Ali Jawad Zaidi

Syed Ali Jawad Zaidi (1916–2004) was an Indian Urdu poet, scholar, and independence activist who authored over eighty books in Urdu, English, Hindi, and Persian. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1988 for his literary services and also received the Ghalib Award and the Mir Anis Award. His A History of Urdu Literature, published by Sahitya Akademi, surveys the full arc of Urdu literary achievement for non-Urdu readers with scholarly fairness and depth.