Khaleel Mamoon

Khaleel ur Rehman (1948 – 26 June 2024) from the Indian state of Karnataka, better known by his pen name Khaleel Mamoon, was a noted Urdu poet whose poetry collection Aafaaq ki Taraf won the 2011 Sahitya Akademi Award for works in Urdu. Rehman died on 21 June 2024, at the age of 76.

Life and career Mamoon was born in Bangalore. After working as a staff artist for All India Radio, Mamoon joined the Indian Police Service in 1977. He served in senior positions in Karnataka, including as Inspector General.

Works Mamoon has published a number of works. Lissan Falsafe Ke Aine Me on the philosophy of language was published in 1986. Unnees Lillahi Nazmen (1989) is a translation of poems written in praise of Muhammad by Scherzade Rikhye. Nishaat-e-Gham is a collections of Ghazals. Kannada Adab is a collection of translations of Kannada language poetry and fiction. Raza Murad (Indian actor), Khaleel Mamoon (Urdu poet and a former IPS officer), and Dr Veer Basawanthreddy Mudnal (former MLA) launched "Lafzon ki Mahek" written by Dr Rafeeq Saudagar in Yadgir on Saturday, 27 March 2010, at All India Mushaira in Yadgir. In 2004, Mamoon became the first Urdu writer to win the Karnataka Rajyotsava Prashasti. He was removed in controversial circumstances in 2010 for functioning in an 'arrogant manner'. H.S. Shivaprakash, Dean, School of Arts and Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University resigned from the Karnataka Sahitya Academy in protest of government interference in an autonomous body.