Frances W. Pritchett, and Ghalib Institute to receive Sir Syed Excellence Award
Aligarh : The internationally acclaimed scholar, translator, critic and author Professor Frances W. Pritchett, Professor Emerita, Department of South Asian, Middle Eastern and African Studies, Columbia University, New York will receive this year’s Sir Syed Excellence Award in the international category, while Sir Syed Excellence National Award will be conferred upon a reputed literary and cultural organisation of the country, Ghalib Institute, New Delhi, at the Sir Syed Day Commemorative Meeting, to be held at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on October 17, the birth anniversary of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, founder of AMU.
The yearly International and National Sir Syed Excellence Awards, given by AMU to renowned scholars or organizations who produced outstanding and intellectually stimulating works in the areas of Sir Syed Studies, South Asian Studies, Muslim Issues, Urdu Literature, Medieval History, Social Reform, Communal Harmony, Journalism, and Inter-Faith Dialogue, carry cash prizes of Rs. 200000 and Rs. 100000, respectively.
AMU Vice Chancellor, Professor Naima Khatoon, on the recommendation of a jury headed by Prof Azarmi Dukht Safavi, Prof A R Kidwai, Prof Shafey Kidwai, Prof Anisur Rehman, Prof Akhtarul Wasey, Prof Asim Siddiqui and Prof Qazi Obaidur Rehman Hashmi, finalised the awardees.
According to Professor Shafey Kidwai, Director of Sir Syed Academy and Convenor of the jury, Professor Pritchett is regarded as the most profound scholar of modern Indic languages and literature. She completed her Ph.D. in South Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. She taught at Columbia and wrote a plethora of articles, monographs and seminal books including Nets of Awareness: Urdu Poetry and its Critics; The Romance Tradition in Urdu, and A Desertful of Roses: the Urdu Ghazals of Mirza Ghalib.
Ghalib Institute, New Delhi, is one of the most respected literary and cultural organizations in the subcontinent, and its annual awards, international and national seminars, and publications are held in high esteem across the globe. The Institute was established by a trust in 1971, which organizes national and international seminars, Ghalib Extension lectures, Amir Khusro and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmad lectures, Yaum e Ghalib, Yaum e Zauq events etc.
Ghalib Institute confers awards to seven distinguished Urdu and Persian scholars every year, and its recipients include Shamsur Rehman Farooqui, Gopi Chand Narang, Qazi Abdul Wadood, Malik Ram, Qurratul Ain Haider, Kaleemuddin Ahmad, Gyan Chand Jain, Asloob Ahmad Ansari, Ale Ahmad Suroor, Nazir Ahmad, Ismat Chughtai, Krishan Chander, Jazbi, Khalilur Rehman Azmi and the like. Ghalib Institute publishes scholarly books frequently and has brought out over 500 titles.