Shamim Karhani

Shamim Karhani (; 8 June 1913 – 19 March 1975), born Syed Shamsuddin Haider, was an Indian Urdu poet (Shayar) associated with the Progressive Writers' Movement. He wrote ghazals, nazms, patriotic songs, elegiac poems and literary translations. His poetry is associated with the Indian independence movement, opposition to the partition of India, opposition to the two-nation theory, and the progressive tradition in modern Urdu literature.

Early life and education

Shamim Karhani was born on 8 June 1913 in Karhan, then in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, British India.

He was born into a zamindar family. His father was Syed Muhammad Akhtar and his mother was Ummat ul Zehra. His brothers included Syed Ghazanfar Husain, Syed Azam Husain Azam, Syed Hasamuddin Haider, and Syed Ali Haider Husaini.

His birth name was Syed Shamsuddin Haider. He adopted the pen name Shamim Karhani, using “Karhani” after his native village, in keeping with a common convention in Urdu literary culture.

In 1950, he joined Anglo Arabic Higher Secondary School in Delhi as a Persian teacher and remained associated with the school until the end of his career.

He belonged to the circle of Progressive Urdu poets. The Report of the Committee for Promotion of Urdu 1975 lists him among Progressive poets such as Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Majaz Lucknawi, Ali Sardar Jafri, Jan Nisar Akhtar, Makhdoom Mohiuddin and Ali Jawad Zaidi.

Karhani was a contemporary of poets such as Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Ali Sardar Jafri, Majaz Lucknawi, Moin Ahsan Jazbi and Ali Jawad Zaidi.

Karhani also taught Urdu prosody. Darshan Singh later studied the techniques of Urdu poetry with Sufi Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum and Shamim Karhani.

In a 1965 survey of Urdu literature published in Indian Literature, Ali Jawad Zaidi noted that Karhani’s collection Aks-i-Gul was marked by enthusiasm for human liberty and progress.

Nationalist poetry, anti-colonial writing and opposition to Partition

Karhani’s nationalist poetry circulated during the period of the Indian independence movement. His revolutionary nazms and naghmas were sung in prabhat pheris in north Indian cities such as Lucknow and Varanasi during the independence movement. The work is also catalogued as Raushan Andhera with a 1946 publication date.

Karhani opposed the demand for Pakistan and the division of India on religious lines. His poem Pakistan chahne walon se (“To those who want Pakistan”), written in the context of the Pakistan Movement, addressed supporters of Pakistan and argued against the Partition of India. The poem was included in Ali Jawad Zaidi’s anthology Urdu Mein Qaumi Sha'iri Ke Sau Saal and later in Jan Nisar Akhtar’s anthology Hindostan Hamara. The study states that the poem criticised and warned supporters of Pakistan about the consequences of Partition. He also received a stipend for the work; later literary accounts describe the stipend as having been paid from Nehru’s personal funds.

Works

Burq-o-Baaran (1939) Subh-i-Faaran / Subh-e-Faaran (1974)

Awards and recognition

Karhani received an award from the Government of Uttar Pradesh for Aks-i-Gul in 1964. He received an award from the Uttar Pradesh Urdu Academy for Harf-i-Neem Shab in 1972. He also received the Saroop Narayan Urdu Nazm Award in 1972 and a Government of India award for Ranga Ke Geet.

Death

Karhani died in New Delhi on 19 March 1975.