Shabbir Hassan Khan Josh Malihabadi, who became famous as a revolutionary poet by attacking the British rulers with his literary skills, was born on 5 December 1894 in Malihabad, Lucknow district in Uttar Pradesh. He got educated in Agra and Shanti Niketan. But he had to stop his studies because of the sudden demise of his father in 1914.
He learned Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and English by self-study. Shabbir Hassan Khan inherited the poetic talents of his grandfather and father Bashir Ahmed Khan. He started writing poetry under the guidance of the famous poet Wahiduddin Saleem Panipati.
Hassan’s poems were emotional and heart-touching. Since his native village is Malihabad, as a poet he became famous as ‘Shabbir Hassan Khan Josh Malihabadi’. His first anthology of poems ‘Ruh-e-Adaab’ was released in 1920. He worked in the translation department of Nizam State from 1924-34. But he opposed the Nizam Nawab’s friendship with the British rulers and quit his job. He started an Urdu literary magazine ‘Kalim’ in 1935.
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The British government was irked by his revolutionary writings. His writings brought him fame as a ‘Revolutionary Poet’ among the people. After the division of the country in 1947, he did not leave India despite pressures on him from his friends. He worked as the Editor for ‘Aajkal’ Urdu daily newspaper published by the Government of India from 1948-55.
He also wrote lyrics to several Hindi movies. As he felt that there will be no justice would be done to the Urdu language in India, he migrated to Pakistan in 1956, defying the requests made by close friends like Jawaharlal Nehru and others. Hassan Khan Malihabadi actively led the Urdu Movement even from Karachi. His autobiography ‘Yaadon ki Baaraat’ was applauded by the readers. He became famous as the ‘King of Urdu’ for his excellent scholarly skills in that language and literature.
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