Hameed Nizami or Hamid Nizami (

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

, ; b. 3 October 1915 – 22 February 1962), was an eminent journalist, literary figure,

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...

activist, and the founder and editor-in-chief of the

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

-language

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

, the '' Nawa-i-Waqt'' (lit. 'The Voice of the Time'). He earned national prominence for penning several political articles and opinionated

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

in support of the successful

while he played a crucial role in the growing influence of the print

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

in Pakistan.

Biography

Hameed Nizami was born in the remote railway junction town of

Sangla Hill Sangla Hill is a city in the Nankana Sahib District of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. It lies 103 km from the provincial capital of Lahore and 47 km from Faisalabad. Until 2005, it was part of Sheikhupura Sheikhupura (Punjabi language, Punj ...

, District Nankana Sahi, a few miles from the vintage city

Lyallpur Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

(now

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, on 3 October 1915. He hailed from a Punjabi family and initially studied at the local school in

at his own expense. He attended the Islamia College where he gained a BA degree in Journalism. Later, he attended the

Punjab University Punjab University may refer to: India * Punjab Agricultural University, a state agricultural university in Ludhiana, Punjab * I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, a state university in Kapurthala, Punjab * Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Techn ...

in Lahore where he attained the MA degree in

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

. During his years in college, he was politically active. He founded and served as president of the 'Punjab Muslim Students Federation' wing of the

All India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim League lat ...

in 1937. His role as student leader and journalist led him to become closer to

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 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 inception of Pa ...

. After attaining master's degree in journalism, he joined the press directorate of the Punjab government for a short time before joining the literary staff of the ''Orient Press''.

''Nawa-i-Waqt'' newspaper

On 27 March 1940, Nizami left the ''Orient Press'' and founded the '' Nawa-i-Waqt'' newspaper from

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. He became the newspaper's first editor-in-chief from Lahore on 23 March 1940. The '' Nawa-i-Waqt'' was a monthly newspaper but he quickly converted the newspaper into weekly on 15 December 1942. After hiring more staff and gaining more credibility, the '' Nawa-i-Waqt'' began publishing as a daily newspaper on 19 July 1944. The first edition of the '' Nawa-i-Waqt'' came out on 22 July 1944 with an Islamic prayer and a message of

in it. Nizami's efforts made '' Nawa-i-Waqt'', with all its resources limitations, a powerful voice of the people for the cause of

and he penned several articles for the support of

. He was noted as a strong spokesman for

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

in the country, and wrote a harsh column against the

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

imposed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Iskander Mirza Iskander Ali Mirza (13 November 189913 November 1969) was a Bengali politician, statesman and military general who served as the Dominion of Pakistan's fourth and last governor-general of Pakistan from 1955 to 1956, and then as the Islamic Repub ...

. Through his newspaper, he took hard stance on communism and supported capitalism during the 1950s. He began to raise his voice against the

despite hardship imposed by the government. He once described the

as a "dark night".

Commemorative postage stamp

Pakistan Post Office issued a commemorative postage stamp on 14 August 1991 to honor Hameed Nizami in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' stamp series.

Death and legacy

Hameed Nizami died on 22 February 1962 in

.Hameed Nizami to be remembered
The Nation newspaper, Published 27 Feb 2013, Retrieved 5 February 2024 His death was mourned throughout the country. After his death, the newspaper founded the "Hameed Nizami Memorial Society" (HNMS) dedicated to his style of journalism, and held memorial sessions on his death anniversary every year. His journalism style was influenced by the renowned philosopher,

Iqbal Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...

, and he had conveyed Iqbal's words in articles he wrote. To many conservative politicians, Nizami is noted as a crucial figure in shaping the

print media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

in Pakistan. Hameed Nizami's son,

Arif Nizami Arif Nizami (Punjabi, ; 14 October 1948 – 21 July 2021) was a Pakistani journalist and caretaker federal minister who was the founder of the ''Pakistan Today''. Previously, he had been an editor of ''The Nation'' and had served as Minister of ...

, and grandson, Babar Nizami, run the daily newspaper

Pakistan Today ''Pakistan Today'' is a Pakistani English-language daily newspaper, published by Nawa Media Corporation from three Pakistani cities Lahore, Punjab; Karachi, Sindh; and Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory. The newspaper later launched a busin ...

. In 2013, The Hameed Nizami Memorial Society held an event on his 51st death anniversary in

, Pakistan where noted Pakistani scholars and political leaders spoke to pay him tributes including SM Zafar, Justice

Nasira Iqbal Justice Nasira Javid Iqbal () is a Pakistani jurist and law professor who served as a justice of the Lahore High Court from 1994 to 2002. Education and career Nasira Iqbal has a degree in intellectual property law from Punjab University, a ...

and

Bushra Rahman Bushra Rahman () (29 August 1944 – 7 February 2022) was a Pakistani author, novelist and politician who served as member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2002 to 2013. She remained a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab fro ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nizami, Hameed 1915 births 1962 deaths People from Faisalabad Journalists from Lahore Pakistani newspaper founders Government Islamia College alumni University of the Punjab alumni Pakistani male journalists Pakistan Movement activists Pakistani anti-communists Pakistani democracy activists All-India Muslim League politicians People from Punjab Province (British India)