Syed Ainul Hasan
A Persian scholar and poet who heads Maulana Azad National Urdu University, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2025.
Syed Ainul Hasan is a scholar of Persian literature and Indian culture, and a poet. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of literature and education, from Uttar Pradesh [1].
A Persian scholar
Hasan was born on 15 February 1957 [2]. He studied at Allahabad University and took a master’s in Persian at Jawaharlal Nehru University, writing his doctorate on the Iranian poet Forough Farrokhzad [2]. His work covers modern Persian literature, Indo-Iranian relations, Indian culture and the Panchatantra [2].
At JNU he helped set up a Pashto chair and an Afghan resource centre, strengthening Indo-Afghan ties [2]. He has supervised more than 100 doctoral theses, was a Fulbright fellow at Rutgers University in 2007, and has recited his poetry in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, the US and Canada [2].
Vice-chancellor
As vice-chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad, he has introduced vocational, teacher-education and law courses in Urdu, and promoted education for women [2]. In 2017 he received the President’s certificate of honour for classical languages [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2025: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2025: citation for Syed Ainul Hasan — Padma Awards, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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