Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Rashid Nazki (born Abdul Rashid Nazki; 18 September 1931 6 January 2016), was a

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, the language of the Kashmiris ethnic group People with the nam ...

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, teacher, author, critic and the founder of the

Adbi Markaz Kamraz Adbi Markaz Kamraz (AMK), sometimes referred to as Adbee Markaz Kamraz Jammu and Kashmir (AMKJK), is the oldest and the largest Cultural institution, cultural and Literary society, literary organisation of the Jammu and Kashmir (union territor ...

Jammu and Kashmir, a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

literary organization of the Jammu and Kashmir state dedicated to promote

Kashmiri language Kashmiri ( ) or Koshur (Kashmiri: , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language of the Dardic languages, Dardic branch spoken by around 7 million Kashmiris of the Kashmir region, primarily in the Kashmir Valley and surrounding hills o ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. He wrote biography of Islamic Prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, leading him to become the first Kashmiri writer to cover the

life of Muhammad This is a chronological listing of biographies of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, from the earliest traditional writers to modern times. Number of biographies The literature is extensive: in the Urdu language alone, a scholar from Pakistan in 202 ...

. In 1999, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kashmiri for his collection ''Vahraat''. He wrote numerous books in Kashmiri and

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 ...

languages and later, he was appointed to 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 off ...

as a reviewer for the organisation's first volume of the

encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

, the

reference work A reference work is a document, such as a Academic publishing#Scholarly paper, paper, book or periodical literature, periodical (or their electronic publishing, electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information ...

of the Indian writers compiled by the organisation.

Biography

He earned his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in Kashmiri from the

University of Kashmir University of Kashmir (UoK), informally known as Kashmir University (KU), is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public State university (India), state university located in the Hazratbal neighbourhood, on the western side of ...

and subsequently became the first

student to receive a PhD for his thesis on "Mystic Trends in Kashmiri and Urdu Poetry", which revolves around

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

, Kashmiri and

Urdu poetry Urdu poetry ( ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the culture of India and Pakistan. According to Naseer Turabi, there are five major poets of Urdu: Mir Taqi Mir (d. 1810), Mirza Ghalib (d. ...

. After serving as a teacher, he served at

Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary source ...

. In 1975, he served as an editor at the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art Culture & Languages until he was appointed as chief editor. In 1980, he served at Kashmir University until he retired as a professor in early 90s. In 1976, he served as a member of

Bharatiya Jnanpith Bharatiya Jnanpith a literary and research organization, based in New Delhi, India, was founded on February 18, 1944Encyclopaedia of Indian literature vol. 1, p. 298 1987, Sahitya Akademi, by Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain of the Sahu Jain family and h ...

, convener

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 ...

Centenary, Shaikul Aalam Centenary, and

Lal Ded Lalleshwari, ( also commonly known as Lal Ded (), was a Kashmiri mystic of the Kashmir Shaivism school of Hindu philosophy. She was the creator of the style of mystic poetry called vatsun or ''Vakhs'', meaning "speech" (from Sanskrit ''vāc'' ...

Centenary which are officially sponsored by Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art Culture and Languages. In the later years of his career, he was appointed as in-charge seminars and Member Consultative Committee of Kashmir University's

post-graduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

department. He translated

Allama 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 ...

's ''Asrar-i-Khudi'', ''Javid Nama'', ''Zabur-i-Ajam'', ''Bali-Jabriel'', ''Payam-i-Mashriq'', ''Qaseeda Burda'', and ''Kuliyat-i-Nadim'' of Abdul Ahmad Nadim.

Personal life

His parents died when he was eight and was raised by his brother-in-law. After his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

result was declared, he was appointed as a teacher in state

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

. He had four sons and a daughter; however, his wife and two sons died in a grenade blast on 15 March 1992, leading him to leave literary work.

Death and legacy

He was suffering from

chronic condition A chronic condition (also known as chronic disease or chronic illness) is a health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time. The term ''chronic'' is often applied when the ...

and was subsequently admitted to hospital for

medical treatment A therapy or medical treatment is the attempted remediation of a health problem, usually following a medical diagnosis. Both words, ''treatment'' and ''therapy'', are often abbreviated tx, Tx, or Tx. As a rule, each therapy has indications an ...

. On 6 January 2016, he died at

Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, often abbreviated as SKIMS, is the largest medical institute under State Legislature Act in Srinagar, in the Indian union territory Among the states and union territories of India, a Union T ...

(SKIMS). He is buried in Bandipora next to his two sons and wife. In 2015, Adbee Markaz Kamraz released a special edition of its biannual

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

called ''Praave'' aimed at to highlight the life and work of Nazki.

Awards and honours

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nazki, Rashid 1931 births 2016 deaths Kashmiri poets Urdu-language poets from India Persian-language poets Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Kashmiri 20th-century Indian poets Scholars from Jammu and Kashmir Academic staff of the University of Kashmir University of Kashmir alumni