Renowned Urdu Poet Munawwar Rana Passes Away in Lucknow

Renowned Urdu poet Munawwar Rana breathed his last at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow on Sunday. He had been on a ventilator for the past six days, according to his daughter Somaiyya Rana.

Born on November 26, 1952, Munawwar Rana made a significant contribution to Indian literature. His work, ‘Shahdaba’, even earned him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 2014, although he returned it due to political reasons.

During the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protests, Munawwar Rana and his daughter openly supported the protesters. He also made headlines during the farmers’ agitation for making controversial remarks.

The news of Munawwar Rana’s demise has left the literary world grieving. Poet Sanjay Mishra Shauq expressed his condolences, acknowledging Rana’s contributions to Urdu poetry. He described Rana as a shining luminary in the tapestry of Indian literature, with his notable work ‘Shahdaba’ captivating the hearts of readers.

Another noted poet, Sarvesh Asthana, reflected on Rana’s life and works, stating that his poetry resonated with the masses due to its use of Hindi or Hindustani words instead of tough Arabic or Persian words. Asthana emphasized that despite the controversies surrounding Rana, his words will remain etched in the hearts of those who found solace and inspiration in the eloquence of his ghazals, especially ‘Mohajirnama’, where he wrote, ‘Mohajir hain magar hum ek duniya chhor aye hain’.

Munawwar Rana’s contributions to Urdu poetry endure as a timeless legacy, inspiring future generations to explore the richness of language and the depth of human experience through the written word. His legacy as a poet and his notable work in ‘Shahdaba’ will continue to resonate beyond his mortal existence.