Shafqat Tanvir Mirza – known by many as STM (6 February 1932 – 20 November 2012) was a Pakistani
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
and a
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
Domeli
Domeli is a village and union council of Sohawa Tehsil, Jhelum District in the Punjab province of Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the wor ...
, in the
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
province of Pakistan, he studied at schools in
Chakwal
Chakwal ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city in Rawalpindi Division, Punjab province, Pakistan.
It is the 66th largest city of Pakistan by population. Chakwal is located 90 kilometres south-west of the federal capital, Islamabad and 270 kilomet ...
,
Khushab
Khushab ( punjabi: خُوشاب) is a town as well as a district of Sargodha Division, located in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The word ''Khushab'' means "sweet water." Khushab city also serves as the headquarters of Khushab Tehsil, an admini ...
,
Wazirabad
Wazirabad (Urdu/ pa, ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of Wazirabad District.
Famous for its cutlery products, it is known as the city of cutlery and is also quite famous for its foods.
Wazirabad is situated on the banks of th ...
,
Attock
Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st larg ...
,
Bahawalnagar
Bahawalnagar ( Punjabi, ur, ), is the capital city of Bahawalnagar District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city of Bahawalnagar is the headquarter of the district and tehsil as well.
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...
. Mirza's earlier career centred on Rawalpindi, where he worked for the daily newspapers ''Tameer'' and
Hilal
Hilal or Al-Hilal may refer to:
*Hilal ( ar, هلال, ''hilāl''), a crescent
** the crescent Moon visible after a new Moon, determining the beginning of a month in the Islamic calendar
* Banu Hilal, a confederation of tribes of Arabia
Arts ...
, as well as at
Radio Pakistan
Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 August ...
. In 1970, he joined Daily Musawat, subsequently moving on to
Daily Imroze
''Daily Imroze'' ( ur, روزنامہ اِمروز) is an Urdu language newspaper in Pakistan published daily from Karachi.
This is one of the oldest newspapers of Pakistan that originally started publishing from Lahore in the newly independent P ...
, where he became the editor. In the 1990s, Shafqat Tanvir Mirza joined the English language newspaper
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...
, where he contributed regular columns on Punjabi language and culture.
Activities as an author and translator
Shafqat Tanvir Mirza was also active as an author, writing and translating a number of books. He wrote in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
.
* ''Tehreek-i-Azadi Vich Punjab da Hissa'' (Punjabi)
* ''Adab Raheen Punjab de Tareekh'' (Punjabi)
* ''Resistance Themes in Punjabi Literature'' (English)
* ''Making of a Nation'' (English)
* ''
Shah Hussain
Shah Hussain ( pa, ; ; 1538–1599), also known as Madhoo Lal Hussain, was a 16th-century Punjabi Muslim Sufi poet who is regarded as a pioneer of the Kafi form of Punjabi poetry. He lived during the ruling periods of Mughal emperors Akbar ...
, a biography'' of 16th century
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
(in Urdu language)
* ''Lahu suhag'', a Punjabi translation of
Blood Wedding
''Blood Wedding'' ( es, link=no, Bodas de sangre) is a tragedy by Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. It was written in 1932 and first performed at Teatro Beatriz in Madrid in March 1933, then later that year in Buenos Aires, Argentina. ...
by Garcia Lorca
* ''Booha Koeena'', a Punjabi translation of
No Exit
''No Exit'' (french: Huis clos, links=no, ) is a 1944 existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The play was first performed at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in May 1944. The play begins with three characters who find themselves waiting ...
by
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...
* ''Akhia Sachal Sarmast nay'', a translation of the Seraiki prose of
Sachal Sarmast
Sachal Sarmast or Sacho Sarmast ( sd, سچو سرمست (1739–1827), born Abdul Wahab Farooqi ( ur, عبد الوہاب فاروقی) was a prominent and a legendary Sindhi Sufi poet from Sindh (Mehran) in modern-day Pakistan.
Biography
Sac ...
Awards and recognition
*
Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...