Muhammad Ali Siddiqui (7 March 1938 – 9 Jan 2013) was a noted

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researc ...

of Urdu literature,

educationist Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Var ...

, literary critic and a

newspaper columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

from

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. He was also widely known by his pen name Ariel in Pakistan.

Early life and career

He was born on 7 March 1938 in

Amroha Amroha is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is located north-west of Moradabad, near the Ganga River. It is the administrative headquarters of the Amroha district. Geography Amroha is located north-west of Moradabad, near th ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and was brought up in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, Pakistan. He died on 9 January 2013 at Karachi, Pakistan. His family had migrated to Pakistan in 1948. He received his early education at Christian Mission School in Karachi. Then he went on to receive his master's degree in English literature from the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (wh ...

in 1962. He was able to use English, French, Hindko, Hindi

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, Punjabi, Sindhi, Seraiki and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' D.Litt degree in Pakistan Studies in 2003 after doing his PhD in the same subject in 1992. He worked at the Pakistan Studies Center of the

. Muhammad Ali Siddiqui was a member of many national and international organizations such as: Pakistan Writers Guild, Pakistan, Association Des Litteraire Critiques International, Paris, European Union of Writers and Scientists, Rome, International Association of Literary Critics (AILC), Stavanger, Norway, Majlis-i-Farough-i-Urdu Adab, Doha, Qatar. Ali Siddiqui was a prominent Urdu language critic. He was also the Dean of the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, Institute of Business and Technology,

. He also served as Dean, Faculty of Education & Social Sciences at

Hamdard University Hamdard University ( ur, ) is a private research university with campuses in Karachi and Islamabad, Pakistan.Karachi University The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh ...

for a number of years. He served as the Director of

Quaid-i-Azam Academy The Quaid-i-Azam Academy ( ur, ) is an institution of the Pakistan Government to promote the study and understanding of the personality and work of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, his associates, the Pakistan Movement and of the various aspects o ...

for six years and was the President of

Progressive Writers Association The Progressive Writers' Association or the Progressive Writers' Movement of India or ''Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind'' (( ur, ) or ''Akhil Bhartiya Pragatishil Lekhak Sangh'' (Hindi: अखिल भारतीय प्रगति� ...

in 2013 at the time of his death.Transitions: Muhammad Ali Siddiqui, literary critic, is no more
The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 10 Jan 2013, Retrieved 23 August 2018 Ali Siddiqui had penned more than 100 research articles. He has 16 books to his credit, two of them ''Tawazun'' and ''Croce ki Sarguzasht'', were adjudged as the 'Best Books of the Years' in 1976 and 1979 respectively. He used to write for the business journal

Business Recorder ''Business Recorder'' is a financial daily newspaper in Pakistan which was founded by M.A. Zuberi. The publication is owned by the Business Recorder Group.

and he wrote a column for the

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 hori ...

newspaper under the pen name Ariel for over two decades.In fond memory: 'Dr Muhammad Ali Siddiqui will live as long as the Urdu language'
The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 27 January 2013, Retrieved 8 September 2021 He had delivered lectures in many overseas universities such as the School of Oriental & American Studies

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

Carlton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

, Canada, the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

, Canada,

Oslo University 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 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

. His importance as a critic has been applauded by the critics of

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Majnun Gorakhpuri, Akhtar Hussain Raipuri, Professor Mumtaz Husain, Professor Mujtaba Husain, Dr. Ali Jawwad Zaidi, Dr. Wazir Agha etc. Among the creative writers,

Faiz Ahmed Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...

regarded him as the only creative critic from Pakistan, the others being Dr. Narang, Dr. Zoe Ansari & Dr. Qamar Rais from

. Journalist

Khalid Ahmed Khalid Ahmed ( ur, خالد احمد) is a Pakistani TV director, producer and actor. He currently teaches theatre at National Academy of Performing Arts.(Rafay MahmoodKhalid Ahmed presents double bill at NAPA (National Academy of Performing A ...

wrote:

Books

* ''Tawazun'' (A Book of Critical Writing) (1976) * ''Croce Ki Sarguzasht'' (Translation of Bendetto Croce, Autotrigraphy) (1976) * ''Nishanat'' (A Collection of Critical Writings) (1981) * ''Pakistaniat(Vol.1)'', Edited with Dr. H.M.Jafri (1989) * ''Mazameem'' (A Book of Critical Writings) (1991) * ''Isharye'' (Collection of Critical Writings) (1994) * ''Quaid-i-Azam: A Chronology (Urdu) – Published by

Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

Academy,

'' * ''Quaid-i-Azam: A Chronology (English) – Published by

Academy,

'' * ''Quaid-i-Azam: Speeches (English) – Published by

Academy,

'' * ''Quaid-i-Azam: Urdu Adibon Ki Nazar Mein (Urdu) – Published by

Academy,

'' * ''Zikr-i-Quaid-i-Azam'' (Urdu) – Published by

Academy,

'' * ''Talash-i-Iqbal (Urdu) (2002) * ''Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Aur Jiddat Pasandi'' (Urdu)

(2003) * ''Sir Syed Ahmed Khan Aur Jiddat Pasandi'' (Urdu) 2nd Edition

(2004) * ''Mutalea-i-Josh Malihabadi'' (Urdu)

(2005) * ''Ghalib Aur Aaj Ka Shaoor'' – Idara-i-Yaadgar-i-Ghalib,

(2005) * ''Idrak'' (A Collection of Critical Writings),

(2007)

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 ...

Award by the President of Pakistan in 2003 * Canadian Association of South Asian Studies, 'scholar of the year' award in 1984

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siddiqui, Mohammad Ali 1938 births 2013 deaths Islamic philosophers Pakistani scholars Muhajir people Pakistani writers Pakistani philosophers People from Amroha Pakistani literary critics University of Karachi alumni University of Karachi faculty Hamdard University faculty

Early life and career

Books

Awards and recognition

See also

References