Rafat Nawaz’s 1500 rare books donated to Azad College Library

Aurangabad: More than 1500 rare books, bulletins, treatises, periodicals, journals, magazines and educational materials in Urdu, Persian, Hindi, Marathi, English and Arabic languages of late Rafat Nawaz Khan, well-known novelist and senior Urdu writer of the city, were donated to Maulana Azad College Library on Tuesday.

Rafat Nawaz was the younger brother of renowned Urdu poet Bashar Nawaz. Children of Rafat Nawaz Dr Shaista Talat, Khujista Laik Ahmed, Rahat Khan (Hyderabad), Rifakhat Khan (Oman), Faraz Khan and Shiraz Khan (Saudi Arabia), all of them as per their father's wish, donated his books to Maulana Azad College Library for students.

Rafat Nawaz always guided new writers and wanted the rare books and texts in his possession to be used by the new generation as "reference material". Among the editions given to Maulana Azad College, the book "Shahnama" was published in the Persian language in 1849, "Tariq-e-Adab-Urdu" was published in 1915, "Tariq-ul-Ummat" was published in 1918 and the book "Bartaniya Me Urdu" was published in 1945.

Urdu books and magazines published in the Urdu language from all over the country in the pre and post-independence, world-famous Urdu literature, and books autographed by writers and gifted to Rafat Nawaz were included.

Principal Dr Mazhar Ahmad Farooqui thanked Rafat Nawaz's wife Salma Rafat Nawaz and his children and promised to make these books available to the students. Dr Zakiuddin Sohail took the initiative.