Naheed Abidi | |
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.jpg) Naheed Abidi, calls onNarendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India | |
| Born | 1961 India |
| Occupation(s) | Indian scholar and writer |
| Spouse | Ehtesham Abidi |
| Children | a son and a daughter |
| Awards | Padma Shri |
| Website | Official web site |
Naheed Abidi is an Indian scholar ofSanskrit[1] and writer. In 2014, she was honoured withPadma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for her contributions to the field of literature by theGovernment of India.[2]
Conferring Padma Shri award upon me is like honouring the Sanskrit world and it will inspire Muslims for Sanskrit learning. I am highly grateful to the scholars of Sanskrit and Persian who encouraged me in my objective of exploring the uniting the bond between the two faiths. Sanskrit is a rich language, which has the quality of promoting harmony and peace in the society. says Naheed Abidi[3]
Abidi was born in 1961, in a Shia Muslimzamindari family atMirzapur,[4] in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.[5] ChoosingSanskrit as her subject, Abidi did her graduation at the Kamla Maheshwari Degree College and secured her MA from the K. V. Degree College, Mirzapur.[4]
She moved toVaranasi, an ancient seat of Sanskrit scholarship after her marriage with Ehtesham Abidi - an advocate in the city.[3][4] Varanasi is deemed holy by the Hindu textGaruda Purana.[6] She went on to secure a doctoral degree (PhD) from theMahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith (MGKV), a public university in the city, and published her thesis titled asVedic Sahitya Mein Ashviniyon Ka Swaroop (The Form of Ashvinis in Vedic Literature) in 1993.[7]
In 2005, Abidi started working as a lecturer without any pay atBanaras Hindu University. Soon after, she joined theMahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith to work as a part-time lecturer on a daily wage scheme. However, the Sanskrit scholar, known as the first Muslim female to have worked as a lecturer in Sanskrit, had difficulties finding a regular job.[7] Her first book was published in 2008 and was titledSanskrit Sahitya Mein Rahim - which is an account of the Sanskrit leanings of the renowned poet, Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana.[1] This was followed byDevalayasya Deepa,[8] a translation ofChairag-e-Dair, written by poet,Mirza Ghalib.[3] The third book wasSirr-e-Akbar,[9] a Hindi translation of 50Upanishads, earlier translated by theMughal prince,Dara Shikoh intoPersian. She has published a Hindi translation of Vedanta, translated into Persian by Dara Shikoh and also theSufi texts by the prince.[1][3][7][10]
Abidi lives with her spouse Ehtesham Abidi and her two children, a son and a daughter,[3][4] in VDA colony in theShivpur area ofVaranasi.[11] She also serves as an Executive Council member at the Sampurnanad Sanskrit University.[4]
Abidi was conferred withPadma Shri, in 2014, by theGovernment of India, for her services to literature.[2] She has also been conferred DLitt (Honoris Causa) by theLucknow University.[4] Abidi metNarendra Modi, thePrime Minister of India on 9 September 2014 at the latter's residence and presented two of the books written by her.[12] The meeting was announced by Modi through a photo on hisGoogle Plus page[13] and the video of the meeting was displayed on the personal web site of the Prime Minister.[10] In 2016, She was honored with the Yash Bharati Award by UP government at a function held in Lucknow.[5]
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