Rehana Khatoon (born 30 August 1948) is an Indian scholar, teacher of Persian language, former Head of the Department of

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 ...

University of Delhi The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

and the author of ''Encyclopaedia of Persian Language and Literature (India and Pakistan)''. She was honoured by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, in 2014, with the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

, the fourth highest civilian award, for her contributions to the propagation of Persian language and literature. Rehana Khatoon is the first woman alumni of the

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

to be awarded the Padma Shri.

Biography

Rehana Khatoon was born on 30 August 1948, in

Aligarh Aligarh (; formerly known as Koil) is a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Aligarh district and lies northwest of state capital Lucknow and approximately southeast of the capital, New Delhi. ...

, in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, India to Late Professor Emeritus Nazir Ahmed, a renowned scholar of the Persian language and Padma Shri award winner. Inspired by her father, Rehana secured a master's degree in

in 1973 and followed it with an MPhil in 1975, and five yeares later, she took a doctoral degree in the language, in 1980, all from Aligarh Muslim University. Subsequently, she received a University Grants Commission fellowship and kickstarted her career as a research associate under the fellowship. In 1980, she joined University of Delhi as a faculty member where she worked till her retirement as the Head of the Department of Persian Language. During her tenure, she also worked as the Director of the ''Intensive Course in Modern Persian'' for Italian Students at the university and contributed to the Memorandum of Understanding between University of Delhi and

University of Rome La Sapienza The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

. Rehana Khatoon kept herself abreast with the developments in the Persian language by regularly attending refresher courses. She attended a two-month-long course organized by ''Bunyad-i-Farhang-i-Iran'', Tehran, in 1978 and a four-month course by

University of Isfahan The University of Isfahan (UI) () is a state-operated university located in Isfahan, Iran. The university is located on Azadi square of Isfahan. It has another campus in Khansar. University of Isfahan offers undergraduate degrees in 71 fields, ...

, Iran, in 1995. She attended the course conducted by the Academic Staff College,

Jamia Millia Islamia Jamia Millia Islamia is a Public university, public and research university located in Delhi, India. Originally established at Aligarh, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, United Provinces (present-day Uttar Pradesh, India) during the British R ...

and has attended 18 courses by the Iran Cultural Centre, New Delhi during the period from 1986 to 2006. Rehana Khatoon currently lives in Noida with her family.

Positions

Apart from working as the Head of the Department of Persian Language, University of Delhi, Rehana Khatoon has served as the Deputy Coordicator of the ''DRS Programme'' of the University Grants Commission and as a Member, Library Sub Committee - Ghalib Institute - 2014 She has also been the Vice President of the Scholar Association, New Delhi and was the Visiting Fellow at Aligarh Muslim University in 2007 and 2008. She has also served as the member of organizations of forums such as

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 ...

Institute,

Amir Khusro Abu'l Hasan Yamīn ud-Dīn Khusrau (1253 – 1325 AD), better known as Amīr Khusrau, sometimes spelled as, Amir Khusrow or Amir Khusro, was an Indo-Persian culture, Indo-Persian Sufi singer, musician, poet and scholar, who lived during the per ...

Society, ''Encyclopedia of Persian of the Subcontinent'' and Anjuman Tarriqi Urdu.

Awards and recognitions

Rehana Khatoon was awarded the Padma Shri, in 2014, twenty seven years after her father, the 1987 Padma Shri award winner, Professor Nazir Ahmed was honoured by the

. She has also received many other awards such as: * Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Award - Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar Academy - 2012 * Sir Syed Award - 2011 * Al Beruni Award -

Government of Islamic Republic of Iran The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (), known simply as ''Nezam'' (), is the ruling state and current political system in Iran, in power since the Iranian Revolution and fall of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. Its constitution, adopted ...

- 2011 * Presidential Award of Certificate of Honour by the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

- 2009 * Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad Ghalib Award - Ghalib Institute, New Delhi - 2002 * Career Award - University Grants Commission, New Delhi - 1994-1997 * Fellowship -

, Teheran * Research Scientist "A" - University Grants Commission, New Delhi - 1988 * Post-Doctoral Fellowship - University Grant Commission, New Delhi - 1980 * Senior Research Fellowship - University Grant Commission, New Delhi - 1977 * Ghalib Medal - 1969

Publications

Rehana Khatoon is credited with several books, over 30 in number, on topics such as

lexicography Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretical le ...

comparative philology Comparative linguistics is a branch of historical linguistics that is concerned with comparing languages to establish their historical relatedness. Genetic relatedness implies a common origin or proto-language and comparative linguistics aim ...

and Persian language and literature. She has also written a source book by name, ''Delhi: Past and Present: Focus on Persian Sources'' Some of her notable works are: * * * * * * * * * * * * * Books apart, Khatoon is credited with several published articles on topics related to the Persian language. She has also translated a medical book on

Diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, written by Dr. C. L. Arya and a story book, ''Mitti Se Heera'' by Professor Maqbool of Jamia Millia Islamia, from Hindi to Urdu.

References

External links