The Indian National Academy of Letters (ShahityaAkademi) in association with Indian  Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies and the Department of English and Modern European Languages organised the first Birth Centenary Conference on Professor Ahmed Ali at Lucknow University from Feb 10 to 12, 2011. Many eminent literary figures from India, Pakistan and England spoke on the occasion and 21 papers were read out by scholars during the conference.

Prof Ahmed Ali, a progressive writer, poet, novelist, translator, teacher, diplomat and scholar was born on July 1, 1910 in Delhi and died Jan 14, 1994 in Karachi. He did his graduation and post-graduation during the 1920 and ‘30s from Aligarh and Lucknow universities. Later, he taught English for a decade at Lucknow and Allahabad universities.

He was also professor and head of the English department at the Presidency College, Kolkata.

Prof Ahmed Ali's writings voiced concern over the decay of Muslim culture and injustices of the colonial rule. His collection of short stories Angare attacked many of the entrenched religious and cultural prejudices at the time. He co-founded the Progressive Writer's Association with the likes of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Majaz, Firaq Gorakhpuri and Munshi Premchand, which later developed into the Progressive  Literary Movement.

Ahmed Ali's literary talents knew no bounds. He was well-versed in French, Chinese, Persian and Quranic Arabic. He was a scholar of repute and recognised internationally. He also served as a visiting professor to universities in China, and Michigan, Kentucky and Illinois in the US. He was a charming person. His circles of friends included George Orwell, Sarojini Naidu, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, Shahid Suhrawardy, Laurence Brandon, and many others.

After partition Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan asked him to join the Pakistan Foreign Service. It was he who established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. He was also Pakistan's envoy to Morocco. He was awarded Sitara-i-Pakistan by the Government of Pakistan in 1980 for his meritorious services. He married Bilqeece Jehan Begum, a writer, an artist and a beautiful lady, who died in Karachi in 1994.

For son, Orooj Ahmed Ali and daughter Shahana, the trip to their father's alma mater in India upon his centenary celebrations there and a visit to their ancestral city was an emotional journey. Orooj was the keynote speaker at the conference while Shahana won the hearts of the audience for her spontaneous and extempore speech about her illustrious father.

Orooj and Shahana Ahmed Ali also spoke at the Fourth Ahmed Ali Memorial Lecture held at the Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi on Feb 23, entitled ‘Truth of Fiction’ and given by Dr Shamsur Rehman in Edward W Saeed Hall of the university which was filled to capacity.

While meeting them in Delhi, they recall, Mrs Sonia Gandhi mentioned having read Ahmed Ali's magnum opus novel Twilight in Delhi, now considered a classic. Orooj, his wife Shaheen and sister Shahana also presented Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Ali's Al- Quran: A Contemporary Translation, which is recognised as one of the best English translations. They fondly reminisced the bond of close friendship that existed between Ahmed Ali and Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, the late sister of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Travelling between my youthful idealism and hopeful current self, I often wonder the lasting contribution of men like Prof Ahmed Ali in the development of a progressive society. It is my pleasure to have known his family.

The writer is a retired wing commander, now based in Qatar