Karrar Hussain (1911–1999) was a Pakistani educationist, writer, poet and literary critic. In his student days in

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 ...

he was affiliated with the

Khaksar movement The Khaksar movement was established by Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi in 1931, with the aim of freeing India from the rule of the British Empire. The Khaksars opposed the partition of India and favoured a united country. The membership of the Kha ...

, with which he later parted ways due to a difference of opinion.

Biography

Karrar Hussain was born in Kota, Rajasthan, British India. After passing Intermediate exams from Meerut, he went to Agra University and got master's degrees in English and Urdu. As a student politician, he was affiliated with the Indian National Congress and Khaksar Tehreek of

Allama Mashriqi Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi ( ; August 1888 27 August 1963), also known by the honorary title Allama Mashriqi ( ), was a British Indian, and later, Pakistani mathematician, logician, political theorist, Islamic scholar and the founder of the Kh ...

. He started working at Meerut College in 1933, where Jameel Jalibi, Hasan Askari,

Intizar Hussain Intizar Hussain or Intezar Hussain (; 21 December 1925 – 2 February 2016) was a Pakistani writer of Urdu novels, short stories, poetry and nonfiction. He is widely recognised as a leading literary figure of Pakistan. He was nominated for the ...

, and Saleem Ahmed were his students. In 1948 he migrated to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, where he continued as a lecturer in English at several colleges and was appointed as the first vice-chancellor of the

University of Balochistan The University of Balochistan (UoB) (Urdu: جامعہ بلوچستان; Balochi: بلوچستان ء یونیورسٹی , Pashto: د بلوچستان پوهنتون ) also known as Balochistan University, is a public university located in the ...

in 1976. Among his many writings is a biographical treatise about 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 ...

poet

Mirza Ghalib Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan (27 December 179715 February 1869), commonly known as Mirza Ghalib, was an Indian poet. Widely regarded as one of the greatest poets in the Urdu language, he also produced a significant body of work in Persian. Ghali ...

commissioned by the ''Idara Yadgaar-e-Gahlib'' titled "Ghalib: Sab Achcha Kahein Jissay". Karrar was also a scholar of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, though he advocated that secularism provided the best environment for an Islamic society. His written work includes several books and published collections of his speeches. He also wrote Urdu poetry, including

Naat A nucleic acid test (NAT) is a technique used to detect a particular nucleic acid sequence and thus usually to detect and identify a particular species or subspecies of organism, often a virus or bacterium that acts as a pathogen in blood, Tissue ...

Salam ''As-salamu alaykum'' (, ), also written ''salamun alaykum'' and typically rendered in English as ''salam alaykum'', is a greeting in Arabic that means 'Peace be upon you'. The (, meaning 'peace') has become a religious salutation for Muslims ...

, Munqibat,

Marsiya A marsiya (; ) is an elegiac poem written to commemorate the martyrdom and valour of Hussain ibn Ali, his family, and his companions at the tragedy of Karbala. Marsiyas are essentially religious lamentations. Background The word ''Marsiya'' is d ...

Nazm ''Nazm'' () is a major part of Urdu and Sindhi poetry that is normally written in rhymed verse and also in modern prose-style poems. is a significant genre of Urdu and Sindhi poetry; the other one is known as ghazal. is significantly written ...

and

Ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

s. His poems have been published in various literary magazines.

Publications

*Study of Quran *Quran & our Lives *Ghalib: Sab Achcha Kahein Jissay *Sawalat o Khayalaat *Essays: **Iqbal, Socialism aur Islam **Pakistani Culture aur iskey Masail *English Translations of Books: **Distribution of Wealth in Islam by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Translated by Prof Karrar Hussain & Prof Hasan Askari) **Answer to Modernism by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (Translated by Prof Karrar Hussain & Prof Hasan Askari)

Death

Prof Karrar Hussain died on 7 November 1999 in Karachi, Pakistan. After Karrar's death in 1999, an annual Professor Karrar Husain Memorial Lecture has been held in Pakistan, at which several prominent speakers have spoken, including sociologist Hamza Alavi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussain, Karrar People from Kota, Rajasthan Pakistani socialists Pakistani scholars Muhajir people Pakistani educational theorists 1999 deaths 1911 births 20th-century Pakistani philosophers