Abdul Haq

Abdul Haq (20 April 1870 – 16 August 1961) was a Pakistani Urdu linguist and scholar. Often known as Baba-e-Urdu (, Father of Urdu), he is credited for the development and promotion of Urdu language in 20th century. He is known for demanding Urdu to be made the national language of Pakistan.

Early life He was deeply influenced by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan's political and social views, and, following his wishes, learned English and scientific subjects. Like Syed Ahmad Khan, Abdul Haq saw Urdu as a major cultural and political influence on the lives and identity of the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent.

In the same year, he was appointed secretary of the All India Muhammadan Educational Conference, which had been founded by Sir Syed in 1886 for the promotion of education and intellectualism in Muslim society. Sir Syed founded the Anjuman Taraqqi-i-Urdu in 1886 in Aligarh with Thomas Walker Arnold as its first president and Shibli Nomani as the first secretary. In 1912 Haq was appointed as the secretary of the Anjuman. Under him, the organization flourished and published a number of magazines, notably Urdu, launched in January 1921, Science, in 1928, and Hamari Zaban (ہماری زبان; lit "Our Language"), in 1939. During this period he also served as the Principal of Osmania College (Aurangabad) and retired from that position in 1930. He also used his organisation for political activism, promoting the adoption of Urdu as the lingua franca and sole official language of Pakistan.

Death Despite illnesses and failing health, Haq continued to promote the active use of Urdu as a medium for all educational activities. He pushed for the creation of an Urdu College in Karachi,

Commemorative postage stamp issued in 2004 In recognition of his services to Urdu literature, Pakistan Post issued a Commemorative stamp in his honor on 16 August 2004 in its 'Men of Letters' series.