Identity: Marsiya Scholar, Critic, and Researcher of Classical Urdu Literature

Akbar Haidari Kashmiri was born on 13 October 1929 in the historic Khanaqah-e-Sokhta locality of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. He received his early education in Kashmir and was appointed as an Urdu teacher in the Jammu and Kashmir Education Department in 1950. He later earned Master's degrees in Urdu and Persian from Aligarh Muslim University. In 1960, he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Lucknow for his dissertation Mir Anees as an Epic Poet, and in 1973 he was awarded a D.Litt. for his research work The Evolution of Urdu Marsiya in Awadh.

Akbar Haidari is regarded as one of the leading scholars of Urdu literature, particularly for his contributions to classical Urdu studies, Iqbal studies, Ghalib studies, and above all, marsiya research. Marsiya criticism and scholarship remained his principal field of specialization. His studies on the history, evolution, aesthetics, and lesser-known poets of marsiya brought many neglected aspects of Urdu elegiac literature to light. His research on poets such as Mir Anees, Mirza Dabeer, Mir Khaliq, Mir Zamir, Sikandar, Gada, Maqbil, Nazim, and Ehsan, as well as his discovery of their unpublished works, constitute some of his most significant achievements.

His most important work, The Evolution of Urdu Marsiya in Awadh, is considered a foundational source on the history of Urdu marsiya. Other notable publications include Mir Anees as an Epic Poet, Baqiyat-e-Anees, Baqiyat-e-Dabeer, Intikhab-e-Marasi-e-Dabeer, Marasi-e-Mir Khaliq, Mir Zamir Lakhnavi, Anees ki Manzar Nigari, and Hindu Marsiya-Go Shuara, all of which are regarded as important reference works in marsiya studies.

Alongside marsiya scholarship, he also made valuable contributions to Iqbal and Ghalib studies. His notable works in these areas include Iqbal: Rare Information, New Dimensions of Iqbal Studies, The Poetry of Iqbal in Early Journals, Nawadir-e-Ghalib, and Ghalibiyat.

Akbar Haidari was especially renowned for discovering, editing, and studying rare manuscripts. He unearthed early manuscripts of Mir, Mir Hasan, Insha, Nasikh, and other classical poets, brought unpublished literary material to public attention, and produced reliable edited texts free from errors and interpolations. His Maqalat-e-Haidari is widely regarded as a representative collection of his scholarly contributions.

His services to Urdu research, textual editing, and marsiya studies constitute a lasting intellectual legacy and continue to serve as an invaluable resource for future scholars.

Death: Professor Akbar Haidari Kashmiri passed away on 18 September 2012.