Mustafa Zaidi (born Syed Mustafa Hasnain Zaidi; 10 October 1930 – 12 October 1970) was a Pakistani Urdu poet and a civil servant.[1][2]

Mustafa Zaidi
Mustafa Zaidi as Deputy Commissioner Lahore
Mustafa Zaidi as Deputy Commissioner Lahore
BornSyed Mustafa Hasnain Zaidi
(1930-10-10)10 October 1930
Allahabad, United Provinces, British India
Died12 October 1970(1970-10-12) (aged 40)
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Pen nameTegh Allahbadi
OccupationPoet
NationalityPakistani
GenreNazms and Ghazals
Notable awardsTamgha-e-Quaid-e-Azam
SpouseVera Zaidi

Early life

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In 1954, he passed the competitive examination and was sent to England for training before being given the posts of deputy commissioner and deputy secretary.[3]

He married Vera Zaidi, a German national, with whom he had a son and a daughter.[4]

In June 1970, he was dismissed from civil service along with 38 other CSP officers by the dictatorial regime of General Yahya Khan. [5]

Death

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He died on 12 October 1970, two days after his 40th birthday, in Karachi under mysterious circumstances and was laid to rest at Wadi-e-Hussain cemetery Karachi. At the time of his death, Shehnaz Gul, a contractor's wife, was found beside him unconscious. Some believed that Zaidi was murdered while others thought he committed suicide.[6][7]

Literary works

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He also wrote under his pen-name Tegh Allahabadi. His initial poetry was romantic in nature. At the age of 17, he published his first collection of poetry Zangeerein (1949), followed by Roshni (1950), Shehr-e-Azar (City of Idol Worshippers; 1958), Mauj Meri Sadaf Sadaf (1960), Garebaan (1964), Qaba-e-Saaz (1967) and Koh-e-Nida (1971, published posthumously). His complete work was published as Kulliyaat-i-Mustafa Zaidi posthumously.[3]

Further reading

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  • Laurel Steele (2005). Relocating the Postcolonial Self: Place, Metaphor, Memory and the Urdu Poetry of Mustafa Zaidi (1930-1970) (PhD). Chicago: University of Chicago, Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations. OCLC 60817790.
  • Zafarullah Khan (1984). Mustafa Zaidi: Shakhsiyat aur Shairi (in Urdu). Majlis-i Fikr o Adab. OCLC 15697137.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "مصطفیٰ زیدی: قتل یا خودکشی، سوال نصف صدی بعد بھی باقی". Independent Urdu (in Urdu). 12 October 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  2. ^ Salman, Peerzada (12 October 2020). "This week 50 years ago: The Mustafa Zaidi case and NATAK". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Mustafa Zaidi: murder or suicide?". DAWN. 14 October 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  4. ^ Ali, Kamran Asdar (1 December 2014). "COLUMN: A moment in Karachi's history: a poet's death remembered". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  5. ^ "PAKISTAN OUSTS 191 AFTER TRIALS". The New York Times. 7 June 1970. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  6. ^ Yunus Ahmar (1999). Modern Urdu Poets. New Delhi: Adam Publishers and Distributors. p. 101. ISBN 978-81-7435-162-3. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  7. ^ Parekh, Rauf (27 April 2015). "Creativity and mental disorder: Urdu poets and writers who committed suicide". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
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