Seminar in Memory of Bashir Hussain Nazim Held at AIOU (Allama Iqbal Open University)

A seminar was arranged by the Department of Mass Communication at AIOU to honor and acknowledge the contributions of Bashir Hussain Nazim (who passed away in June 2012). An announcement was made by the Vice Chancellor, Dr. Shahid Siddiqui that the Department of Urdu will be producing a PhD thesis based on his life and works. This is being done under the series that has been launched by the university entitled ‘Mat samjho ham nay bhola diya’ (that translates as: don’t think that we have forgotten). Its aim is to celebrate those individuals who have rendered great services in different fields and to ensure that AIOU will fully develop into a center of academic and literary excellence; which would keep our legacy alive in the hearts of the younger generation.

Contributions of Bashir Hussain Nazim

Bashir Hussain Nazim made great contributions in capacity of a Naat Khawan, poet, scholar and writer. He was an expert in Urdu, Arabic & Persian and had a close association with the prestigious Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL). He frequently contributed to the leading daily newspaper Nawa-i-Waqt and authored numerous articles. He wrote many books; the most famous are Dewan-e-Ghalib, a collection of Naats [his Naat compositions clearly depicted his immense love for Prophet Muhammad (SAW)] and Abadi Awaz which is in Punjabi.

He was deeply inspired by Allama Iqbal, and often highlighted his works in his own poetry and writings. In 1995 he received the President’s Pride of Performance Award for the recitation of Naats; as his style was truly unique and heart-touching. He was also very well liked in all circles owing to his humble and gentle disposition.