Staff Reporter / News Delhi
Preparations for the observance of World Urdu Day gathered momentum as the World Urdu Day Organising Committee finalised the recipients of the World Urdu Awards 2026 at a meeting chaired by noted Iqbal scholar Professor Abdul Haq.
The committee resolved to continue its tradition of recognising eminent personalities who have made exceptional contributions to the promotion of the Urdu language and literature. The awards will be presented on November 9, the birth anniversary of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, which is observed annually as World Urdu Day.
Announcing the decisions, committee convener Dr Syed Ahmad Khan said Dr Idris Ahmad has been chosen for the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award 2026. A distinguished scholar and administrator, Dr Ahmad has dedicated nearly four decades to the advancement of Urdu language and literary studies and currently serves as Director of the Ghalib Institute.
Dr Khan added that the Awards Committee, comprising senior journalists Jalaluddin Aslam, Suhail Anjum, and Javed Akhtar, also selected several distinguished personalities for honours in recognition of their outstanding contributions to Urdu journalism, poetry, literature, Persian language and research, and education.
The World Urdu Awards are presented annually to celebrate excellence and acknowledge individuals whose work has significantly enriched Urdu language, literature, and allied fields. The names of the remaining award recipients are expected to be announced separately.
Among the recipients are:
Dr Dabir Ahmad (Kolkata) – Allama Iqbal World Urdu Award for Literature
Professor Syed Aal Zafar (Muzaffarpur) – Mirza Ghalib World Urdu Award for Poetry
Rais Warsi (New York) – Qazi Muhammad Adeel Abbasi World Urdu Award for the Promotion of Urdu Language
Dr Chobdar Mohammad Shafi Abdul Sattar (Solapur) – Maulana Abdul Majid Daryabadi World Urdu Award for Language and Literature
Dr Khabib Ahmad (Azamgarh) – Kunwar Mahendra Singh Bedi World Urdu Award for Literature
Several journalists have also been selected for their outstanding contributions:
Dr Syeda Shama Afroz Zaidi (New Delhi) – Noorjahan Sarwat World Urdu Award for Journalism
Abdul Rashid (Baghpat) – Maulana Usman Farqaleet World Urdu Award for Journalism
Saeed Ahmad (Delhi) – Maulana Mohammad Muslim World Urdu Award for Journalism
Dr Zaki Tariq (Ghaziabad) – Mahfoozur Rahman World Urdu Award for Journalism
Manjit Bhawaria Majid (Kurukshetra, Haryana) – Pandit Dev Narayan Pandey World Urdu Award for Journalism
Abdul Azeem Madani Jhandangari (Nepal) – Maulana Sanaullah Amritsari World Urdu Award for Column Writing
Dr Mohammad Shamim Akhtar (Doordarshan, Delhi) – Ameen Sayani World Urdu Award for Electronic Media
Awards in other categories of Urdu literature will be presented to:
Shahab Anwar (Amroha) – Maulvi Ismail Merathi World Urdu Award for the Promotion of Urdu Language and Literature
Mohammad Ahmad Danish (Shikarpur, Bijnor) – Dr Zakir Husain World Urdu Award for Children’s Literature
Dr Javed Akhtar (Karnataka) – Allamat Yasin World Urdu Award for the Promotion of Urdu
Dr Mohammad Muqeem (Delhi) – Nasiruddin Hashmi Award for Urdu Research
Professor Shamsul Huda (Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad) – Maulvi Abdul Haq World Urdu Award for Literature
Dr Arshad Hasan Khan (Tonk) – Dr Abdul Faiz Usmani World Urdu Award for the Promotion of Literature
Maulana Mohammad Shamshad Nadvi (Jaipur) – Maulana Abdul Hamid Rahmani World Urdu Award for the Urdu Language
Other awardees include:
Dr Shabana Nazir – Professor Mohammad Shafi Alig World Urdu Award for the Promotion of Education
Mohammad Rafi (Muzaffarpur) – Maulana Azad World Urdu Award for the Urdu Language and National Integration
Dr Sufiyan Ansari (Bahraich) – Maqbool Ahmad Siddiqui Award for Best Teacher
Khan Naveed-ul-Haq (Mumbai) – Sir Syed World Urdu Award for the Promotion of Education
Rakesh Kumar Sharma (Delhi) – Munshi Premchand World Urdu Award for Communal Harmony and Journalism
This year’s Munshi Nawal Kishore World Urdu Award for Publishing will be presented to Hadi Publications of Ranchi, Jharkhand. The publishing house has been producing Urdu textbooks from the primary to high school level for nearly three decades.
Dr Syed Ahmad Khan said the awards would be presented at a prestigious ceremony in New Delhi in November. He expressed hope that the recipients would continue to contribute to the promotion and advancement of the Urdu language.
As in previous years, a commemorative magazine will also be published on the occasion of World Urdu Day. This year’s special issue will focus on the life and contributions of Mohammad Hamid Ali, a distinguished scholar and literary figure from Gorakhpur.
It is worth noting that the tradition of celebrating Urdu Day on November 9, the birth anniversary of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, began in 1997 in New Delhi under the auspices of the Urdu Development Organisation and the United Muslims of India. Since then, the event has evolved into World Urdu Day, which is now observed in various cities across India as well as in several countries around the world.