Prof. Iftikhar Husain Arif,
Bio-Data
Prof. Iftikhar Husain Arif
President, ECO Cultural Institute
Date of Birth: March 21, 1943.
Education: Madrasā Nizāmiā Farangī Mahal, Government Jubilee College, Lucknow,
M.A, M.A.S, University of Lucknow.
Professional Positions:
2013 till date
President: Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Cultural Institute (ECI) Tehran, Iran.
2012 to 2013
Visiting Professor: Department of Languages and Literature (Hindi & Urdu) National University of Modern Languages (NUML)
2008 to 2011
Chairman, National Language Authority, (Cabinet Division, Government of Pakistan)
2000 to 2008
Chairman, Pakistan Academy of Letters (Ministry of Education)
2005
Managing Director, National Book Foundation (Ministry of Education)
1995 to 2000
Chairman, National Language Authority, (Cabinet Division, Government of Pakistan )
1991 to 1995
Director General, Pakistan Academy of Letters, (Ministry of Education, Government of Pakistan )
Managing Editor of Academy's quarterly, Adabiyat, and Bi-annual English Journal Pakistani Literature.
1994 to1997
Director General: Pakistani Scholars and Writers Foundation (Ministry of Education, Government of Pakistan ).
1981 to 1990
Executive Incharge: Urdu Markaz ,The Third World Foundation, London , U.K.
1977 to 1980
Public Relations Officer: Bank of Credit and Commerce, London .
1968 to 1977
Senior Producer/ Script Editor: Pakistan Television Corporation, Karachi Centre.
1965 to 1977
Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (External Services): Hindi and U.K. Service.
Publications:
Mehr-e Donīm 1984 (15 official editions)
Barhvāṅ Khilaṛī (The Twelfth Man) 1989 (3 official editions)
Harf-e-Bāryāb 1994 (8 official editions)
Jahān-e Mʻālūm 2005
Written in the Season of Fear Urdu Poems with English Translations
Shehr-e ʻIlm kē Darvāzē par (selected verse)
Kitāb-e Dil-o-Dunyā (collected works) 2009
Faiz ba Nām-e Iftikhar Arif 2011
Intikhāb-e Kalām-e Faiz 2011
Poems widely published in various Urdu magazines and periodicals throughout the Urdu literary world and also translated into other languages (English, Russian, German, Persian, Hindi, Bhasha etc)
Selected books published under supervision during tenure at National Language Authority, Pakistan Academy of Letters and Urdu Markaz, London
Urdu Markaz, London
Urdu in Great Britain (English) by Ralph Russell
Urdu Books in the India Office Library (English) by Saleem Kureishi
Kulliyāt-e Meerajī compiled by Dr. Jameel Jalibi
Mashriq by Saleem Ahmed
Europe mēn Urdu Makhtutat by Dr. Ziauddin Shakeeb
Urdu Shā'ēri kā Intekhāb by Shohrat Bokhari
History of Urdu Language and Literature (English) by David Mathews,
Christophe Schakle, Shahrukh Husain
Kulliyat-e Habib Jalib
Pakistan Academy of Letters, Islamabad
Series of Annual selections from literature in Pakistani Languages
Series of Annual bibliography of Pakistani Literature
Introduced and published series of biannual journals of Pakistani literature (all Pakistani languages) in English translation
Introduced and published series of more than 80 books on Makers of Pakistani Literature, Pakistani Adab kē maimār. These books are on the life and works of prominent Pakistani writers like Iqbal, Faiz, Sheikh Ayaz, Ajmal Khattak, Gul Khan Naseer, Manto, Ghulam Abbas, Jamal Abro and several others
Published several special issues of Quarterly Adabiyat
Translation into Urdu of poetry of great mystic poets as Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Waris Shah, Jam Durrak and others.
Collection of 100 years of critical studies/ essays on Iqbal in English and Urdu.
National Language Authority, Islamabad
Series of histories of major Pakistani languages: (Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Pushto, Seraiki, Hindko, Brahvi and Kashmiri) and their literatures
Dictionaries/ Thesaurus: Farhang-eTalaffuz, Farhang-e Mushtarak, Quran ka Arabi Urdu Lughat etc.
Translation into Urdu of 50 great books of the world
Translation into Urdu of major folk tales of Pakistan
Translation into Urdu of terminology of various disciplines
Centenary publications (of essays) on Mir Taqi Mir, Faiz, N.M Rashed, Meeraji and Manto.
Awards:
Hilal-e Imtiaz (2005)
Sitara-e Imtiaz (1999)
The Pride of Performance [Literature] (1989)
Nuqūsh Award (1994)
Baba-e Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haq Award [Poetry] (1995)
Wasīqa-e Etarāf, Hamdard Foundation of Pakistan (1994)
Faiz International Award for Poetry by Ālmi Urdu Conference, Delhi, India (1988)
Adamjee Award (Best Book of the Year 1984)Pakistan Writer's Guild
National Hijra Award 1403.A.H. (Allama Iqbal Award for poetry 1984-85)
National Hijra Award 1415.A.H. (Allama Iqbal Award for Poetry 1994-95)
Pakistan Christian Citizen Forum's Award (2001) for outstanding contribution to
create harmony through literature
Khawaja Farid Award (2005)
Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi Award for the best book of the year (2005)
Sahir Award from Sahir Cultural Academy Ludhiana, India
Nishān-e Sipās by the Government of Sindh (2007)
Faiz Urdu International Award, Toronto, Canada (2009)
Others:
Life Member of Pakistan Academy of Letters (1995), Member, Executive Committee,
Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Member Board of Governors, Urdu Science
Board, (Federal Ministry of Education) Lahore, Member Board of Governors, Iqbal
Academy Pakistan, (Ministry of Culture) Lahore, President, Third World Writers
Association (UK), Member, Afro-Asian Writers Union: attended its meeting in 1988 in Tunis as Head of Pakistani Delegation. Member of the Permanent Bureau for Afro-Asian Writers, Cairo (2004)
Poetry Symposia /Conferences:
Participated in seminars on Urdu/South Asian Literature and Poetry symposia in
Pakistan, Peoples Republic of China, Germany, Tunisia, India, Norway, Italy, Sweden,
Canada, USA, Russia former USSR , United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Iran etc.
Long Play
Record
and Cassette:
A Pakistan Television production of ghazals titled Chup Daryā (long play and cassettes)
released by EMI and sung by prominent singers of Pakistan, 1976.
TV and Radio:
Kasauti from Pakistan Television, Makhzan from Shalimar Television and several appearances in literary and other programmes from Pakistan Television, Radio Pakistan, BBC Television and BBC Radio.
Research on
Life and Works:
Iftikhar Arif: Fun Aur Shakhsiyat: Theses of post graduate level on life and works by
Nargis Gul Malik from Karachi University
Iftikhar Arif kī Shāʻerī kā Funnī-o Fikrī Tajziā by Liaqat Ali of Bahauddin Zakariyya
University Multan
Iftikhar Arif Bahaisīyat Shāʻer by Ayza Qureshi of Islamia University Bahawalpur .).
Jawāz-e Iftikhar: Collection of essays on life and works compiled and edited by Sheema
Majeed, published by Ibaraat, Lahore.
Iqlīm-e Hunar: Collection of essays on life and works compiled and edited by Dr. Rauf Ameer, published by Al-Waqar Publications, Lahore.
Shehr-e ʻIlm kē Darvāzē Par: Selection from Iftikhar Arif;s poetry, compiled and edited by Ashfaq Hussain, Canada, published by Maktaba-e Danyal Karachi (2005).
Conceptual dimensions of Iftikhar Arif's poetry : A research and critical appreciation by Zeenat Afshan, Faisalabad University .
Religious and moral dimensions in the poetry of Iftikhar Arif : Post graduate thesis by Sahera Munir of Punjab University Lahore.
Iftikhar Arif kī Nazmgoī by Ali Akbar Natiq, NUML, Islamabad.
Iftikhar Arif kī Mazhabī Jihāt by Amina Jafri, Sargodha University.