Hali's haveli to become girls' school

Haryana to open school for girls in Hali’s Panipat haveli
Commits itself to revival of poet’s legacy
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 20
Celebrating the genius of 19th century Urdu poet Altaf Hali, the Haryana government today decided to open a primary school for girls in the poet’s ancestral “haveli” located in Panipat.

Endorsing requests of Indian and Pakistani Urdu scholars, here for the two-day Indo-Pak seminar on Hali being organised by the Haryana Urdu Akademi at Panjab University, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda consented to set up the girls’ school in Panipat. In this context he referred to Hali’s reformist streaks and said “he was the frontrunner of national unity and of the uplift of girls.”

The government also decided to start work on the poet’s mausoleum which lies in a state of neglect, causing disappointment to those who recognise Hali’s relevance. Hali was the first Urdu critic; he was also the one who wrote rules of construction for Urdu poetry. It was Hali’s exceptional ability to visualise trends that endeared him to Ghalib.

Dr Salim Akhtar, the visiting Pakistani scholar and former Head of Urdu Department in Mehra Government College, Lahore, said: “The significance of Hali in Urdu literature cannot be overemphasized. He was the poet of national integration. His style came closet to Iqbal’s who has acquired the status of a prophet in Pakistan. But Hali was more committed to social consciousness than other poets of his times. He wrote of reform, of radicalism and of reversal.”

Along similar lines, Dr Tahir Taunsvi, Chairman, Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Pakistan, drew one’s attention to the contributions of Hali to Urdu literature. “He set the path which others followed. All norms pertaining to approach to the language, its construction, its patterns, were laid down by Hali. It would not be an exaggeration to call him the “torchbearer” of Urdu poetry.” Dr Taunsavi has conducted research on Hali, while Dr Akhtar has written three articles linking the styles of Hali and Iqbal. The same have been published in India and Pakistan.

Trailing the evolution of Hali, Haryana Education Minister Phool Chand Mullana also painted an awe inspiring picture of the poet who would walk from Panipat to Delhi to take lessons from Ghalib. Reiterating Haryana’s commitment to safeguarding Hali’s legacy Mr Mullana said a park had been constructed in Panipat in Hali’s memory.

Interesting to note was the light hearted ambience in which debates on the poet progressed today. Unlike customary conventions that yield little, this one wrapped up on an encouraging note with scholars like Dr Khaliq Anjum, general secretary, Anjuman Taraqqe-e-Urdu, the national level Urdu body, proposing and the Haryana government consenting.

A significant recommendation Dr Anjum made pertained to more funds for Haryana Urdu Akademi, which is publishing Hali’s ghazals in Urdu and Hindi under the guidance of Dr K.L. Zakir. This year the Akademi got Rs 10 lakh more than the last budget. That the proposal to enhance its budget would be taken seriously was clear from the words of appreciation which the Haryana Governor, Dr A.R. Kidwai, had for it. The Governor talked about Urdu as a binding force for SAARC countries, and recalled Hali’s relevance by saying, “He was born in 1835 and was naturally influenced by the Mutiny of 1857”.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050721/haryana.htm#2