About half a century ago, Karachiites wept at the demise of a missionary who had nurtured, nourished and spearheaded the cause of developing and promoting Urdu like no one else. Maulvi Abdul Haq (1870 to 1961) can be regarded as the foremost language activist who followed the single purpose of building Urdu as a living and potent language. His entire life was devoted to this single goal with unwavered dedication and diligence.

Maulvi Abdul Haq was a true lieutenant of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan in respect to progressive thinking and application. During his formative years at Aligarh in the late 19th century, he was blessed with the assorted company of luminaries such as Sir Ziauddin Ahmed and Zafar Ali Khan. After a fulfilling career in different educational and administrative assignments in Hyderabad Deccan, Maulvi Abdul Haq set his feet in Delhi to look after the work of Anjuman-i-Taraqqi-i-Urdu. He crusaded for the cause of Urdu in a stupendous manner during the Urdu-Hindi controversy which erupted during 1936 and after. Keeping the Anjuman as his base camp, he continued to work on many projects of crucial importance for strengthening and enriching the language.

The scholar firmly believed in the linguistic capacity of Urdu to accommodate scientific vocabulary and nomenclature. He was of the view that Urdu is a populist language and can play a pivotal role in the progress of commoners of the Subcontinent if its linguistic foundations are reinforced. Partition forced him to relocate in Karachi along with the offices of the Anjuman. He founded the Urdu College with the objective of promoting education in the national language with an entirely pragmatic approach. Frail but firm, Maulvi Abdul Haq continued to lobby for achieving the rightful place of the language in national life. Working with missionary zeal, he was able to evolve a trustworthy band of scholars and researchers behind him. This noted icon of the language passed away on Aug 16, 1961, in Karachi.

Several treatises, theses, research papers, articles compilations, compendia and proceedings have been written by men and women of letters about the contributions made by Maulvi Abdul Haq. Few of the most outstanding feats need to be remembered for their merit. He critically examined the grammatical rules of Urdu and published them from various platforms for wider dissemination. Another seminal work is Lughat-i-Kabir (mega dictionary) which was initiated by him during his service to Hyderabad (Deccan) state.

Maulvi Abdul Haq edited numerous classical texts from the formative days of the language to make them available for contemporary users. He laid down the foundations for translations of various types of scientific and literary material into Urdu.

He also traced back the contribution of Sufi saints in popularising the language amongst common folk. Besides his invaluable linguistic services, Maulvi Abdul Haq was an erudite writer and researcher of substance.

He left behind many papers, compilations, monographs and discourses to that effect. He received many awards and honours for his work but the title of Baba-i-Urdu — given to him by the people — was perhaps the best recognition of his meritorious services. It will be most apposite if his services are recounted through academic and literary discourses during the entire year in order to reenact his legacy.

The writer is professor and chairman, Department of Architecture and Planning, NED University, Karachi.