Rehana Khatoon

Rehana Khatoon (born 30 August 1948) is an Indian scholar, teacher of Persian language, former Head of the Department of Persian, University of Delhi and the author of Encyclopaedia of Persian Language and Literature (India and Pakistan). She was honoured by the Government of India, in 2014, with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her contributions to the propagation of Persian language and literature. Rehana Khatoon is the first woman alumni of the Aligarh Muslim University to be awarded the Padma Shri.

Biography

Rehana Khatoon was born on 30 August 1948, in Aligarh, in Uttar Pradesh, India a renowned scholar of the Persian language and Padma Shri award winner. Inspired by her father, Rehana secured a master's degree in Persian in 1973 and followed it with an MPhil in 1975, and five yeares later, she took a doctoral degree in the language, in 1980, all from Aligarh Muslim University. Subsequently, she received a University Grants Commission fellowship and kickstarted her career as a research associate under the fellowship. During her tenure, she also worked as the Director of the Intensive Course in Modern Persian for Italian Students at the university She has also been the Vice President of the Scholar Association, New Delhi and was the Visiting Fellow at Aligarh Muslim University in 2007 and 2008. She has also served as the member of organizations of forums such as Ghalib Institute, Amir Khusro Society, Encyclopedia of Persian of the Subcontinent and Anjuman Tarriqi Urdu. twenty seven years after her father, the 1987 Padma Shri award winner, Professor Nazir Ahmed was honoured by the Government of India. Sir Syed Award - 2011 Al Beruni Award - Government of Islamic Republic of Iran - 2011 Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad Ghalib Award - Ghalib Institute, New Delhi - 2002 on topics related to the Persian language. She has also translated a medical book on Diabetes, written by Dr. C. L. Arya and a story book, Mitti Se Heera by Professor Maqbool of Jamia Millia Islamia, from Hindi to Urdu.