SIRHIND, pronounced Sar-hind, is a city in Indian Punjab. In Mughal era, Sirhind was considered among the big cities situated between Lahore and Delhi. According to Urdu Encyclopaedia of Islam, published by Punjab University in 23 volumes, in ancient treatises Sirhind’s name is mentioned as Saihrind and Sahrind. Another opinion is that it was Sar-i-Hind, or the frontier of India, and with the passage of time it became Sarhind and was spelt Sirhind. Sheikh Ahmad Sirhindi, popularly known as Hazrat Mujaddid Alf-i-Sani, the Mughal-era scholar and Sufi saint of Naqshbandiya order, was born in Sirhind and his tomb near the city still attracts large crowds.

Among the literary figures known with the demonym ‘Sarhindi’ — or the persons hailing from Sarhind or Sirhind — was Waris Sarhindi (1934-1991), a lexicographer, researcher, linguist, translator and critic. Waris Sarhindi’s lexicographic feats deserve all the kudos but he is little recognised despite the fact that his I’lmi Urdu Lughat is the best among one-volume, monolingual Urdu dictionaries. Recently, a doctoral dissertation on Waris Sarhindi’s linguistic works was submitted for award of a doctoral degree at Islamabad’s Allama Iqbal Open University. A researcher, named Nasir Mahmood Ahmed, under the supervision of Dr Safdar Rasheed, has carried out the research and he deserves commendation for sifting through the heaps of material on Waris Sarhindi, bringing to light some important facts. The thesis offers a critical review of Waris Sarhindi’s linguistic and lexicographic works as well as details about his life.

According to Nasir Mahmood, Waris Sarhindi was born on Sept 23, 1934, in Bassi Pathaanaan, a town near Sirhind, where his ancestors had settled after migrating from Afghanistan during the reign of Sher Shah Suri. Waris Sarhindi’s real name was Muhammad Waris Ali Khan, and the honorific title ‘Shah’, too, was sometimes attached to his name, though ‘Khans’ are, historically, not ‘Shahs’. He received early education in hometown but the family migrated to Pakistan in November 1947 and temporarily stayed at Sialkot, later on settling in Kanjrur, a remote small town near Pakistan-India border, now a part of district of Narowal, Punjab.

For several reasons, Waris Sarhindi, who was to become a lexicographer, could not attend any educational institute for long enough. But he kept on educating himself, passing several exams by appearing as external candidate. He did his MA in Urdu from Punjab University as an external candidate. For a living, Waris Sarhindi taught at some schools and finally quit the job in 1970 to take up writing as full time work, though it rarely paid well. Waris had begun contributing articles to newspapers and periodicals at an early age and kept on doing so till quite late into his advanced years. So, all in all, during his lifetime Waris Sarhindi must have published several hundred articles, research papers and book reviews, not to mention his books.

A self-taught linguist and lexicographer, Waris Sarhindi soon came to be known as someone to reckon with when it came to the usage, etymology or the nuances of words. Considering Waris Sarhindi’s lexicographic and linguistic acumen, Shanul Haq Haqqee offered him to join Urdu Dictionary Board (the then Urdu Development Board) to lend a helping hand in compiling Urdu’s most comprehensive and authentic dictionary, which was finally published in 22 volumes. But because of familial obligations, Waris Sarhindi could not come to Karachi to join the board. Haqqee Sahib asked him to take the responsibility of reviewing the manuscripts of the board’s dictionary. It was the kind of ‘remote work’ that Waris Sarhindi was more than happy to do, helping the board for quite long.

Some of Waris Sarhindi’s books are: I’lmi Urdu Lughat, the Urdu-Urdu Dictionary, first published in 1976, that ran into 25 editions. Its new edition, published in 2018, is a shadow of the previous ones as it is a badly revised version of a wonderful dictionary. Jam’e-ul-Amsaal (1985), a remarkable work, includes some 9,000 Urdu proverbs with brief explanations in Urdu. Qaamoos-i-Mutraadifaat (1986), is a 1114-page dictionary of Urdu synonyms. Kutub-i-Lughat Ka Tehqeeqi-o-Lisaani Jaiza is a series of books in eight volumes. Published by the National Language Authority, these books critically evaluate Urdu dictionaries.

Waris Sarhindi penned three volumes in the series, meticulously analysing some of Urdu’s well-known and awe-inspiring dictionaries. Zabaan-o-Bayaan (1989) is a collection of articles on language and usage. Some books and articles by Waris Sarhindi still remain unpublished.

Dr Muneer Sletch wrote that Waris Sarhindi died on April 15, 1991. But Nasir Mahmood Ahmed in this dissertation says Waris Sarhindi died in Kanjrur on April 5, 1991.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2026