Khawar Rizvi
Encyclopedia
Khawar Rizvi was a prominent poet of Urdu and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

. He was respected as an enlightened intellectual and scholar as well. Mainly his fame is due to his poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

. His real name was Syed Sibte Hassan Rizvi. He adopted” Khawar” as his pen-name
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

 for writing poetry and essays. Khawar means in Persian “The East”. Khawar was a great lover and admirer of East, eastern way of life and eastern values.

Early life and career

Khawar Rizvi belonged to a noble Syed Family. He was born on 1 June 1938. Some sources claim that his actual year of birth was 1936 but the official documents show that he was born in 1938. He inherited poetry from his mother Abida Begum who herself was a poetess of high caliber though most of her poetry could not be preserved. His maternal uncle Dr Abul Hassan was a well known poet and scholar. Bano Saidpuri an eminent poetess was his aunt. The father of Khawar Rizvi, Syed Najm ul Hassan Rizvi belonged to Armed forces of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. He fully supported and encouraged his son to become a great man.
Khawar Rizvi was fond of knowledge and learning since his early childhood. He received his formal education at Government School, Campbell Pur now called Attock
Attock
Attock is a city located in the northern border of the Punjab province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Attock District...

. He graduated from Government College Attock.Afterwards he post-graduated in Literature from the University of Punjab.He started his career as a teacher then he joined banking sector and became a competent banker. Due to his abhorrence for any sort of exploitation and depriving the poor from their rights he left banking career despite an uncertain future ahead of him. To serve people better, Khawar joined the department of Social Security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...

 in Pakistan. He was serving in the same department as a Director when he died of sudden heart attack on 15 November 1981 while journeying from his home town to his work place. His funeral was attended by thousands of people and he was buried in the graveyard of Ahmad Pur Sial, a historical small town in Jhang District
Jhang District
Jhang District is a district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city of Jhang is the district's capital. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the district's population was 2.8 million, of which 23 percent lived in urban areas. By 2008, according to estimates, the population had...

, Pakistan. His death at the age of 43 was widely mourned throughout the continent, especially in the region of South Asia.

Ideology and Activism

Khawar Rizvi was not an armchair thinker or a drawing room revolutionary. He actively participated in the political and intellectual movements of his times. He belonged to famous Progressive Writers' Movement
Progressive Writers' Movement
The Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind or Progressive Writers' Movement was a progressive literary movement in the pre-partition British India, consisting of a few different writers groups around the world....

 in the sub-continent of India and Pakistan. Khawar was against all sorts and types of tyranny, dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...

, subjugation and exploitation. Due to his ideology and political beliefs he became the victim of General Zia-ul-Haq’s policies, the then dictator ruler of Pakistan. He fought for the freedom of expression, civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...

, human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

, equality
Social equality
Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect. At the very least, social equality includes equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and the...

 and alleviation of poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

.

Tributes and Homages

The progressive poetry of Khawar Rizvi was ever acknowledged and appreciated during his lifetime and after his death. The renowned writers and poets like Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi
Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi
Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi, PP, SI was a legendary Urdu and English language Pakistani poet, journalist, literary critic, dramatist and short story author. With some 50 books of poetry, fiction, criticism, journalism and art to his credit, Qasmi was a major figure in contemporary Urdu literature...

, Tanveer Sipra,Professor Yousuf Hassan, Amjad Islam Amjad
Amjad Islam Amjad
Amjad Islam Amjad, PP, SI is a famous Urdu poet, drama writer and lyricist from Pakistan.-Life and career:...

, Munno Bhai, Hassan Akhter Jalil and others condoled his death. Ahmad Nadeem Qasimi wrote for him in his literary magazine
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...

 “Funnon” published from Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...

. Khalid Ahmad wrote a long article about Khawar’s poetry and personality published in “daily Jang” Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

. Hassan Rizvi published a piece of article about him in daily “Jang” Lahore. Azhar Javed wrote about him in his magazine “Takhleeq”. The magazine of Government College Attock “Mashal” dedicated a special section for Khawar Rizvi and his poetry.Poets like Iqbal Kausar and Dr Saad ullah Kaleem, Professor Zafar Jaunpri, Saeed Jaunpuri and others also wrote the appreciation of Khawar's poetry. The names and works of Khawar Rizvi and his renowned son Dr Syed Shabih-ul-Hassan Rizvi were mentioned in the books of Rashid Amjad,Raghab Shakeeb,Waqar bin Ellahi and in other books and periodicals. A popular,unique and widely circulated magazine”KIDZINE International” paid tribute to Khawar Rizvi in following words:

"He was ever respected as a thinker and scholar through out his life though it was so short in years but too big in deeds. Khawar Rizvi’s thought was progressive. He never compromised on any subjugation. Though he was at high position in Social Security department yet he always defended the rights of the workers. All his life he loved youth and children. He never liked disappointment and negative thinking. He was too full of life that death didn’t dare to enter his home but caught him in the middle of way far from his home in the morning and mourning hours of 15th November 1981 when he was only 43. After so many years of his death he still lives in the hearts and the memories of those who love his personality and his poetry.”

External links

1 Dr Syed Shabih son of Syed Khawar Rizvi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwL80fWam9Q

2 Dr Syed Shabih son of Syed Khawar Rizvi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4qsY1AJEI8

3 Dr Syed Shabih son of Syed Khawar Rizvi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmyRPeqOCrY

4 Dr Syed Shabih son of Syed Khawar Rizvi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qnluWSf5Mg

5 Dr Syed Shabih son of Syed Khawar Rizvi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qnluWSf5Mg

6 Syed Khawar Rizvi an Article Published in Roznama AAj http://www.dailyaaj.com.pk/epaper.php?page=8&date=2011-06-03

Selection of Poetry

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