Gopi Chand Narang (11 February 1931 – 15 June 2022) was an Indian theorist, literary critic, and scholar who wrote in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' structuralism In sociology, anthropology, archaeology, history, philosophy, and linguistics, structuralism is a general theory of culture and methodology that implies that elements of human culture must be understood by way of their relationship to a broader s ...

post-structuralism Post-structuralism is a term for philosophical and literary forms of theory that both build upon and reject ideas established by structuralism, the intellectual project that preceded it. Though post-structuralists all present different critiques ...

, and Eastern

poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...

Early life

Narang was born in Dukki, a town in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

, British Raj (now Pakistan). His father Dharam Chand Narang was a litterateur himself, and a scholar of Persian and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

, who inspired Gopi's interest in literature.

Education

Narang received a master's degree in Urdu from the

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE ...

, and a research fellowship from the Ministry of Education to complete his PhD in 1958. About his linguistic journey Narang has said: “My journey with Urdu is a journey of ishq. Urdu was not my mother tongue; my paternal and maternal families spoke Seraiki. But I never realised that Urdu is not my mother tongue”.

Teaching career

Narang taught

Urdu literature Urdu literature ( ur, , ) is literature in the Urdu language. While it tends to be dominated by poetry, especially the verse forms of the ''ghazal '' غزل and '' nazm '' نظم, it has expanded into other styles of writing, including that of ...

at St. Stephen's College (1957–58) before joining

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

, where he became a reader in 1961. In 1963 and 1968 he was a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

, also teaching at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

and the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

. Narang joined Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi as a professor in 1974, rejoining the University of Delhi from 1986 to 1995. In 2005, the university named him a professor emeritus. Narang's first book (''Karkhandari Dialect of Delhi Urdu'') was published in 1961, a sociolinguistic analysis of a neglected dialect spoken by indigenous workers and artisans in Delhi. He has published over 60 books in Urdu, English, and

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Achievements

He has produced three studies: ''Hindustani Qisson se Makhooz Urdu Masnaviyan'' (1961), ''Urdu Ghazal aur Hindustani Zehn-o-Tehzeeb'' (2002) ''and Hindustan ki Tehreek-e-Azadi aur Urdu Shairi'' (2003). Narang's related volumes—''

Amir Khusrow Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253–1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau was an Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar who lived under the Delhi Sultanate. He is an iconic figure in the cultural history of the Indian ...

ka Hindavi Kalaam'' (1987), ''Saniha-e-Karbala bataur Sheri Isti'ara'' (1986) and ''Urdu Zabaan aur Lisaniyaat'' (2006)—are socio-cultural and historical studies. In addition to teaching, Narang was vice-chairman of the Delhi Urdu Academy (1996–1999) and the National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language – HRD (1998–2004) and vice-president (1998–2002) and president (2003–2007) of the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

Honours

Narang was an Indira Gandhi Memorial Fellow of the

Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi is a premier government-funded arts organization in India. It is an autonomous institute under the Union Ministry of Culture. History The Indira Gandhi National centre for art ...

from 2002 to 2004, and a 1997 resident of the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in Italy. Narang received the Mazzini Gold Medal (Italy, 2005), the Amir Khusrow Award (Chicago, 1987), a Canadian Academy of Urdu Language and Literature Award (Toronto, 1987), an Association of Asian Studies (Mid-Atlantic Region) Award (US, 1982), a European Urdu Writers Society Award (London, 2005), an Urdu Markaz International Award (Los Angeles, 1995) and an Alami Farogh-e-Urdu Adab Award (

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...

, 1998). He is the only Urdu writer honoured by the presidents of both India and Pakistan. In 1977 Narang received the President's National Gold Medal from Pakistan for his work on Allama Iqbal, and received a

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

(2004) and

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

(1990) from India. He received honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

degrees from Aligarh Muslim University (2009), Maulana Azad National Urdu University (2008) and the Central University in Hyderabad (2007). Narang received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1995, the Ghalib Award in 1985, Urdu Academy's Bahadur Shah Zafar Award, Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Award (both in 2010), Madhya Pradesh Iqbal Samman (2011) and the Bharatiya Jnanpith Moorti Devi Award (2012). The Sahitya Akademi conferred on Narang its highest honour, the Fellowship, in 2009.

Plagiarism and controversies

There have been allegations of

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and though ...

against Gopi Chand Narang for copying and translating from secondary sources major portions of his Sahitya Akademi award-winning book ''Sakhtiyat, Pas-Sakhtiyat aur Mashriqui Sheriyat'' (Structuralism, Post-Structuralism and Eastern Poetics). There have also been allegations of corruption and controversial appointments under his Presidency of

, which he headed from 2003 to 2007. He has denied these allegations of corruption. However, the said malicious charges have been refuted in a recent article ‘How author and critic Gopi Chand Narang survived a maligning campaign’. The author has clearly stated that Gopi Chand Narang was targeted for his criticism of unrealistic Modernism in Urdu. It was mere propaganda against him that cannot stand the literary scrutiny or any serious debate, those who tried to malign him had no understanding of his work or literary motifs.

Bibliography

Narang has published more than 60 scholarly and critical books on language, literature, poetics and cultural studies; many have been translated into other Indian languages.

Urdu

* ''Hindustani Qisson Se Makhuz Urdu Masnawiyan'' (1961) * ''Imlaa Naama'' (1974) * ''Puraanon ki Kahaaniyan'' (1976) * ''Anis Shanaasi'' (1981) * ''Safar Aashna'' (1982) * ''Iqbal Ka Fann'' (ed. 1983) * ''Usloobiyat- e-Mir'' (1985) * ''Urdu Afsana, Riwayat Aur Masail'' (ed. 1986) * ''Saniha-e-Karbala Bataur Sheri Isti’ara'' (1986) * ''Amir Khusrau Ka Hindavi Kalaam'' (1987) * ''Adbi Tanqeed Aur Usloobiyat'' (1989) * ''Qari Asaas Tanqeed'' (1992) * ''Sakhtiyat, Pas-Sakhtiyat aur Mashriqui Sheriyat'' (1993) * ''Urdu Ghazal aur Hindustani Zehn-o Tahzeeb'' (2002) * ''Hindustan ki Tehreek-e-Azadi aur Urdu Shairi'' (2003) * ''Taraqqi Pasandi, Jadidiat, Maba’d-e-Jadidiat'' (2004) * ''Aniis aur Dabiir'' (2005) * ''Jadidiat ke baad'' (2005) * ''Urdu ki Nayii Bastiyaan (2006) * ''Urdu Zaban aur Lisaniyat'' (2006) * ''Sajjad Zahiir: Adabi Khidmaat aur Taraqqi Pasand Tehriik'' (2007) * ''Firaq Gorakhpuri: Shayar, Naqqad, Daanishvar'' (2008) * ''Dekhna Taqreer ki Lazzat'' (2009) * ''Fiction Sheriyat'' (2009) * ''Khwaja Ahmad Faruqi ke Khutuut Gopi Chand Narang ke Naam'' (2010) * ''Kaghaz-e Atish Zadah'' (2011) * ''Tapish Nama-e Tamanna'' (2012) * ''Aaj ki Kahaniyan'' (2013) * ''Ghalib : Ma'ni-Afrini, Jadliyaati Waza', Shunyata aur Sheriyaat (Ghalib : Meaning, Mind, Dialectical Thought & Poetics)'' (2013) * ''Kulliyaat-e Hindavi Amir Khusrau: Ma’e Tashriih o Tajziya Nuskha-e Berlin.'' (2017) * ''Mashaher ke Khutoot Gopi Chand Narang Ke Naam. Vol I, Vol II, Vol III, Vol IV'' (2017) * ''Imlaa Naama'' Pakistani Edition. (2021)

English

* ''Karkhandari Dialect of Delhi Urdu'' (1961) * ''Urdu Language and Literature: Critical Perspectives'' (1991) * ''Readings in Literary Urdu Prose'' (ed. 1965) * ''Rajinder Singh Bedi: Selected Short Stories'' (ed. 1989) * ''Krishan Chander: Selected Short Stories'' (ed. 1990) * ''Balwant Singh: Selected Short Stories'' (ed. 1996) * ''Ghalib: Innovative Meaning and the Ingenious Mind.'' (trans. by Surinder Deol) (2017) * ''Faiz Ahmed Faiz: Thought Structure, Evolutionary Love and Aesthetic Sensibility'' (2019) * ''The Urdu Ghazal: A Gift of India’s Composite Culture.'' (trans. by Surinder Deol) (2020) * ''The Hidden Garden: Mir Taqi Mir'' (trans. by Surinder Deol) (2021)

Hindi

* ''Amir Khusro ka Hindavi Kalam'' (1987) * ''Pathakvadi Aalochana'' (1999) * ''Urdu Par Khulta Dareecha'' (2004) * ''Biswin Shatabdi mein Urdu Sahitya'' (2005) * ''Samrachnavad, Uttar-Samrachnavad evam Prachya Kavyashastra'' (2000) * ''Urdu Kaise Likhen'' (2001) * ''Urdu Ghazal evam Bharatiya Manas V Sanskriti'' (2016) * ''Bhartiya Lok Kathaon par Aadharit Urdu Masanaviyan'' (2016) * ''Ghalib: Arthvatta, Rachnatamakta evam Shunyata'' (2020) * ''Amir Khusrau: Hindvi Lok Kavya Sankalan'' ( 2021)

Books on Gopi Chand Narang

* Dr. Mohd. Hamid Ali Khan. 1995. Gopi Chand Narang: Hayaat o Khidmaat. Delhi: Educational Publishing House. * Manaazir Ashiq Harganvi. 1995. Gopi Chand Narang aur Adabi Nazariya Saazi. New Delhi: Adab Publications. * Abdul Haq, ed. 1996. Armughaan-e Narang. New Delhi: Modern Publishing House. elected papers in honour of Prof. Gopi Chand Narang on the eve of his superannuation from the University of Delhi.* Shahzad Anjum, ed. 2003. Diidavar Naqqaad Gopi Chand Narang, edited by Shahzåd Anjum. Delhi: Education Publishing House. * Abdul Mannaan Tarzi. 2003. Narang Zaar: Professor Narang ki Hayaat aur Adabi Khidmaat ka Manzoom Tanqiidi Jaiza. New Delhi: Maktaba Iste’aara. * Fe. Seen. Ejaz, ed. 2004. Gopi Chand Narang (Regular Book Edition). Kolkatta: Insha Publications. * Saifi Sironji. 2006. Gopi Chand Narang aur Urdu Tanqiid. Sironj: Intisaab Publications. * Nand Kishore Vikram. 2008. Bain ul-Aqwaami Urdu Shakhsiiyat: Gopi Chand Narang. Delhi: Publishers & Advertisers. * Maula Bhaksh. 2009. Jadiid Adabi Theory aur Gopi Chand Narang. Delhi: Educational Publishing House. * Mushtaq Sadaf. 2010. Dekhna Taqriir ki Lazzat: Gopi Chand Narang ke Adabi Interviews. Bangalore: Karnatak Urdu Akademi. * Sharyar, Abul Kalam Qasmi, edts. 2011. Gopi Chand Narang: Shakhsiyat aur Adabi Khidmaat. New Delhi: Maktaba Jamia Ltd. * Saifi Sironji. 2012. Maaba’ad-e Jadiidiyat aur Gopi Chand Narang. Sironj: Intisaab Publications. * Manaazir Ashiq Hargaanvi. 2013. Tanqiid ka Naya Manzar Naama aur Gopi Chand Narang. Delhi: Arshiya Publications. * Mehboob Rahi, Nazeer Fatehpuri, edts. 2013. Gopi Chand Narang ek Hama Jihat Shakshiyat. New Delhi: M.R. Publication * Mushtaq Sadaf, ed. 2014. Adabi Theory, Sheiri’yaat aur Gopi Chand Narang. Delhi: Educational Publishing House. * Danish Allahbadi, ed. 2014. Gopi Chand Narang aur Ghalib Shanaasi. Delhi: Educational Publishing House. * Jameel Akhtar. 2015. Zindagi Nama: Gopi Chand Narang. Delhi: Educational Publishing House. * Athar Nabi, ed. 2016. Hasht Pahlu Naqqaad Gopi Chand Narang. Delhi: Arshiya Publications. * Shahnaaz Qaadiri. 2019. Prof. Gopi Chand Narang ki Tanqiid Nigaari. Delhi: M.R. Publications. * Najmunnisa Naz. 2017. Gopi Chand Narang ki Dakani Khidmaat. Delhi: Darul Ishaat Mustufai, Delhi. * Shahida Usaid Rizvi. 2021. Baaten Hamari Yaad Rahein. Delhi: Arshiya Publications. * Zafar Sironji. 2022. Sadi ki Aankh Gopi Chand Narang. Sironj: Intisaab Publications. * Omer Farhat. 2022. Gopi Chand Narang Pakistani Adeebon ki Nazar mein. Pakistan: Kitabi Duniya. * Idris Ahmed. 2022. Prof. Gopi Chand Narang Adeeb-o-Daanishwar. New Delhi: Ghalib Institute.

References

External links

* website]
2012 BBC interview

* ttp://www.facenfacts.com/NewsDetails/7663/gopi-chand-narang--versatile-scholar--writer.htm Gopi Chand Narang - Versatile Scholar & Writer(FacenFacts)