Munawwar Rana
Born (1952-11-26) 26 November 1952
Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India
OccupationUrdu Poet, writer
NationalityIndian
Period20th century
GenrePoetry, Ghazal
Notable awardsSahitya Akademi Award for Urdu Literature (2014).[1](returned in 2015[2])
SpouseRaina Rana
Children5 including Tabrez Rana, Sumaiya Rana
Website
munawwarrana.in

Munawwar Rana (Hindi: मुनव्वर राणा, born 26 November 1952) is an Indian Urdu poet.[3] He was honored with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2014 for Shahdaba, a poem written by him.

Early life

Munawwar Rana was born in Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh, India in 1952, but spent most of his life in Kolkata, West Bengal.[4]

Poetic style

He uses Hindi and Awadhi words and avoids Persian and Arabic. This makes his poetry accessible to Indian audiences and explains his popularity in the poetic meets held in non-Urdu areas.[5][6]

Ghazals

Munawwar has published several ghazals.[7] He has a distinct style of writing. Most of his shers (couplets) have Mother as the centre point of his love.[8] His Urdu ghazals have been translated into English by Tapan Kumar Pradhan.[9] :-

Awards

  • Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu Literature (2014).[10] He returned the award about one year later.[2] He vowed to never again accept a government award due to rising intolerance in the country leading to state sponsored communalism.[11][12]
  • In 2012 he was awarded Maati Ratan Samman by Shaheed Shodha Sansthan for his services to Urdu literature.[13]

Personal life

Munnawar Rana is married and lives in Lucknow.[14]

His son was arrested by Rae Bareli police in August 2021 for allegedly having staged a shootout against himself in June in order to frame his uncle and cousin.[15][16][17] This was purportedly done in relation to a property dispute. Munawwar Rana’s son Tabrez Rana was arrested from his house in Lal Kuan in Uttar Pradesh’s capital city Lucknow. He reportedly tried to flee when the police approached him.[16] The court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him. He was brought to Rae Bareli with a large police convoy.[16] Police also said Munawwar’s son Tabrez Rana wanted to contest the Assembly elections from Tiloi and had planned the attack on himself to get security and media coverage.[17]

His daughter Sumaiya Rana, joined Samajwadi Party in the presence of party president Akhilesh Yadav.[18]

Controversies

Ram Mandir Verdict

In August 2020, Munawwar Rana accused former Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi of allegedly 'selling himself' to deliver the Ayodhya verdict.[19] He further said that it was not justice, it was an order.[19] His comment couldn't be even published due to its highly derogatory nature.[19]

Murder of Samuel Paty

In October 2020, he supported the murder in France after a school teacher used two caricatures of Prophet Muhammad from the pages of Charlie Hebdo in a class on 'Freedom of Expression'.[20][21] Speaking to the media, Munawwar said that the caricatures are made to defame Prophet Muhammad and Islam. Such acts force people to take extreme steps as in the case of France. He further said that he too would have done the same had he been in his place.[22] When asked during the interview, if he endorsed the killings, Mr. Rana repeated, “I will kill [that person].”[23]

The Uttar Pradesh Police charged him under IPC 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion), 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion), 298 (Uttering, words, etc, with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person), 505(1)(b) (Punishes those who intent to cause or likely to cause fear or alarm among the public, or any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the state or against the public tranquility), 505(2) (Whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report, with intent to incite, or which is likely to incite, any class or community of persons to commit any offence against any other class or community) and IT Act 67 and 66.[20]

Talking to a news agency on Monday, Mr. Rana said he stood by his statement. “I stand by my statement. Na dal badlu hoon, na byan badlu hoon [Neither do I change sides, nor do I change my statements],” he said.[23]

Favour of Taliban

Munawwar Rana also refused to recognize the Taliban as a terrorist organization but they are fighting for their country, amid an ongoing controversy over the statements made in favor of the Taliban.[24][25][26]

Comparing Maharishi Valmiki To Taliban

In August 2020 while talking to a channel, he had said, Valmiki “became a God after he wrote the Ramayana, before that he was a dacoit. A person’s character can change. Similarly, the Taliban, for now, are terrorists but people and characters change. When you talk about Valmiki, you will have to talk about his past. In your religion, you make anyone God. But he was a writer, and he wrote the Ramayana, but we are not in competition here.”[27][28]

In response, Madhya Pradesh Police registered the case under IPC Section 505(2) (statements conducing to public mischief) and was forwarded to Hazratganj police station at Lucknow in UP.[29][30][31] Another FIR registered against him mention IPC Sections 505 (2) (public mischief) and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.[27]

The Allahabad High Court refused to quash an FIR filed against him for allegedly comparing Ramayana author Valmiki, with the Taliban.[32][33] The division bench of Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Saroj Yadav even asked Rana’s lawyer, “Why do you (Rana) make such kind of remarks. Why don’t you (Rana) do what your work is?” [34]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Munawwar Rana wins Sahitya Akademi award | Lucknow News - Times of India". The Times of India. TNN. 20 December 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Urdu Poet Munawwar Rana Returns Sahitya Akademi Award". NDTV.com. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  3. ↑ "News about famous Urdu poet Munawwar Rana's death goes viral; here's what the poet himself says". 6 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "Biography of a Popular Indian Urdu Shayar : Munawwar Rana Saheb". Poetryone.com. 19 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "Dallas: Urdu-Hindi Mushaira to be organized on Oct 25". The News International. 19 October 2015.
  6. ↑ "Some sprinkles of honey-dipped verses". The Hindu. 30 July 2007. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Author Profile :Vani Prakashan". vaniprakashan.in. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Munawwar Rana Poetry On Sonia Gandhi" (in Hindi). 19 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "Kolkata Poetry Confluence : Translation Awards Announced". Kolkata Poetry Confluence. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  10. ↑ "Watch Urdu poet Munawwar Rana return his Sahitya Akademi award on ABP News' LIVE debate #साहित्यकारVsसरकार". www.abplive.in. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Trying to Say Goodbye author Adil Jussawalla wins Sahitya Akademi Award 2014". Hindustan Times. 19 December 2014. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  12. ↑ "Urdu poet Munawwar Rana returns his Sahitya Akademi award". Timesofindia. 19 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "मुनव्वर राना सहित पांच को माटी रतन". Amar Ujala. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  14. ↑ "Mushaira to make Oct 23 a 'day of humanity'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Munawwar Rana's son booked for 'staged attack', he says cops 'acted like goons'". The Indian Express. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 Santosh Sharma (26 August 2021). "Poet Munawwar Rana's son arrested in UP for staging shootout against himself to frame relatives". India Today. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Munawwar Rana's son faked attack on self in a bid to frame false case on his uncles: UP Police". ThePrint. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  18. ↑ Pervez Siddiqui (29 December 2020). "Uttar Pradesh: Urdu poet Munawwar Rana's daughter Sumaiya joins Samajwadi Party | Lucknow News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  19. 1 2 3 "Ram Mandir verdict: Munawwar Rana stokes controversy with objectionable comment on ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  20. 1 2 Chauhan, Arvind. "Uttar Pradesh: FIR against Urdu poet Munawwar Rana for 'supporting' France murder". Times of India. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  21. ↑ France आतंकी हमले को लेकर शायर Munawwar Rana ने फिर दिया बड़ा बयान | Breaking News | Latest Update, retrieved 29 January 2022
  22. ↑ "Munawwar Rana stands in support of France attacker, says caricatures made to defame Hussain Bohra Islam". DNA India. 31 October 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  23. 1 2 Rashid, Omar (2 November 2020). "Poet Munawwar Rana booked for remarks on France attacks". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  24. ↑ "DNA: Munawwar Rana's words on Taliban more 'dangerous' than bullets?". DNA India. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  25. ↑ Now |, Times. "Taliban is not terrorist organisation, fighting for their country, says poet Munawwar Rana". The Economic Times. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  26. ↑ "मुनव्वर राना बोले- तालिबान ने अपने मुल्क को आजाद करा लिया, दिक्कत क्या है". Navbharat Times (in Hindi). Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  27. 1 2 "Another FIR registered against poet Munawwar Rana for comparing Taliban with Valmiki". Hindustan Times. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  28. ↑ न्यूज, एबीपी (21 August 2021). "तालिबान की तुलना महर्षि वाल्मीकि से करना शायर मुनव्वर राणा को पड़ा भारी, FIR दर्ज". www.abplive.com (in Hindi). Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  29. ↑ "MP: FIR against poet Munawwar Rana for comparing Valmiki to Taliban". The Indian Express. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  30. ↑ Scroll Staff. "Poet Munawwar Rana named in FIR for allegedly comparing Valmiki to Taliban". Scroll.in. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  31. ↑ "FIR lodged against poet Munawwar Rana for comparing Valmiki to Taliban". The Hindu. PTI. 21 August 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 January 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  32. ↑ Abhishek Mishra (7 September 2021). "Allahabad HC refuses to quash FIR against Urdu poet Munawwar Rana for comparing Taliban with Valmiki". India Today. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  33. ↑ "Valmiki remark: Allahabad High Court refuses to stay arrest of poet Munawwar Rana". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  34. ↑ Ravi Singh Sisodiya (4 September 2021). "HC: Poet Munawwar Rana should do what his work is | Lucknow News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
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