Aijaz Ahmad

Aijaz Ahmad was a Pakistani historian, biographer, and littérateur. He was a member of the Indian Civil Service, which he joined in 1931. He served in various administrative positions in British India, and later in Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947. He was also a prolific writer, who authored several books on the history and culture of the Muslims in the Indian subcontinent. He wrote in both Urdu and English languages, and his works are considered as authoritative sources on the topics he covered. Some of his notable works include In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, Lineages of the Present: Ideology and Politics in Contemporary South Asia, On Communalism and Globalization: Offensives of the Far Right. He also edited the Urdu translation of Allama Iqbal's The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. He was awarded the Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 1971 for his contributions to literature and history. He was also named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1968 for his interest and knowledge of cricket. He died in Irvine, California, at the age of 81 in 2022. He was survived by his son, Adil Ahmad Haque, who is a law professor at Rutgers University. He is widely regarded as one of the most eminent historians and writers of Pakistan.