Ahfaz-ur-Rahman
Encyclopedia
Ahfaz-ur-Rahman born on April 4, 1942, is a Pakistani writerWriter
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. He is also a well-known journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
who has always struggled for the freedom of the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
and for the rights of working journalists and other media workers. He has raised his voice both against the numerous dictatorial Pakistani regimes and the corporate media houses who refuse to give the journalists and other workers of the press industry their due.
Ahfaz-ur-Rahman has written many books and translations and which equally inspire for his efforts for press freedom and implementation of Wage Board Award. Therefore, as a tribute, he has been referred to as "a rare breed" in the Pakistani media circles.
Biography
Rahman was born in Jabalpur, IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and migrated with his family to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
in 1947.During his secondary education he won the first prize in a competition for his article on the Urdu Poet and socialist Faiz Ahmad Faiz entitled 'Gandum kay khet, bachon kay haath aur shair," organised by well known literary magazine Afkar. He also won the first prize for "Paighamber kay naam", an article on the writings of Krishan Chander
Krishan Chander
Krishan Chander was an Urdu and Hindi Afsaana Nigaar, or short story writer. He wrote mainly in Urdu, but was well-versed in Hindi and English....
in a competition organised by Indian literary magazine 'Shair".
He was inspired by Sahir Ludhyanvi, Krishan Chander and other stalwarts of the Progressive Writers' Movement
Progressive Writers' Movement
The Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind or Progressive Writers' Movement was a progressive literary movement in the pre-partition British India, consisting of a few different writers groups around the world....
since his school days, it was not surprising that he came up as a student leader of the left-wing student organisation, National Students Federation
National Students Federation
National Students Federation is a Left-wing students federation in Pakistan.Its predecessor, the DSF , had links to the Communist Party of Pakistan. It had power base among progressive students from Dow Medical and DJ Science Colleges. It dominated student politics in Karachi, the then Federal...
(NSF) and took part in 1962 and 1964 student upsurges against General Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan
Muhammad Ayub Khan , N.Pk., H.Pk., HJ, psc, was a 5-star General and self-appointed Field Marshal in the Pakistan Army and the first military dictator, and Chief Martial Law Administrator of Pakistan...
"s regime with zeal.
In China
In 1969, Rahman landed in BeijingBeijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
China for a job in the Foreign Languages Press
Foreign Languages Press
The name Foreign Languages Press was given to two publishing houses, respectively in the Soviet Union and in the People's Republic of China.-Moscow Foreign Languages Press:...
, These were the years of Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
.He stayed in China till 1972 (four years) and translated many famous books of Chinese literature as well as the selected writings of Mao Zedong and others. He also compiled a text book for Urdu for Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...
Activism
Rahman began his activism a new upon returning to Pakistan from China at the end of 1972. During the historic journalist movement against Zia-ul-Haq's regime in 1977-78, Rahman went underground and organized that movement and had to escape arrest during that period. The movement had started in 1977, when the Daily Musawaat, Karachi, a newspaper with Pakistan Peoples PartyPakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan Peoples Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Pakistan affiliated with Socialist International. Pakistan People's Party is the largest political party of Pakistan...
(PPP) leanings, was banned by General Zia's government.
The historic movement during the Zia ul Haq regime consisted of three phases that lasted from December 1977 to July 1978. Rahman, at that time the General Secretary of Karachi Union of Journalists, was nominated Secretary General of the Joint Action committee of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) and APNEC (All Pakistan Newspaper Employees Confederation) to organize the movement for the freedom of the press.
On December 1977, journalists form all over the country came to Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
to offer court arrest in batches. Rahman was the first journalist to be arrested in the first batch.
And from 30 April 1978 to 30 May 1978 More than 120 journalists who came from various cities to court arrest in Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
were arrested and sent to different jails of the Punjab province. Rahman was again among the first to be arrested and sent to Camp Jail. Later he was taken out of the jail and debarred from the Punjab province for six months.
In July 1978 journalists form all corners came to Karachi for court arrest and were sent to different jails of the Sindh province. In the meantime, Rahman went underground to organize batches consisting of journalists, workers, peasants and student volunteers for court arrest.
After the movement ended, Rahman was blacklisted by all major newspapers and magazines who didn't want to hire a person who was obviously hated by the establishment.
Despite being one of the best journalists in the country, Rahman thus faced economic difficulties due to a long period of unemployment.
Second visit to China
In 1985, he was invited back by the Chinese government to again work for the Foreign Languages Press in Beijing. This time he spent eight years there during which time, he translated numerous Chinese novels, plays, short stories, stories for children and biographies into Urdu.Journalistic career
After coming back to Pakistan in 1993, with the Zia era over, Rahman joined Daily Jang, the largest selling Urdu newspaper in Pakistan, as the Magazine Editor.In 2002, he was elected unopposed President of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), which is the sole representative body of Pakistani journalists and is affiliated with the International Federation Of Journalists
International Federation of Journalists
International Federation of Journalists, IFJ, is a global union federation of journalists' trade unions—the largest in the world. The organization aims to protect and strengthen the rights and freedoms of journalists...
(IFJ), the largest federation of journalists in the world.
During this time he faced great opposition from the Jang group owners, due to his role as the President of the PFUJ when he constantly protested against the greed of the newspaper and media house owners of the country for not giving the workers their due rights and for not implementing the wage board award as had been directed by the Government for long.
He was finally forced to pay the price for his outspoken activism when the Jang group terminated his services.
After yet another period of unemployment, Rahman finally found a job in the Urdu newspaper Daily Express
Daily Express (Urdu newspaper)
The Daily Express , founded on 3 September, 1998, is one of Pakistan’s most widely circulated Urdu language newspapers, published by Century Publications, a Lakson Group subsidiary. It is published simultaneously from Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala,...
as the Magazine Editor. He also writes a weekly column that appears on Sundays in Daily Express, titled "Black and White" (Syaah o Safaid)
In November, 2007, Rahman was among the first journalists to be arrested during the protests against the Musharraf government's decision to ban several media channels.
In February 2008, in what was a first in the history of Pakistani literature, four of his newly published books were launched at Arts Council Karachi on the same day in a well-attended ceremony that attracted people from all walks of life, including poets, writers, journalists, trade unionists and activists.
In newspapers as
- Group Magazine Editor Daily ExpressDaily ExpressThe Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
, April 2005 till present - Executive Editor Daily Amn, 2004–2005
- Group Magazine Editor Daily JangDaily JangThe Daily Jang is an Urdu newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the oldest newspaper of Pakistan in continuous publication since its foundation in 1939. Its current Group Chief Executive & Editor-in-Chief is Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman....
, 1993–2004 - Editor Urdu Section, Foreign Languages PressForeign Languages PressThe name Foreign Languages Press was given to two publishing houses, respectively in the Soviet Union and in the People's Republic of China.-Moscow Foreign Languages Press:...
, Beijing, China 1985-1993 - Assistant Editor Monthly Aalami Digest, Karachi 1979-84
- Magazine Editor Daily Mussawat, Karachi 1973-77
- Assistant Editor Weekly Al-Fatah, Karachi 1972-73
- Editor Urdu Section, Foreign Languages PressForeign Languages PressThe name Foreign Languages Press was given to two publishing houses, respectively in the Soviet Union and in the People's Republic of China.-Moscow Foreign Languages Press:...
, Beijing, China, 1969–1972 - Sub-editor Weekly Akhbar e JahanAkhbar e JahanAkhbar e Jehan is a weekly Urdu language news and entertainment magazine published from Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, owned by Jang Group of Newspapers.It is the largest group of newspapers in Pakistan....
, Karachi 1966-68
Professional trade unionism
- President, Pakistan Fededral Union of Journalists, 2003-4 and 2004-5
- Secretary General of the Joint Action committee of PFUJ and APNEC, 1977-78 (movement for press freedom against Zia ul Haq)
- General Secretary, Karachi Union of Journalists 1976-78
- Joint Secretary, Karachi Union of Journalists, 1973-4 and 1974–75
- Member Executive Council National Students Federation (NSF), Pakistan
See also
- List of Pakistani journalists
- List of Pakistani writers
- List of Pakistani poets
- List of Urdu poets