Identity: Distinguished researcher, expert in Ghalib studies, eminent scholar of Persian, linguist, and authoritative interpreter of classical texts

Professor Nazir Ahmad was born on 3 January 1915 in a village in the Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh, India. He received his higher education from Lucknow University and completed his M.A. in Persian language and literature in 1940. In 1945, he earned his doctorate with a dissertation on the life and works of the renowned Persian poet Zuhuri, completed under the supervision of the eminent scholar Masood Hasan Rizvi Adeeb. In 1950, he obtained a D.Litt. degree for his research on the Persian poets of the Adil Shahi period, and in 1956 he was awarded another D.Litt. in Urdu for his critical editing and research on Nauras, the celebrated work of Ibrahim Adil Shah II.

In 1955, he went to Iran on a Government of India scholarship, where he obtained a diploma in Pahlavi and Modern Persian from the University of Tehran and benefited from the guidance of distinguished Iranian scholars. Upon returning to India, he joined the Department of Persian at Lucknow University. In 1957, at the invitation of Rashid Ahmad Siddiqui, he moved to Aligarh Muslim University, where he worked on a major academic project related to the history of Urdu language and literature under the Government of India. He later became Reader and subsequently Professor in the Department of Persian. He served as Chairman of the Department of Persian for seventeen years and also held the position of Dean of the Faculty of Arts.

Professor Nazir Ahmad occupied a distinguished position in Persian and Urdu scholarship. He authored more than one thousand research articles, published in leading academic journals of India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, the United States, and other countries. His areas of research included Persian and Urdu literature, linguistics, history, culture, music, calligraphy, and Ghalib studies. Among his important collections are Tahqiqi Maqalat, Tarikhi wa Adabi Mutalae, Ghalib Ashufta, Ghalib Par Chand Maqalat, and Ghalib Par Chand Tahqiqi Mutalae.

His contributions to Ghalib studies and Dakhni literature are particularly significant. He critically edited Nauras of Ibrahim Adil Shah II on the basis of multiple manuscripts, and the work is regarded as an important document of Dakhni Urdu. He also edited and researched important texts such as Diwan-e-Mahandar, Makatib-e-Sanai, Diwan-e-Hamid Loiki, and Naqd-e-Qati Burhan. His work on classical Persian lexicons is considered foundational. He published rare texts such as Farhang-e-Qawwas, Dastur al-Afazil, Farhang-e-Jahan Poya, and Lisan al-Shuara with scholarly annotations and research.

Professor Nazir Ahmad was also an eminent editor. He served as associate editor of the renowned research journal Fikr-o-Nazar, which under his supervision became one of the leading academic journals in the Urdu world. He was also associated with the journals Ghalib and Ma‘arif. He was a founding member and lifelong trustee of the Ghalib Institute.

He participated in numerous international conferences and seminars in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Russia, England, and the United States, where he presented scholarly papers. In recognition of his academic contributions, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 1987. He also received the Ghalib Award in 1976, while the University of Tehran conferred upon him an honorary professorship. In 2005, he was honored with the highest award of the Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library.

Professor Nazir Ahmad was renowned for his profound scholarship, extraordinary memory, academic integrity, and meticulous research methodology. Whatever subject he undertook, he explored it with exceptional depth and authenticity. In the fields of Urdu and Persian scholarship, he remains an authoritative and unforgettable figure.

Death: Professor Nazir Ahmad passed away on 19 October 2008 in Aligarh.