Urdu literary awards to be presented soon

Nampally: The much-awaited literary award function of TS Urdu Academy will be organised within few days. The awards including lifetime achievement award (past four years) in six different categories, which has a cash prize of Rs 50,000 will be presented.

Besides this, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Award, Makhdoom Award and newly announced Mir Osman Ali Khan award will be given away to achievers at the function being planned to be organised at Jubilee Hall.

The categories for lifetime achievement are poetry, research & critic, fiction, education, journalism and promotion of Urdu.

A meeting was convened on Thursday in this regard, where the judges Prof Ashraf Rafi, chairperson, Abul Kalam Azad Oriental Research Institute and former head of the Department of Urdu (Osmania University), Prof Naseemuddin Farees, Dean of School of Languages, Linguistics & Indology, MANUU and Prof Shaukat Hayat, former Dean Faculty of Arts, Dr BR Ambedkar University after deliberations have come with four names for Makhdoom Award. Dr Habeeb Zia (research & critic), Aqeel Hashmi (poetry), Mazhar-uz-Zaman (fiction), M A Majid, member, press council of India (Journalism).

For Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Award, the panel of judges which included Aqeel Hashmi besides three judges mentioned earlier held that the role of the Madarsas for promotion of Urdu cannot be ignored.

The names which came after deliberations are Maulana Rabey Hasan Nadwi, president, AIMPLB (All India Muslim Personal Law Board) and some other names.

"For the lifetime achievement award, a committee of 28 members has been formed who will decided on the names after deliberations.

A meeting will be convened with the Minister for Minority Affairs, K Eshwar shortly and the date will be decided for convening this grand occasion," said TS Urdu Academy Chairman, Raheemuddin Ansari

The cash reward for Makhdoom is Rs 2 lakh, for Maulana Abul Kalam Azad award it is Rs 2.25 lakh and for Mir Osman Ali khan award, it will be Rs 5 lakh, the latter will be introduced from next year.

"A total of 25 awards will be given to the achievers in different categories," he informed.