C M Naim: The conscience keeper of Urdu
Chaudhary Mohammad Naim, aka CM Naim, who passed away on July 9, 2025, at the age of 89, was a peerless scholar of Urdu literature who wrote prolifically in English. In that sense, Naim was also a conscience keeper since he regularly assessed the works of Urdu legends and Urdu studies in the more exacting standard that writing in English could provide him. He was born in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh and after studying at Lucknow University, Deccan College and the University of California, Berkeley, he remained associated with the University of Chicago for over four decades at the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilisations. Besides contributing enormously to South Asian studies, he also introduced some prominent and not-so-prominent Urdu literary works to a wider audience. It won’t be out of place to call him a one-man industry. Apart from his vast scholarly output, he frequently wrote in the media. Letters to Hindustan Times, EPWand his columns in Outlook stand out for the fresh...
