October 10, 2025
Time:
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
A-11, Academic Block, LUMS
The Gurmani Centre for Languages and Literature invites you to the launch of the English translation of Postcolonial Perspective in Urdu Literature. The book examines the continuing impact of colonialism on the Urdu language, literature, and thought, tracing how colonial power shaped linguistic and cultural identities in South Asia and how these influences persist in the present.
First published by Oxford University Press in 2013, Ma‘bad Nau Abadiyat: Urdu ke Tanazur Mein (مابعد نو آبادیات: اردو کے تناظر میں) has since appeared in later editions through Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore, and Arshia Publications, Delhi, in 2024. Its English translation, by Dr. Omair Ahmed Khan, was originally published by the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna, and has now been brought out in Pakistan by Sang-e-Meel Publications.
This publication extends the reach of Urdu literary scholarship to a wider audience and opens new possibilities for academic exchange between Lahore and Vienna.
About the Author:
Dr. Nasir Abbas Nayyar is a scholar, critic, and short story writer. He is the recipient of the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz and several other literary awards. He has served as Director General of the Urdu Science Board, Lahore, and as Professor of Urdu at the University of the Punjab. He currently serves as the Editor of Bunyad, the research journal of LUMS. Dr. Nayyar is widely regarded as the pioneer of postcolonial discourse in Urdu.
About the Discussants:
Dr. Rauf Parekh has served as Professor in the Department of Urdu at the University of Karachi and as Director General of the National Language Promotion Department, Islamabad. He was also the Chief Editor of the 22-volume Urdu Lughat. He is the author of several books on language, orthography, research, criticism, and lexicography, and has compiled seven Urdu–English and English–Urdu dictionaries.
Dr. Najeeba Arif is the Chairperson of the Pakistan Academy of Letters. She has previously served as the Dean of the Faculty of Languages and Literature and as the Head of the Urdu Department at the International Islamic University, Islamabad. Her notable works include Ma‘ani Se Zyada, Ragni Ki Khoj Mein, Meethay Nalkay, and Makhota. She is also the founder of Markaz-i-Ishariyah Sazi, Pakistan’s first Urdu journal indexing institution.
Dr. Omair Ahmed Khan is a translator, script doctor, and educator working across film, theatre, and television. He holds a PhD in Script Writing and Dramaturgy from the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna. He has served as visiting faculty at DePaul University, Chicago, and the Frankfurt School of Music and Performing Arts, and has worked as a script consultant on several international projects.
The book will also be available for purchase at a special discounted rate during the event!
