1. Home
2. Jammu Kashmir

Poet Kashmiri Lal Zakir passes away

KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 9/1/2016 11:55:56 PM

JAMMU, Sep 1: Noted poet, novelist and short story writer Kashmiri Lal Zakir passed away in Chandigarh Wednesday evening.
He was 97.
Born on April 7, 1919 in district Gujarat of Pakistan from where his family had migrated to Poonch two months after his birth, Zakir, who spent better part of his childhood and youth in J&K, is widely known in the literary circles of the Indian sub-continent and recognized for his scholarly contribution to Urdu language and literature.
Zakir had more than 132 books to his credit, including novels, short stories, plays, travelogues, anthologies and varied other subjects. The nonagenarian litterateur held various important assignments in the field of education and communication and was a recipient of many national and international awards and honours for his outstanding literary contributions over the past six decades.
An alumnus of Prince of Wales College, he also served as the Director School Education Haryana and founder secretary Urdu Academy, Haryana.
Zakir, a close pal of founder editor and chairperson Kashmir Times Group of Publications Ved Bhasin, would describe Jammu, the city where he spent his childhood and adolescence, as his Ayodhya, He would fondly cherish memories about the city and his old pals, his contemporaries Qurratullah Shohab, the first ICS Officer of J&K, Om Saraf and many other luminaries who served the state in different capacities.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar condoled the death of Zakir who was also the Chairman of Haryana Urdu Academy.
Khattar said, "With the death of Dr K L Zakir, a Padma Shri awardee, Urdu and Hindi literature have lost a doyen.
“He had been conferred with the honour of Fakhr-e-Haryana by the state government. His contribution to the world of literature will be remembered for long. My heartfelt condolences to the members of the bereaved family. May his soul rest in peace," Khattar said.
Zakir's career, which started with his first ghazal published in Adabi Duniya in the 1940s a publication from Lahore, encompasses novels, dramas, short stories and travelogues. He served the Punjab Education Department during British rule.
During his student days, Kashmiri Lal Zakir worked with Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah and joined his party National Conference as a worker.