January 10, 2021
Jalibi’s scholarly contribution will keep him alive in the memories of those who love Urdu as a language and as a vehicle of literary articulation.
Kudos are due to Prof Zahid Munir Amir on compiling a volume,
Armaghan-i-Jamil, in honour of Dr Jamil Jalibi (1929-2019), who does not need an introduction. Putting together such a well written and edited volume in the memory of the “eminent historiographer, brilliant critic and scholar of high merit” is a highly commendable effort indeed.
Particularly noteworthy in this regard is Prof Amir’s initiative to include his graduate students in this venture. Almost a dozen of them are credited with contributions to this volume. This must have provided them the much-needed training in the art of writing serious Urdu prose – a vital skill for the young scholars to acquire. These very cogently written chapters are preceded by an exhaustive introduction by Prof Amir himself that provides a comprehensive overview on Jalibi sahib’s life, his personal traits and his services for Urdu language and literature. The volume also includes facsimiles of Jalibi sahib’s letters addressed to the editor of the volume which I found quite a valuable source of history.