Urdu Poet Khaleel Ur Rahman A'zmi

Khaleel-Ur-Rehman Azmi also Khalil al-Rehman Azmi (1927-1978) was an eminent Urdu poet and literary critic. Born in village Seda Sultanpur,of district Azamgarh. His father Maulana Muhammad Shafi was deeply religious man. Khaleel-Ur-Rehman 'Azmi' matriculated from Shibli National High School, at Azamgarh in 1945. He graduated in 1948 and did his M.A. in Urdu from Aligarh Muslim University. It was during this time that he was involved in giving tuitions to Ralph Russell, who was also in Aligarh at that time and later to develop long association with Khurshid-ul-Islam. He was awarded Ph. D. in Urdu in 1957 by Aligarh Muslim University titled Urdu Mein Tarraqipasand Adabi Tahrik.

"Khalil Sahib had been attacked during the Hindu-Muslim riots that accompanied independence as he was travelling by train from Delhi to Aligarh. He had been stabbed, thrown out of the train, and left for dead. But he recovered. In later years he became a lecturer in the Urdu departmentat Aligarh and eventually published a book on the Progressive Writers’ Movement."

He joined as lecturer in 1952 in the department of Urdu at Aligarh Muslim University. In 1956 he became Reader and continued on that position till his death in 1978. He died of leukemia after his long struggle with the disease. He was posthumously declared professor which was long overdue.

He started writing from his early school days and composed poems for Payami taleem, children's literary magazine. He was outstanding writer of prose as well as poetry. He was one of the pioneer's of Modernism in Urdu, and was also aligned with Progressive Writers Movement.

Work and contributions:

Kaghzi Pairahan (1953)-collection of poetry, nazms and ghazals.
Naya Ahad Nama (1965)-collection of poetry, nazms and ghazals.
Nai Nazm Ka Safar (Collection of Urdu poetry after 1936-1972-(edited by Khaleel-ur-Rehman Azmi)
Fikr-o-Fan (1956)
Zawiay-e-Nigah (1966)
Mazameen-e-Nau (1977) – Literary criticism
Muqaddama-e- Kalam-e-Aatish
Taraqqi Pasand Tahreek 1965
Urdu Mein Taraqqi Pasand Adabi Tahreek (1972)
He received Ghalib Award for Urdu Poetry in 1978.