Panipat : A city in Haryana

Maulana Khawaja Altaf Hussain Hali (1837-1914) was an Urdu poet, and the last pupil of Mirza Ghalib. He is also one of the most well-regarded biographers of Ghalib’s life, and a commentator of his poetry. He also wrote the biography of the Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College (MAO) which later on became Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in 1920.

Born in Panipat in 1837, Altaf Hussain was educated in Panipat city and later ran away to Delhi where he wished to gain further education in the Indo-Islamic poetic tradition. It was here he chose the cognomen of Khastah (“The Spent One”, or “The Tired One”). He was forced to return home, and pursued a government job until displaced by the Mutiny of 1857.

Literary works :

Musaddas e-Madd o-Jazr e-Islam, better known as Musaddas-e-Hali
(An elegaic poem on the Ebb and Tide of Islam)

Hayat-i-Javed, is the biography of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan,
(Now among one of the classics of Urdu language)

Yadgar-e-Ghalib, Mirza Ghalib’s life, and a commentator of his poetry

Heyat-e-Saadi, life of great Persian scholar, Shaikh Saadi

Muqaddama-e-Sher-o-Shayari, (A book of literary criticism in Urdu)

Hayaat-e-Hali, Autobiography

Divaan-e-Hali, Collection of Hali’s Poetry

To Hali also goes the credit of being the first to introduce the genre of biography in Urdu and all in total he authored three biographies, Heyat-e-Saadi, life of great Persian scholar, Shaikh Saadi, Heyat-e-Javed, life of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of AMU Aligarh, and his famous Yadgar-e-Ghalib.
Hali was for a new start in politics and society as much as in literature. He believed in the irreversible movement of modern civilisation, arguing that only by contact with the West could life and vigour flow back into India. His simple and deeply moving poetry inspired millions and awakened a decadent people to revive their lost glory and look to the future with renewed hope. Hali’s construction of Islam, his understanding of himself as a Muslim, and as an Indian living in British India, are crucial in tracing the historical development of Islam in South Asia. He shared a political heritage and language, which helped reconstruct Muslim identity in the 19th century. Hali came into prominence during one of the darkest hours of Indian Muslim history. The Muslims had taken lead in India’s first war of independence against the British in 1857, and after losing the war had to face the brunt of the victor’s revenge. Muslim mutineers and their supporters were murdered in the thousands by the British and a policy of systematic discrimination was instituted against the Muslims.
Hali used his pen to bring about social and educational reforms among Muslims. He heralded a new movement in Urdu prose and poetry free from jargon and verbiage. He wrote the famous “Musaddas-e-Hali”, a narrative on the rise and fall of Muslims that was published in 1879.

In his novel, Majalis-un Nisan (Assemblies of Women), Hali, emphasizes the need of educating women. The heroine, Zubaida Khatun, is taught the Qur’an, Arabic, Persian and Urdu as well as mathematics, geography and history by her father. This was at a time, when studying “British” subjects such as geography and mathematics was a taboo even for Indian Muslim men.
Hali passed away on 30th September 1914 in Panipat, but the movement for reformation and renaissance he helped start continues to this day.