ISLAMABAD: US President Barack Obama has congratulated renowned scholar and poet Allama Nasiruddin Hunzai on his 100th birth anniversary, and hoped that his scholarly work will further broaden vision of people in the years to come.
“We are pleased to join your family and friends in wishing you a happy 100th birthday,” he wrote to the scholar in a letter from the White House. “As you celebrate this extraordinary milestone, we hope you reflect on the many memories you have made over the past century,” he said.
“Your generation has shown the courage to persevere through depression and war, and the vision to broaden our liberties through changing times,” Obama said. “We are grateful for your contributions to the American society, and we wish you all the best for the coming year,” he added.
Born in Hyderabad village of Hunza valley in 1917, Professor Hunazi is the author of over one hundred books on various aspects of the Quranic wisdom mainly on spiritualism and Sufism.
In recognition of his extraordinary literary services, the government of Pakistan had conferred ob him Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 2001. 60 of his books have been translated to English by scholar Dr Faquir Hunzai and Rashida Hunzai. Book of Healing, Wise Quran and World of Humanity and Balance of Realities have got attention in research institutions of the western world.
Other books are: What is Soul, Rubies and Pearls, Healing through Knowledge, Thousand Wisdoms, Fruit of Paradise and Ganj-e-Giranmaya. Nasir Hunzai has composed first alphabets for Burushaski, a very old language spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan, besides authoring Burushaski Deewan.
Half of this Deewan has been translated to English titled ‘Flowers of Paradise’. He has also compiled first Burushaski Urdu dictionary jointly published by the Karachi University and the Burushaski Research Academy in three volumes.
He is also a recipient of titles Hakimul Qalam, Lisan-e-Qaum and Baba-e-Burushaski conferred by government of Gilgit-Baltistan and other social organisations. He is also co-author of first Burushaski-German dictionary, published by Hydel Berg University Germany and co-author of book ‘Hunza Proverbs’ compiled by Professor Tiffu, a Canadian researcher.
He has written several articles on women folk for enhancing their status. Being a reformer, he introduced the concept of volunteers for the first time in Hunza and established first volunteer organisation in Hyderabad village of Hunza in 1957, besides establishing first girls’ school on self-help basis in the village.
