Death anniversary of Baba-e-Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haq observed

ISLAMABAD, Aug 16 (APP): The death anniversary of Baba-e-Urdu
(Father of Urdu) Maulvi Abdul Haq was observed on Tuesday. He died
on August 16, 1961 after prolonged illness.
According to Radio Pakistan, the legendary writer was born at
Hapur (District Merut, UP, India) in 1870. He took his BA degree from
Muslim University Aligarh (UP India).
For 13 years he served as a translator at the Home
Department before being appointed as the provincial Inspector of
Schools (Aurangabad, Deccan). The same year he was elected to the
office of Secretary, Department of Promotion of Urdu at Delhi All
India Muslim Educational Conference.
Baba-e-Urdu was the moving spirit behind the Usmania University Hyderabad, Deccan, where all subjects were taught in Urdu. The
textbooks and reference material to be used here were translated and compiled under his supervision: Later on, he served as the chairman of
the Department of Urdu. After his retirement in 1930, he compiled
and edited a comprehensive and authoritative English-Urdu dictionary.
Under his supervision, the Anjuman-e-Taraqqi-e-Urdu, emerged as
a powerful service organization. After independence, Maulvi Abdul Haq
migrated to Pakistan.
He was a prolific writer, with almost a dozen titles to his name including the authoritative Standard English-Urdu Dictionary, Chand
Ham Asar, maktoobat Baba-e-Urdu Tauqeedat, Muqadimat, etc.
As a researcher, scholar, critic and lexicographer Maulvi Abdul
Haq is a great name in our history. It is, however, as the foremost campaigner of Urdu and its greatest servant that Baba-e-Urdu will
always be remembered.