Rahman Abbas

Rahman Abbas (born 30 January 1972) is an Indian fiction writer and the winner of the India's highest literary Award Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel Rohzin in 2018.[1][2][3] His is also twice winner of the State Academy Awards for his third and fourth novels respectively i.e. Hide and Seek in the Shadow of God (2011) and the Rohzin in 2017.[4][5] He is the only Indian novelist whose work in German has received a LitProm Grant funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and the Swiss-South Cultural Fund.[6][7] He writes in Urdu and in English.[8] Abbas has master's degrees in Urdu and English literature from Mumbai University.[9] His novels deal with themes of forbidden politics and love.[10]

Pakistani author Mustansar Hussain Tarar stated that Rahman's latest novel Rohzin is a fearless creative narration. Professor Gopichand Narang, former president of Sahitya Academy, called Rohzin a turning point in the history of Urdu novels.[11][12][13][14][15]

Life and career

Rahman Abbas is author of seven books including four novels: Nakhalistan Ki Talash (The Search of an Oasis-2004), Ek Mamnua Muhabbat Ki Kahani [16] (A Forbidden Love Story-2009), Khuda Ke Saaye Mein Ankh Micholi (Hide and Seek in the Shadow of God-2011), and Rohzin (The Melancholy of the Soul-2016).[11][17]

Rahman's first novel is Nakhalistan Ki Talash (Search of an Oasis) published in 2004. The fundamentalists had alleged that the novel is an obscene book. He was arrested and had to spend a few days at Arthur Road Jail. However, he was subsequently acquitted by the court in 2016.[18][19][20] Nakhlistan Ki Talash had created a storm in the conservative Urdu literary circles, and Rahman resigned from his post as lecturer in a junior college in Mumbai.[21] The novel tells the story of a young educated Muslim man whose increasing alienation in a post-1992 Mumbai leads him to a Kashmiri militant organization. He finds his cultural identity blurred during the rise of the right-wing and hate-filled politics in India at the turn of the century. He tries to demonstrate his identity and historic self, ultimately leading to his tragic and mysterious end.[22] He won the state Sahitya Akademi Award in 2011 for his third didactic novel Khuda Ke Saaye Mein Ankh Micholi. He returned the award in 2015 when major Indian writers and artists had protested against the 'wave of intolerance in Indian society' triggered by the right-wing politics'.[23][24][25]

Awards and honours

Works
  • Nakhalistan Ki Talash [The Search of an Oasis], (Novel-2004)
  • Ek Mamnua Muhabbat Ki Kahani,[16] [A Forbidden Love Story], (Novel-2009)
  • Khuda Ke Saaye Mein Ankh Micholi [Hide and Seek in the Shadow of God] (Novel-2011)
  • Rohzin [The Melancholy of the Soul], (novel-2016)

A trilogy of his early writing, entitled Teen Novels (ISBN 978-93-81029-29-9), was published in 2013 by Arshia Publication.

References
  1. "Sahitya Akademi announces winners in 24 languages". 6 December 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  2. "Sahitya Akademi Awards for 2018 announced". uniindia.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  3. "Sahitya Akademi announces 2018 awards in 24 languages, Rahman Abbas bags Urdu award". 6 December 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  4. دیشمکھ, ڈاکٹر محمد راغب (6 November 2017). "رحمن عباس کے ناول 'روحزن' کو ریاستی اکیڈمی کا انعام". Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  5. "Lokmat Hello Mumbai Newspaper | Hello Mumbai: Marathi Epaper | Hello Mumbai: Online Marathi Epaper |Hello Mumbai Daily Marathi Epaper | लोकमत वृत्तपत्रे". epaperlokmat.in. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  6. "Willkommen / LitProm". www.litprom.de. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  7. "Übersetzungsförderung durch Litprom / Zuschuss für zwölf Verlage". www.boersenblatt.net. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  8. "Urdu Literature Award".
  9. "rahmanabbas.in/". rahmanabbas.in. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  10. TNS Editor. "Of forbidden politics and love". TNS - The News on Sunday.
  11. Dutta-Asane, Sucharita (12 May 2018). "Rohzin: First Urdu novel to be discussed in Germany". Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  12. SALAM, ZIYA US. "'Writers and thinkers should speak up'". Frontline. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  13. "Rohzin, A Novel by Rahman Abbas. Password Ep91". siasat-pk.com. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  14. "Rohzin: A monologue to soul - The Indian Awaaz". Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  15. "Best Digital Marketing & Photography Institute in Mulund,Mumbai". TSCMC. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  16. "Ek Mamnua Muhabbat Ki Kahani". Wikipedia. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  17. "Rahman Abbas: 'English writers enjoy more freedom than us'". OPEN Magazine. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  18. "Mumbai Urdu author bags Sahitya Akademi award - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  19. "A colonial era law was used against Urdu writer Rahman Abbas; 10 years later, he's finally free". Firstpost. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  20. "Mumbai Urdu author bags Sahitya Akademi award - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  21. اردو فکشن 2005: دو متنازعہ کتابیں [Urdu fiction 2005: two controversial books]. bbc.co.uk (in Urdu).
  22. "The great divide – 'The hardliners are getting marginalised by the day'". The Telegraph (Calcutta). 12 September 2004.
  23. "Dadri lynching: Urdu writer Rahman Abbas to return award in protest". dna. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  24. Mukkath, Rini (9 October 2015). "Urdu writer joins protest, to return prize". Retrieved 5 January 2019 – via www.thehindu.com.
  25. "Novelist Sara Joseph returns Akademi Award; says intolerance is visible everywhere". Rediff. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  26. "Dadri incident: Urdu writer Rahman Abbas to return award in protest". 9 October 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2019 – via The Economic Times.
  27. WordPress.com, Create a free website or blog at (10 May 2018). "Rahman Abbas' 'Rohzin': First Urdu novel to be discussed in Germany". Retrieved 5 January 2019.
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