Mehdi (Former Vice Chancellor, JMI), Professor Siddiqur Rehman Qidwai, Professor Mohd Asaduddin and Professor Nadeem Ahmed as guests.

The second session began at 3:30 pm in the Auditorium Hall, Faculty of Engineering. It was a Panel Discussion among the respected alumni of the department including Professor Qazi Ubaidurrehman Hashmi, Professor Khalid Mehmood, Professor Shehnaz Anjum, Professor Wahajuddin Alvi (Former Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Languages), Professor Shehpar Rasool and Professor Suhail Ahmed Faruqui. Guests shared their experiences during their tenure at JMI and how they feel about it today. They congratulated the faculty of Urdu as well as the students who have played a significant role in this success. This session ended with a documentary presentation about the Urdu Department, its history and present.

The third and the last program was a ‘Mushaira‘ attended by a huge crowd which began at 5:30 pm. This program was chaired by Prof. Najma Akhtar, VC, JMI who also felicitated Professor Khalid Jawaid of the Urdu department on winning the 2022 JCB Prize for Literature. The program was presided by renowned Urdu poet, Waqar Manvi. Poetry of Dr. Md. Mubashshir, Dr. Abdul Naseeb Khan, Shafaq Sopori, Dr Suhail Ahmed Faruqui, Dr Tabish Mehdi, Professor Khalid Mehmood were loved by the audience. The day ended with a note of thanks by the Professor Ahmed Mehfooz, HoD, Department of Urdu. Dr. Nadeem Ahmed played an important role in organizing the event and its successful completion.

Report by: Syed Ilham Jafri for TJR.