A WIDESPREAD misconception about letter-writing in Urdu is that Ghalib pioneered it. But the fact is Ghalib began writing letters in Urdu in late 1840s and Urdu’s earliest letter traced so far is one written in 1803 by a woman named Faqeera Begum.
Shadab Tabassum in his dissertation titled Urdu Maktoob Nigari (Delhi, 2012) has mentioned different opinions about first-ever letter written in Urdu. Describing some early Urdu letters, he says an Urdu letter written by Ghulam Ghaus Bekhabar is dated 1840. Before him, Rajab Ali Baig Suroor had written letters in Urdu and some of them were written between 1824 and 1837.
Even before him, according to Khwaja Ahmed Farooqi, Nawab Hussam-ul-Mulk, son of Karnataka’s Nawab, wrote an Urdu letter in 1822 to his sister-in-law. But Khaliq Anjum said that some Urdu letters were written before 1822 and Mirza Jan Tapish (died: 1814) had written a letter in Urdu to Rasikh Azeemabadi (died: 1822). Not only did Rasikh reply in Urdu but renowned French scholar of Urdu Garcin de Tassy, too, used to write letters in Urdu and received replies from India in Urdu. Some of these letters were exchanged as early as in 1810. Mirza Qateel had begun writing letters in Urdu in or before 1817. A collection of Qateel’s Persian letters published 1817 under the title Ma’adan-ul-Favaed included Qateel’s five Urdu letters.
An Urdu letter is included in a book named Vaaqia’at-i-Azfari. Its author, Mirza Muhammad Zaheeruddin Ali Bakht Azfari (1759-1818), was a Mughal prince who had to spend about 30 years of his life in confinement in Delhi where ‘salaateen’ were detained. These ‘salaateen’ were in fact descendants of former Mughal rulers and were kept in captivity for the fear of their claiming a right to the throne or arranging a revolt against the rulers. Azfari somehow managed to escape from the prison and lived in different princely states for years, finally settling down under the protection of Nawab of Arcot, or Arkaat, near Madras (now Chennai).
Azfari composed poetry in Persian, Turkish and Urdu. He penned Vaaqia’at-i-Azfari in 1212 Hijri, or 1797-98 AD. The text was in Persian and the original Persian work has never been published. But its manuscripts are preserved at Chennai and London and another one was a part of renowned German orientalist Aloys Sprenger’s collection of rare manuscripts. Luckily, Madras University had published an Urdu translation in 1937 and, wrote Shadab Tabassum, it included some letters written in Urdu. Among them is a letter written in Urdu by Faqeera Begum, a woman from Mughal family and a relative of Mirza Azfari. As mentioned by Prof Mukhtaruddin Arzoo, most probably it was written in 1803.
Some of the letters mentioned here may be dubbed as Urdu’s earliest letters. However, from literary point of view, a political or official letter may have importance as a piece of historical evidence but it is a personal letter with a literary touch that makes it to the literary genre of letter-writing. Just as Ghalib’s letters, some letters written by some well-known personalities proffer biographical details, historical evidence and glimpses of culture and social milieu in a language and style that deserve a mention. Such letters include the ones written by Wajid Ali Shah, the deposed ruler of Oudh, or Awadh, and women of his family.
In 20th century, letters written by Urdu’s literary figures truly made the genre of letter-writing an envy of many other genres. Among such remarkable works, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad’s letters, published in a volume named Ghubar-i-Khatir are praised for their certain characteristics. The style and vigour of these letters is unmatched in Urdu.
Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958) was arrested by the British India’s government on several occasions. As president of Congress, during Quit India Movement Azad was arrested again in Bombay (now Mumbai) on August 9, 1942. He was imprisoned in Ahmednagar Fort. Here he wrote letters to his friend Habibur Rahman Sherwani. Azad was released from Jail on June 15, 1945 and the book was first published in 1946 from Delhi. A new edition was published in 1967 with annotations by Malik Ram. Another edition appeared in 1982 and now Jehlum’s Book Corner has published a new edition of Ghubar-i-Khatir. It is the same version as edited by Mali Ram.
Some critics objected to Ghubar-i-Khatir being labelled a collection of letters. Firstly, they said, these letters were never posted and were kept in a file in prison and most probably reached the addressee, Habibur Rahman Khan Sherwani, only when published in book form. Secondly, these are in fact brief essays, not letters, as put by Dr Muhammad Sadiq.
A collection of letters or not, the book has become a part of modern Urdu classics and should definitely be considered a part of Urdu canon.
Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2023
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