Identity: Researcher, Critic, Sketch Writer, Poet, and Columnist

Suleman Athar Javed was born on 9 April 1936 in the Mustaidpura locality of Hyderabad, in the home of Muhammad Husain Khan. The ancestors of Suleman Athar Javed originally belonged to Afghanistan and migrated through Balochistan and Punjab before settling in Hyderabad nearly two centuries ago. His family maintained a spiritual association with Hazrat Mian Mir Nawab Sahib.

He received his early education at home, where his father taught him Persian, and later studied at Government High School Mustaidpura and Chaderghat High School. After matriculating in 1952, he joined Chaderghat College, where the eminent scholar Dr. Mohiuddin Qadri Zor served as principal. He later completed his B.A. and M.A. from Osmania University and earned his PhD in 1968 under the supervision of Professor Masood Husain Khan with a dissertation titled “Rashid Ahmad Siddiqi: Personality and Art.”

His permanent academic career began in 1966 at Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, where he served for thirty years and retired as Professor and Head of the Urdu Department. After retirement, he worked as Visiting Professor at University of Hyderabad and as Academic Advisor at Maulana Azad National Urdu University.

Professor Suleman Athar Javed authored 22 books, among them Uslub aur Intiqad, Tanqeed-e-Sher, Tarikh-e-Telugu, Urdu Shayari Mein Ishariyat, and Aziz Ahmad ke Afsane. By introducing Telugu literature to Urdu readers, he played an important role in promoting linguistic and literary harmony. His compilation of Rashid Ahmad Siddiqi’s letters and recovery of Aziz Ahmad’s short stories are considered major scholarly achievements.

He was also an accomplished sketch writer, as reflected in his collections Chehra Chehra Dastan and Bazm-e-Chiraghan. In poetry, he adopted the pen name “Javed”; his collection Aangan Aangan Dukh Ke Peer (1996) reflects inner emotions and social concerns.

He also rendered notable services in literary journalism. His popular weekly column “Adabi Diary” appeared for many years in the newspaper Roznama Siasat.

Death: He passed away on 15 August 2018 in Hyderabad.