Paig̲h̲ām Āfāqī ('آفاقى، پيغام or پيغام آفاقى), also written Paigham Afaqi pr Paigham Afaqui ' is the literary name of Akhtar Ali Farooquee , an Indian writer, known particular for his Urdu novels and short stories.
Paigham Afaqui was born in 1956 in Chanp village of Siwan district in Bihar in a farmer’s family. He did his schooling from his home town and did his B.A. Hons (English Literature) and M.A. History from the Aligarh Muslim University. He appeared in IAS examination in 1976 and worked in various important capacities in the Delhi Police and also as Principal of the Police Training College.
While in school some of his poems were published in newspapers and periodicals. While in university his short stories and poems were published in Aahang, tehrik, Aajkal and other literary magazines. He was also Secretary, Literary Society of Aligarh Muslim University in 1975-76 and played significant role in boosting fiction writing among students. A remarkable number of writers like Ghazanfer, Syed Mohd Ashraf, Tariq Chhatari, Ibne Kanwal, Ghyasur Rehman and poets like Farhat Ehsas, Obeid siddiqui, Mehtab Naqvi belong to this period. Most of them were either directly or indirectly influenced by senior writers Qazi Abdus Sattar and Shahryar. Paigham Afaqui has been a student of renowned historian Irfan Habib.
Paigham Afaqui's name as a writer came in eminence after publication of his novel Makaan in 1989 which was widely reviewed in Urdu and English. His two other books: 'Mafia', a collection of short stories and 'Darinda': a collection of poems were also acclaimed.
A single novel MAKAAN made Paigham Afaqui the most celebrated fiction writer in India. 'Cop's novel makes waves' - reported The Hindustan Times. No Urdu novel ever created such a tremor in literary & intellectual circles alike. This novel re-generated fiction writing not only in Urdu but in English as well - no novelist, including the... much acclaimed English writers like Vikram Seth and Arundhati Roy or the Gyan Peeth Winner Quratul Ain Haider ever commanded such wide respect in media and intelligentsia and was ever given such a coverage by national press surpassing all differences and doubts. There was not a single national newspapers which remained behind in celebrating the emergence of a literary genius. Even much before the novel was translated in English & Hindi it was already a highly respected novel. MAKAAN made Paigham Afaqui to Delhi what Albert Camus had been to France and Kafka had been to Germany. This novel finished the era of 'jadidiat' in Urdu fiction and turned Urdu novel into a tool of creative thinking rather than flat narrative of the earlier era. thus raising the level of Urdu fiction to unprecedented height of originality and creative excellence.
For a job he appeared in the Union Public Service Commission and qualified for all the services but being underage he was offered police service. He was posted in Andaman & Nicobar Islands where he remained at various places for four years. Since 1984 he is in Delhi Police where he has served in the fields of district police administration, airport security, public safety, police training, anti-corruption and crime investigation.
While in the university he published short stories in literary magazines like Aahang, Aajkal, Tehrik. In the university he was Secretary of University Literary Club, AMU, Aligarh. In 1989 he published his first major novel Makan. In 1990 he founded Indian Academy of Fiction. In 1994 he was involved in the making of a TV serial in which he familiarized himself in film making and made many other TV programs. He gives talks on film making to the students of Mass Media in Jawaharlal Nehru University. In 1996 he developed software for writing scripts and founded Screenplay House.
In 1994-95 he was Secretary, Crescent Education Society that runs a number of schools in Delhi. In 1997 he was Vice-President of AMU Old Boy’s Association, Delhi. During this period he also wrote a variety of philosophical books and articles of literary and social nature. He has been reading short stories on All Indian Radio and participating in its discussion. He has been usually appearing in literary programs of Bazm and Kahkashan on National Tele-vision.
His novel Makan is considered a beacon in the present scenario of Urdu fiction. Besides Makan, his major achievement is a literary movement for revival of contemporariness and nativity In Urdu novel and fiction. He is on the panel of directors of IGNOU for making programs for Mass Education.
He is considered one of the most eminent writers and poets in modern Urdu and has contributed it as a trendsetter.
He has been prominently profiled and interviewed by |English national dailies and journals like Hindustan Times, Times of India, Pioneer, National Herald, Patriot, Tribune, Mid-Day and Link and numerous Hindi and Urdu dailies and journals. He has delivered talks in JNU on Film making as regular panelist, and makes regular appearance on TV channels: DD-1, DD-2, E-TV, Jain TV, City-TV etc.
Paigham Aafaqi has worked on varioue designations; such as:
- Secretary, University Literary Club, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 1975-76
- Chairman;Fiction Academy, Delhi, involved in the study of quality and utility of film,TV and written fiction and its impact on society.
He has won various awards such as:
- Firoz Gandhi Memorial Award
- Urdu Academy, UP First Award for Book
- Urdu Academy, Govt. of Delhi : Award For Contribution to Fiction
- Millennium Award for Fiction : Jamia Urdu, Aligarh
He has written the following books;
- Novel MAKAAN
- Novel PALEETA
- Short Stories MAFIA
- Poetry DARINDA
