Urdu poet Munawwar Rana dies at 71 due to cardiac arrest

livemint.com:

Munawwar Rana on Sunday breathed his last at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow following a cardiac arrest. Munawwar Rana was 71 at the time of his death. The Urdu poet had been battling lung and throat infection since 2017 and was also receiving treatment regularly due to kidney problems for which he had to undergo dialysis.

Rana was undergoing treatment at the PGI hospital in Lucknow. Born on November 26, 1952, in Uttar Pradesh's Raebareli, Munawwar Rana is known for his significant contributions to Urdu literature, especially for his ghazals. In 2014, he was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award for his poem, 'Shahdaba'.

However, he had returned the award, alleging 'intolerance' in the country. In 2012 he was awarded Maati Ratan Samman by Shaheed Shodha Sansthan for his services to Urdu literature. He also received other awards, including the Ameer Khusro Award, the Mir Taqi Mir Award, the Ghalib Award, the Dr Zakir Hussain Award, and the Saraswati Samaj Award, throughout his career.

Rana, a renowned figure in Urdu poetry, is admired by people across the globe. His ability to capture the essence of life was apparent in his work. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, in a social media post said, “The demise of the country's renowned poet Munawwar Rana is extremely heartbreaking.

Wishing peace to the departed soul. Heartfelt tribute." Munawwar Rana's son was arrested by Rae Bareli police in August 2021 for allegedly having staged a shootout against himself in June in order to frame his uncle and cousin. Munawwar Rana's daughter Sumaiya Rana, joined Samajwadi Party in the presence of party president Akhilesh Yadav.