Urdu scholar CM Naim ne 89 saal ki umr mein Chicago mein dunya ko alvida keh diya.
Summary:
CM Naim, mashhoor Urdu scholar aur translator, 89 ki age mein Chicago mein wafat pa gaye. Unhon ne apni zindagi Urdu zaban ke liye waqf ki, aur America mein teen naslon ko Urdu se roshan kiya. Unka kaam literary aur linguistic dono dimensions mein historic hai.
Zindagi Urdu ko bachane ke liye waqf ki
Renowned Urdu scholar CM Naim ne 89 saal ki umr mein Chicago mein dunya ko alvida keh diya. Nearly 60 saalon tak unka mission yeh tha ke Urdu zaban ko aise dor mein zinda rakha jaye jab yeh South Asia mein bhi marginal ho rahi thi.
Barabanki mein paida hone wale Naim ne Lucknow University, phir UC Berkeley se taleem hasil ki. 1961 mein unhon ne University of Chicago mein South Asian Languages Department join kiya aur 2001 tak wahan se munsalik rahe.
Unhein Professor Emeritus ka darja bhi diya gaya – ek aisi pehchan jo sirf unhein milti hai jo teaching mein asar chhor chukay hon.
Notable kaam: Hasrat Mohani, Mir, Ghalib aur Palestine
CM Naim ki writings ne Urdu literature ka aik naya perspective diya.
Unka essay “Two Days in Palestine” (later retitled In the Eye of the Intifada) ab bhi relevant hai. Aur unka mashhoor article “The Maulana who Loved Krishna” (on Hasrat Mohani) ko critics ne classical literature aur pluralism dono ka example qarar diya.
Naim ne Mir Taqi Mir aur Mirza Ghalib par bhi biographies likhin jo Urdu scholarship ka essential part ban chuki hain.
Urdu ko awam tak lay jana – accessibility as a mission
Indian classical singer Vidya Rao ne kaha,
“Unka ilm accessible tha. Sirf scholars ke liye nahi, aam log bhi samajh saktay thay.”
Yeh unki sab se unique quality thi — Urdu ko ivory tower se nikaal kar awam tak lay ana.
Professor Khalid Alvi ne yaad kiya ke Naim ne un forgotten Urdu fiction writers ko bhi stage diya jinhain zamana bhool chuka tha — jaise Munshi Tirath Ram Ferozpuri aur Mirza Fida Ali Khanjar Lakhnawi.
Zafar Umar, Neeli Chhatri, aur ek personal touch
Naim ke articles mein sirf facts nahi, jaan hoti thi.
Unhon ne Zafar Umar jaise officers-writers ke tragic transformations pe likha, aur unki kahani Neeli Chhatri ke peeche personal history bhi batayi — ek connection jo readers ko deeply touch karta tha.
Legacy beyond borders – Urdu in the West
Khalid Jawed, Princeton aur Virginia universities ke Urdu scholar, ne kaha:
“Naim ne literature nahi, zaban sikhai — aur yeh zaban teen naslon tak US mein roshan rahi.”
Unka impact sirf likhne tak nahi tha, woh mentor bhi thay — ek cultural bridge jo East aur West ke darmiyan Urdu ke zariye bana.
Ek dardmand vidai – Urdu duniya ek sitara kho baithi
Historian Esmat Elhalaby ne likha:
“When I started studying Urdu, I started reading everything CM Naim ever wrote – and haven’t stopped.”
CM Naim ki wafat ek aise waqt mein hui jab Urdu zaban ko phir se support ki zarurat hai. Magar unka kaam, unka likha, unka vision — ab bhi Urdu ke har student ke liye roshni ka charagh ban kar rahega.
